The family behind America's first fair trade certified farm

For Tucson shoppers, the tomatoes available at grocery chains such as Fry’s Food Stores, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods, Walmart and Sam’s Club can carry a story that reaches far beyond the produce aisle. They may come from Wholesum Family Farms in Santa Cruz County, an Arizona operation that has been growing tomatoes for almost 100 years. In 2012, the family farm became the first farm in the United States to receive fair trade certification, creating a system intended to give workers a direct say in how additional money from sales is used.

The farm’s history began in 1928, when Ricardo Crisantes’ grandfather, a Greek immigrant, arrived in Mexico and entered agriculture almost by chance. The family initially considered growing chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, but that plan did not succeed. A fellow Greek immigrant suggested winter tomatoes instead, telling him the crop could be a strong business. That recommendation set the family on a path that would continue through four generations.

Crisantes’ father and uncles took over the business during the 1960s. Crisantes and his brothers joined the operation in the 1990s, becoming the third generation to run the family enterprise. The business has continued to center on tomatoes, while its growing methods have changed substantially from those used by the founder. Today, Wholesum relies heavily on greenhouse technology to manage temperatures, limit pests and keep production more consistent.

The family is also examining newer tools, including cameras powered by artificial intelligence that could identify pest problems sooner. Even with those technological changes, Crisantes says the company’s basic expectations have stayed the same. He describes integrity as one of Wholesum’s guiding principles, connecting the family name to every product it sells. In his view, signing a check and putting his name on it represents a promise about the quality and experience associated with the farm’s tomatoes.

That approach helped lead the company toward fair trade certification. Wholesum contacted Fairtrade USA and volunteered to serve as a test case for a farm in the United States. The decision involved a risk because certification came before the farm knew whether it would be able to sell a single box under the new designation. The company had to make operational changes and wait through an uncertain period before approval arrived.

Once certification was granted in 2012, the sales team had to begin finding customers for the newly certified tomatoes. The central feature of the program is a premium attached to each box sold. That money does not go to the farm’s owners. Instead, it is reserved for workers, who determine which needs should receive support through a fair trade committee.

The system has been used for practical expenses that affect employees’ daily lives. Many workers commute from nearby communities, including Nogales, and the cost of gasoline can create a significant burden. Workers used fair trade premium funds to help pay for vans that transport employees to and from the farm. The money has also helped address health care expenses, covering some costs workers pay themselves beyond the benefits already provided by the company.

That arrangement gives employees control over decisions that otherwise might be made by management. Rather than having the ownership determine what workers need, the fair trade structure allows employees to identify their own priorities and direct the premium toward those concerns. For a farm employing people who travel to work and manage health care costs, transportation and medical expenses became early examples of how certification could produce concrete benefits.

Wholesum’s tomatoes are now distributed through several major retailers, including the grocery and warehouse chains used by shoppers across Southern Arizona. The company is looking ahead to more snack-oriented tomato products aimed at consumers seeking organic and healthy options. Still, Crisantes describes the farm’s most important future goal in terms of family continuity rather than product expansion. After nearly a century of production, he believes the model should be able to continue into a fourth generation, benefiting not only the owners but also employees and the environment around the farm.

The story gives Tucson residents a connection to a nearby agricultural operation whose products may already be part of their regular shopping trips. It also shows how a family business can combine greenhouse technology and possible artificial intelligence tools with a worker-focused certification program. Wholesum began with a risky suggestion about winter tomatoes, grew across three generations and made national history by putting workers in charge of a portion of the money generated by the farm’s sales. Its next chapter will depend on whether that balance among family ownership, employees and environmental responsibility can continue as the business evolves.