Growing for Generations
Since 1985, North Bay Produce has been a grower-owned, family-centered company dedicated to producing the highest quality produce in the industry. Our customer commitment guarantees that each product grown for North Bay has been carefully selected and picked with the highest regard for food safety and freshness while maintaining harmony with nature throughout the growing process. As a family of growers, we understand our business is part of a larger society; therefore, we work diligently to respond to the social needs of our farming communities and the land that provides us all. Every decision we make regarding our farming practices, packaging solutions, and transportation has the sustainability of our planet in mind. North Bay Produce represents farms that have been growing for generations.
As stewards of the land, we have a responsibility to ensure our business practices protect and enhance environmental health, both now and for future generations. Whether through reducing water use in operations or supporting pollinators, we are committed to practices that allow the land to thrive under our care, while providing fresh and safe produce to our consumers. We also recognize the important social dimension of sustainability. We place the utmost importance on the wellbeing of our workers and exercise due diligence to ensure their needs are recognized, respected, and addressed.
Caring for the People Who Grow and Harvest Our Food
North Bay Produce believes that everybody has the right to a workplace where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, free from harassment, and where humane treatment is always upheld. As a company, we are committed to respecting workers’ rights and protecting their safety and health, while recognizing the cultural and legal differences found throughout the world. North Bay Produce values the well-being, respect, and safety of the workers who help us provide a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables to our customers and consumers. Responsible labor practices, including respect for laws at work, respect for professional conduct, and respect for human rights are the right things to do.
From this commitment, North Bay Produce has publicly endorsed the International Fresh Produce Association Ethical Charter for Responsible Labor Practices. The Ethical Charter provides guiding values, principles and a framework for coordinated, focused action across the fresh produce industry. As stated in the Charter, when growers, labor agencies, packers, distributors, foodservice operators, marketers and retailers of fresh produce and flowers work together to assure ethical working standards, everyone in the supply chain benefits and consumer confidence in our products is enhanced. North Bay Produce agrees that responsible labor practices are the right thing to do, and our success as an industry depends on it. The Guiding Principles of the Ethical Charter include Respect for Laws at Work, Respect for Professional Conduct and Respect for Human Rights. To uphold the social responsibility of our company, North Bay Produce also participates in the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA). The SMETA audit is a third-party audit that covers four pillars of Health & Safety, Labor, Environment and Business Ethics, for a comprehensive review of a worksite’s sustainability practices.
Protecting the Land That Grows Our Food
As stewards of the land, we understand the need to support and protect the environment, as the health of the environment is a necessary component of our business. As importers and exporters of agricultural commodities, we recognize the environmental impact of farming, processing, and logistics. We are committed to reducing our ecological footprint and promoting sustainability across our operations and supply chain, where appropriate and economically viable. North Bay Produce is committed to upholding environmental stewardship through science-based and environmentally sound practices that have been implemented and practiced for generations. Throughout our entire supply chain, we advocate for practices that protect and promote biodiversity.
Biodiversity encompasses all living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. A diverse variety of these organisms is essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem that provides clean air and food. Biodiversity plays a crucial role in agriculture; plants, soil, and animals all depend on one another for nutrients and habitat. Soil microbes provide nutrients to plants, whose root systems hold soil in place. Plants provide food and habitat to insects and birds that aid in pollination and pest management. At North Bay Produce, we recognize that agroecosystems depend on biodiversity to maintain balance and conserve natural resources.
To ensure the preservation of biodiversity is practiced, all North Bay Produce growers practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which combines cultural, physical, and biological methods to maintain pest populations at levels that do not cause economic harm or threaten the environment. These measures are crucial for maintaining biodiversity and ensuring the viability of our farming operations. Pollination is essential for biodiversity, and many of the IPM practices are designed to protect pollinators. Without pollinators, numerous crops and plants would struggle to survive, leading to a decline in ecosystem diversity. By adopting these sustainable practices, North Bay Produce growers play an active role in preserving biodiversity and protecting environmental health.
In addition to IPM practices and organic certifications, a significant portion of the produce being grown is certified under a range of sustainable standards. These include, but are not limited to, GLOBAL G.A.P., GRASP, SPRING, LEAF Marque, and SMETA. These certifications help to ensure that sustainable practices are implemented, and each site is practicing environmentally safe and sustainable methods throughout our supply chain, allowing us to deliver healthy, safe, and responsibly produced food to consumers.
Packaging With A Purpose
At North Bay Produce, we are committed to implementing sustainable innovations throughout the supply chain when possible, including avoiding packaging materials that are deemed problematic or unnecessary and encouraging the use of recycled and reusable materials.
Problematic or unnecessary materials refer to those that can be eliminated, reused, or replaced to reduce consumption. This also includes items that, after use, either do not typically enter recycling or composting systems, or negatively impact these systems due to their format, composition, or size.
Recycled and reusable materials include materials such as pre- and post- consumer recycled (PCR) content. Pre-consumer recycled content refers to materials reclaimed from manufacturing waste, before they reach a consumer, while post-consumer recycled content is material that met the end of its initial intended use and was recycled into a new package or product. These materials typically require less energy and water during production and result in lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to virgin materials of the same type.
North Bay Produce is committed to reducing single-use plastic and enhancing the recyclability of our packaging throughout the supply chain. This commitment is evident through our participation in various industry groups, involvement in the Berry Sustainable Initiative and collaboration among academia, stakeholders and customers. North Bay Produce is committed to continually working towards implementing economically sustainable packaging solutions without compromising food safety and product quality, and without increasing the carbon footprint of the industry.
