Chicago Fresh Forum

With new greenhouses in the area, is there more demand?

Brian Holzkopf, Ruby Robinson Company, Inc. BB #:102013
It really depends on what field-grown is doing at that time; we do have some customers who are loyal to greenhouse-grown product.

Vince Gregosanc Jr., Battaglia Distributing Company, Inc. BB #:125850
We try to, but sometimes we can’t handle the volume. The price variant sometimes puts the greenhouse stuff out of the market. We work in foodservice, and retail is much more apt to go to greenhouses. Our herbs and baby lettuce mixes are all greenhouse because that’s the only place we can source them right now.

T.J. Fleming, Strube Celery & Vegetable CompanyBB #:102030
Not necessarily; like organics, it’s not really what we do, but there are others on the market who offer specialty greenhouse , so we let them do their thing, and we do our thing.

Ron Pomerantz, Benny’s Farm Fresh Distributing Company BB #:154155
Generally, over the last 10 years, demand has increased for greenhouse items. Greenhouse-grown product offers more consistent quality and better delivery.

Tom Durante, Panama Banana Distributing Company BB #:101999
I don’t sell much greenhouse—but overall, there’s a lot of demand for hydroponics. I see more consumers buying more greenhouse. Growing items like baby spinach hydroponically eliminates the fear of contamination.

This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full version.

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