March Golden Penguin Entries
Due May 15
Don’t miss the opportunity to receive national recognition for your merchandising efforts during March Frozen Food Month. The Golden Penguin Awards will be presented at a special Awards Reception and Banquet at the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention in San Antonio, Texas in October. Entries must be received at the NFRA office no later than May 15, 2007. Check the Rules and Entry Form for more information.

Last Chance to Order June Dairy Month and Surf’s Up POS
June Dairy Month is right around the corner. is right around the corner. Leverage the Surf’s Up characters to drive traffic and increase your sales in the refrigerated dairy department during June. A two-page FSI dropping on Sunday, June 3rd and NFRA’s Catch the Cool Wave $7,500 Sweepstakes will announce the promotion to consumers and keep their interest. Decorate the aisles with June POS Materials from NFRA to create excitement in-store. Enter your best merchandising effort for a chance to win the prestigious Golden Penguin Award.

Promote Ice Cream & Novelties as Summer Favorties during June and July
There is no better time to promote everyone’s favorite ice cream and novelty treats than during the top sales months of summer. Participate in the Summer Favorites Retail Display Contest to draw consumers into the aisle and to earn the coveted Golden Penguin. Get consumers excited about the promotion with NFRA’s $100,000 Summer Favorites Instant Win Game. Summer Favorites POS is also available from NFRA.

Streaming Video Available to Promote June Dairy Month
NFRA members can get a NO COST streaming video promoting June Dairy Month for their website. NFRA’s Cool Chef Video Library includes twelve meal preparation videos featuring a chef preparing recipes using frozen and refrigerated foods. The consumer can even print the recipe and shopping list to take to the store. Streaming video can draw visitors to your website and turn them into customers. These videos are simple to add to your website and all the production and hosting costs are paid by NFRA. To get started, contact Marlene Redden at 717-657-8601 or marlene@nfraweb.org.

Register for the Convention by June 8 to be in the First Pre-Registration List
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention is Rounding Up the Industry for the best business opportunity to build relationships with the leading frozen and refrigerated food companies. Last year, over 50 supermarket chains were represented at the Convention, and they reserved a record number of meeting rooms to hold one-on-one customer business appointments. You must register by June 8 to be included in the first pre-registration list, which is used by delegates to schedule appointments prior to the Convention. Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity.

Certificate of Excellence Recognizes Top Performance in Service and Sanitation of Food Storage Facilities
Manufacturer, Warehouse and Distribution facilities that participate in third-party audits by an NFRA approved audit company and achieve an Excellent rating are eligible for the Certificate of Excellence. The Certificate of Excellence shows that a facility conforms to the highest health, sanitation and operational standards for the handling and merchandising of frozen and refrigerated foods. Your customers will value your efforts to assure the highest standard in food safety. Call NFRA at 717-657-8601 for more information on earning the Certificate of Excellence.

NFRA Welcomes Our Newest Members
Please welcome the companies listed below who have met the qualifications of membership and have joined the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.

SALES AGENT

Mid Atlantic Impact Co., Inc.
570-668-1282

Recent Certificate
of Excellence Recipients
The Certificate of Excellence, the highest operational award in the frozen and refrigerated foods industry, signifies that a facility conforms to the highest industry and government standards, and strictly adheres to the Code of Recommended Practices for the handling and merchandising of frozen & refrigerated foods.

RENEWAL

Henningsen Cold Storage
1000 S. Oklahoma, Stilwell, OK

Henningsen Cold Storage
4124 24th Avenue, Forest Grove, OR

Henningsen Cold Storage
2025 Saint Street, Richland, WA

Henningsen Cold Storage
17400 N.E. Sacramento, Portland, OR

Henningsen Cold Storage
229 Maple Street, Scranton, PA

Interstate Cold Storage
1 Interstate Drive, Napoleon, OH

US Cold Storage
1727 J P Hennessey Drive, La Vergne, TN

US Cold Storage
8424 W. 47th Street, Lyons, IL

US Cold Storage
125 Threet Industrial Boulevard, Smyrna, TN

F.A.B., Inc. recently welcomed Tavern Products as the newest member of the cooperative. Tavern Products was founded in 1984 and is located in Sparks, Nevada. The company offers wholesale bar and restaurant equipment and supplies, paper products and other foodservice items to both independent and regional chain customers with a strong emphasis on bar and grill customers. Tavern Products services all of Northern Nevada including the entire Lake Tahoe basin and Northern California. For more information: www.frostyacres.com

J & J Snack Foods Corp. recently announced the acquisition of the WHOLE FRUIT Sorbet and FRUIT-A-FREEZE Frozen Fruit brands, along with related assets including a manufacturing facility located in Norwalk, CA, from a subsidiary of CoolBrands International, Inc. J & J Snack Foods owns and manufactures LUIGI’S Real Italian Ice and licenses the MINUTE MAID brand name for various frozen novelty products. The products will be sold through its food service and retail supermarket business segments. FRUIT-A-FREEZE is a super premium fruit bar featuring chunks of fruit. WHOLE FRUIT sorbet is sold mainly in pints and is known for its wholesome, healthy and upscale fruit flavors. For more information: www.jjsnack.com

Safeway recently launched a month long campaign to raise funds for community-based programs that assist people with physical and developmental disabilities. The retailer plans to raise $5 million for Easter Seals. During April, each of Safeway’s more than 1,500 stores nationwide collected donations at the checkouts and held special fundraising events to help raise awareness of Easter Seals’ mission of caring for people with physical and developmental disabilities. Since 1985, Safeway and The Safeway Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, has helped raise nearly $78 million for Easter Seals.

Turtle Mountain recently introduced gluten-free cookie dough ice cream, joining the company’s popular Purely Decadent® Dairy Free Pints product line. Certified vegan and made with organic ingredients, the indulgent new flavor features rich and creamy dairy-free vanilla ice cream packed with scrumptious chunks of cookie dough and chocolate. As the only gluten-free cookie dough ice cream on the market, it gives consumers with gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance or allergies a worry-free way to enjoy this traditional favorite. For more information: www.turtlemountain.com

Turtle Mountain recently announced an innovative collaboration with Farm Sanctuary and nationally syndicated cartoon artist Dan Piraro, widely known for his comic strip Bizzaro. The partnership is launching a multi-faceted campaign to promote new, non-dairy Turtle Mountain treats – So Delicious Dairy Free Kidz Fruit Pops & Fudge Pops – and Farm Sanctuary’s Kidz Club. The campaign’s intention is to tap children’s natural affinity for animals and educate them about healthy nutrition, creative thinking and the impact of factory farming on the environment and animals. So Delicious Dairy Free Kidz will be available in two flavors: Fudge Pops and Assorted Fruit Pops. Made with all natural ingredients and completely allergen-free, both flavors will be distributed nationwide at select grocery and natural food stores. For more information: www.turtlemountain.com

U. S. Cold Storage, Cherry Hill, NJ is building a cold storage facility in Fresno, CA. The facility will house 4.53 million cubic feet of storage space, 3.36 million of which will be designed for -20 degree storage. In addition, Fresno will be capable of blast freezing 240,000 pounds of product per day and providing cross-docking services with a 60 foot refrigerated dock area. The company is also adding 4 million cubic feet of cold storage space to its existing facility in Bethlehem, PA. Once completed, the expanded Bethlehem facility will contain a total of nearly 9 million cubic feet of storage space and more than 30,000 racked pallet positions.