Bay Food Brokerage

Last week, Gary Royal, Greg Betz and Lindsey Baron traveled to Chicago to attend the KeHE Holiday Show. The show featured innovative and new products, an immersive Fresh Marketplace, and so many great holiday products consumers will be excited to see on grocery store shelves this season. The team had a great time connecting with manufacturers and prepping for the holiday season.

Thank you to all the fathers and father figures who have helped us soar. Happy Father’s Day from the Bay Food Brokerage family.

Team Member Spotlight: Donna Jones has been a part of the Bay Food Brokerage family since 2006. As an administrative assistant, she guides our team and manufacturers on the day-to-day needs of Publix.

We would not be where we are today without her, and we’re incredibly grateful for her hard work and dedication! Learn more about Donna’s role, as well as her personal life, on our blog. https://ow.ly/OPG550S7JNV

Our team is back from IDDBA and feeling energized after a productive and educational conference! While there, we had the opportunity to meet with manufacturers and hear from industry experts. We also had a little fun with our manufacturer clients and attended the Blount Fine Foods event at The Downtown Aquarium.

We were thrilled to hear Chef Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen speak. He’s not only a great chef, but an inspiring humanitarian. Chip and Joanna Gaines also spoke to attendees about how they brand their name and how they’ve grown their business over the years. This is one of our favorite events of the year, and we were so happy to have the team together to attend!

Bay Food Brokerage was proud to co-sponsor the Tampa Bay Chamber Small Business of the Year luncheon last week for award semifinalists. Cammie Hersman Chatterton spoke to attendees alongside Diane McKelvey of fellow co-sponsor American Momentum Bank and congratulated them on their accomplishment of making it this far in this rigorous process.

The SBOY awards are highly competitive, and these companies and individuals are some of the best and brightest in Tampa Bay. Cammie took home the award for Outstanding Small Business Leader in 2022 and knows firsthand how competitive the awards process can be. Bay Food also won Small Business of the Year in 2020, in the 21-50 employees category. Congratulations to all the finalists, and good luck during the judging process!

Show Dad he’s your #1 guy next Sunday! Give the King of the Grill a break for the day by taking over grilling duty. Serve him up one of these tasty grilled chicken dishes and catapult yourself to the top of his favorites list!

https://www.springermountainfarms.com/the-flock/great-grilling-recipes-for-your-1-dad/

Our team is having a great time at IDDBA this week in Houston! It’s always great to connect with clients and manufacturers like Todd Blount of Blount Fine Foods. Looking forward to day two of the show today!

As a team, we could not be prouder to be a part of this incredible facility and to support all that Feeding Tampa Bay is doing in our community. The Community Market is a bright spot in Tampa Bay, and we are honored to sponsor the market alongside Publix.

So much more is possible with our new and improved market! The market is a free on-site grocery store where you can shop for essential fresh and frozen items. Thank you to Publix and Bay Food Brokerage for making feeding our community possible! Visit our website today to schedule an appointment: https://brnw.ch/21wKreX

Our team is getting ready to attend the 2024 KeHE Distributors Holiday Show from June 12 to 13 in Chicago! Gary Royal, Lindsey Baron and Greg Betz will be in attendance and would love to meet you!

If you’re attending the show and would like to set up a meeting, contact us at this link: https://ow.ly/ncZc50RWuSO

Our team celebrated several birthdays during the month of May! Please join us in wishing Account Executives Edy Montoya and Retail Reps Ray Mocalkins, Rachel Howell, Blaine Daniels and David Adessa a very happy birthday!

Today, we honor and remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Happy Memorial Day from the Bay Food Brokerage family.

Today marks a huge milestone for Feeding Tampa Bay. The organization has officially opened its new $60 million facility in Tampa! Thank you to Thomas Mantz, President and CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay, for bringing this new facility to fruition. It is a bright spot in our community and a truly impressive accomplishment that will serve so many families in need!

Bay Food Brokerage and the Chatterton family are incredibly proud to partner with Feeding Tampa Bay on this project and be a named sponsor in the Publix Charities Community Market. The Community Market offers fresh produce and other healthy grocery items to residents free of charge. Earlier this week, our team helped set the market to ensure it was ready for the grand opening today.

“I could not be prouder to be on the Feeding Tampa Bay board and be a small part of this incredible food and social services support center,” said Cammie Hersman Chatterton. “It was an emotional day seeing this dream become a reality and we are so proud to partner with Feeding Tampa Bay and be included in the Publix Charities Community Market.”

The 215,000-square-foot facility will provide community members with access to key support such as onsite medical services, grocery and restaurant services, financial counseling, and access to benefits like SNAP and WIC. To learn more, visit: https://feedingtampabay.org/causeway

Our team is gearing up to attend IDDBA 2024 from June 9 to 11 in Houston, Texas! Cammie Hersman Chatterton, Chris Chatterton, Erin McCulloch-Crume and Christina Akers will all be in attendance and would love to meet you!

If you’re attending the show and would like to set up a meeting, contact us at this link: https://ow.ly/5lou50RCUoW

Today marks five years since Gary Royal joined the Bay Food Brokerage family as the VP of Sales. In that time, he’s helped launch and grow our Center Store Division and provide sales support for our consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. He’s an incredible asset to our team, and we enjoy having him around. Cheers to five years, Gary!

Learn more about Gary and his career on our website. https://ow.ly/u2gb50RCUoj

In our latest Team Member Spotlight, we’re featuring Clara Echeverri, Accounts Receivable (AR) Specialist.

Clara joined Bay Food Brokerage in 2020 as a part of the sales support team and was promoted to AR Specialist in 2022. She is the youngest of 10 children, loves Italian food and enjoys many hobbies. Get to know her better in this Team Member Spotlight!

Team Member Spotlight: Clara Echeverri Get to Know AR Specialist Clara Echeverri In this Team Member Spotlight, we’re featuring Clara Echeverri, Accounts Receivable (AR) Specialist. Clara joined the sales support team at Bay Food Brokerage in 2020. In 2022, she…

Last month, our team participated in the Special Olympics Florida Golf Classic with Publix at ChampionsGate Golf Club. We were so proud to have many of our manufacturers represented on the course. Jennie-O, Fieldale Farms - Springer Mountain Farms and Waterloo Sparkling Water all sponsored a team to compete in the tournament. And the Fieldale Farms team, which included Chris Chatterton, took home first place in the tournament!

Gary Royal, Greg Betz and Jim Chatterton also played in the tournament, and Cammie Hersman Chatterton and Nicki Crespo volunteered in the vendor tent. Giving back is an important part of our company culture, and we are so grateful to work with manufacturers who place the same emphasis on philanthropy as we do.

We are less than one month away from the start of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and experts are predicting that this year will be extremely active. It’s important that retailers and manufacturers are prepared for record-breaking storms.

We’ve compiled our top preparation tips, as well as advice from Chris Chatterton, on our blog.

Learn more:

3 Reminders for the Retail Food Industry from Hurricane Ian In late September, Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage and power outages in many markets after it made landfall in Florida. Breakdowns in the supply chain led to empty grocery store shelves throughout the state, especially…

Last Saturday, Clara Echeverri attended the Bullard Family Foundation Family Wellness Day at Thaddeus M. Bullard Academy at Sligh Middle Magnet School. While there, she worked with children to create fun art pieces to take home with them.

Bay Food Brokerage, along with our clients Sahlen's Premium Meats and Springer Mountain Farms, also donated all the food for the event, which promoted mental health and wellness for families in the Tampa Bay area. It was an honor to attend and volunteer for this worthy cause!

Today marks five years since Debbie Freeman joined the Bay Food Brokerage family. Debbie joined our team as a retail representative in Atlanta in 2019 and was later promoted to retail supervisor for the north division. Her career also includes 18 years with The Kroger Company in Atlanta.

Please join us in congratulating her on this work anniversary!

This month, our Tampa team gathered to celebrate the April birthdays of Chris Chatterton, Nicholle Crespo, Latonya Loyd and Colin Fennelly. Retail representatives Inez Hoover, Sonja Knox and Nina Whigham Bruns also celebrated a birthday in April.

From all of us at Bay Food Brokerage, we wish you health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year. Happy Birthday!

We were thrilled to welcome Randy White, who joined our retail team earlier this year. Randy hails from the great state of Alabama and proudly supports BAMA football!

Randy supports our clients in the Chattanooga area and is a great addition to our retail team!

Happy Earth Day! As our world grapples with the challenges of sustainable development, it’s becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to prioritize food sustainability practices. Food sustainability plays a vital role in ensuring the well-being of our planet and future generations – and consumers have come to demand more sustainable products.

As we celebrate Earth Day, we thought it would be fitting to share about food sustainability and the benefits it can bring manufacturers, consumers and our environment. Learn more on our blog. https://ow.ly/XewI50RjeGL

Celebrating Food Sustainability on Earth Day Why manufacturers should pursue food sustainability certifications With Earth Day approaching on April 22, it’s fitting to focus on food sustainability and the benefits it can bring manufacturers, consumers and our environment. As our world…

At Bay Food Brokerage, most of our retail representatives are full-time, salaried employees who play a tremendous role in the success of our clients and company.

Over the years, we’ve highlighted our executive and sales team on social media – and now, we want to highlight our retail team as well!

Retail Supervisor Debbie Freeman is an Atlanta girl through and through and has moved up the ranks quickly since joining our team in 2019. Here are some fun facts about her to help put a face to the name!

Last night, our Tampa team wrapped up our 30th anniversary celebrations with an employee outing to Splitsville for bowling, food and lots of fun! Cammie Hersman Chatterton and Chris Chatterton were absolutely floored when the team surprised them with photo albums with pictures from all our 30th anniversary events.

We’ve had an incredible year celebrating this milestone and look forward to many more big anniversaries in our future. Thank you to everyone who helped make the last 30 years possible – our Bay Food Brokerage family, manufacturers, partners and loved ones. Here’s to 30 more years!

We’re proud to be featured in the latest installment of Tampa Bay Business & Wealth Magazine’s Infrastructure 101: Logistics. Executive Vice President Chris Chatterton sat down with JoLynn Brown to discuss the supply chain and logistics behind food showing up on our supermarket shelves.

Chris shares where challenges have emerged in the supply chain in recent years, and why it’s not just one thing delaying products like your favorite bag of potato chips.

Read the full article.

Infrastructure and regional population growth is slowing down shipping - Tampa Bay Business & Wealth There is a huge ecosystem that needs to work, all at the right time, to make shipping and commerce run smoothly.

Today marks five years since Desmond Jamieson joined the Bay Food Brokerage family. He started as a Retail Sales Representative and excelled in the role, earning a much-deserved promotion to Retail Trainer. Thank you for all your hard work over the years, Desmond! You are an important part of our sales support team.

April 1, 2023, marked the official 30th anniversary of the founding of Bay Food Brokerage. Since then, our team celebrated this milestone often and with enthusiasm!

As the end of our anniversary year approaches, we’re looking back at the festivities that marked this exciting occasion. Read more on our blog. https://ow.ly/pTBP50QYUXy

Bay Food Wraps Up 30th Anniversary Celebrations Bay Food Brokerage’s 30th Anniversary Coming to a Close April 1, 2023, marked the official 30th anniversary of the founding of Bay Food Brokerage. Since then, our team celebrated this milestone often and with enthusiasm…

Last week, we celebrated the March birthdays in our Tampa office. Please join us in wishing Linda Rodriguez and Donna Jones a very happy birthday! Our retail and sales support team also had several birthdays this month. Happy birthday to Debbie Freeman, Alexandra Mendez, Mamie Newhouse, and Thomas Walters!

This month marks four years since Kendra Swauger joined the Bay Food Brokerage team. Kendra is an integral part of our sales support team and has served as a sales assistant since joining our team in 2020. We’re happy she is a part of the Bay Food Brokerage family and look forward to many more years together!