All the news that's fit to eat
By Gretchen Bay As the summer solstice draws nigh, visions of beautiful white orbs are starting to dance in the minds of fruit lovers everywhere. Are these spheres celestial bodies, aligning for the dawn of a new season? No! They’re delicious white peaches and nectarines that have started appearing in The FruitGuys’ fruit crates! These [...]
By Meta Dunn A Tornado Strikes At 2:56 pm, Monday, 20 May 2013, an F5 category tornado touched down west of Newcastle, Oklahoma, and headed toward the town of Moore. The tornado stayed on the ground for 39 minutes and covered a span of 17 miles. At its peak, the tornado was 1.3 miles wide. In its aftermath, 24 people were found [...]
By Heidi Lewis Robots are already a part of everyday life—Siri can call your mom for you, and robotic vacuums clean and entertain your cat while you’re away. Artificial intelligence guides many appliances, and robots do the heavy lifting and repetitive tasks of manufacturing. Robot designers are working fast and furious to close the gap [...]
FruitGuys Chicago Brings Aid to Tornado Area By Pia Hinckle Meta Dunn was driving to work at The FruitGuys Chicago warehouse listening to radio reports of the devastation from the massive tornado that destroyed miles of Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 people including 9 children, when she thought, “What can we do to help?” Meta contacted [...]
Here’s a preview of what regional farms will be harvesting in June, from The FruitGuys produce buyers. To see what’s being delivered this week, visit fruitguys.com/mix and choose your region. Remember to always wash your hands and wash your fruit before eating, even if it’s organic. EAST Stone fruit, including cherries, pluots, plums, peaches, and [...]
Q: Why is some FruitGuys fruit small compared to grocery store fruit? A. Smaller fruit often has less water but the same amount of sugar as larger fruit, resulting in a much richer taste. We focus on flavor and supporting small, local farms as much as possible. We send our buyers to visit farms, meet [...]
By Heidi Lewis Hello, my name is Violet Beauregarde. You may remember me from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? I was the kid who chewed a lot of gum—and I mean A LOT—and while visiting Mr. Wonka’s factory, I got excited and grabbed one of his inventions. Short story shorter, the dang gum [...]
Here’s a preview of what regional farms will be harvesting in May, from The FruitGuys produce buyers. To see what’s being delivered this week, visit fruitguys.com/mix and choose your region. West On the West Coast, spring is upon us! April winds and honeybees pollinated the Asian pear and apple blooms, so the fruit should be setting in May. Strawberries are [...]
By Heidi Lewis 1913 was a crazy time. It was the year Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky staged the ballet The Rite of Spring. Nowadays, we are accustomed to the dissonance and seemingly tonal chaos of Stravinsky’s famous piece. It has been rolled into many cinematic scores, including Fantasia, but a hundred years ago in [...]
Q. When will my fruit be delivered? A. The FruitGuys delivers nationwide Tuesday through Friday, with a Monday delivery option in some areas. Orders received by 10 a.m. Monday through Thursday can be delivered the following day. Overnight deliveries help ensure the quality of your fruit. When you place an order, select your preferred delivery [...]
By Heidi Lewis Springtime mandarin season makes me think of the Full Moon Fairy. I first heard about her when my daughter came home from kindergarten and announced that a fairy would be visiting us—every full moon. Ah, another late night visitor to add to the guest list. I was already pressed to remember to [...]
By Heidi Lewis Do you have a high-pressure task ahead of you? Something you’ve worked toward and prepared for? A critical test, presentation, golf putt, field goal? Cognitive scientist Sian Beilock says, relax and “think about the journey, not the outcome.” She outlines her study and advice in her book Choke: What the Secrets of [...]
By Heidi Lewis The cuckoo clock at the Greenwich Mean Time offices popped its head out at 11:02 a.m. on March 20, letting all us inside people know that it’s officially spring. For the outside world, the tightly wound mechanisms of nature’s internal clock are springing plants into action. Petals and birdsong may fill the [...]
Q: What should I order? A: If you want to ditch the junk food at your office, check out our office fruit products. We originated the fruit at work concept in 1998 and bring unique, high-quality fruit from regional farmers right to you in eco-friendly and reusable packaging. Our educational resources help keep your employees inspired to [...]
A preview of what regional farms will be harvesting in the coming month, from The FruitGuys produce buyers. To see what’s being delivered this week, visit fruitguys.com/mix and choose your region or enter your zip code. WEST COAST Spring is around the corner and we have fava greens to prove it. Our TakeHome boxes in March will [...]
By Heidi Lewis [The Green Room – Children’s Television Department] Bunny: “What’s with all the bits of fabric everywhere?” Bob: “Count von Count from Sesame Street and Count Chocula got into a heated debate. The Count was trying to count the blood oranges in the FruitGuys crate, and Chocula was trying to eat them.” Bunny: [...]
By Gretchen Bay As winter draws slowly to a close and we move closer to spring, our East Coast fruit crates will feature some of the season’s last local apples! Look for beauties such as Jonagold, Cameo, Pink Lady, and Gold Rush apples from local growers Three Springs Fruit Farm (Aspers, PA), and Beechwood Orchards [...]
By Heidi Lewis How’s the old saying go again? “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”? Or is it the other way around? March’s seasonal unpredictability requires farmers to be prepared for a wide variety of growing conditions. Their jobs include tending to tiny baby seedlings in warm greenhouses until [...]
A preview of what regional farms will be harvesting in the coming month, from The FruitGuys produce buyers. To see what’s being delivered this week, visit fruitguys.com/mix and choose your region or enter your zip code. WEST Happy Chinese New Year! We are celebrating citrus season with organic Pixies from Beck Grove and Murcotts from [...]
Q: How much is a serving? A: In general, we consider one piece of fruit equal to 1 serving. If we are including small citrus, like pixie tangerines, or small stone fruit, like apricots, we will include two pieces per serving. We consider one clam shell of berries as 2-3 servings and one bag of [...]
By Heidi Lewis Play-by-play announcer, Joe, and his trusty color commentator, Bo, stand on the sidelines of Time. Joe: “Well, Bo, here we are again—another spin of the zodiac. This is exciting! Children clutching bright red envelopes, piles of mandarins brightening up the place, and concussions of firecrackers sound like applause greeting the Year of [...]
Turn your desk into an individual wellness station with SmileSnack™. Taking regular breaks for brief activities during the day helps improve your focus and productivity. We suggest: Eye breaks: 20-20-20 Set a timer for every 20 minutes. Stand up and focus on something across the room for 20 seconds. Sit down and close eyes for 20 seconds. Quick Desk Stretches: Once an hour [...]
New Non-Profit Group Will Help Small Farms By Pia Hinckle The FruitGuys has formed a new non-profit organization to promote sustainable agriculture practices for small farms, an evolution of the company’s Farm Steward Program, which has provided farmers with aid since 2008. “We thought that the development of a non-profit entity was important so that [...]
Q: Can I customize my order? A: Yes, we offer limited customization according to what’s in season. If you have a recurring order, we can make a note to include your favorite produce when available. You can also specify to not include certain fruits or vegetables. Each Monday, we update our online guide to what [...]
Here’s what regional farms will be harvesting this month, from The FruitGuys produce buyers: WEST California is lucky to have fresh picked produce even in the winter! We have clementines, mandarins, and tangerines, in so many varieties, shapes, and sizes! Look out for Cara Cara oranges from Homegrown Organics. Grapefruits and Minneola tangelos are also coming [...]
SmileSnack™ Turn your desk into an individual wellness station. Order SmileSnack™ weekly and enjoy enough fruit and healthy snacks for your work week. Each SmileSnack™ pack includes 8 servings of farm-fresh fruit (an assortment of apples, citrus, kiwi, and pears) plus 3 servings of granola or trail mix. We help you track your healthy snacking! [...]
Congratulations to Sue Potter, of Novato, CA, who submitted the winning photo! Public votes determined the finalists, then FruitGuys employees each received one vote to cast for their favorite photo to determine the grand prize winner. It was a very close race, and we enjoyed all the entries. Sue will receive a SmileSnack crate with [...]
By Heidi Lewis Grapefruit will not be ignored. If you dig into one, you are just as likely to get a clownish squirt in the eye as to have your other senses treated to a trumpeter’s storm of fragrance and color. The aroma of a grapefruit can hit high notes Maynard Ferguson can’t reach. It [...]
The FruitGuys will be closed for the upcoming holidays on December 24th, 25th, 31st, and January 1st. We will deliver on December 27th and 28th. After the New Year, we will resume delivery in select areas on January 2nd (Wednesday) and in all regions on January 3rd and 4th (Thurs – Fri) . Please call [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Every business makes mistakes. What you do next is the difference between losing customers forever and gaining lifelong fans. Things go wrong in businesses. And when they do, you need to get out in front, accept responsibility, and make things right for those affected. Here is a step-by-step guide to [...]
The Season of the Navel Orange, Grapefruit, and Mandarin By Heidi Lewis The bright sunshine of citrus has begun streaming in! Although ostensibly citrus is available year-round, a series of citrus characters will step in and out of the citrus odyssey. We like to give them heroic epithets as Homer gave his gods and goddesses [...]
Please notify us of any order changes within 48 hours of delivery at info@fruitguys.com or 1-877-FRUIT-ME (877-378-4863). No deliveries will be made Thanksgiving Day (Thursday Nov. 22). Instead of holding your delivery, you can help those in need by forwarding your box to a local charity. Our Donate-A-Crate program has fed thousands each year through your generosity. Call us [...]
EAST Sandy has come and gone, but the impact isn’t over. Our farmers have had flooding, power outages, and damage to infrastructure and houses. Despite the challenges, local farmers are still working hard to make sure we get the delicious produce that they so preciously grow. Three Springs Fruit Farm and Beechwood Orchards are bringing [...]
Q: Why do some of my apples have brown patches on the top? Are they still good to eat? A: Russeting is a brownish, corky or netlike texture that ranges in coverage from a small patch, typically near the top of the apple, to most of the apple’s surface, the latter being less common. In apples, russeting typically occurs [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com FruitGuys founder Chris Mittelstaedt explains how hackers got into his company’s bank account–and how not to let it happen to you. Identity theft isn’t just something you have to worry about as an individual; your business identity could be at risk, too. A few weeks ago my company was the [...]
By Gretchen Bay Shakespeare and his contemporaries called these gems “leather-coats.” The Victorians prized them for their look, texture, and taste, and often depicted them in works of art. And lucky for us, russeted apples are still a special treat that we can enjoy today. Russeting is a brownish, corky or netlike texture that ranges [...]
Pomegranates, persimmons, and pumpkins! By Heidi Lewis You know what’s happening this season? Professor Pumpernickel is coming to the Palladium with his penguins? Nope. They’re showing The Perils of Pauline in Panorama? No. Polka-palooza? No. Perseids? Nope. Pah…then what? Pomegranates, persimmons, and pumpkins from The FruitGuys is what! The harvest of fall’s jewel-toned fruit has [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Technology can make your job easier. But when something goes wrong, you need basic business instincts to back you up. Remember the Air France flight 447 crash in 2009? In early July of this year, BEA–the French government’s official investigators–released its final report on the incident. I followed the news closely [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com How to identify–and root out–your worst human instincts before they infect your team. If there’s one thing that’s consistent across all businesses around the world it’s human nature. And if the worst parts of human nature start infecting your management techniques, well, then Houston we have a problem. Here’s a [...]
by Chris Mittelstaedt, Founder & CEO, The FruitGuys The FruitGuys supports California’s Prop 37, the “Right to Know” GMO (genetically modified organism) labeling initiative. This issue is important to Americans everywhere, not just in California. YES ON 37—WHY? We believe in transparency. Labeling GMO products and allowing consumers and companies to choose whether or not [...]
The FruitGuys buys the best produce we can find from small and local farms whenever possible. Our regional hubs (San Francisco, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia) allow us to create local networks of farms and produce wholesalers so that we can deliver produce that is grown as local as possible. The farms that participate in our Farm [...]
By Heidi Lewis I have them. You have them. We all have them. Imperfections. The keen fruit observer will notice that commercially grown fruit is generally quite uniform, and fruit from smaller, local farms often isn’t. For example, family farm–grown apples, compared to those produced in a big agricultural operation, may come out with imperfections—stems [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com When an employee flipped off a key customer, this CEO realized his company had a culture problem. Here’s how he fixed it. Many years ago, I received a call from an irate customer. “Your driver,” she yelled, “dropped off our fruit and then gave me the finger!” After calming her [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com or too long you’ve served as Chief Fire Extinguisher. It’s time to step back and start working on building your business. Are you moving your business forward or just putting out the same small fires day after day? Consider the following questions: 1. Do you have a list of big [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Since when does a mea culpa deserve praise? JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon shows how low the leadership bar can go. If you watch certain financial news shows you’d think that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is a genius. Even after a $2 billion dollar loss at his company due [...]
By Heidi Lewis Can you smell it? Can you feel it? Is it the way the light shifts or how the little events in your day change—traffic patterns, morning routines, a heavier jacket? Thoreau wrote in his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers: “That night was the turning-point in the season. We [...]
Here at The FruitGuys, we work hard to make sustainable choices—such as packing our farm fresh fruit in re-usable boxes that are printed with biodegradable soy-based inks and constructed of 75-100% post-consumer cardboard. Our goal is to use compostable and reusable packaging, but some delicate items like berries need containers that will protect them. In [...]
Farm Steward By Karla Milosevich In 2011, The FruitGuys’ Farm Steward program financed a $3,000 no-interest loan to Baia Nicchia Farm and Nursery in Sunol, CA. Baia Nicchia is a family farm, run by Fred Hempel and Jill Shepard, that grows heirloom tomatoes, specialty squash, peppers, and herbs. FruitGuys volunteers also helped plant tomato seedlings last May. [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com You know those awkward growing pains? They happen to companies, too. Prepare for the inevitable changes with these tips. Change for a young business in a competitive market is a lot like puberty—you know it will come, but not necessarily when or where it will manifest first. As Peter Brady [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com The capital gains tax has been touted as the brass ring for business owners. But if you self-fund your growth, it’s anything but. For too long self-funded business owners have been led to believe that they are part of the group that could benefit from capital gains tax rates, notably [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Running a business is like flying a plane: Lots of decisions to make and zero time to analyze them. Improve your gut instincts with these tips. Reading entrepreneurial success stories can only help you so much. Want a better perspective on the inevitable challenges you’ll face? Study the failures. Just [...]
Q: Can I get office fruit delivered to my home? Can I get a home veggie box delivered to my office? A: Yes and yes! You can order the same fruit you love at the office to be delivered to your home (or to your office in an easy-to-carry TakeHome case). See our TakeHome program for [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Guaranteed methods to boost attrition and sap employees’ motivation. I discovered my first lesson in how not to motivate people at the bottom of a kitchen sink. In 1986, when I was 16 years old, my friend and I worked as dishwashers at the local Friendly’s restaurant in the King [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Want to shake up an entire industry? Use this story as inspiration. Where do you look for disruptive change opportunities in your business? Have you looked at your supply chain lately? I know. Hardly seems like the stuff of innovation. But it is. Joey P. was one of the cooler [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Eric Ryan, co-founder of method home products, reveals the four things his company does to keep the creativity flowing. At 36,000 feet, on a Virgin America flight, I was pondering soap. I already knew about method’s cleaning products as a consumer but after watching their co-branded pre-flight video “We’re All in [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com The founder of Joie de Vivre hotels on his new book, Emotional Equations, and the trick he uses to combat paralyzing anxiety. Chip Conley knows fear. In 2008 with the economy in recession, his hotel business Joie de Vivre sinking around him, a family member wrongly convicted and in San [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Bigger, wealthier rivals can and will stack the deck against you. And they will involve lawyers. How will you respond? I recently re-read Wharton professor G. Richard Shell’s book, Make the Rules or Your Rivals Will. For the second time it terrified me—and inspired some pretty vivid Lord of the Flies/Dr. [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com It’s the threat you never see coming. In fact, even after you crash and burn you still might not recognize it.Sometimes the biggest threat to your start-up is the one you can’t see. No, I’m not talking about competitors that sneak up on you. Those eventually become obvious—albeit sometimes too [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com One side of you loves risk; the other side of you can’t stand it. Here’s how to use your multiple personalities to your advantage. I was a junior in high school, I was pretty sure I wasn’t ready for college. While other kids were preparing for the SATs, I was [...]
By Gretchen Bay Described as “knock-your-socks-off-good!” by FruitGuys buyer Misi Katoa, CandyCots are a uniquely sweet group of apricot varieties grown exclusively by a family-owned, fourth-generation farming collective based in Modesto, CA. The company is helmed by Chris Britton and Paul Konynenburg—the two still work alongside their fathers, who have been partners since the 1960s! [...]
Here are some basic storage guidelines for fresh fruit. Humidity can speed up the ripening process. Most fruits are best kept in a cool, dry place, such as on a countertop away from sunlight and heat. For tips on preparing a specific produce item, search by name in the Almanac. Remember to always wash your [...]
By Gretchen Bay It’s officially summer. And summer means (among other delicious things)—plums! Unlike their stone-fruit cousins peaches and nectarines (which come with white or yellow flesh and skin typically in the yellow-red spectrum), plums come in a wide variety of colors, mainly red, purple, yellow, black, and green. Their flavors range from candy-sweet to [...]
Babies on Board By Heidi Lewis Oh de bitty babies, so cherubic in their little baskets. Heavenly creatures, berries were flowers before they incarnated into sweet gems that dance on our tongues. Berries are the babies of summer, triggering synapses and opening pathways to good memories. They’re the delicate fruit that are most often anthropomorphized [...]
By Heidi Lewis You know what sweet summer cherries like? They like winter. That’s when they catch up on a little shut-eye and wake up refreshed. Many stone fruits and pomes need the chill hours to produce a good season of leaf, buds, and fruit. But man, when they’re ready—bada boom! Cherry season is here. [...]
Reprinted from Chris Mittelstaedt’s column Eureka on Inc.com Sometimes there are problems simply too thorny and overwhelming to solve the usual ways; they require you to think differently. But because you’re used to thinking a certain way, you get stuck. So what’s the best way to unstick your thinking? If you’re like my dad, you pick [...]
By Gretchen Bay “The Prunus family is so wantonly profligate, dallying with any sibling, cousin, and even offspring that chances by, it is surprising they aren’t illegal in some states.” —Jack Straub, 75 Remarkable Fruits For Your Garden Yes, the Prunus, or stone fruit family, which includes cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, and nectarines, has quite [...]
GMO: A GMO, or Genetically Modified Organism, has had its DNA altered via genetic engineering to make it more disease, pest, or chemical resistant, or to include desirable characteristics such as size, color, enhanced nutrition, or stability (shelf life). GMO produce might include tomatoes genetically-altered to stay firm, or corn, soybean, or sugar beet crops modified [...]
Dear FruitFriends, In the following article, Heidi Lewis writes about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and more specifically what they are (and are not) relative to food. The FruitGuys has always held the policy that we will never include GMOs in our fruit or vegetable mixes. We support the drive to label GMOs that is wending [...]
By Heidi Lewis Here they come, rolling into town— They get the hungriest looks from, everyone around— [drum fill…] Hey, hey, they’re the summer fruits! And they’re super duper cute! It may not quite be summer—but that point is moot! When summer fruits start to arrive in May, there’s a bit of a giddy vibe [...]
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By Heidi Lewis (Throat clearing.) “Excuse me—we have a strict ‘no pet’ policy here.” “I don’t have any pets.” “What do you call that cute, fuzzy brown thing that you are petting?” “A kiwifruit.” (Pause.) “Oh.” Many marketing and branding folks know the story of the kiwi. Grown wild for centuries in southern China, a [...]
By Heidi Lewis The National Cherry Blossom Festival was recently held in Washington, D.C. This year’s festival commemorated the centennial of Japan’s gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the U.S. in 1912. The ornamental trees rim West Potomac Park’s Tidal Basin, which reflects their snowy canopy. Their beauty and a slew of special events attract [...]
By Chris Mittelstaedt A number of years ago, I made the mistake of telling my young daughters that I had brought home Pixies for us to eat. They gasped in horror. It was during their Peter Pan phase, and I had been spreading story-dust about the magical fairies and pixies who live with the flocks [...]
Friend’s Ranch in Ojai, CA, is a regular supplier of Pixie tangerines for The FruitGuys. The Friend family and its descendants (now into its fifth generation of family farming) have been growing fruit in Ojai since the 1880s and tangerines since the 1920s—one of the first California farms to do so. The family planted its [...]
We asked tangerine farmer Emily Thacher Ayala from Friends Ranch in Ojai, CA. She told us that seedlessness in citrus is a naturally-occuring genetic mutation. In the last century, growers have selected and grown more varieties that have few or no seeds, which many consumers seem to prefer. When a farmer finds a variety by [...]
