Hollister
– Near the San Benito Foods cannery in downtown Hollister each
summer, there’s an odor of tomato residue in the wind and an
endless bellow of steam shooting into the sky.
But that, you could say, is neutralized by an annual injection
of jobs and a reliable cash flow for many residents. And local
businesses reap the benefits.
Hollister – Near the San Benito Foods cannery in downtown Hollister each summer, there’s an odor of tomato residue in the wind and an endless bellow of steam shooting into the sky.
But that, you could say, is neutralized by an annual injection of jobs and a reliable cash flow for many residents. And local businesses reap the benefits.
Many families depend on wages from San Benito Foods, and have for generations. They come back year after year, reliant on seasonal summer jobs and an extra source of income.
The company cans its tomato products – about 100 varieties of them – during a 10- to 12-week stretch starting in early July. Its worker base jumps from nearly 100, who are employed year-round, to more than 600.
That means more than 500 additional people have more money to spend on local retail, local entertainment, local food, local bars and local gas stations. The company’s summer employment base is nearly 2 percent of Hollister’s population.
“Sometimes you get four, five or six family members (working there),” said Al Martinez, who runs the county’s Economic Development Corp. “How much they buy locally, I don’t know. But I know they use local services.”
Although there’s no hard data on the number of local families affected, or the amount of money San Benito Foods injects into the local economy, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that the cannery leaves a significant mark on the area.
In particular, local experts say, it leaves a big imprint on the Latino community and many seasonal workers who’ve been coming back, whose families’ have history, a stake, at the cannery.
And local merchants, especially those near the cannery’s location a block east of downtown, can’t complain.
They say their business jumps with the influx of San Benito Foods’ summer workforce. And extra commerce means more sales tax revenues to local governments starving for cash.
The owner of Lynn’s Liquors, the plant’s neighbor on Hawkins Street, said she’s fairly busy year-round. She does notice a boost during the summer from the cannery workers.
“They’re always a help and they’re nice people,” she said.
The season’s extra workers also likely inject dollars into the local entertainment economy, according to Theresa Kiernan, head of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce.
“They’re going to go for the enjoyment – going out to eat, going to movies, watching movies,” she said.
Plus, Martinez pointed out that a constant stream of tomato-transporting trucks entering and exiting town often get gas at local service stations. And over the years the cannery has invested directly into the local economy – through millions of dollars in capital improvements at the plant, he said.
Cannery management declined to interview for this story because it’s the busiest time of the year, Vice President Steve Arnoldy said. Owned by Neil Jones Food Companies based in Vancouver, Wash., San Benito Foods has gained a reputation as being private about its operations.
But in an October 2003 interview, former plant manager Larry Pitts told the Free Lance the company was proud to have more than 100 workers employed there for at least two decades.
“These jobs are secure jobs,” Martinez said. “When the season opens, you’ve got your job, especially if you’ve been working there a long time.”
And many have, he said.
The cannery – owned by San Benito Foods since 1977 – was built 89 years ago by Frank Felice as the Hollister Canning Company. As one of the last remaining canneries on the Central Coast, it’s a stubborn survivor in an otherwise dying industry
And while there’s continual speculation over the company’s future in Hollister, Martinez said one thing remains constant: “They’re good for Hollister. That’s all there is to it.”
A lot of summer cannery employees live in Hollister permanently – though no public documents detail such figures. Others are migrant workers who arrive in May or June and leave at the canning season’s end in the fall. Some also likely commute from nearby towns like Salinas and Gilroy, according to Martinez.
In various families, multiple relatives work at the cannery, local experts said. In others, a mother may sort tomatoes, while a father may pick produce at a local farm, said Maria Fehl with Community Services and Workforce Development, the agency overseeing the county’s migrant camp on Southside Road.
Angel Santos is the manager of that camp, which has 67 mobile homes for use by migrant workers. He said about 20 families staying there have kin working at the cannery.
Martinez said many of those people depend on the work for their livelihoods.
“A lot of those people, they’ve been there, they’ve worked there,” Martinez said. “It’s like a company town.”
Kollin Kosmicki can be reached at
637-5566, ext. 331 or at
kk*******@fr***********.com.
