One of our longtime clients, Organics Unlimited, is celebrating two major milestones this month. Founded in 2000, the San Diego-based grower and distributor of organic tropical fruit from Mexico and Ecuador is also highlighting the 15th anniversary of the company’s GROW social responsibility program throughout the month of September.
Organics Unlimited grows, harvests-to-order and distributes organic Cavendish bananas, plantains and coconuts to the U.S., Canada and Japan. The largest family-owned organic banana company in the U.S. has farms and a network of small growers in the famous growing region of Colima, Mexico and Ecuador.
This is one of the Organics Unlimited banana farm fields in Colima, Mexico.
Back in 2005, GROW was established to support youth educational programs and health clinics along with dental and vision care in Mexico, clean water and early childhood education programs in Ecuador, as well as disaster relief and environmental initiatives. A small percentage of every box of GROW label organic bananas sold goes toward the GROW fund. With retailer and distributor support, GROW organic banana purchases have provided $2.7 million in aid since 2005.
One of the GROW vision clinics provides community support in Mexico.
GROW certified organic bananas are most prevalent in grocery stores and markets along the West Coast with a strong Pacific Northwest presence in Portland (Ore.) and Seattle, around the Bay Area in Northern California and in Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego. Retailers include the likes of PCC Community Markets in Seattle to New Seasons Market in Portland and New Leaf Community Markets in Northern California to Jimbo’s down in the San Diego region as well as a wide range of co-ops and natural food stores in between.
