2016 Winners

Greenhouse Industry growers and marketers entered 159 entries into the competitions which celebrate Essex County as being the largest greenhouse industry in North America.

On June 17-19, 2016 at the Leamington Fair, R.E.A.CH. International hosted its 9th annual Greenhouse Competitions including “The Hottest Tomato” , “The Perfect Pepper” and “The Coolest Cucumber” Competitions. Greenhouse Industry growers and marketers entered 159 entries into the competitions which celebrate Essex County as being the largest greenhouse industry in North America.

These unique competitions, presented in part by Red Sun Farms, happen in two stages. First, on Friday evening, expert judges from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), grocery store produce managers, chefs and many others judged the entries with a specialized list of criteria. Second, throughout Friday and Saturday, the public voted for their favourite Tomato, Pepper and Cucumber for the “People’s Choice” awards. The “Kids’ Choice” awards had our eager younger audience vote for their favourite Tomato, Pepper and Cucumber as well. New to 2016, a double blind element was introduced to ensure that the official and people’s choice judging was being done without bias.

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

R.E.A.CH. International has already started planning special events for the 10th anniversary of the competitions next year.

The net proceeds from this event will be used for R.E.A.CH.’s main project in Uganda, Africa.

And the 2016 Winners in the Greenhouse Capital of North America are:

Coolest Cucumber Competition:

English Cucumbers

• 1st place Del Fresco Produce English Cucumber
• 2nd place Red Sun Farms English Cucumber
• 3rd place Mucci Farms English Cucumber

Mini Cucumbers

• 1st place Mucci Farms Mini Cuke
• 2nd place Del Fresco Produce Mini Cukes
• 3rd place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Mini Cukes

Cocktail Cucumbers

• 1st place Westmoreland / Topline Produce Cocktail Cuke
• 2nd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. One Sweet Cucumber
• 3rd place Double Diamond Cocktail Cukes

Kids’ Choice Cucumber: Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. English Cucumber
People’s Choice Cucumber: Mastronardi Produce Ltd. English Cucumber
Overall Best Cucumber: Del Fresco Produce English Cucumber

Hottest Tomato Competition

Beefsteak

• 1st place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Beefsteak
• 2nd place Nature Fresh Farms Beef 2
• 3rd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Slicer Beef

Cluster / T.O.V.

• 1st place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Cluster Tomatoes
• 2nd place Mucci Farms Cluster Tomatoes
• 3rd place Del Fresco Produce Cluster Tomatoes

Roma

• 1st place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Roma
• 2nd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Roma
• 3rd place Mucci Farms Roma

Cocktail

• 1st place Nature Fresh Farms Cocktail Tomato
• 2nd place Double Diamond Zebrino
• 3rd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Yelo

Specialty

• 1st place Lakeside Produce Blush
• 2nd place Nature Fresh Farms Pink Beef
• 3rd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. R-orange

Bite Size

• 1st place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Flavor Bomb
• 2nd place Mucci Farms 1 Bite
• 3rd place Lakeside Produce Babello

Kids’ Choice Tomato: Double Diamond Bramato
People’s Choice Tomato: Nature Fresh Farms Sunburst
Overall Best Tomato: Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Flavor Bomb

Perfect Pepper Competition

Red Bell

• 1st place Nature Fresh Farms Red Bell Pepper
• 2nd place Mucci Farms Red Bell Pepper
• 3rd place Orangeline Farms Zing! Red Bell

Yellow Bell

• 1st place Nature Fresh Farms Yellow Bell Pepper
• 2nd place Del Fresco Produce Yellow Bell Pepper
• 3rd place Orangeline Farms Zing! Yellow Bell

Orange Bell

• 1st place Orangeline Farms Zing! Orange Bell
• 2nd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Sweet Bell
• 3rd place Del Fresco Produce Orange Bell Pepper

Specialty Mini

• 1st place Orangeline Farms Zing! Special Mini Orange
• 2nd place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Aurora Bires
• 3rd place Del Fresco Produce Mini Sweets

Specialty Bell

• 1st place Orangeline Farms Zing! Brown Bell
• 2nd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Striped Bell
• 3rd place Nature Fresh Farms Flame Bell

Specialty Long

• 1st place Orangeline Farms Zing! Red Long
• 2nd place Mucci Farms Specialty Long Pepper
• 3rd place Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. Aurora Sweet

Specialty Hot

• 1st place Westmoreland / Topline Produce Specialty Hot Pepper
• 2nd place Mastronardi Produce Ltd. Ancient Hots
• 3rd place Amco Produce Inc. Specialty Hot Pepper

Kids’ Choice Pepper: Orangeline Farms Zing! Yellow Bell
People’s Choice Pepper: Mucci Farms Specialy Long
Overall Best Pepper: Westmoreland / Topline Produce Specialty Hot Pepper

The proceeds from last year’s competition raised enough money to sponsor over 50 children in Uganda, Africa.  The sponsorships give the children food, school supplies, medicine and everything else they need to get an education and break the cycle of poverty.

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.