In 1985, Reynaldo and Martha Calderon, working out of big box body truck, picked tomatoes, peppers, and other produce from different farmers and sold their product at the local farmers market at wholesale prices, this was the first incarnation of Calderon Produce, Inc. Over a twenty-year span, their business evolved from a simple box truck operation to the family growing, harvesting, and packing their own produce. In 2010, Calderon Produce was incorporated.
Calderon Produce, Inc. is now based in North Carolina, where the family grows tomatoes and peppers, poblanos, bell, and jalapenos. The 100-acre operation spans Lincoln and Catawba Counties.
Reynaldo and Martha have successfully farmed tomatoes and peppers for over twenty years. They have been able to pull themselves from the poverty of Mexico, to the realization of the American Dream as American Citizens. As immigrants, they had nothing in the way of monetary resources when they first came to this country, but in the favorable American environment Martha and Rey were able to utilize their own personal resources—intelligence, ambition, work ethic—to their utmost advantage. The culmination of Rey and Martha’s professional work to date is embodied in the founding and growth of their business, Calderon Produce Inc. The Calderon family has lived the American Dream.