Pallets freshen up a farmer’s sustainability score

There’s something copacetic about a farmer using sustainable packaging to ship from farm to grocer. Better yet, it makes business sense, too, especially when harvest times arrive at their own sweet time.

Frey Farms is the largest pumpkin grower in America and the second-largest watermelon producer on the East Coast.

Tony Phillips, chief operations officer at Frey:

“We have 12,000 to 15,000 acres of produce grown annually in seven states. It’s hard to predict exact harvest dates, and navigate equipment, personnel and harvesters. On the first day of the cut, we need to be ready.”

Furthermore, Phillips says his company is dedicated to using resources wisely while growing and delivering fresh, safe, delicious food with a nod to sustainability in its farming operations.

For the last seven years, Frey has used a pallet pool of reusable pallets (CHEP). Before harvest, “we estimate how many pallets we’ll need, and get them on site, so we’re ready to go. There are no more ‘uh-oh’ moments when we don’t have the pallets needed,” explains Phillips.

To ensure pallet availability, eradicate empty miles and improve sustainability, Frey stages approximately 50,000 pallets at three farms in Florida. The pallets are part of a shared and reused pallet recycling system.

It ensures pallets are reused multiple times, maximizing sustainability. In addition, the pallet management solution generates transportation efficiencies that reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact.

Phillips notes that traditionally, grocers insisted that farms “have quality and safety to be in the game. Over the last five years, sustainable has become the third key element. You have to create a company that’s environmentally friendly, and you have to be able to track it.”

He says the system ensures “we have the pallet quality we need for food safety and our sustainability score. Reusable pallets enhance our ability to satisfy retailer concerns.”

Since starting with pooled pallets seven years ago, Frey has used more than 1.5 million of them and notched three key sustainability savings:

• Removed more than 650,000 pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, equivalent to planting and growing more than 7,650 trees for 10 years;

• Eliminated nearly 862,000 pounds of solid waste from landfills; and

• Saved more than 18,600 MBTUs of energy, equivalent to the power needed for 525 homes in one year.

Beyond sustainability, pooled pallets have reduced the cost of pallet use as it ensures enough pallets are in the right place before harvest time. Additional savings accrue with a per-pallet-stored incentive paid by the pallet supplier.

As Phillips explains, the farms are ready to go whenever harvest time arrives and delivers to stores in an economical and sustainable manner.