On March 31, a structure fire damaged a large portion of Rio Fresh’s onion packing facility in San Juan, Texas.
Rio Fresh Inc. is a third generation, family farming operation in South Texas. It grows, packs and ships a large variety of Texas-grown items including: Texas 1015 Sweet Onions, cabbage, kale, greens and melons.
The Rio Fresh Inc. family, from their offices in South Texas, shared the following statement regarding the news:
“Last night a massive fire overtook our onion packing facility. Our family and team are devastated over our loss, but we remain thankful.
“Our employees and family were able to evacuate the facility, and everyone made it out safely. We thank God for this tremendous blessing. First responders came from across the valley and showed up to help contain a fire that seemed to know no end. Thank you to these brave men and women who put their life on the line to do this critical work.
“We are especially grateful to our employees who showed up to help and support us. They stood by our side and worked tirelessly to help us salvage anything possible to minimize the damage. We would be nowhere without these faithful teammates, and we humbly thank them.
“Farming families are accustomed to storms and trials. At this time, our team is working with the community to identify continuation plans as we are still mid-season with a bountiful crop before us. We continually count our blessings and look forward to brighter days and better seasons. Trusting God, we will put one foot in front of the other to rebuild our business – always remembering how much we have to be thankful for.
“Please pray for our family and employees. God is good.”
For more information, visit riofresh.com.
The Texas International Produce Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, advocating, promoting, and representing the over $10 billion of fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown in Texas or consider Texas their first point of arrival for domestic distribution. TIPA was created in 1942 by a group of industry leaders who shared a vision to expand the region’s produce industry.
For more information, visit texipa.org.
