Christopher Ranch's annual garlic harvest has officially begun, with the first truckloads from the field being delivered this week. The company is adding shifts at its Gilroy facility to increase production capacity, packing up to 1 million pounds of fresh garlic every week to ship to grocery stores and distribution centers across the country.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented levels of demand for fresh garlic. Shelter-in-place guidelines have resulted in a national shift in consumption of garlic, disrupting inventories and forecasted supplies.

“The COVID-19 crisis has been a real game changer for the domestic garlic industry," said Ken Christopher, executive vice president of Christopher Ranch. "It’s been difficult trying to maintain national supply lines, so the timing of our new crop couldn’t be better. We’re focused on rebuilding inventories, and getting our all-American garlic back out there to our customers.”

As an essential business, Christopher Ranch and it’s 1,000 strong work force, have remained in operation during the national pandemic. Christopher Ranch is committed to providing the freshest, most flavorful and food-safe garlic available. Consumers can expect to see the new crop of California-grown garlic in their local grocery stores over the next few weeks.