2019 Winners

Greenhouse Competitions Bring Hope to Uganda

On June 14-16, 2019 at the Leamington Fair, R.E.A.CH. International hosted its 12th annual Greenhouse Competitions including “The Hottest Tomato”,  “The Perfect Pepper”, “The Coolest Cucumber” and the “Sweetest Strawberry” Competitions. Greenhouse Industry growers and marketers entered their premium produce into the competitions which celebrate Essex County as being the largest greenhouse industry in North America. The proceeds from the competition raises enough money to sponsor over 50 children in Uganda, Africa annually.  The sponsorships give the children food, school supplies, medicine and everything else they need to get an education and break the cycle of poverty.

You wouldn’t naturally associate greenhouses with international child sponsorships but that’s exactly what’s happened.  R.E.A.CH. International, the Canadian registered child-sponsorship charity, run completely by local volunteers, has been hosting an annual event that both celebrates our local Greenhouse Fame while sponsoring some of the poorest children and families in the world.  

These unique competitions, presented in part by Nature Fresh Farms, Red Sun Farms. QU Truck Bodies and UCB Canada, happen in two stages.  First, on Friday evening, expert judges from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), grocery store produce managers, Culinary Guild of Windsor Chefs, and many others, judge entries with a specialized list of criteria. Second, throughout Friday and Saturday, we poled the public for their favourite Tomato, Pepper, Cucumber and Strawberry for the “People’s Choice” awards. Our “Kids’ Choice” voters were especially excited about the Strawberry category!

The Awards Ceremony, held on Saturday evening, awarded beautiful crystal trophies and bragging rights to all the best producers in North America.  


And the 2019 Winners in the Greenhouse Capital of North America are:

R.E.A.CH. is a small charity run entirely by local volunteers. This small but mighty group has raised several thousands of dollars to build schools & clinics, create clean water sources, and sponsor and care for impoverished children in Uganda, Africa. Their unique program guarantees that 100% of child-sponsorship dollars goes to help the children. Separate fundraisers, such as this one, raise money for operating expenses. Since we’re all volunteers, our expenses are very low. Whatever we raise beyond those expenses also goes to our humanitarian projects.