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Ohio is Produce Proud

Tradition, location, and innovation keep the Buckeye State growing
MS_Ohio Barn

Area Trends
Ohio’s rich commercial produce industry is evolving, as the state becomes a destination for large, state-of-the-art greenhouses. Mucci Farms announced a site development in Huron, while Red Sun Farm’s GoldenFresh has a 20-acre hydroponic greenhouse northwest of Columbus, in Wapakoneta. In Delta, west of Toledo, NatureFresh Farms operates 45 acres of greenhouse production. All three companies have substantial operations in Ontario, North America’s top greenhouse-growing region.

There are also small conventional and organic farms, as well as urban greenhouse operations, all helping fulfill rising consumer demand. “Ohio has very deep roots with local produce, farmers’ markets, the Amish, and Mennonites,” observes Andrew Reist, produce buyer and manager of Jungle Jim’s Produce, a specialty retailer in Fairfield, near Cincinnati.

While many large wholesale operations deal mostly in conventional crops, organics are on the rise. “I do think organics is a huge category the produce industry should not take lightly,” suggests Reist, who believes the category has many dedicated, organics-only converts who should not be ignored.

Another hot trend revolves around Ohio’s ethnic and immigrant populations, who are demanding more diverse produce options. “Ethnic restaurants are exploding,” declares Sanfillipo, in Columbus. “We’ve had a huge influx of people from Nepal and India. I bring in trucks twice a week, two from Florida and two from California, just with specialty products most people would have never heard of—from snake gourds to ratalu (purple yams) to callaloo (amaranth taro), to others most people don’t know.”

Cooking shows on television and the internet are also lending a hand, notes Walker, encouraging consumers to try new dishes, combining healthy recipes with lesser known or resurgent fruits and vegetables.

Familiar trends are continuing too. “Hispanic just gets bigger and bigger every year,” observes Sanfillipo, and Holthouse agrees, noting an uptick in jalapeños and cilantro. Last year was also a strong one for spaghetti squash shipments, from late August to late October, says Holthouse.

Downtown redevelopment, especially in Cleveland and Cincinnati, is also contributing. “People are eating in downtown Cleveland; everything has picked up there, and that business has come back to all of us,” points out Kasapis.

Chalmers agrees. “There’s a lot of redevelopment in Cincinnati, even outside downtown like in West Chester,” says Chalmers. “Covington and Newport, KY, are also seeing similar redevelopment and growth. Latino and Asian cuisines are quite popular,” she affirms.

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