Timing is everything. And so are relationships.
The coming New York Produce Show will have both top of mind. Scheduled for Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, with the trade show on Dec. 1, the conference has shifted two weeks earlier this year, to fit snugly after Thanksgiving’s food rush and before late December’s holiday cooking.
That way, produce professionals can squeeze in the event with more ease. And growers, in the Northeast at least, have long stopped harvesting.
“Just after Thanksgiving is traditionally not as busy a time in the retail space, so it’s better for people’s schedules,” said Susan McAleavey Sarlund, executive director of Eastern Produce Council, which co-presents the show.
The show’s founder, Jim Prevor, died suddenly from heart failure in early November, sending shockwaves through the industry. Since then, leaders and friends have shared how well he made and cultivated friendships, his ability to weigh in on hefty industry issues with thoughtfulness and his commanding stage presence during conferences and presentations.
“Let us all take a page from his book and go forward with the 13th Annual New York Produce Show, keeping up the enthusiasm, hard though that will be without the guiding force of Jim.
We can honor him by making him proud that as the facilitator of this event, he gifted us with the ability to carry on when the loss of his presence leaves us all speechless,” Sarlund and Marianne Santo, Eastern Produce Council president, said in a statement. “Our goal should be to appreciate the gift of being together and cherish the time that we are able to spend with each other this year, keeping Jim and his family in our hearts.”
There will be a special tribute to Prevor at the show. As for the rest of the activities, it’s a similar game plan to last year.
“It’s going to be so strange without him, but the best thing we could do to honor Jim is to work hard to make it a great week. That’s how we all feel, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Sarlund told The Packer.
What to expect
Expect networking. Conference sessions. Industry tours. And, of course, the trade show.
You can also expect the show to be busier than last year’s event, which was one of the first handful of produce shows to return in-person after COVID-19 shut down large gatherings, especially indoors.
The bulk of the Tuesday to Friday conference starts with the opening cocktail reception Wednesday evening. The keynote breakfast follows Thursday morning, before the trade show floor opens at 10 a.m.
Educational micro-sessions will run throughout the show, which wraps up at 5 p.m.
And then on the final day, Friday, attendees can choose among five bus tours across the greater New York City metropolitan area: the city’s Brooklyn, Bronx and Manhattan boroughs, plus Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia.
The greater New York City area tours are all a bus ride away, exploring different markets and farms, from retail to wholesale to indoor agriculture.
- All around Manhattan, N.Y.: Retailer tour
- Newark, N.J.: New Jersey retailer and AeroFarms tour
- Gowanus area, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn retailers and urban agriculture tour
- South Bronx, N.Y.: Hunts Point Produce Market
- Philadelphia: Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market and Wegmans
“I’ve focused on the New Jersey tour,” Sarlund said. “We go to some Seabra’s Market, a Portuguese store that caters to this demographic, and we’re going to go to a Whole Foods in Newark near AeroFarms headquarters.”
AeroFarms is a certified B Corporation and an indoor, vertical, aeroponic farming, sales and research company, as well as a co-founder of the CEA Alliance, which supports controlled environment agriculture.
The bus tour program launches from the New York Hilton hotel, the site for several conference events.
On Tuesday, people will gather at the hotel for the Foundational Excellence event, a “seminar catering to younger people in the industry,” Sarlund said.
The following day before the cocktail party, there will be a Global Trade Symposium, which draws produce leaders from around the world to discuss the intricacies of import and export in an ever-challenging world.
In 2021, New York Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball opened the trade show at the keynote breakfast and thought leaders panel, where 14 produce professionals filled seats on stage to answer questions.
At the breakfast, on the trade show floor and at educational micro-sessions, the common themes in 2021 discussions were flexibility, acceleration, supply chain solutions and labor.
What will the topics be this year?
An educated guess would be inflation, sustainability, organics, convenience and labor. Yep, it’s still labor. But who knows? Many other topics are sure to swirl from the showroom floor’s conversations.
On the last day of events, besides the bus tours, there will be the Ideation Fresh Foodservice Forum. Expect chefs to talk foodservice trends, analysts to discuss menus and restaurant business strategies, and other experts to cover school nutrition programs, health and what’s coming next.