Zephyr Zoidis@zephzoid
Del Monte just closed one of it’s final canneries and it’s leaving fruit growers in crisis.
Their U.S. canned fruit business has collapsed following a 2025 bankruptcy.
As part of the restructuring, the company is shutting down its remaining California canning plants, including in Modesto, CA.
The Modesto cannery closure will eliminate ~1,800 workers, showing just how fragile the industrial food system is.
Where does these farmers and supply chain workers go?
It shows the dangers that come with a food system so reliant on middlemen.
Every dollar you spend at the grocery store, the farmer gets on average 11.8 cents.
And that’s not even including their costs…they really only keep 5.8 cents.
Everything else goes to the corporate entities like Del Monte…and when they collapse it endangers everything.
Imagine if we properly connected with our farmer directly and gave them the full dollar?
Immediately massive corporations, processors, and retailers would crumble because they pray on a consolidated system that pressures growers into accepting the lowest possible prices.
When you’ve already built the corporate engine, that’s the easy part.
But local food systems can without a doubt dismantle this entire system.
Recognize the current ones fragility and help build a better one by visiting your local farmers market or with the Localize - Farmers Market app.
