Please read our weekly Market Refresh to catch up on product changes and buy fresher.
Refreshes by Josh Baker
• St. Patrick’s Day is next Wednesday, March 17th. Kegel’s Produce will have plenty of potatoes, carrots and cabbage for your Irish-themed entrees. If you are interested in “going green” with your menu, we have all sorts of products in our 100,000 square foot warehouse including celery, lettuces, apples, asparagus, peppers, limes, broccoli and herbs. These are a few items we have that can make your St. Patrick’s Day event a hit with all of your guests. 
• ROUND TOMATO SHORTAGE: Updating last week’s major produce news, most tomatoes continue to be scarce due to the major freeze about two months ago. Market levels are high once again this week, and although things seem to be leveling off a bit, availability issues are not improving on a week-to-week basis. We are still expecting this will continue until at least the end of March and effects could spill into the beginning weeks of April. The best available option continues to be roma (plum) tomatoes, which are seeing market levels slightly lower than their 6 and 5x6 counterparts. Cherry tomatoes are also running slightly lower than grape tomatoes, if you are looking for a tomato for your salads or salad bars. While the warm weather in Florida that is expected this week should help the growing situation, the current supply gap will not be improved for a few weeks yet.
• STRAWBERRIES: Strawberries are holding this week, despite rains last week in California that put operations on hold. Market levels should stay relatively flat this week with the chance for things to be better in regards to quality and availability as we head into next week.
• LETTUCES: More news this week pertains to lettuces, as we are beginning to see another gap in supplies as growing regions move from one to another. Iceberg is the tightest of the three, with higher-grade heads being shipped before anything else that is offered. Lettuce will be coming in from northern parts of California in a matter of a few weeks, but the outlook is that the transition will not be as smooth as in year’s past. Also of note, Spring Mix will also be tight in the next few weeks as a recent hailstorm damaged a portion of the crop. We will continue to update this situation as we get updates.
• ASPARAGUS: Asparagus is in peak season, and it is also the Kegel’s Produce featured item of the month for March. Check out or website for a tasty recipe and more information on this springtime vegetable.
• BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER: Market levels are slightly rising we near the end of the desert growing season for both products. In a few weeks, we should see some signs of improvement when the growing regions complete their transition from one to the other.
• ONIONS: While tomatoes are getting much of the press, onions are also in what some are calling an “unprecedented shortage in supply, worldwide.” Shippers in the west are getting to the end of their storage crops from last year, and yields that were expected from Mexico and Texas at the end of this month will be later than usual because of heavy rains that have also caused issues with tomatoes. This is another situation we will continue to watch as updates are available.
• WEATHER THIS WEEK: Florida is expected to see temperatures breaking into the lower-80’s with a chance of thunderstorms towards the weekend. Northern California is expected to be sunny for the duration of the week with temperatures reaching into the lower 60’s. Southern California is expected to be slightly warmer, with temperatures nearing 70 without the possibility of heavier rains this week.
• Be sure to connect to our website, www.kegels.com, for the latest news from the produce world.