The winning foodservice distributor or logistics provider will be featured in R&FF's September issue and on an upcoming podcast episode.

Indulgence will take on a new meaning, with younger consumers in particular seeking unconventional "mashups" of food and drinks they grew up with in combination with emerging new flavors from other regions.

US Foods has launched its Fall Scoop catalog of new products, the company’s 10th annual edition of Scoop. Themed, “Next-Gen Ideas for Next- Gen Diners,” Fall Scoop features 23 products that cater to the next generation of diners, Gen Z and Millennials.

At this time last year, we at Refrigerated & Frozen Foods decided to put our annual Foodservice Distributor of the Year Award on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented shutdowns in foodservice—restaurants, hotels, schools, caterers, stadiums, and other volume venues—leaving behind thousands of shuttered businesses. To put it lightly, there was very little to celebrate in foodservice last year.

Grocery retailer and distributor SpartanNash announced plans to open its first SpartanNash Micro-Fulfillment Center, located at 5199 68th St. SE in Caledonia, Michigan. The 55,000-square-foot facility will hold 16,000 products and pick and pack Fast Lane orders for 24 Ada Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare and Forest Hills Foods stores throughout West Michigan, primarily in the Grand Rapids and Holland area.

Sysco, the leading global foodservice distribution company, announced the addition of four new toolkits to its Foodie Solutions platform. The Valentine’s Day, Wholesome Dining, Seafood and Greatest Game toolkits are the latest in a series of carefully curated resources that reflect the best ideas from across the foodservice industry for generating additional revenue and meeting consumer expectations for a safe and memorable dining, takeout or delivery experience.

KeHE Cares, in partnership with New Hope Network, is delivering the first-of-its-kind virtual Serving Goodness Event, which will help deliver 80,000 meals to families experiencing food scarcity due to the pandemic.

Sysco announced it will eliminate minimum delivery size requirements for customers’ regularly scheduled delivery days as part of the company’s Restaurants Rising campaign. This change is effective on Nov. 16 for all U.S. Broadline, FreshPoint, Buckhead Meat and Newport Meat customers.

Sysco has announced the addition of a Holiday Toolkit to its Foodie Solutions platform. The Holiday Toolkit is the latest in a series of carefully curated tools to help foodservice operators respond quickly to shifting business requirements and trends resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

By any measure, 2020 has been a historically difficult year for foodservice distributors. COVID-19 wiped out business for foundational customers like restaurants, hotels, caterers, stadiums, schools and other volume foodservice clients starting in March, and even today, as states attempt to re-open amid the uncertainty of where the pandemic is heading, an argument could be made that foodservice distributors have had to continuously pivot more than any other cold chain segment to stay afloat.