Driscoll's

History

The company was founded in 1904, when Joseph "Ed" Reiter and R.O. Driscoll began producing Sweet Briar strawberries in California's Pajaro Valley.

Following World War II, Driscoll's recruited Japanese-American former prisoners upon their release from the internment camps to become sharecroppers for the company.

In 2008 Driscoll's was one of the first two California growers to legally ship strawberries to the People's Republic of China under a program negotiated by then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2008 the company was also named "business of the year" by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.

As of 2014, Driscoll's supports the Indigenous Interpreting+ program at Natividad Medical Center, Salinas, California, which provides medical interpreters for speakers of indigenous languages such as Zapotec, Mixteco, and Triqui.

In 2015, Driscoll's announced its involvement in “Connect the Drops,” a campaign that combines the voices of diverse companies into a single call to action demanding bolder water management policies and solutions for California.

Labor Issues

Driscoll's has been the subject of numerous strikes and boycotts in recent years over labor practices at its supplying farms. In March, 2016, workers held a binational demonstration at the US-Mexico border, complaining that their treatment and pay has not improved despite promises made after strikes and boycotts in 2015, and what they claim are grave human rights abuses violations supported by large fruit suppliers such as Driscoll’s and Sakuma (one of Driscoll's suppliers). From 2013 to 2015, Sakuma fought and eventually lost a court action requiring it to give its workers paid rest breaks as required by Washington law. Workers at the Washington Sakuma farms continued calling for a boycott until September 2016, when an agreement for elections and negotiations was finally reached. However, the boycott of Driscoll's continues over labor practices in Baja California (where workers are seeking a wage of thirteen dollars a day)

The call for a boycott has not been affected by Driscoll's announced adoption, in 2015, of global Worker Welfare standards for their independent growers and public commitment to farmworker improvements with third-party audits and assessments. The Worker Welfare Standards are based on the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions, Global Social Compliance Program (GSCP) Standards, Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Standards and a collaborative review of agriculture-specific standards from several non-governmental organizations.

In 2016 Driscoll’s announced a pilot program with Fair Trade USA to initially bring to market Fair Trade Certified organic strawberries and organic raspberries that are grown in Baja, Mexico.

By 2016, Driscoll's was working with Spanish technology company Agrobot to develop a robot that would do strawberry picking.

Products

Driscoll's contracts with various growers to produce strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, both red and yellow. The berries, available in either organic or non-organic varieties, are packed in the field as they are harvested. The company has fields in California, Florida, Mexico, and Australia. The company's organic berries are certified organic by the USDA.

Driscoll's follows Good Agricultural Practices for food safety, which are enforced at all contracting growers' farms, cooling and distribution facilities such as their Santa Maria, California Distribution Facility. They also have a distribution facility in Dover, Florida.

Driscoll’s recently announced an advancement in organic berries which furthers their market leadership in continuously improving organic production practices. Currently, Driscoll’s maintains the only organic strawberry nursery certified by CCOF, the nation’s oldest and largest third-party certifying agency. There are no other known commercial organic strawberry start nurseries certified under the USDA National Organic Program.