Salinas, CA: John D’Arrigo, CEO/President and Chairman of the Board for D’Arrigo California is partnering with the Grower Shipper Association (GSA) Foundation/Ag Against Hunger to create an ag industry-designated charitable giving opportunity. Our goal is to help individuals and families in our communities who are struggling from food insecurity and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grower-Shipper member, John D’Arrigo, kicked off the AG Challenge effort with generous pledges of $10K to support the Food Bank for Monterey County and $10K to support Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.
“When I saw the Food Bank for Monterey County feature on the news, I realized how difficult things are right now for them and it really got me thinking. How can I help these two organizations continue to fulfill their mission of providing fresh fruit and vegetables to individuals in need? So, I thought of the Ag Challenge,” said D’Arrigo.
As a grower, packer and shipper of fresh fruit and vegetables, D’Arrigo CA is fully operational with their employees working at the headquarters, shipping facility and fields. Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos, Director of Marketing and Culinary states, “we do not want the coronavirus to keep individuals from consuming fresh fruit and vegetables as no research or cases have shown COVID-19 to be transmitted via food, including fresh produce. With the shelter-in-place mandate, it is our goal to support food service agencies that provide and deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to boost the immune systems of children, families and elderly as we combat this dreadful virus.”
The Ag Challenge will provide necessary funding to the Food Bank for Monterey County and Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley during this pandemic. If you would like to be part of this extraordinary effort to address community needs due to COVID-19, please contact Chris Valadez President, Grower Shipper-Association or Abby Taylor-Silva, Vice President, Grower-Shipper Association Policy and Communications.
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About D’Arrigo California
From the day the company was founded in 1920 by Stefano and Andrea D’Arrigo, two immigrants from Messina, Sicily, innovation has been its hallmark. D’Arrigo California offers strategies and solutions to its customers in everything from seed research and development, food safety and sustainability, to entirely new approaches to packaging, harvesting and shipping. The company’s brand, Andy Boy, is known for signature products like broccoli rabe, fennel and romaine hearts. D’Arrigo California grows not only conventional and organic products year-round, but also provides services that include cross docking, consolidation, custom growing and commercial cooling.
