This caught my attention because of the differing perspectives I hear from industry members about the government’s mandate to use clean trailers.

As my kids say, ‘You’re straight up!’ I find that inspirational!Īnd on another note, more related to PRODUCE BUSINESS, I read two articles by Don Harris that are particularly relevant to the lack of trailer sanitation.įirst, in his recent one about a Time for Unified Action, he offers a rather direct call for members of the fresh produce industry: Provide a unified front to the customer. You really are not afraid to say what needs to be said, to whomever needs to hear it. I decided to send you a note to let you know that I see and admire your willingness to lead the charge over issues that would probably get ignored because there is either lack of consensus or strong opinions among influential industry leaders. We should pay attention:Īfter nearly three years of preaching “clean the trailer” to people in both the transportation and fresh produce industries, I’m finding that rather than running out of energy to stay on mission, I’m actually feeling greater resolve to keep pushing this education effort ‘uphill.’ Our letter-writer is in transportation, but comes from a robust produce industry heritage. Many receivers also have no procedure to make sure what is received has traveled in a truck that meets proper sanitary standards. Many have no procedures or mechanism to inspect these trucks, much less a willingness to send one away because it is substandard. We see all the time how desperate many shippers are to find a truck so they can fulfill an order. Today we have a letter from a key player in transportation who argues that the industry is not doing all it can to make sure that transportation doesn’t detract from the quality and safety of our products. Below you’ll find recipes for a variety of homemade dressings to fill out your salad bar a bit more.If there is one thing we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that one never knows where the next big problem is going to come from. If you have a favorite bottled dressing, that’s fair game, too. You can keep it as simple as putting out oil and vinegar and letting everyone dress them own salad. The result is a simple, make-your-own salad bar. When my fridge gets to such a state, I pull everything out and get chopping. Mom’s Kitchen brought home from a client, the remainder of the New Year’s Day ham, the salad greens from last week’s CSA box, a chunk of cheese from the gougeres we made for Christmas. Most of us are looking to lighten things up a bit anyway, while at the same time use all the leftover bits and bobs in the refrigerator: the last of the gorgeous bosc pears sent from a distant auntie, the tin of toasted almonds Mr. This little DIY Salad Bar, while ever so slightly “1980’s Round Table Pizza,” is the ideal answer to dinner following the holidays. Because no matter how philosophical we can all get at the launch of a New Year, there’s still the practical matter of feeding a family. So I’ll stay out of the contemplative realm and keep things shamelessly straightforward with what’s really on my mind: getting dinner on the table tonight. There’s this smart take on why you might want to think twice before diving headlong into a New Year’s diet, and this lovely essay on food and family and getting a little quieter in 2012. But having stumbled upon so many other thoughtful pieces over the past few days, I don’t feel so compelled. Now quite a few of you are tuning in, so there’s a touch more pressure to come up with something ground breaking or at least mildly thought provoking.

But the blog was brand new then, and the only ones reading were my parents (who had no choice in the matter), my husband (ditto), and a handful of supportive friends. For kicks I took a peek at what I wrote this time last year and it wasn’t remotely inspiring….just a few words on sustainable seafood. Given that this is the first post of the year, I’m feeling a little push to come up with something profound.

Trailer the big salad