Cedar’s Foods Donates $100K to World Central Kitchen for Ukraine Relief
Cedar’s Foods, a Haverhill, Mass.-based company with national distribution of hommus and Mediterranean products, has donated $100,000 for Ukraine relief, to World Central Kitchen to help feed refugees.
Since military operations began in Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes to stay in western Ukraine or other countries and WCK is serving millions of fresh meals to displaced families. Working at a 24-hour pedestrian border crossing in southern Poland, WCK began serving hot, nourishing meals within hours of the initial invasion, and are now serving round-the-clock dishes at eight border crossings across the country.
Additionally, WCK is supporting local restaurants preparing meals in cities across Ukraine including in Odessa, Lviv and Kyiv. WCK teams are also on the ground serving thousands of meals every day in Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, and Spain.
As part of Cedar’s with Heart, the company’s non-profit initiative to invest and honor its employees, communities, and consumers, the national leading hommus brand in the natural and organic grocery channels is committed to fighting food insecurity both in its community and around the world.
“At Cedar’s, we believe in the power of sharing better in the form of authentic, honest foods. Cedar’s with Heart extends that mission to not only share better with the world, but do better for the good of our community and our planet,” said Charles Hanna, CEO and president. “We hope to lead by example through our acts of service and our commitment to promote positive change for the next generation and generations to come. The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is one of the worst that we have seen in decades. Our commitment to fight food insecurity transcends borders and when we heard of the great work WCK is doing, we wanted to help.
“Knowing better means doing better not only for our community, but for our global community as well. No family should have to worry about where their next meal will come from, especially after fleeing their homes and making the daunting journey to refuge,” Hanna said. “Food is a human necessity, a common ground among us all. It provides comfort and a sense of hope and stability. As a leader in the food industry, we are proud of the work WCK is doing on the frontlines and honored to be able to support them in feeding Ukrainian refugees.”
World Central Kitchen is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises. When disaster strikes, WCK’s Chef Relief Team mobilizes to the frontlines with the urgency of now to start cooking and provide meals to people in need. By partnering with organizations on the ground and activating a network of food trucks or emergency kitchens, WCK provides freshly made, nutritious meals to survivors of disasters quickly and effectively.
Is your specialty food company contributing to Ukraine relief? Let our Senior Editor, AJ Flick, know by emailing her at aj_flick@oser.com and subscribe to Gourmet News for updates!
Belle Pulses to Expand Production in Response to Global Food Supply Chain Crisis, Russian Invasion of Ukraine
International markets for pulses entered a period of unprecedented uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting wave of sanctions from North America, European Union member states, and most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries. On average, Russia produces 3,800,000 metric tonnes and exports around 1,000,000 tonnes of peas annually and Ukraine’s pea exports can reach up to 500,000 tonnes per year.
Belle produced approximately 90,000 metric tonnes of protein in 2021. As a response to increased global demand, Belle is planning increased shifts at its main plant in Saskatchewan to increase Canadian annual production capacity to nearly 100,000 metric tonnes annually while adding up to an additional 15,000 metric tonnes per year of annual production capacity at its United States facility.
“Belle is receiving increased recognition from international customers looking to secure quality, safe and reliable proteins at scale,” said Mark Coles, chief investment officer. “Shareholders should know that Belle is increasing its production capacity as it is our goal to help support the global food industry. Belle has emerged as a pivotal player in global pulse protein production and continues to draw significant interest in its products. We will continue to expand Belle’s operations and are looking forward to showing the world its ability to procure, process, and deliver proteins to the international marketplace.”
The importance of high-quality, transparent, and sustainably produced agricultural products and pulse crops has become increasingly important on a global scale and recent supply chain disruptions and sharp increases in fertilizer prices have created a significant strain on food production. In addition to corn and wheat, pulses are at the center of the global food industry.
“It has always been our investment thesis that the globe will shift to more sustainable and environmentally friendly proteins. The next 24 months will be crucial for international food security as one of the world’s largest producers of fertilizer, agricultural crops and pulses is effectively closed off from the rest of the world,” said CEO Marc Aneed.
Canada is already one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the world at a time when people, companies, and countries need to secure their food supply. The globe is now turning to Canada for secure supply of pulse crops, proteins, and agricultural products.
“Belle processes crops that are considered nitrogen fixers and typically require less fertilizer than other common agricultural crops,” Aneed said. “Pulses add nitrogen to the ground instead of removing it like traditional crops thereby allowing proper plant crop rotations that help to rejuvenate valuable farmland.”
Eat Well owns 100 percent of the 42-year-old Belle Pulses, one of Canada’s largest processors of plant-based proteins. Belle supplies a broad range of customers in over 35 countries, including global strategic food companies and significant ingredient distributors. Belle is increasing its production capacity up to 115,000 tons of fully traceable product, yielding over 20,000 tons of pure plant protein (or the equivalent of producing millions of hamburgers annually and saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of cattle). Management believes that the company keeps approximately 89,500 tonnes of methane from entering the atmosphere each year.
With operations spanning across Saskatchewan and in the United States, Belle is primarily located in Saskatchewan, a province with a rich agricultural history of feeding the world. Known as the breadbasket of Canada, Saskatchewan is home to 40 percent of Canada’s cultivated farmland. Additionally, Saskatchewan is the world’s largest exporter of lentils, dried peas, canola, oats, wheat, and flax.
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Kingswood Acquires Save Mart Companies
Kingswood Capital Management LP has acquired the Save Mart Companies. Kingswood is an operationally focused private equity firm based in Los Angeles, with significant experience in the retail sector. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Modesto, The Save Mart Companies is committed to sourcing a wide variety of local products across approximately 200 stores and serves communities throughout California and Northern Nevada. The company operates stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx. In addition to its retail operation, the company also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries, which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in Turlock.
“The Piccinini family did a tremendous job in fostering a commitment to innovation and service as they built and grew this company in the Central Valley and throughout California,” Save Mart CEO Chris McGarry said. “As a result, we have great stores and a committed team of 14,000 employees who provide fantastic local products and are wonderful stewards of the communities in which they live and work. While this change in ownership will be transparent to our team and customers, we know that this investment will benefit them and the communities we serve.”
With the addition of The Save Mart Companies, Kingswood is expanding its existing Northern California presence. It already owns Alameda-based Cost Plus World Market, which it acquired in January 2021 from Bed Bath and Beyond, and Mare Island-based Lind Marine, a diversified marine services business headquartered north of the San Francisco Bay, which it recapitalized in January 2022.
“At Kingswood, our goal is to make good businesses even better, and The Save Mart Companies presents us with a great opportunity to do so,” said Alex Wolf, managing partner and founder of Kingswood. “Their 70 years of history in the Central Valley provides a strong foundation for future profitable growth, and we look forward to working with Chris and the team to position these iconic grocery brands for the future.”
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