Virginia Produce to add equivalent of 75 full-time jobs

Published September 25, 2013 by Jessica Sabbath

Agricultural produce wholesale Virginia Produce Company plans to grown its Hillsville operation facility and create 75 new full-time equivalent jobs.

Over the three-year expansion, Virginia Produce will spend more than $2.54 million in capital investment and purchase an additional $12 million of Virginia grown produce from Virginia farms.

Many of the new jobs will be held by disabled Virginians. Virginia Produce plans to hire 75 packing line workers, or 50 full-time equivalent positions, from the Mouth Rogers Industrial and Developmental Center, which trains and employs disabled Virginians. The company will also add 25 full-time positions.

Virginia Produce sorts, processes, packages and distributes a variety of Virginia grown produce such as tomatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn, squash and broccoli from a 30,000-square-foot facility in Carroll County.

The expansion will include the purchase of a 138,000-square-foot facility, increasing its capacity for current products and allowing for expansion into new produce markets.
 
The company has committed to purchasing 50 percent of its increased produce demand from Virginian farmers.

Virginia Produce works directly with growers through a farm-management program, helping farmers meet market demands. The program currently includes 20 Virginia growers and 1,800 acres with produce being sold into local and regional markets. Under its expansion, the company plans to grow its farm management program.

Gov. Bob McDonnell approved a $200,000 matching grant from the Governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund to assist Carroll with the project. The project is receiving additional assistance through the Tobacco Commission’s Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund, the State's Enterprise Zone Program and through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program.