EPC Leadership Class Tours Farm and Philadelphia Port

The eighth Eastern Produce Council (EPC) Leadership Class gained firsthand knowledge of production practices and logistics while touring farms and facilities in southern New Jersey and Philadelphia. The trip was held June 2, and began at the farm of Frank Donio, Inc. in Hammonton, NJ.

Annie Pape, special projects and brand manager and fourth generation at Donio, welcomed the group and provided a brief history of the company. Led by Josh Minton, Donio sales and procurement and an EPC Leadership Class alumnus, the group toured organic blueberry production, as well as organic vegetable production, and heard about the challenges of the spring weather. The class was also able to view several pre-cooling aspects in the warehouse, ripening rooms, and logistics aspects of the operation.

The class then traveled to Holt Logistics Corp. at the Port of Philadelphia, where they were joined by Derek Haines, Jared Stevens and Todd Brown of Holt. The group received an exclusive tour of port operations and viewed the unloading of a container ship. They were also able to visit the on-dock USDA inspection warehouse.
Participants selected for the 2026 program include: Alec Arena, Frank Donio Inc.; Stacy Conway, C.A. Ferolie; Timothy Dunn, Katzman Distribution; Judy Fierman, Fierman Produce Exchange Inc.; Michael Hearn, Four Seasons Produce; Ryan Kelly, Baldor Specialty Foods; Dylan Lang, Fowler Farms; Joycelyn Muise, F&S Fresh Foods; Veritza Ortiz, Four Seasons Produce; Paul Pascal, Sunny Valley Intl.; Meetkumar Patel, Wakefern Food Corp.; Natasha Phan, Mastronardi Produce; Dante Savanello, JOH; Meghan Szymansky, Crispy Green; Scott Tepper, Fierman Produce Exchange Inc.; Jake Walters, John Vena Inc.; Ben Weir, Local Bounti; and Chris Zuhlke, ProducePackaging.com.