Your Fall Produce Update

August 28, 2021

Have you been wondering what’s been going on in Ace’s fruits and veggies department? Well, there have been some exciting new developments as of late. “We develop high-trust relationships with our grower partners,” says Ace’s Produce Pro Rod Moyer. “Our goal is to create win-win relationships across the supply chain so that we build mutual loyalty and commitment with our growers.” Read on to learn about three brands we’re thrilled to be newly partnered with.

We’re excited to announce that we recently partnered with a large, well-established, highly regarded avocado distributor: Calavo Growers. Calavo distributes Hass Avocados (which are available year-round) and Lam Hass Avocados (which Calavo sells from late June to early October)—both of which are grown primarily in California and Mexico.

We’re especially excited to be partnering with a company that, like all of us at Ace, takes sustainability seriously. “Calavo’s sustainability strategy includes a commitment to long-term ecological balance, environmental soundness and social equity throughout our enterprise,” Calavo writes in their 2020 Sustainability Highlights Report. “Sustainability is embedded into all of our decision-making processes and capital considerations, whether they occur within our own packing, value-added distribution and manufacturing operations or extend to the thousands of individual growers and suppliers from whom we source.” You can read the full report here.

A few months ago, we partnered with Fresh Venture Foods, a small family farm based in Santa Maria, California. Fresh Venture uses its 300 acres to grow a large range of cooking vegetables. One thing that’s especially interesting about Fresh Venture is that they’re located in a microclimate. This means that due to unique weather patterns, the temperature in Santa Maria generally fluctuates between 41° F to 75°F, allowing Fresh Venture to farm 52 weeks a year in one spot, without having to move seasonally.

Because produce local to the east coast is in full swing right now, and we believe in shopping locally whenever possible, we’re currently only buying celery, broccoli, and other green odds and ends from Fresh Venture. But come winter, we plan to source many more leafy greens and organic veggies from these west coast growers. We’re so excited to be working with you, Fresh Venture Foods!

Last but certainly not least, we’re thrilled to have been working with Terra Fresh Foods for the past year. Terra Fresh, whose tagline is “nursing a world of diversity,” is a marketer and importer specializing in citrus. If you’ve ordered oranges or lemons from us in the past year, it’s likely that we got them via Terra Fresh.

Terra Fresh Foods is helmed by Managing Partner Greg Holzman, a long-time produce professional and experienced international buyer known for his long-standing relationships with growers worldwide. The company is also known for its outreach work, including fundraising to spread awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders, collecting donations for Immokalee families affected by Hurricane Irma, and much more. We’re so glad to be working with a company that is constantly seeking the best produce for our customers and doing good in the world!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this produce update! We’re wishing you and yours a lovely end of summer and hope you’re looking forward to all the bountiful fruits and vegetables that fall is sure to bring.