Sustainability
Sustainability is Built into Our Process
Being good stewards of our community and our planet, F&S Produce is a leader in environmental sustainability and corporate environmental responsibility, and has extensive programs in place to renew our land, and reduce, re-use and recycle our materials. Our comprehensive strategy includes innovative initiatives in vegetative waste composting, water conservation, energy conservation, and recycling programs.
Vegetative Waste Composting
Our composting operation delivers over 30 million pounds of self-generated fruit and vegetable waste each year, such as the peels, cores, seeds, scraps, and material with decay back into our soil. In this green operation of sustainability, more than 500 acres of company- and other- owned farmland is greatly enriched for our own farming community. By reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and not dumping this material into local landfills, we’re helping the environment and rebuilding the soil with rich, organic matter.
Water Conservation
F&S has installed subsurface water seepage pits and rapid infiltration basins to replenish the aquifers with water used in our vegetable and fruit processing operations. This innovative solution has resulted in a significant reduction in consumptive water usage. In addition, water is used for crop irrigation instead of pumping from agricultural wells.
Sourcing
Our growers are an extension of our company and a key driver behind our continued success – this has been and continues to be one of our guiding philosophies at F&S Produce. We take great pride in the strong relationships we've built with our growers and supply partners. Since the beginning, we've partnered with farmers that share our goal of sustainably grown, quality produce. We collaborate with our growers to ensure they understand and can meet our strict, quality requirements and can tailor their growing practices to meet our customer's needs.
We are committed to supporting our local farmers right here in southern New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Our local season on many agricultural products spans from June through October. Beyond our network of local growers, we have developed a diverse sourcing supply chain with partners throughout key growing regions to ensure we have a continuous twelve-month supply across most agricultural products.
Local Sourcing and Food Miles Focus
With the utilization of over 100 million pounds of agricultural raw materials each year to supply our operations, we actively source about 30 percent of our local raw material needs whenever we can from farms across New Jersey. In addition, we utilize agricultural products from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Our own fleet for outbound shipments make it an effective program to maximize our loads, minimize the number of trailers on the road, and backhaul ingredients and/or other products as a service to our customers. We also utilize rail when possible, which reduces the amount of energy needed to haul our inbound raw materials.
Organic Production
As a service to our customers, F&S Produce is able to offer a wide variety of organic vegetables and fruits, for retail, industrial, or food service use. F&S operates under the USDA National Organic Certification Program certified by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) Division of Marketing. Each year, we have seen increased growth of organic products in all sectors, including packaged retail products.
