DS Smith supplies families 750,000 produce boxes

The regional distributor is using signature Greencoat packaging for USDA’s COVID-19 food relief program.

produce boxes

DS Smith

According to DS Smith, which is headquartered in London with North American headquarters in Atlanta, food banks and nonprofit organizations across South Carolina, George and Florida have received more than 385,000 containers of fruit and vegetables, shipped in 100 percent recyclable Greencoat boxes produced at the local DS Smith plant for Atlanta-based Collins Bros. Produce.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Collins Bros. Produce an $8 million contract under the Farmers-to-Families Food Box program, set up to help growers, distributors and others facing economic strain amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to DS Smith, a packaging company with sustainability at its core, it was seen as the ideal partner to provide its signature Greencoat boxes to support the program.

“With sustainability in mind, the USDA wanted to steer away from the use of traditional wax packaging which cannot be recycled and will ultimately end up in a landfill,” says David Collins, owner of Collins Bros. Produce. “Greencoat packaging is 100 percent recyclable and is the perfect solution for shipping the food boxes. It’s very effective at keeping moisture out and maintaining strength throughout the supply chain—a tough requirement in the Deep South.”

DS Smith says its Greencoat is a coated, water-resistant packaging solution that provides the same performance characteristics as wax boxes but is 100 percent recyclable. DS Smith claims Greencoat has completely changed the way cold and wet products are packed and shipped and is successfully used in the poultry, produce and seafood industries.   

DS Smith will have supplied more than 750,000 boxes to Collins Bros. Produce for the Farmers to Families program at the completion of phase 2 of the program, which began July 1. One Greencoat box, filled with a mix of apples, oranges, potatoes, onions, cabbage, zucchini, peaches and cucumbers, provides enough fruits and vegetables to feed a family of four for a week.

“DS Smith has always been an active community partner, and we’ve been able to provide sustainable, recyclable boxes to transport nutritious fruits and vegetables to our friends and neighbors in a time when they need it most,” says Troy Hagenbuch, Specialty Business Unit general manager at DS Smith North America. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been deemed an essential business, remaining operational and supporting our customers