Harvest Is a Deadline
Fall is harvest time!
There’s the fall you see on coffee cups. Pumpkins, plaid, changing leaves, cooler mornings. But at Portco, fall looks a little different.
Our two plants sit on opposite sides of Mt. Adams. In Woodland, fall means the prospect of rain (something we haven’t seen in months!). In Toppenish, it means harvest. Apples are coming off the trees. Grapes and pears are being picked. Hops have been cut, dried and baled. Trucks are moving. Packing houses are busy.
When food is ready, it’s ready. Harvest has a deadline, and after more than 90 years in food packaging, that is something we understand pretty well.
A Year’s Work Comes Down to a Few Weeks
It’s easy to walk through a grocery store in February and forget how much planning went into what’s on the shelf. Growers made decisions months ago. Crops were planted and cared for. Food processors planned around harvest windows that can be short.
Then harvest arrives, and everything happens at once. Food gets picked, washed, sorted, milled, roasted, dried or frozen. Somewhere near the end comes packaging.
We’ve always said at Portco that packaging is another ingredient. It keeps moisture away from dry goods, protects food from oxygen and contamination, and helps food packed in October stay good months later.
When packaging works, most people never think about it. When it doesn’t, everybody notices. That’s why we have never looked at packaging as just the bag. There is simply too much riding on it today.
Why Flexible Packaging Works So Well for Food
Pouches, bags and roll stock do a lot with relatively little material. They are lightweight, efficient to store and ship, and can be built around the needs of the food inside.
Some products need strong moisture barriers. Others need protection from oxygen, light or punctures. Frozen fruit has different needs than flour or roasted coffee. The goal is simple: protect the food and help it stay good.
That is also part of sustainability. Food takes land, water, energy, transportation and human work to produce. If it spoils because its packaging did not do its job, those resources can be wasted too.
For us, sustainability starts with performance. The package has to work first. Then we keep looking for a better way.
Protect It First. Then Make It Better.
That thinking is a big part of why we developed EarthGuard™. Customers are asking better questions about what their packaging is made from, how much material it uses and what happens after use. Regulations are changing too, and there is no single answer for every product.
EarthGuard gives us several paths, including packaging with post-consumer recycled content, recycle-ready structures and compostable options. The right solution depends on the product and the job the package has to do.
We don’t believe sustainability should come at the expense of food safety, shelf life or package performance. The work is finding the best combination, then improving it as materials and technology move forward. That is what we mean by a relentless pursuit of a better way.
Harvest Keeps Things in Perspective
There’s something about being this close to agriculture that keeps the business grounded. Farmers understand that resources matter, timing matters and waste matters. When the crop is ready, you have to be ready too.
This fall, our presses will be running and finished bags, pouches and roll stock will head out to food producers across the Northwest and beyond. Inside some of those packages will be the result of an entire growing season, and we don’t take that lightly.
Portco has been doing this for more than 90 years and three generations. Materials, printing, food safety standards and sustainability expectations have changed. One thing hasn’t: the package still has to do its job.
So as another harvest gets underway, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done. Sweating the details, working with our customers, protecting the food and looking for a better way. Harvest may only last a few weeks, but the work inside the package needs to last a whole lot longer.
Happy fall from all of us at Portco.
♻️ Want to learn more about sustainable packaging options for your business? Explore here at EarthGuard and view solutions that protect your products AND the planet!
