Funding
Pacific Coast Producers to Receive $482,505 for California Peach and Pear Promotion
By News Desk ·
Key takeaways
- Pacific Coast Producers will receive $482,505 in federal specialty crop grant funding to promote processed California peaches and pears.
- The USDA announced $86.6 million for 609 projects across 56 states and territories, with California receiving nearly $29 million through 60 subawards.
- The project, called Fueling Health, will develop educational resources, nutrition and consumer research, a supermarket dietitian toolkit, cooking demonstrations and workshops.
Lodi-based Pacific Coast Producers will receive $482,505 in federal specialty crop grant funding to promote the nutritional benefits of processed California peaches and pears, part of a nationwide investment in specialty crop industries. EIN Presswire published the announcement on October 17, 2026.
Pacific Coast Producers' Dietitian Education Project
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced October 13 that it is awarding $86.6 million through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to fund 609 projects across 56 states and territories. The California Department of Food and Agriculture will distribute nearly $29 million through 60 subawards under the program, according to the USDA announcement.
Pacific Coast Producers' project, called "Fueling Health: Educating Retail Registered Dietitians to Share the Benefits of California Processing Fruits," will develop educational resources to help registered dietitians communicate the benefits of consuming processed peaches and pears. The effort will include nutrition and consumer research, a toolkit for supermarket dietitians, cooking demonstrations and workshops, and an educational campaign targeting dietitians in California and other states.
Other California projects receiving funding will address agricultural technology, food safety, water conservation, pest management and consumer education. California Polytechnic State University will receive nearly $500,000 for research into automated harvesting systems for table grapes, using robotics and artificial intelligence to develop a mobile platform with robotic arms designed to harvest the fruit. The University of California, Davis, will receive funding for several projects, including research into wildfire smoke's effects on grapes and wine, improved irrigation methods for olive orchards, and ways to manage red leaf blotch, a disease affecting almond trees.
Pacific Coast Producers' Del Monte Acquisition and Scale
Pacific Coast Producers completed the acquisition of Del Monte Foods' shelf-stable fruit business assets in March 2026, including licensed rights to the Del Monte and S&W brands for ambient fruit and sauces across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show the cooperative launched Del Monte and S&W canned fruit lines under license as a retail co-packer, extending its branded portfolio beyond Mission Pride, Orchard Naturals, Royal Cherry and Pacific Coast International.
The acquisition followed Del Monte Foods' Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction and expanded Pacific Coast Producers into Mexico and Puerto Rico, converting it from a primarily U.S.-only operating geography to a multi-country North American footprint. The cooperative was founded in 1971 as a California grower-owned cooperative and brings together more than 150 family farms across Central and Northern California, many of them third and fourth generation, with 4,000 employees.
California Specialty Crop Awards Timeline
The USDA announced the awards on October 13, 2026. The California Department of Food and Agriculture will distribute the state's nearly $29 million through 60 subawards under the program.