Birdseye Div. General Foods

From Packing Houses of Santa Clara County
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Summary
Business

Frozen Food Packer
Main Location

Santa Cruz

The Birdseye brand of General Foods packed frozen foods in Santa Cruz and Watsonville in the 20th century. General Foods first opened a plant in Santa Cruz in 1948, initially to pack brussell sprouts, borrowing space from the Santa Cruz Artichoke and Sprout Growers Association[1]. By 1956, the company had 48,000 square feet of factory and 450 employees at harvest season packing spinach, sprouts, broccoli, lima beans, and strawberries[2]. The packing housed complex would occasionally use a portable ice crusher to pre-ice refrigerator cars.

The Santa Cruz site was redeveloped for retail in 2002. The Watsonville site was finally shut down in 2006[3].

Locations

Location Years Address Details
Santa Cruz 1962 320 Ingalls Street Corner of Fair
Watsonville -2006 Harvest Dr.

References

  1. Santa Cruz's Westside: A Vegetable Packing Hub. In Santa Cruz Waves.
  2. Birds Eye Employs 450 Workers. June 17, 1956 Santa Cruz Sentinel.
  3. Bird's Eye Gives the Gift of Unemployment. January 11, 2007 City of a Hill Press.