History
Four Seasons Produce, founded in 1976, is a family-owned company with a history of bringing fresh produce to market for generations. Founder David Hollinger shared his father’s passion of growing vegetables and spent many years working with his family farmer’s market as well as attending regional auctions and orchards to buy produce for the family business. After several years volunteering at a farmer’s coop in Mississippi, David returned to Denver, Pennsylvania and purchased a 5,000 sq ft building in order to kickstart a business that has now served restaurants, farmer’s markets, and grocery stores for several decades. Having begun their Certified Organic Produce Program as early as 1996, Four Seasons has been at the forefront of sustainability standards in produce sourcing and distribution for nearly 30 years – as of 2014 over 50% of their sales come from the organic produce market!
Products and Services
Four Seasons specializes in warehouse and large-volume produce deliveries to national and regional chain stores, wholesalers, processors, and other professional produce buyers all across the East Coast. With locally grown programs as well as private-label/custom packages on offer, Four Seasons is prepared to tailor their services toward customer demand in order to enhance our local and regional food systems. Located in the heart of Lancaster County, Four Seasons partners with local growers during peak seasons to bolster their inventory with quality produce as well as significantly reduce their food mileage. Much of their service revolves around local independent and specialized retailers and they demonstrate that commitment by providing a wide range of seasonal, local, organic, and conventional produce year round. Four Seasons has always been intent on improving their sustainability metrics. Their range of outside certifications and partnerships, as well as scalable results over the years, offer customers an insight into what defines a sustainable business model in a local setting but with a variety of customers across the region.
2022 sustainability report
According to their 2022 Sustainability Report here is what Four Seasons accomplished over the course of the past decade:
- 52% reduction in annual water usage from 2008 (1.6 million gallons)
- 56% reduction in annual natural gas usage (EPA certified 2MW Caterpillar Natural Gas Generator helps to facilitate reduction in energy use)
- 20% reduction in electric usage, 41% reduction in electric costs
- 21% reduction in fleet mileage over the last decade (1.2 million miles) – joined EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership
- 130K sq ft cold storage warehouse expansion with steel structure designed for solar array
- 8.1 million lbs. of waste recycled or produced into energy (93% diversion rate in 2021) – joined EPA WasteWise recycling program
- over 100K cases of produce donated to local food banks
- partnered with the EPA, PASA, and other prominent organizations dedicated to managing sustainability standards in Pennsylvania for many years
Come shop at the Swarthmore Coop and support Four Seasons in their quest to provide exceptional produce with minimal environmental harm, we offer their products year-round in our produce department!
About the Author
Vlad Stefanovich graduated from Penn State University with a BS in Agricultural Science as well as Minors in Plant Pathology and International Agriculture. He has passions for regenerative crop production techniques and soil conservation, curating fair local markets and resilient food economies, and developing long-term solutions for all aspects of food production. Vlad has dedicated himself to enhancing the Co-Op’s sustainability and also researching how our core vendors marry amazing food with sustainable practices. Vlad’s goal in these vendor profiles is to educate our customers on all aspects of sustainable food—from farm to table.
