Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Rutti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?

We are lucky enough to be in a big Ag state, so a lot of our local farm partnerships have been in place for multiple generations.

However, as the Food Scene in our delivery area continues to evolve, we needed to start exploring additional avenues to source products that were a bit more elusive in our growing region.

We were approached by Baldor Foods (based out of NY) in our search and are now their sole area partner in the Triangle. They boast a diverse product line which allows us access to items we were hard pressed to source in the past, which in turn helps us offer these items to our local chefs. It’s so rewarding being able to allow them access to these specialty items which enable them to innovate on the same level as restaurants all across the U.S. and beyond.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was pretty much born into this job! I’m the 4th generation of our family business and was born at 4am (the time our office team usually starts arriving for the day) in the year 1991 (the year we relocated to the State Farmers Market!). It was pretty much inevitable that I would end up working at Wards.

My family business is Ward’s Fruit and Produce and we are a wholesale produce distributor. Essentially, we source products from farmers and vendors and transport them to our clients – restaurants, retirement homes, school systems, country clubs, hotels, and more.

In a world where big “one stop shop” trucks are working everyday to eclipse us and other wholesale vendors like us, what sets us apart is our commitment to providing exceptional service. We have worked with several of our customers for over a decade, and are lucky enough to have many on our team who have been with us just as long as well. We are committed to forming partnerships with our customers – making sure that we are able to keep an open dialogue to help support their needs and make their job easier, not harder. It has been an especially tough few years for hospitality and we know that our role as a vendor is to be someone they can rely on to deliver.

My favorite part of my job specifically is working with chefs to help design seasonal menus that help spotlight local, seasnoal produce. There’s nothing more rewarding (to me and my tastebuds!) than to be able to try our products prepared in the most delicious and unique ways at local restaurants. I’m so inspired by the creativity and talent of the chefs I am lucky enough to work with, and truly proud of the food scene we are all cultivating in the Triangle.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Ward’s has been around for nearly 90 years, and the time we have struggled the most was without a doubt the pandemic. All of our restaurant customers were struggling to figure out how to operate, our school customers were closed, and here we were: with a warehouse full of produce and a team that still wanted to show up everyday. We closed for a week, for the first time in our history, while we tried to plan what our next step would be.

When the USDA unveiled the Farmers to Families Foodbox program we knew this would be our chance to help salvage not only our business, but our entire supply chain. We were able to source approximately 10 million pounds of fresh produce from over 20,000 acres of American Farmland which we delivered directly to dozens of nonprofits across North Carolina, using our own employees and fleet of box trucks. This enabled us to help allocate the produce our farmers were harvesting into the hands of those who needed it the most, while also being able to keep our team working and providing for their families.

Making that pivot was challenging and I still can’t quite believe we were able to get that program up and running for months. One of the biggest advantage of being a small, family owned business is that we are scrappy and willing to put in the extra elbow grease to get things done – and I am so proud of our team for that! Without that program, I’m not sure what business would look like for us today two and a half years later.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

One big advantage to being in the industry as long as we have been is that there is a loyal community of chefs and restaurant industry people who are “Team Wards”. Through years of dedicated customer service we have a basis of people who will take us with them whatever kitchen they end up in.

Their willingness to do so is largely based upon our team, specifically our drivers, who have earned and maintained their trust day in and day out by delivering quality products on time with a good attitude. We couldn’t do what we do without them!

I think being a family owned business (and a woman owned one at that) has also helped us create a brand identity that people want to root for and get behind. I just had my first child, a daughter named Joey, and we are already joking with customers that she’s our 5th generation.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.wardproduce.com/
• Instagram: wardsproduce

Image Credits
Jacki Ostrowka – portrait of Jessica instagram – @jackiophotography Tatum Williams – portrait of Jessica and Joey instagram – @tatumbrielephoto