Del Monte Farm and Cannery Tour

Had the best time visiting Del Monte farms and cannery in Modesto, CA last month. Had the privilege of meeting some of the Del Monte staff, their farmers along with touring the factory, peach and tomato farms with 5 other food bloggers from across the country. Del Monte delighted us with this refreshing Peach Sorbet to get our morning started.

Photo courtesy of Del Monte Foods

What a treat to tour the cannery where many of Del Monte’s fruit products are packaged and prepared for the shelves. Here’s a shot of the canned peaches almost done.

Photo courtesy of Del Monte Foods

The pears were as gorgeous as ever.

 Our fun Del Monte group from left to right:  Kelly, Julie, Ali, Robyn, Me and Gina.

I learned that nearly 90% of Del Monte fruit and vegetables are grown in the United States, in the best growing regions for a consistently quality product. 100% of Del Monte’s canned peaches & tomatoes are grown in the United States.

Del Monte picks their fruit, vegetables and tomatoes at the peak of ripeness, with the majority canned the same day they are picked to lock in nutrients and flavor. 98% of their canned fruit, vegetables and tomatoes are preservative free. According to Del Monte, fruits, vegetables, and tomatoes contain similar nutrients as fresh when prepared for the table. In some instances, such as peaches & tomatoes, the canned version may contain more antioxidants and vitamins than fresh as a result of the canning process.

The peach farmers and their sweet dog Cosmo told us all about the dedication and hard work that goes into maintaining beautiful peaches for Del Monte.

We got to pick peaches right off the tree. I found this very amusing apparently 🙂

We had a lovely Barbecue style lunch back at the Del Monte cannery. Gorgeous fruited water and centerpieces were on each table.

Friends and a beautiful lunch!

A glimpse at some of our lunch.

After lunch, it was off to the tomato farm. These are bright Roma-style tomatoes that were just about ready.

Colorful tomatoes for acres and acres.

Photo courtesy of Del Monte Foods

Julie and I picking tomatoes to take home.

Photo courtesy of Del Monte Foods

Bloggers with the tomato farmers. Fun afternoon.

What an absolute treat to meet these tomato farmers. They were some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. So generous and kind. Many of Del Monte’s farmers are third generation partners with Del Monte Foods, especially in fruit where several families have grown fruit for Del Monte for more than 70 years. These vegetable & tomato growers have been with Del Monte on average thirty years. I enjoyed visiting the Del Monte cannery in Modesto. It gave me new insight about how our fruits and vegetables are brought to us. Their fruits, vegetables and tomatoes are grown in excellent soil and packed at the peak of ripeness. Del Monte has been accomplishing this for over 100 years.