Rice Fruit Co. celebrates 110 years

Biglerville, Pa.-based Rice Fruit Co. is celebrating 110 years in 2023, but the history of the Rice family in the region goes back even further.

Daniel Rice, a young German immigrant, arrived in Adams County, Penn., in the 1790s, according to a company news release.

Rice and his descendants farmed many crops. Eventually, the family’s long line of growers realized that the microclimates of the easternmost ridge of the Appalachians were perfect for cultivating apples, the company recounts in the release.

In 1913, Arthur Rice built the company’s first fruit packing house in Biglerville, the release said.

In the more than 100 years that Rice Fruit Co. has been in business, the company and its leaders have grown some of the best apples on the East Coast and embraced innovation in packing and shipping apples, the release said.

In the past 10 years, Rice Fruit has also committed to environmental protection and sustainability in its business, the release said. Beginning first with a green roof on a controlled-atmosphere storage building, then solar panels, the company recently began a pilot project featuring a pollinator garden behind the packing facility, according to the release.

Protecting the environment and nurturing the habitats of pollinator insects is paramount in a business that directly relies on pollination of their crop for a successful season, company President Ben Rice said in the release.

“When we take the thoughtful and necessary steps to ensure our local ecosystems, we are laying the groundwork for the success of our future generations,” Rice said in the release. “Our 200th birthday is just 90 years away.”   

More information about Rice Fruit Co. and its 110th-anniversary celebrations is available through its website, with updates on its  LinkedIn page.