Wishnatzki Farms

Wishnatzki Farms

Type	Privately held company
Founded	New York City,
Headquarters	Plant City, Florida, United States
Key people	Gary Wishnatzki (CEO)[1]
Products	produce
Subsidiaries	Strawberry Joe, Clear Choice Organics, Wish Farms
Website	Wish Farms

Wishnatzki Farms is a produce shipping and growing company based in Plant City, Florida. The company is the largest producer and shipper of strawberries in Florida.^[2]

History

The forerunner of Wishnatzki Farms, Wishnatzki and Nathel, was founded in 1922 in New York City by push cart owners Harris Wishnatzki and Daniel Nathel. Wishnatzki, a Russian immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1900, had been selling fresh fruits and vegetables from his push cart for several years by that time.

By the late 1920s Wishnatzki was making regular trips to Florida to purchase produce. In 1929 he relocated permanently to Plant City, Florida, to set up a shipping operation while Nathel remained in New York City.^[3]

In Florida, Wishnatzki envisioned bringing fresh strawberries to fruit-deprived consumers in the northern states during the winter months. Challenges with transporting perishable goods were eventually overcome and the company's New York City hub began distributing fresh fruit. Thanks to Wishnatzki, Plant City growers gained access to large American markets.^[4]

Harris Wishnatzki died in 1955, passing company leadership to two of his sons. Spearheaded by Gary Wishnatzki, a grandson of Harris Wishnatzki, the company began purchasing its own farms in 1987. Gary Wishnatzki became president of the company in 1990. Wishnatzki and Nathel split in 2001 with the Florida-based Wishnatzki interests becoming Wishnatzki Farms.^[5]

Today, Wishnatzki Farms owns and operates over 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of farm land, primarily in Manatee County, Florida, and Hillsborough County, Florida. Over 6 million packages of fresh fruit and vegetables are delivered annually. Approximately half of Wishnatzki Farms' output is in strawberries,^[6][7] which are produced with both organic and traditional (i.e., using fertilizers and pesticides) approaches.

Products

During the 2009-10 growing season Wishnatzki Farms produced 30 million pounds (13.6 million kg) of fresh and processed strawberries under its Wishnatzki Farms, Strawberry Joe and Clear Choice Organics brands. Wishnatzki Farms created a processing line that allows the company to create frozen strawberry product and market it to an outside customer base.^[8]

Wishnatzki Farms produces blueberries, bell peppers, squash and hard squash such as butternut squash, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and green beans.^[9] The company distributes to chain stores, wholesalers, restaurant suppliers and institutional buyers throughout the United States and Canada. A new brand, Wish Farms, was introduced in early 2010.^[10]

Wishnatzki Farms innovated FreshQC, a system which allows company representatives to communicate directly with customers.^[11]

Community involvement

Gary Wishnatzki and Wishnatzki Farms have been active in the Tampa, Florida, area community. Gary supports the needs of the state's migrant workers. In 2006, he started the Strawberry Pro-Am tennis tournament with benefits funding college educations for children of migrant workers. The 5th annual tournament was held March 13, 2010, and was expected to net close to $100,000 for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) capital campaign, which is aimed at building classrooms to help serve children of migrant workers. RCMA serves nearly 8,000 children of migrant farm workers and rural, low income families in more than 75 centers throughout Florida.^[12]

Wishnatzki Farms is a sponsor of the Florida Strawberry Festival.^[13] Created by the Plant City Lions Club in the 1930s, the 10-day event draws crowds from the entire state. Recently the company sponsored a farm worker appreciation day at the event.^[14]

References

1. ^ CONTACT US - Wishnatzki Farms
2. ^ FFVA - Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association|Member Profile - Wishnatzki Farms
3. ^ Growing Produce - Wishnatzki Farms
4. ^ Plant City Courier December 3, 1937 Vol. 20
5. ^ Growing Produce - Wishnatzki Farms (accessed 28 July 2010)
6. ^ Wish Farms (accessed 13 November 2009)
7. ^ FFVA - Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association | Member Profile - Wishnatzki Farms (accessed 28 July 2010)
8. ^ Squeezing the juice out of extra berries(accessed 28 July 2010)
9. ^ Product Matrix - Wishnatzki Farms (accessed 28 July 2010)
10. ^ Wishnatzki Farms History - Wishnatzki Farms (accessed 28 July 2010)
11. ^ Farmers Keeps track of Every Last Berry for Quality Control St. Petersburg Times February 5, 2009
12. ^ The Packer - Gary Wishnatzki
13. ^ Florida Strawberry Festival (accessed 30 July 2010)
14. ^ Special Days at the Florida Strawberry Festival (accessed 30 July 2010)

External links

• Wish Farms