Tree Top Renews With NASCAR’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kroger Racing
Tree Top, a farmer-owned, farmer-grown brand and leading producer of high-quality fruit-based products, including apple sauces and juices, has renewed its partnership with 2023 Daytona 500 Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the Kroger Racing team for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Tree Top will be featured as the co-primary sponsor of Stenhouse’s No. 47 Camaro ZL1 at the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This is the second consecutive year that Tree Top has teamed up with the Kroger Racing team and Stenhouse. As part of the season-long partnership, Tree Top’s apple sauce and apple juice will be displayed on the No. 47 Camaro ZL1. The collaboration also connects Tree Top with consumers through in-store activations and product displays at Kroger retail locations and brand integrations across digital and social media.
“As a strategic partner in the Kroger Racing program, Tree Top continues to heighten its presence through promotions and consumer activations across various Kroger divisions in core race markets,” said Brad Olsen, vice president of marketing, Tree Top. “This partnership helps foster deeper connections with brand-loyal consumers nationwide as we also sponsor the No. 47 Camaro and 2023 DAYTONA 500 Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. We’re excited to continue the sweetness of success both on and off the track, online and in-store during the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season to ultimately boost sales of our Tree Top feel-good flavors. We’ll see you at the races!”
Live coverage of the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 3 begins at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET) and airs on FOX, MRN Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Tree Top is a farmer-owned, farmer-grown cooperative owned by apple and pear growers. The cooperative was founded in 1960 in the heart of Washington’s apple country.
Tree Top has led the way in premium-quality juices and apple sauce. With their fruit expertise and trusted sources of fruit, they now produce the widest array of fruit-based products and solutions for consumers and for most of the world’s leading food and beverage manufacturers. Tree Top operates six production facilities near the fruit in Washington, Oregon and California to create healthful fruit products made from simple ingredients to the delight of consumers around the world. To learn more, please visit TreeTop.com.
For more news of interest to the food and beverage industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
Publix Donates 1.3M Pounds of Produce to Feeding America Food Banks
As part of Publix’s ongoing commitment to helping alleviate hunger, the company is purchasing and delivering another 1.3 million pounds of fresh produce to 32 Feeding America partner food banks this holiday season. This donation is in addition to the 1.3 million pounds of produce Publix donated at Thanksgiving.
These donations are part of the company’s commitment through its biannual Feeding More Together register campaign. Publix donates $10 million each year to purchase and deliver produce to Feeding America partner food banks. Customer donations provide shelf-stable and additional perishable food for local food banks and pantries. In 2023 alone, Publix has donated more than 24 million pounds of produce to Feeding America partner food banks.
“As we head into a season that should be full of joy, many families and individuals in our communities struggle to put food on their tables,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “We want to help make this time a little brighter by providing fresh produce for people in need. At Publix, we’re committed to helping alleviate hunger and doing good, together for our communities.”
Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 250,000 associates, currently operates 1,359 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. For 26 consecutive years, the company has been recognized by Fortune as a great place to work. In addition, Publix’s dedication to superior quality and customer service is recognized among the top in the grocery business. For more information, visit the company’s newsroom at corporate.publix.com/newsroom.
Below are the 32 Feeding America partner food banks receiving produce:
Alabama
- Central Alabama Food Bank
- Feeding the Gulf Coast
- Food Bank of North Alabama
- Montgomery Area Food Bank
Florida
- Feeding Northeast Florida
- Feeding South Florida
- Feeding Tampa Bay
- Harry Chapin Food Bank
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
- Second Harvest of the Big Bend
- Treasure Coast Food Bank
Georgia
- America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia
- Atlanta Community Food Bank
- Feeding the Valley Food Bank
- Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
- Second Harvest of South Georgia
Kentucky
- Dare to Care Food Bank
North Carolina
- Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina
- Food Bank of the Albemarle
- Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
- MANNA FoodBank
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina
South Carolina
- Harvest Hope
- Lowcountry Food Bank
Tennessee
- Chattanooga Area Food Bank
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee
- Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
Virginia
- Feed More
- Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank
- Virginia Peninsula Foodbank
For more news of interest to the grocery industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
California Table Grape Growers Offer Scholarships
Three categories of scholarships, offered by California table grape growers, are available to graduating high school seniors from the table grape growing regions of California.
Of the three categories of scholarships, two are available to field workers and their families.
The first category is a Bridge Scholarship for $14,500 and is available to graduating seniors who will attend two years of a community college and transfer to a four-year university.
The second category is a $25,000 scholarship for graduating seniors who will attend a four-year university.
The third category of scholarship is a $25,000 Agricultural Scholarship available to students residing in the Coachella or San Joaquin valleys who will attend a four-year university and are interested in a field of study applicable to the table grape industry.
Three scholarships from each category are available. Applicants for all scholarships must plan to attend a California college or university. The deadline to apply for all scholarships is Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Since 1985, California table grape growers have aided nearly 200 students in attending college.
To hear recent scholarship recipients in their own words, please visit: https://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com/community-outreach/scholarship-recipients/
For more information on the scholarship program, please visit: https://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com/community-outreach/ or email: Scholarships@grapesfromcalifornia.com.
For more news of interest to the produce industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.