A San Luis Potosí greenhouse grower will donate between five and six tonnes of fresh produce per week to families struggling to make ends meet due to the restrictions put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The company Invernaderos Potosinos will deliver the produce – mainly tomatoes – over the next 1 1/2 months to the state capital’s DIF family services agency, which will then distribute it to needy families.

After touring the company’s greenhouses with San Luis Potosí Mayor Xavier Nava Palacios, his wife and local DIF president Nancy Puente Orozco and municipal social development director Óscar Valle Portilla, CEO Juan Ariel Reyes Rábago said that Invernaderos Potosinos wanted to support the local government’s programs that seek to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

“We decided to cooperate with the municipal government because we know that … good use will be made of these donations … that they will reach their final destination, … families that really need them,” he said.

Both Nava and Puente thanked the company for its support, the latter highlighting that authorities in the state capital are not only doing all they can to stop the spread of Covid-19 but also looking out for families in a precarious situation due to the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.

There were 47 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the state of San Luis Potosí as of Thursday and four coronavirus-related deaths.

The greenhouse growers’ initiative will no doubt be welcomed by those who have lost their incomes or seen them drastically reduced as a result of the government’s suspension of nonessential activities.

Founded in 2007, Invernaderos Potosinos offices are in San Luis Potosí but its greenhouses are located in the neighboring state of Guanajuato.

The company harvests between 140 and 150 tonnes of produce per week, shipping 60% to the United States and the other 40% to Canada. It employs 260 people on a permanent basis and 100 more during busy periods.

Source: El Economista (sp)