Six generations of the Gebbers family have been rooted in the Okanagan Valley in northcentral Washington State for more than 130 years. Four of those generations live in the valley today, with three generations working on and managing our farm. We are deeply committed to being good neighbors in our communities and enriching the lives we touch here.
Worker safety
Gebbers Farms workers are essential to our family, our communities, and our nation’s food supply. They help us supply safe, wholesome, high-quality foods to America’s tables, not just during national emergencies but every day. Here at Gebbers Farms, we are committed to workplace safety and providing our employees with safety training and fair and legal wages. Our Safety Committee is a critical element to overall worker health and safety. This committee is made up of owners, managers, and elected worker representatives from the various packing lines and orchard crews and acts as a direct line of communication from Gebbers Farms employees to management.
Essential jobs for essential workers
As one of the world’s largest growers of high-quality apples, cherries and pears, we are also a major employer in our region. Gebbers Farms provides 1,000-1,200 permanent, year-round jobs, and another 1,300-1,500 local seasonal jobs. During our peak season, we also hire temporary H2A (migrant) workers, bringing our ranks to 4,500+. They and their families count on Gebbers Farms for their livelihoods. Many of these Gebbers Farms workers have been with us for decades.
Giving and volunteerism
We intentionally invest in the future of our community’s kids. Gebbers Farms established and supports the Brewster Boys & Girls Club. We support local 4-H programs and gladly give to local charities and services, such as The Pateros Treehouse Early Education Organization, a childcare and learning facility in rural Washington. Gebbers Farms also provides annual college scholarships to local high school students. Our family volunteers in our rural communities to coach local youth sports teams and serve as classroom moms, dads, and tutors. As a grower of SugarBee and Rockit apples, we help sponsor the Scripps Educator of the Year and regional Special Olympics games and Healthy Athlete events in various states throughout the country.
Community impact
Gebbers Farms and our workers are an integral part of our local rural communities. Gebbers Farms employees’ families account for more than 50 percent of the students attending local schools and the per-student state and federal funds that flow to those schools (for example, to fund school meal programs). Together, Gebbers Farms and our year-round workforce support an estimated 3,000-3,600 jobs in local Okanagan Valley communities – from the businesses that supply daily home goods and services to those that keep our diverse operations humming. That’s everything from tractors to nursery trees, to crop consultants and tradespeople, to the standard and recycled cartons in which we ship our fruit – that’s a lot of cardboard.
