Blue Ridge Produce Company on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

Blue Ridge Produce Company
Create an Account
last updated: May 2019

Blue Ridge Produce in the Virginia Piedmont area aggregates fresh fruit and vegetables grown locally, state-wide and regionally and markets them to wholesale buyers in Washington, DC and throughout the region. We provide growers key services: post-harvest handling training and monitoring, farm pick-up, packing, cooling, marketing and distribution. Blue Ridge Produce strives to build a value-based relationship with growers of all sizes which will help provide the support needed to scale up produce grown in our region. We will strive to source from organic, local and low-spray producers specifically and will offer support toward GAP training in the future. Blue Ridge Produce will expand into growing tomatoes and lettuce year-round in greenhouses at the Willow Run Facility in Elkwood, Virginia.

Company History

Jim Epstein's family has owned property in the northern Virginia Piedmont for more than 50 years. Over that time he has seen the agricultural landscape disappear, and with it a great farming tradition. As a real estate developer he understands the difficulty for farmers to hold onto their land as farm incomes dwindle and land values soar. In considering plans for the development of a village site in the heart of the Piedmont region, he began to imagine how his efforts could also protect and strengthen the local farming community by enhancing the local food system.

At a Social Venture Network conference in April 2009, a conversation with Jim Slama of FamilyFarmed.org brought greater clarity to the question of what direction to take. FamilyFarmed.org is at the center of the burgeoning local food movement, developing markets by connecting local growers with wholesale buyers. Jim and Jim began envisioning the development of a packing facility that would aggregate produce from nearby farms and supply it not only to the village, but also to buyers throughout the region. In July 2010, a feasibility analysis was completed which validated the demand for local produce for wholesale markets but also noted that production with the quality and consistency and quantity demanded of wholesale buyers was uncertain.

In May 2010 during the course of the feasibility analysis, Jim Epstein was introduced to Mark Seale who owns and operates Simply Fresh Produce, a fresh market produce retail outlet in Charlottesville, VA. Mark had been looking to further expand the wholesaling side of his business, so the two immediately saw that combining Mark's acumen for produce aggregation and sales with Jim's vision, financial and business expertise could lead to an important step in the local food movement, the creation of Blue Ridge Produce.

During the fall of 2010 and the winter of 2011 a business plan was completed and shortly thereafter the negotiation for the purchase of a 33 acre industrial site in Elkwood, VA was finalized. On May 2nd, 2011 Blue Ridge Produce opened its doors.

Mission Statement

To create efficient and high-value markets which support the local farming community and increase access to healthy, locally-grown food. Blue Ridge Produce will focus extensively on providing training and technical assistance to growers, enabling them to enter into larger markets and increase farm incomes. It will seek B-Lab certification and operate under the principles of a Benefit Corporation although not eligible for Benefit Corporation status as an LLC.

Products and Services

Blue Ridge Produce specializes in locally-grown fresh-market fruits and vegetables, both organically and conventionally grown on small- to medium-sized diversified farms. The Company has two primary lines of business: aggregation and production. Blue Ridge Produce will also own and manage leased space in the 33-acre commercial property where it conducts business.

Contact Blue Ridge Produce Company

REMINDER: This listing is a free service of LandCAN.
Blue Ridge Produce Company is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.