NEPC updates board of directors

The New England Produce Council Inc. BB #:170872 announced Aug. 31 the results of its yearly board of directors election.

Veterans Tony Barreira of Del Monte Fresh Produce and Michael Strock of S. Strock & Co. Inc. BB #:101402 were re-elected to another three-year term as directors, and Matt Boulanger of Whole Foods Market was elected to the board for the first time.

Boulanger is a Northeast/North Atlantic regional produce buyer for Whole Foods. He has been with the retailer since 1987, but began his career as a produce clerk with Bread & Circus.

He has 25 years experience as a store-level produce team leader/manager and store shift leader. His passion has always been working with local farmers and agriculture, and he has played an integral role in creating partnerships with local farmers and Whole Foods Market.

In 2009, he took a three-year break from the retail world to be the operations manager at a western Massachusetts organic farm, before returning to Whole Foods Market in his current role. He has been a volunteer career ambassador with the Produce Marketing Association at the NEPC expo for the past three years. When he is not cutting POs and visiting farms, he enjoys gardening, hiking, family time, travelling and hockey.

“NEPC has strong leadership with the renewal of veteran board members Tony Barreira and Michael Strock, and the addition of Matt Boulanger has solidified the 16-member board of directors,” said Laura Sullivan, NEPC executive director. “We are excited with the addition of Matt, and we all look forward to working with him.”