In 1998 Alex and Astrid started their journey together, not knowing what laid ahead. They had a lot of dreams and goals that they wanted to accomplish. Alex is from El Salvador and had been farming there. Alex has worked in a lot of different jobs from picking oranges in Florida, farming in Virginia to milking cows in King William county. Astrid is from Mexico her family followed the crops here in the USA you can see her parent’s story on the Farm section. Astrid worked in a lot of different jobs too, since Astrid was a high school dropout she wanted to get her diploma and she worked hard to get it. She finally got her diploma and worked in various companies from insurance to non profits. Astrid has a medical interpreter certification but she wanted to have her own business. Alex and Astrid’s background is farming their families farmed for a living, they had all the experience but they didn’t have the money to start a business. Thank God they finally got a loan from the USDA and their dream began. 

 

In 2002 Pleitez started farming 8 acres of land it was hard at the beginning because even though they had a loan it wasn’t enough to get equipment. Thank GOD that they had the help of a farmer who would charge them $125.00 an hour to disk and plow and lay plastic mulch. They planted everything by hand and of course harvested everything by hand. They had a couple of farmers markets that they had been accepted to sell at. Pleitez started with 2 markets and 8 acres. Now 22 years later they Thank GOD that they own 100 acres in King George, VA and lease 50 acres and are in 19 farmers markets in the DMV. They also have 15 greenhouses where they can extend their season early and late. Pleitez also participates in the H2A visa program which means that Pleitez goes through The Department of Homeland Security to hire employees from Mexico. It’s really hard to find local help. Pleitez has a total of 12 H2A employees along with 14 more friends and family members that help at the farm and at the farmers markets.  

 

Pleitez Produce Farm is a firm believer on giving back to the community. We donate to local churches and to various food pantries in Virginia some are AFAC Arlington Food Assistance Center in Arlington. Food for Others in Fairfax, VA. Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, MD. 

 

We are so Greatful, Thankful and so Blessed to be working our dream. We want to thank all our loyal customers for their continued support.