BAKERSFIELD, CA - Get a gift ready, and make it gold because Grimmway Farms is proudly celebrating its 50th year in business as a family-owned company. The company will be acknowledging and honoring those who have been essential to its success—namely employees, supplier partners, customers, and local communities.
“We want to recognize how important our employees, partners, customers and communities have been to our success while acknowledging that it was the vision and values established by our founders, Rod and Bob Grimm, that have guided us all of these years,” said Jeff Huckaby, President, in a press release.
“Family-Owned for 50 Years and Growing” is the theme for the year-long campaign. From its humble beginnings as a roadside produce stand to the global agricultural leader it is today, Grimmway Farms has much to celebrate. Over the year-long event, the company will pay tribute to the long and successful partnerships that have helped it grow.
Rod and Bob Grimm set their sights on the carrot industry from early on, after opening their produce stand in Anaheim in the 1960s. The company began doing business as Grimmway Farms in 1969, and made the move to Kern County in 1981. The move allowed them to expand operations to take advantage of the region’s fertile, year-round ideal growing conditions. 1990 was a year of innovation for the company, as the brothers combined their knowledge of farming, engineering, and consumer trends to market the popular baby carrot. This move boosted the company’s growth and redefined consumer demand for healthy snacking options.
Grimmway Farms is still family-owned to this day, with many employees that have been with the company for decades. The next generation of Grimm family members is helping to chart the future of the business and its charitable commitments have advanced educational and pediatric healthcare opportunities throughout Kern County.
“Our company is founded on a unique blend of family values,” Huckaby added. “At the same time, we are always focused and committed to employing best practices and new technologies necessary for a business of our size and scale. Rod and Bob believed in investing in the people who work with us and for us, and this philosophy remains at the core of our success.”
The official kick-off for the 50th anniversary celebration is on March 28, marked by a farm-to-table event celebrating agricultural stewardship and respect for the land. Kern County is the company’s primary growing region, but Grimmway Farms also grows in other areas of California, as well as Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Washington, Florida, and Oregon.
The celebration continues on into April, with the annual company picnic, which hosts over 10,000 employees and their families. The picnic will feature special highlights, including an award ceremony for the company’s college scholarship program. Grimmway Farms has invested over $1.65 million in tuition support for employees’ children through the program to date.
“As one of the largest private employers in Kern County, we have a responsibility to honor and invest in our most critical asset, our workforce,” noted Sara Oliver, Vice President of Human Resources. “Agricultural innovation and evolving technologies will require new skill sets from tomorrow’s workers. We want to make sure we are preparing our community’s youth for future career opportunities by helping them achieve their educational goals.”
And the fun doesn’t stop there, as Grimmway Farms will be celebrating its community and partners with a cleanup day in Kern County, harvest dinners recognizing industry partners and employees, and the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Conference and Expo, where Grimmway Farms will share new ideas and practices with produce industry purveyors from around the world.
“Since joining the company in 2018, I have been humbled by Grimmway’s rare culture of honoring the past, investing in the future and taking nothing for granted,” commented Alexander Good, Executive Chairman “A lot of organizations talk about this conceptually, but Grimmway lives it. This anniversary celebration is for all of us who are invested in creating a better tomorrow—in the way we eat, how we treat our natural resources, and how we interact with each other. ‘Fifty Years and Growing’ is an exciting place to be,” Good said.
Congratulations to Grimmway Farms on 50 strong years. Here’s to another 50!
