CPMA Produce Champion MP Kody Blois

This episode features CPMA President, Ron Lemaire, CPMA Board Member, Kendra Mills of the PEI Potato Board, and the 2023 CPMA Produce Champion, Member of Parliament (MP) Kody Blois, in a discussion about opportunities and key challenges within the fresh produce sector in Canada, and how Members of Parliament can help advance the goals of the Canadian agriculture sector.

MP Blois has been the Member of Parliament for Kings–Hants, Nova Scotia since 2019. He was recognized as the 2023 CPMA Produce Champion for his ongoing contributions to advancing the priorities of CPMA members and the broader Canadian agricultural sector.

In addition, we've added a new segment to each of our monthly episodes called Industry Insights. Listen to the end of the podcast as Mike Mauti shares some current statistics from the Canadian consumer market.

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

Young Professionals – Growing in Produce

In this episode, we listen to the recording of the Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA’s Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. Moderator Stewart Lapage from Oppy talks with 4 Passion for Produce Alumni. These young professionals talk about their experiences in the produce industry, including going through the COVID years and their thoughts on what’s next in the evolving workplace.

Moderator: Stewart Lapage – Oppy
Panelists:
• Jessica Levac – Bellemont Powell Ltd
• Ryan Ostertag – Star Group/CFP Ltd
• Katrina McMorrow – Global Citrus
• Greg Palmer – Loblaw Companies

In addition, we've added a new segment to each of our monthly episodes called Industry Insights. Listen to the end of the podcast as Mike Mauti shares some current statistics from the Canadian consumer market.

Play the Podcast

Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

Produce Talks: Women in Produce

This is the recording of a Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. Effective leadership is essential to ensure sustainability and innovation across the produce industry. This recording focuses on some female leaders who are helping move the food industry forward utilizing innovative solutions to challenges that impact the long-term sustainability of food in Canada.

Moderator: Kimberly Roberts – Walmart Canada
Panelists:
• Stephanie Sansen – Loop Mission
• Sangeeta Lalli – TELUS Agriculture
• Susan Jones Ng – Limoneira Company
• Amy Bowen – Vineland Research & Innovation Center

We've added a new segment to each of our monthly episodes called Industry Insights. Listen to the end of the podcast as Mike Mauti shares some current statistics from the Canadian consumer market.

Play the Podcast

Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

Produce Talks: Between Two Chairs

In this episode, we’re excited to present the annual “Between Two Chairs” podcast. Ron Lemaire shares stories with the previous CPMA Chair Mario Masellis and current CPMA Chair Colin Chapdelaine. Mario is with Catania Worldwide and Colin Chapdelaine is with the Star Group. Listen as they tell us where the industry is going and how sustainability and innovation are keys to the future of the produce industry.

We've added a new segment to each of our monthly episodes called Industry Insights. Listen to the end of the podcast as Mike Mauti shares some current statistics from the Canadian consumer market.

Play the Podcast

Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

The Changing Supply Chain – A Buyer’s Perspective

In this episode, we listen to the recording of the Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA’s Convention and Trade Show in Toronto.Supply chain challenges continue to impact the fresh produce industry. Compounding these issues, geopolitical, weather and economic impacts are now at the forefront of pressure to maintain the supply of fresh produce in a period of increasing concern about food prices. Canadian buyers will speak to their biggest challenges, the potential impacts across their supply chains and what changes they may be anticipating in the year ahead.

Moderator: Mario Masellis – Catania Worldwide, CPMA Chair 2022-2023
Panelists:
• Andrea Vandergrift – Costco Wholesale Canada
• Lindsay Young – Federated Cooperatives Ltd
• Sierra Johnston – Save-On-Foods
• Jeff Fowler – Sobeys Inc
• Jen Zavala – Gordon Food Service Canada

We are very pleased to add a new short segment to each of our monthly episodes called Industry Insights. At the end of this episode, we’ll hear from Mike Mauti with some statistics from the Canadian consumer market.

Play the Podcast

Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

Mentorship and the CPMA Passion for Produce Program

Greg Ogiba is the Chair of the CPMA Education Committee and President of Mike and Mike’s. In this episode, Greg leads a discussion about mentorship and CPMA’s Passion for Produce Program with Jessica Levac of Bellemont Powell and Michael Wexler of the Oppenheimer Group. CPMA looks forward to hosting the next group of 18 Passion for Produce participants at the CPMA Convention and Trade Show April 25^th-27^th, 2023 in Toronto.

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

Saving money on food: Insights from the nutrition community

In this episode, CPMA’s registered dietitian, Jen Ong Tone, discusses money-saving tips to help consumers continue to eat healthy with fruits and vegetables. She is joined by Christina Iaboni and Laurence Vezina as they discuss ways to stretch your food dollars in a safe and healthy way and offer other tips from the halfyourplate.ca website.

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

       

Sustainable Produce Packaging

This episode tackles the challenging goal of reducing plastics in produce packaging.
Daniel Duguay is CPMA’s packaging specialist and coordinator for the pilot project developing sustainable packaging guides for the food and produce industry.

We hear about an innovative new product that is helping reduce plastic packaging in cucumbers. Daniel introduces the topic and leads the discussion with:
• Colton Moore - Commercial Director of New Products Introductions, Apeel Sciences
• Joseph Talbourdet - Director of Marketing and Business Development, Topline/Westmoreland Sales
• Dan Branson - Director of Business and Product Development, Mucci Farms

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

CPMA would also like to acknowledge Fresh from Florida as a sponsor of this podcast.
       

Young professionals and CPMA's PFP program

This episode features a recording of one of the 2022 Convention and Trade Show Learning Lounges, Growing in Produce.

Moderator Mike Catalano of The Wonderful Company discusses with other young professionals who are Passion for Produce program (PFP) alumni about how they started in the produce industry and their current roles. The panelists are:
• Kevin Sorichetti, EarthFresh
• Stephanie Myles, Nature Fresh Farms
• Kelsey Van Lissum, Oppy
• Vaughn Smith, Global Citrus Group
The discussion is also around the benefits of CPMA's PFP program and how their PFP mentors continue to help them succeed.

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

CPMA would also like to acknowledge Fresh from Florida as a sponsor of this podcast.
       

Cybersecurity Awareness for the Produce Industry

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month in Canada. We welcome Johnny McGuire and Eric Regnier who are representing the Produce Supply Organization. The PSO is a not-for-profit organization that was established to help suppliers in the produce industry understand and use technology effectively. We have a discussion about cybersecurity and what organizations need to know and what they should be doing to combat the many cyber threats that exist today.

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Thank you to our podcast series sponsor, Nature Fresh Farms.

CPMA would also like to acknowledge Fresh from Florida as a sponsor of this podcast.