Ag News: California Labor Shortage and Meals To You Hits 28.5M
**Despite high unemployment rates during the pandemic, California farmers say they continue having trouble filling their harvest crews.
Some farmers say people laid off from other jobs did move into farm work, but that slowed as businesses began to reopen.
At the same time, farmers have stressed the need to maintain employee health and safety.
The California Farm Bureau launched a new round of public-service announcements this week with COVID-19 safety messages.
**Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is praising the achievements of its ‘Meals to You’ partnership, which has now delivered more than 28.5 million meals to low-income kids in rural communities across America during the pandemic.
Perdue announced the milestone during a visit to McLane Global, one of USDA’s partners in the initiative, which serves kids across 41 states.
Perdue says we’ve heard from families across America who say the program has been a home run for feeding hungry kids.
**Second only to bananas, apples are a consumer favorite as the No. 2 fruit in the produce department.
According to thepacker.com, 88% of respondents to Fresh Trends 2020 said they selected apples as a snack sometime in the past year, most probably many times. 31% noted they used apples as an ingredient, and 28% said they served apples as a dessert option.
The top three apples chosen were Galas, Honeycrisp and Granny Smiths.
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