ONTARIO, CANADA - Deeply rooted in the heart of the greenhouse industry in Kingsville, Ontario, Canada, you will find a company with a long-spanning legacy and impressive growing expertise: DelFrescoPure®. When it comes to the supplier’s ambitious efforts to bring sustainably grown, premium greenhouse produce to market while minimizing its impact on the environment, there is much more than meets the eye.
“For over 60 years, we have operated under three simple beliefs: nutrition and flavor go hand-in-hand, there’s always an opportunity to innovate, and customer service is everyone’s job,” Ray Mastronardi, Vice President of Sales, shares.
DelFrescoPure delivers on these beliefs by adhering to several key methods:
- Energy – The supplier generates its own power at multiple facilities and uses its own energy through natural gas. DelFrescoPure also recaptures its own heat and CO2 and uses it to heat its facilities
- Recycling Nutrient-Rich Water – The company optimizes modern hydroponic techniques and a closed recycling system to recycle and purify its water through a high-tech water treatment process. Through this process, the grower can control and recycle the water usage within its farms, reducing the runoff effect on the environment
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) System – DelFrescoPure uses an array of beneficial insects to minimize or eliminate other harmful insects. With the IPM system, the provider is able to drastically reduce the need to spray its crop, and ultimately, avoid releasing chemicals into the air
“Growing hydroponically allows us to consume less from our earth,” Ray points out. “We monitor our greenhouses using the most advanced computer software and technology. We use this technology to monitor water, heat, humidity, and more for the most effective growing conditions. This process enforces our commitment to food quality, safety, and sustainability.”
The greenhouse growing techniques that DelFrescoPure uses today have been passed down the family tree for more than 60 years, and they bring unmatched benefits to its evolving portfolio.
“Growing indoors allows us to grow for a much longer period of time, produce higher yields, and have a more controlled environment,” says Ray. “We can regulate the temperature, humidity, and more in our greenhouses to optimize our crop’s ability to grow, which allows us to produce in safe and economic conditions in order to supply quality product to a large population.”
Some advancements the grower has made recently include the addition of more hot water storage, as well as the production of its own power.
“Consumers are more aware of environmental issues and are more educated now than ever. They care about how their food is processed and if it’s done in a responsible way,” notes Ray. “If we can compete in the marketplace by lowering our costs, we can pass that on to our customers. It will also provide us with longevity in the marketplace—more food, less space used, and less resources to create that food. In the long term, we know that we’re leaving less of an environmental footprint.”
To learn more about this burgeoning company, you can stop by booth #309 at Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure.
As always, there is more to come here on the pages of ANUK!
