Produce industry headlines: June 12, 2026

Good afternoon! It’s Friday, June 12, 2026. Here’s what’s happening in produce and grocery today.

Start your weekend with stories on Walmart’s new SNAP initiative, DoorDash’s AI shopping assistant, Canada’s food inflation challenge, Apeel’s rebuild, a California grape update, Blueprints weekend interview, and more.

As always, have something to share? Send us your feedback at news@bluebookservices.com.

Top Stories

Walmart Brings Louisiana Carrot Initiative to All Its Stores in the State

The initiative lets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients earn benefits for buying fresh produce in all Louisiana Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market stores.

DoorDash launches conversational shopping assistant

The new tool allows grocery shoppers to input a recipe link, photo from a cookbook, or image of a shopping list to get a shoppable cart of items.

Canada is trying again to lower grocery prices

Government officials hope an investment in food terminals and hubs will help independent retailers when buying from farmers and food processors, which they hope will help Canada’s food security.

Weekend Interview: Mark Campbell, ProduceIQ

If you’re not familiar with Mark Campbell or ProduceIQ, you’re not mastering the art of data. Find out what you’re missing here.

Court OKs a $38B credit card swipe fee settlement, but restaurants aren’t impressed

Restaurant operators are displeased after a federal court judge gave preliminary approval to a $38 billion settlement that would end a long lawsuit over the interchange fees charged by credit card companies Visa and Mastercard.

California table grape season set for early start with strong outlook

The Mexican table grape season should end early, leading into the California season, which is also running about two weeks earlier than normal.

U.S. produce coating company recovers after misinformation claims

Apeel Sciences, the U.S. company that developed a plant-based coating that extends shelf life of fresh produce, is rebuilding its business after a social media disinformation campaign led to a decline in sales.