Nearly four decades ago, a group of local farms started a company to wash, sort and package fresh potatoes harvested from their fields — keeping more of the dollars gained from the process at home.
“It allowed them to own a little bit more of that value chain,” Jason Allen CEO for Mart Produce said.
The Mart Group LLC, operating as Mart Produce, has 100 employees and is a supplier of high-quality potatoes to food service, the retail market and to local processors.
“The company washes, packs and sorts the potatoes that you see at the grocery store,” Allen said.
The business operates several potato storage sheds that allow it to stay in operation year round.
Mart Produce was originally founded in 1980 by two family farms, Hansen Farms and Circle D Farms, and now has other farms that supply potatoes for its sheds across the valley and into the Treasure Valley.
