SAN ANTONIO – NatureSweet Tomatoes is continually updating its policies and protocols as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic evolves.
The company is supporting its associates with daily health checks, providing personal protective equipment (PPE), and enhancing sanitation and socialization. Staff has also received special training, bonuses and thank you lunches (in accordance with social distancing guidelines) every Friday.
“A shared belief that our wellbeing is dependent upon our decisions and not our circumstances led to the mobilization and delivery of comfort, relief, and hope that it’ll all be OK in the form of small and delicious tomatoes, along with other medical equipment,” said Rodolfo Spielmann, president and chief executive officer of NatureSweet. “We’re doing everything we can to support our Associates and their families, and we’re prepared to take additional actions as needed. We hope the rest of the tomato industry – and the entire agriculture industry – joins us in raising up these workers who are the lifeforce of our global food system.”
NatureSweet is also giving staff members family safety kits with face masks, cleaning suppliers, soaps, disinfectants and a spray bottle, grocery packs and other family support, such as shipments of board games, to support staff and their families during this time.
The company has also donated over $5 million in product donations to food banks and indigenous community organizations in Atlanta and the Texas cities of Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo and San Antonio.