Partner Spotlight: HeavyConnect
Simplifying Food Safety by Eliminating the Paperwork
September is National Food Safety Education Month — a time to celebrate the people and partners driving a stronger food safety culture. At Starfish, we’re proud to spotlight HeavyConnect, one of our featured partners, transforming how food safety is managed in the field.
Food safety isn’t confined to offices or labs — it starts in the field, where crops are grown, harvested, and handled. That’s where HeavyConnect is making a difference. Their platform digitizes paper-based processes, giving farmworkers and supervisors an easy-to-use mobile app for food safety checks, worker training, and compliance tracking.
By simplifying the data capture process, HeavyConnect empowers frontline teams to focus less on paperwork and more on the practices that protect public health.
“Our mission has always been to engage users where food safety really happens — in the field. By putting accessible technology in the hands of workers, we’re giving them the tools to do their jobs more effectively and with confidence.”
– Patrick Zelaya, CEO of HeavyConnect
For HeavyConnect, compliance is more than checking boxes — it’s about creating teachable moments. Every digital record, every on-the-spot audit, and every completed checklist is an opportunity to educate teams on the “why” behind food safety.
This is what Food Safety Education Month is all about: equipping people with the knowledge and tools to prevent risks before they become problems. HeavyConnect helps companies achieve that by making food safety workflows user-friendly, transparent, and actionable.
“When compliance tasks become learning opportunities, you create a culture of education. Our customers tell us that instead of chasing paperwork, their teams are learning in real time and that creates lasting improvements in the organization‘s food safety culture.” – Patrick Zelaya, CEO of HeavyConnect
Digital tools alone don’t create culture, but they reinforce it. HeavyConnect’s mobile-first approach ensures that food safety is woven into the daily rhythm of operations. By giving teams real-time feedback and visibility, they help companies shift from reactive compliance to proactive accountability, a shift that builds long-term trust with customers and regulators alike.
At Starfish, we believe education is the foundation of food safety. We’re proud to highlight partners like HeavyConnect who share that vision and put it into practice. Their work demonstrates that food safety isn’t just about regulation — it’s about empowering people with the right tools, training, and data to protect what matters most.
As we celebrate Food Safety Education Month, we recognize HeavyConnect’s leadership in turning everyday compliance into lasting lessons — strengthening both the supply chain and consumer confidence from farm to fork.
Written by Johnna Hepner
Johnna Hepner brings over 30 years of experience driving innovation in food safety and supply chain systems. She has held leadership roles at the Produce Marketing Association, Markon Cooperative, and iFoodDS, where she championed initiatives to enhance food safety, improve supply chain transparency, and advance digital adoption in the produce industry.
