How to Choose the Right Organic Produce Supplier for Your Office

Choosing a new vendor for your office break room is always tricky. How do you find the perfect match that ups your snack game and boosts employee satisfaction? It helps to do your research first, especially if you’re on the hunt for an organic produce supplier that will bring fresh fruit and vegetables to your workplace.

To help you choose a reliable and authentic vendor, we spoke to experts from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). Before we get into their top tips, here’s a quick look at what they do.

Meet the Experts: The USDA and CCOF

So, who decides what’s “organic?” That’s the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). It makes the rules, from what pesticides farmers can spray in their fields to the cleaning chemicals vendors are allowed to use in their warehouses. It also authorizes and oversees third-party organizations—called accredited certifying agents or certifiers—that go into the field to check if farms and vendors meet the USDA’s organic standards. CCOF is one of those certifiers. If CCOF or another certifying agent determines that a farm or vendor meets the USDA’s requirements, it can earn official certification.

Now that you know the basics, let’s get into our experts’ top three tips for choosing the right organic produce supplier.

1. Make Sure They’re Certified Organic

Organic certification is a big deal because it’s such a challenge to earn. Before CCOF gives an organic produce supplier permission to use its logo and the USDA organic seal, it digs deep into the vendor’s supply chain.

“We do really extensive traceability on every fruit or vegetable or whatever the product is. If it’s a food product like a soup, we will verify every little ingredient that goes into that soup so that you have full transparency. You can trace the product back to its source, and you know exactly how it was grown,” CCOF Policy Manager Laetitia Benador told The FruitGuys.

CCOF also checks that vendors follow organic practices in their facilities, like cleaning with organic products and switching gloves between handling conventional and organic produce.

To check a vendor’s certification status, review its website and/or marketing materials and look for the USDA Organic seal or the logo of a certifier like CCOF. If you see one or both of those symbols, that means the vendor is truly following organic practices.

“Only certified organic operations can supply USDA-certified organic products. Therefore, organic certification is the only way to ensure you’re receiving organic produce,” a USDA spokesperson told The FruitGuys.

2. Confirm the Certification is Legitimate

Looking for the USDA organic seal is a great starting point. But how do you make sure the vendor truly earned it, and didn’t just copy it from the internet? That’s where the USDA comes back into play. To double-check that a supplier is truly organic, you can visit its Organic Integrity Database. It lists every supplier, producer, and other operation that’s truly certified organic.

“You can search by business name to confirm that a potential supplier is certified organic, or search by location to see organic suppliers in your area. You can also use the database to confirm that an operation is certified organic to produce the particular product you are seeking,” the USDA spokesperson explained.

CCOF also has an Organic Directory that you can use to double-check the products and services it has certified.

3. See If You’re a Values Match

If your company is committed to using organic produce suppliers for a values-based reason—like limiting the environmental impact of your snack program or supporting small farms in your community—you might want to do more research on each supplier’s priorities and practices to see if you’re a good fit.

“Personally, I would look into their relationships with farmers. If they highlight the producers they’re working with on their website, then they’re likely farmer-forward and good at working with the farmers and giving them a fair price,” Benador said.

She also recommended looking for vendors that educate their customers about their produce, including the origin of different crops and how to use them in the office.

If sustainability is your priority, look for certifications and data related to that. Is the company a Certified B Corp? Does it publish impact reports detailing its environmental impact? If so, those are good signs that you’re a values match.

Bonus Tip: Look for Reviews and Guarantees

Last but not least, remember to vet your organic produce suppliers just like you would any other vendor. Browse reviews of their products and services, and see if they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee that will protect you if a fruit or vegetable delivery goes wrong.

Jump Straight to the Good Stuff—Try The FruitGuys!

We’re proud to say that The FruitGuys checks all of the boxes that the USDA and CCOF shared. We’re a certified organic food handler through CCOF and follow the USDA’s strict guidelines for handling organic produce. You can find us listed in both databases, and we love to celebrate our farm partners on our blog and beyond.

We also educate our customers about the fruits and vegetables we deliver through blogs, emails, social media posts, and the notes that we add to our boxes. And if sustainability is your priority, we’re a Certified B Corp and release new impact reports each year. Every box of fruit and vegetables we deliver gives back, helping feed people in need and support small farms.

Last but not least, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee so that you can relax knowing your deliveries will be fresh and delicious every time. You don’t have to take our word for it, though! You can try one of our organic produce boxes or request a quote anytime to see if we’re the right fit for your office.