About Equal Exchange Fresh Produce
Fairtrade. Organic. Small Farmer Grown. Equal Exchange produce is unconventional. It’s not just that it is organic and Fairtrade, the Equal Exchange produce supply chain is a genuine departure from the conventional system. From the small farmer cooperatives directly exporting their fruit to the alternative, independent retailers making them available to conscious eaters. Together, step-by-step, we are building a real alternative to conventional produce.
Bananas
The banana industry is infamous for unfair labor practices, dangerous working conditions, and perpetuation of global inequalities. Equal Exchange envisioned a total departure from this system when it first ventured into fresh produce in 2006 with bananas. Our premium bananas are grown by three small farmer cooperatives in Ecuador and Peru. Through democratically organized co-ops, farmers leverage collective resources and obtain access to global markets - maintaining agency over their business, land, and livelihoods.
Farmer partner profiles
Articles featuring bananas
Avocados
As the avocado industry has taken off, growing at a massive rate, systems of coercion and corporate control have threatened the livelihood of small-scale avocado farmers. For this reason, Equal Exchange launched a Fairtrade, small-scale farmer program for Mexican avocados in 2013, to establish a market for small-scale farmers and their produce in the precarious arena of the avocado market. Over the years, the U.S. market for Mexican avocados has grown tremendously, and Equal Exchange and its partners have worked to ensure that small farmer grown avocados continue to have a share.
Farmer partner profiles
Articles featuring avocados
Produce Customers
Equal Exchange bananas and avocados have grown in popularity thanks to you, our customers and supporters! It takes cooperation for small farmer produce to travel as far as it does, and we appreciate all of the effort and dedication from our distributor partners, independent food co-ops, and natural food stores to bring Equal Exchange produce to shopping baskets across the U.S.
Interested in carrying Equal Exchange Produce?
Contact the Produce Team at operations@okeusa.com
Looking for store signage and POS?
Print-ready produce materials
History of Produce at Equal Exchange
In 2006, Equal Exchange, Red Tomato, and Agrofair partnered together around a commitment to bring the vision of a more just food system to the banana industry by introducing small farmer grown Fairtrade bananas to the U.S. market. It wasn’t easy. Bananas are essential items for retailers, so switching supply chains can represent a risk for stores. In addition, new banana supply chains must compete against giant multinational companies with immense economies of scale, financing, and influence over food policy. Nevertheless, the three organizations knew that a shift in even a small portion of the banana market would generate a meaningful impact.
Despite the odds, Equal Exchange and partners found retail and distribution channels willing to take the risk and offer a small-farmer, organic, Fairtrade banana program to customers. The early years were full of challenges: steep learning curves, supply disruptions, and a lack of customer understanding of fair trade in bananas. With time and learning, the banana programs became more solid and more customers were willing to transition to an Equal Exchange banana. In 2013, Equal Exchange launched a Fairtrade avocado program with partners in Mexico. Today, though challenges remain, Equal Exchange produce reaches both coasts and the Upper Midwest at food cooperatives and natural food stores as well as through a few regional grocery chains. What once seemed like a radical vision is now a reality: US consumers have a choice to support small farmer, cooperatively traded bananas.
Timeline
2006–1st container of small-farmer grown bananas imported from AsoGuabo (Ecuador) to East Coast
2008–Equal Exchange branding added to bananas
2010–First Peruvian banana partner: CEPIBO cooperative in Peru
2013–Launch of FT banana puree program
2013–Equal Exchange avocado program launched in partnership with PRAGOR cooperative
2017–Added a second Peruvian banana partner: APOQ cooperative in Peru
2018–First shipment of Peruvian Avocados (summer program)
2018–Fall launch of West coast banana program
2019–Added a second avocado partner in Mexico: PROFOSMI
2020–Added a fourth banana partner: AVACH (Peru)
Meet the team
Nicole Vitello is the President of Equal Exchange Produce and came to the role after doing almost every job from banana logistics to sales to management over the years. Nicole's work experience ranges from international development work with farmer co-ops in Senegal, West Africa to organic farming. Before coming to Equal, Nicole founded and ran Manic Organic, a local organic vegetable farm in her home state of Rhode Island. Nicole is a fan of camping, hiking, big family dinners and road trips. She is an avid reader, a fast talker and likes to get her news from the radio.
Jessie Myszka is the National Sales Manager for Produce. In her time at Equal Exchange since 1996, Jessie has served in very distinct areas: coffee sales, as Director of Operations, on the Board of Directors, and now in fresh produce. Thanks to these multiple roles, a degree in economics, and her experience living among coffee farmers in Nicaragua for several months, Jessie possesses an unusually broad and deep understanding of cooperative business and Equal Exchange’s unique supply chain. She is also a Certified Peer Advisor to worker co-ops and microentrepreneurs on matters of business and governance.
Eunice Jijon Jarquin is the Sourcing Manager at Equal Exchange. After working on a small-scale organic farm in college, she was motivated to challenge the current food system by working with local food initiatives and seeking justice for farmworkers. She enjoys foraging, gardening, and listening to cumbias and music from her native Oaxaca.
Kayla Nilson is the International Banana Supply Chain Manager at Equal Exchange. After studying our food system as part of a Global Studies degree curriculum and experiencing its reality through working in grocery stores, Kayla discovered a passion for sustainable food. In her free time, you'll likely find her drinking coffee and settling into a new book or podcast.
Shelaih Rojas is the Operations Manager at Equal Exchange. She credits her past work experiences in giving her the opportunity to learn about different functions of an operation. This led to her interest in sustainable materials and sustainable supply chains. Outside of work you can find Shelaih treasure hunting in an antique barn or exploring new surroundings on her bike.
Christina Allex is the Domestic Avocado Supply Chain Manager at Equal Exchange. Christina’s commitment to sustainable food systems was fueled by her degree in Environmental Institutions, learning from community members dedicated to agriculture, and mutual aid work in her hometown. Outside of her passion for produce, Christina is a self-proclaimed lover of mountains, fiction novels, and dancing with or without music.
Hannah Weber is a Banana Supply Chain Coordinator at Equal Exchange. In undergrad, Hannah studied International Relations, focusing on Environment & Development and Latin America, and has since found herself in a variety of jobs, including digging in the dirt at an organic farm in Maine and immersed in the energy of a restaurant kitchen. In her free time, Hannah can be found reading, cooking, rock climbing, and looking at the trees. She recently completed a backpacking trip in the Sierras and dreams of El Camino in Spain.
Jake Streeck is an Avocado Supply Chain Coordinator at Equal Exchange. Before joining the EE team, he worked as a Program Supervisor at a refugee-facing non-profit in Austin, Texas. During college, Jake completed two internships in Ecuador which, along with a degree in International Studies and Spanish, helped launch his career in these fields. Outside of work, Jake likes spending time outdoors, cooking, playing sports, and listening to music.
Piura, Peru