Garden Fresh Foods was established as a Washington State corporation on August 26, 1987. Located in Woodinville, the founders, Jim Dugdale and Steve McFarland, were driven by the idea of supplying the Pacific Northwest foodservice industry and fresh food processors with an alternative source of value-added vegetable and potato products. A commitment to excellence, strong financial position, ability to deliver as promised and most importantly the desire to set the industry standard in customer satisfaction has caused Garden Fresh Foods to become the leading supplier of fresh-cut produce in the Northwest.

Ownership

Garden Fresh Foods became an employee-owned (ESOP) company on February 7, 1997, providing a means for all 80 active employees to contribute as shareholders. The strength of the management team stems from 100 years of combined fresh-cut experience in Production, Sales, Customer Relations, Quality Assurance, Sanitation, Administration, and Purchasing. Steve McFarland, President, and Mark Dugdale, Vice President, currently serve as principle owners, sharing equally in the day-to-day operation and direction of the company.

Facility

The Garden Fresh Foods two processing facilities cover a total of 31,923 square feet, with options for future expansion of an additional 22,052 square feet. Refrigerated storage and processing areas total 8,000 square feet, with an investment in excess of 3 million dollars in equipment and coolers. The state-of-the-art hydro-cooling wash system pre-chills all processing water to 36 degrees, ensuring product freshness. Consistent with our commitment to maintaining the cold chain and product freshness, our fleet of 8 temperature-controlled vehicles provides just-in-time deliveries 7 days per week.

Quality Assurance

Garden Fresh Foods Quality Assurance Program starts through a partnership with our suppliers to ensure raw materials meet agreed upon specifications. All produce is processed in accordance with tight quality standards and in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices. Through a comprehensive training program, each employee takes ownership of their checks and monitoring procedures. Garden Fresh Foods HACCP plan and supporting prerequisite programs ensures food safety integrates all disciplines of the plant starting with purchasing, continuing through receiving, quality assurance, production, sanitation and delivery of the finished product.

Affiliations & Achievements

Garden Fresh Foods is a member of the Blue Book and a charter member of the (IFPA) International Fresh-Cut Produce Association. Not only the largest fresh-cut processor in the Puget Sound area, we were voted Fresh-Cut Supplier of the Year in the last four out of five years. Garden Fresh Foods consistently receives the highest ratings from the Washington State Department of Agriculture and on sanitary inspections conducted by the United States Military.

Commitment to Customers

Garden Fresh Foods is out to set the industry standard in customer satisfaction through effective: communication - identifying and understanding your needs to come to an agreement on what we will do to fulfill them, performance - delivering what we promise, follow-up - keeping in touch to determine if we are meeting the agreed upon expectations, responsiveness - being flexible to your changing needs and going beyond policy when appropriate, and evaluation - conducting formal customer surveys to measure your satisfaction. Our commitment to you is not only superior fresh-cut produce, but also as partners to provide solutions to problems that will save you time and money.

A Word to Our End User Partners

Our pricing philosophy will help you keep a handle on your foods costs. We set our prices on an annual basis and do not deviate, unless severe weather disrupts market conditions for an extended time. We take the peaks and valleys out of the constantly moving produce prices so you will know your costs at any given time or season. This will allow you to make accurate projections on your end. Fresh-cut produce will benefit your labor situation, too. Our buying power allows us to purchase in cost-effective quantities and our state of the art machinery allows us to process very efficiently. Our pricing reflects this and will save you money.