2023 Winners

On June 7, 2023, R.E.A.CH. International held its annual Greenhouse Competitions including “The Hottest Tomato”,  “The Perfect Pepper”, “The Coolest Cucumber” and the “Best Berry” Competitions.  The awards ceremony was held at Kingsville Community Church on Friday, June 9^th and live streamed at greenhousecompetitions.com.  The winners received the coveted Greenhouse Competition ceramic cup trophies and, of course, the bragging rights as the best producers in North America. 

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This is the 16^th year for these unique competitions that have been running since 2007 to celebrate Essex County as the largest greenhouse industry in North America. And the charity which runs the annual event uses the proceeds from the competition to sponsor over 40 children in Uganda, Africa, annually.  These sponsorships give the children and teens food, school supplies, medicine, and everything else they need to get an education and break the cycle of poverty.

“The new chef’s choice awards are exciting”, says President of R.E.A.CH. International, Art Barron. “Chef Henry Furtado went through all the entries and chose some produce to inspire some appetizers that were served at the awards ceremony. He chose 8 products that were each awarded Chef’s Choice certificates.”

The Greenhouse Competitions, presented in part by farm sponsors SUNSET® /Mastronardi Produce Ltd. and Nature Fresh Farms, started on Wednesday, June 7^th with 183 entries delivered to Kingsville Community Centre. Entries were numbered and sorted by volunteers and then evaluated by expert judges from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), grocery store produce managers, and Culinary Guild of Windsor Chefs. They will judged entries with a specialized list of criteria developed by our Head Judge, Shalin Khosla.

“We are always thrilled to bring home awards for our greenhouse grown produce, and when it comes from your hometown, it is an even bigger honour,” said Paul Mastronardi, President & CEO of Mastronardi Produce Ltd. “These are world-class competitions set in a region with deep roots in greenhouse growing. The Mastronardi family is proud to participate in the Leamington Greenhouse Competitions and support R.E.A.C.H. International, a worthy cause. We have our whole team to thank for their uncompromising dedication to quality and flavor.” 

“We are always excited to be a part of this event,” says Matt Quiring, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Nature Fresh Farms. “It’s an incredible opportunity for our industry to come together to support a great cause and elevate the greenhouse industry.” 

And the 2023 Winners in the Greenhouse Capital of North America are:

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.  With no staff taking salaries, the charity is one of the very few that can guarantee that 100% of donated funds will be used for the intended purposes.