Sustainability & Responsiblity
Environmental Sustainability
We see sustainability as our compass for better food production and better business. All of the fruit that we dry is grown in the United States, mostly from California and in some cases, the Pacific Northwest. We strive to source the most local fruit possible, in an effort to strengthen our local and state economies, support family farmers, and reduce our carbon footprint. Most of the fruit we source is grown within a 100 mile radius of our facility, right in the heart of the world’s “fruit basket”, and home of the finest abundance of fruit varieties.
Over 95% of all waste at our production facility is recycled or upcycled. The by-products of our finished goods go toward either livestock feed or compost, and all of our used packaging material is recycled.
Our facility’s electricity is served by the Turlock Irrigation District (TID), a vertically integrated, customer-owned utility. TID has a diverse portfolio of generation assets, including wind, solar, geothermal, large hydro, small hydro, and two state of the art combustion turbine plants providing local reliability. In 2017, TID’s retail electric portfolio was 51 percent carbon-free. TID supports the state’s climate policies and is on track to meet the ambitious goal of a 100% carbon-free retail electric grid by 2045.
Having roots in the farming and fruit growing industry, we are acutely aware of the continuous learning, improvement, and collaboration that goes into providing the freshest, most abundant food supply on the planet. The community of American fruit growers is a highly educated and advanced sector of the agricultural industry, and with that comes a deep social and environmental awareness. As environmental stewards, fruit growers are on a never-ending quest to protect our precious land and resources while supplying the most exquisite produce in the world and nurturing and protecting sustainable agriculture for future generations.
An example of this would be the utilization of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) in farming practices. The methods of IPM require an understanding of population ecology and biology of the pest in developing a “management strategy”; thus, the judicious use of a variety of methods to accomplish a desired result without damaging the environment. An important aspect of this is biological control, which is focused on the use of predators and parasitoids (i.e., parasites of insects) to control another organism which would otherwise cause damage to the fruit.
Our goal as a food producer is to provide the purest possible products to our customers that are of the utmost quality and defect-free, while working in harmony with nature. We are continually improving our processes in order to work toward achieving this every single day.
Community Mindedness and Social Responsibility
Sustainable agriculture and food production depend upon vibrant and healthy people. We treat our neighbors, our team members, and our community as an extension of our Bella Viva family.
Translated from Italian, Bella Viva means “Beautiful Living”. Our company name embodies our wish for all we serve: our customers, consumers, team members, and the community at large. We strive to have a positive economic impact on the local community.
Bella Viva Orchards donates to nearly 100 charitable organizations annually, many of which are within our local community - but we don’t stop there. We believe that our ability to have an impact through our nutrient dense products goes beyond our walls and our borders toward a deeper understanding of our shared humanity. That is why we also partner with organizations responding to humanitarian needs and crises such as famine and natural disasters in approximately 40 nations. Over the last 10 years, we have had the opportunity to donate over 4 million servings of dried fruit all over the world, with the intention of bettering lives of those within our human family through healthy nourishment.