Packing facility tour highlights NJ peach harvest
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher visited Eastern Pro Pak, Glassboro, N.J., recently to highlight Jersey Fresh peaches.
In 2017, New Jersey’s peach harvest was valued at $44 million, second only to California’s $371.6 million value crop, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s harvest lasts through the end of September, and projections put this season’s production at about 64 million pounds, about eight million pounds more than last season.
Eastern Pro Pak completed a 70,000-square-foot expansion this spring, and the company has a two-lane tunnel connecting the expansion to the previous 100,000 square feet at the facility, according to a news release. The Jersey Fruit Co-op supplies Eastern Pro Pak.
“The amount of Jersey Fresh peaches that flow through here demonstrates the peach production that takes place in the Garden State,” Fisher said in the release. “Facilities like this give consumers all along the East Coast and Canada the opportunity to enjoy our super-delicious peaches.”
Eastern Pro Pak General Manager Jeff Danner said the expansion was a necessary project.
“It’s already paying dividends with the amount of produce that we can distribute in a short amount of time,” Danner said in the release.
