Wholesum cuts ribbon on new greenhouse facility

From The Produce News: AMADO, AZ — Wholesum Family Farms Inc., a major player in organic produce, has opened state-of-the-art greenhouses in this small town in southern Arizona.

The company, known as Wholesum Harvest, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 10 for its 12-acre facility here that employs 350 and is just 30 minutes up Interstate 19 from the sister cities of Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, a commercial and logistical hub of North American produce.

Some 250 people attended the four-hour event, which was presided over by company matriarch Yolanda Cristantes and which brought together family members from Mexico and the United States. It was catered by the company's marketing consultant, Anthony Totta.

Among the many guests was U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, (D-AZ), who had just been elected to his fifth term in Congress earlier in the week.

Mr. Grijalva, whose district includes much of Santa Cruz County and covers 300 miles of border, called the greenhouse a "wonderful investment for this region" and "one that we are all sure will be profitable and the start of something much bigger."

He praised the Crisantes family for its "entrepreneurial spirit and devotion to a family business that should be a role model for others."

Wholesum's primary organic products are greenhouse-grown tomatoes, peppers and seedless cucumbers. In its shadehouses, Wholesum Harvest grows organic hard and soft squashes, hard squashes, Bell peppers, cucumbers and eggplant. It also produces organic mangos.

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