San Benito Foods serves the City of Hollister in many positive
ways and has done so for many years since it opened as the
Hollister Canning Company in 1915.
The cannery provides jobs and those workers spend money downtown
and throughout the city and county.
San Benito Foods serves the City of Hollister in many positive ways and has done so for many years since it opened as the Hollister Canning Company in 1915.
The cannery provides jobs and those workers spend money downtown and throughout the city and county.
It is a central landmark, a reminder of the city’s agricultural roots, perhaps a working museum to let us know that growing fruits and vegetables – and having the industrial machinery and expertise to process them – is an American tradition that has survived.
Generations of workers can look back at their days working at the cannery or for a related operation and say that’s where they learned their work ethic or perhaps earned some money to attend college or get married.
In other words, for most of us, San Benito Foods is OK as a neighbor that simply has to stay up all night to get the job done several weeks out of the year.
Immediate neighbors have shown much patience over recent years with the increased traffic, the loss of parking and even the closing of Sally Street for a stretch.
And let’s make sure we don’t intertwine the past-due sewer bill negotiations between Hollister officials and San Benito Foods, which will hopefully be resolved soon for the cash-strapped city.
But we should now draw a line at the noise from the plant during canning season, which is simply too loud and too late.
It is unfair and unhealthy for residents for many blocks around to have to block out the cool night air to be able to sleep – or to let their children sleep, especially with school reopenings approaching.
Surely there is modern-day technology available to muffle the shrieking compressors and cookers.
Neil Jones Food Companies, the Washington-based parent company of San Benito Foods, should quickly propose a plan and timeline to turn down the noise, especially at night.
Then the company should ante up and have it in place by next canning season.
It’s only fair for the patient and faithful support that the community, especially its nearby residents, has provided.
Immediately, the plant should take whatever action is possible to lower the noise levels.
If neither steps are taken, the city should enforce its noise ordinance to the fullest extent – including daily fines – and then take a long look at moving San Benito Foods out of town.
To respond to this editorial or comment on this issue, please send or bring letters to Editor, Hollister Free Lance, 350 Sixth St., Hollister, Calif. 95023 or fax to 637-4104 or e-mail to
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