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Double Duty

Maryland & DC Team Up For Fresh Produce
MD_Commodities

Ortiz also notes that despite initial challenges competing with the mainstays of the market, he feels there is plenty of opportunity for everyone to serve the area. For Lee Salins of the eponymously named Lee Salins, LLC in Easton, across the bay, strawberries and all types of berries continue to enjoy robust sales. “Strawberries absolutely have high demand,” he says, though Salins admits “getting good quality strawberries has been tough this year, with the weather in Santa Maria”—referring to Southern California’s berry-rich growing region in Santa Barbara County, which suffered a number of weather-related setbacks in the growing season. Longtime Jessup market veteran Tony Vitrano, president of Tony Vitrano Company, emphasizes that in addition to the usual commodity trends, one thing in particular has benefited suppliers and consumers in the region. “I’ve noticed the quality of produce has continued to improve over the years,” he points out. “You’re no longer getting deteriorated or damaged loads like you would have twenty-five years ago.”

MARKET FACTS & FIGURES

Operated by the Maryland Food Center Authority, the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market is located in Jessup, southwest of Baltimore. Merchants are housed in six separate buildings, divided into even and odd numbered stalls. Building A has three units of even-numbered stalls, while Building B has three units of odd-numbered stalls. There is also a guardhouse and maintenance facility on the grounds.

Address:
7470 Conowingo Avenue
Jessup, MD 20794

Contact Info:
Dr. Donald J. Darnall, executive director
Rose M. Harrell, director of facilities,
rharrell@mfca.state.md.us; (also first vice president, National Association of Produce Market Managers, www.napmm.org)

Phone:
(410) 799-3880

Fax:
(410) 379-5773

Website:
www.mfca.info

General Hours:
Sunday to Friday
10:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Saturday
12:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Maryland Production 
A recent release of the preliminary Census of Agriculture results from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found Maryland had fewer but larger farms since 2007, with a total of 12,834 farms and 2,000,000 acres statewide— representing a third of the Old Line State’s total land.

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