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Van’s Kitchen began its next chapter by being named R&FF’s 2022 Refrigerated Foods Processor of the Year.

The Texas-based egg roll company is an American dream story, growing from a small family startup to $45 million in sales, and supplying over 10,000 supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide. Meet Teresa and Carl Motter, the team behind Van’s Kitchen and learn more about what it takes to be a “roll model” in our cover story.

The year brings with it three new features in R&FF.

First, each issue will include a profile of cities on the cutting edge of cold storage. The January issue focuses on the Kansas City market, with its central location providing convenient access to the Midwest and beyond.

Next, the C-Suite Q&A will sit down with a new executive each issue to discuss their company and the industry at large. This month’s Q&A features Darcey Macken, CEO of Planterra Foods, and the plant-based protein company behind the OZO brand.

Finally, the market share of alternative proteins keeps growing. In our new Alternative Proteins column, we’ll look at some of the trends the market can expect to see in 2022.

Another bright spot in the beginning of a new calendar is looking forward to the conventions, conferences, and tours that were missed by so many industries during the height of the COVID pandemic. With 2022, comes a hope those events that were scaled back or canceled altogether can once again resume safely.

And, as always, R&FF will continue to report on the latest in cold storage construction, supply chain issues, production technologies and new retail products.

Here’s wishing you the best, as you write your next chapter.