Sprague Foods Ltd, Canning in Belleville Ontario

History

In 1925, J. Grant Sprague founded the J.G. Sprague & Sons Canning Co. in Mountain View, Ontario. They began processing tomatoes and pumpkins but gradually increased production lines to include tomato juice, tomato puree, corn and raspberries. During the 1920's and 30's the canned goods from the Mountain View plant were shipped via boat from Belleville and Picton to Montreal, Toronto and Western Canada.

J. Grant Sprague was involved in several businesses. The 1930 Prince Edward County Yearbook shows him as a canner, grocer, postmaster and owner of the Sprague Telephone Company which was based in Mountain View.

After a couple of years of operating the canning company, J. G. Sprague handed the operation over to his son Jay, who increased the local market by delivering his canned goods to small grocery stores in a large surrounding area. Jay operated the cannery successfully for the next 40 years.

Following Jay's death in 1967, his son Roger Sprague and wife Dana took over the operation. One of their first priorities was constructing a new plant across the road from the old factory in 1968. They changed the name of the company to Sprague Foods Limited and continued to can local products until 1976 when they ceased canning tomatoes.

The changing markets led the company into new product lines. Roger said, "We focus our production on specialty products. We have an enduring commitment to providing superior value to our customers and our belief in quality has allowed our products to reach an ever-growing customer base." Today, the company cans a variety of beans, soups, and pastas in sauces.

Two of Roger and Dana's three sons, joined the family business after graduating from University. Daniel spearheaded the construction and design of the new plant in Belleville, putting his engineering degree from the University of Ottawa to task prior to starting his own food processing business. Rick is applying the skills he acquired from his doctorate studies in food processing at the University of Guelph. He leads the company development of new product lines.

A new building was started in May 1993 in Belleville. The latest technology was used to construct a building to meet the highest food plant sanitation standards in the food industry. The building is located on College Street in Belleville and is five times the size of the factory in Mountain View.

The success of this company is attributed to several factors. Roger and Dana transformed the company into a year-round operation when they started the plant in 1968 at Mountain View, recognizing the financial limitations of operating a seasonal business in the highly competitive food industry, especially when facing much larger competitors. The company developed a market for special varieties of canned beans which for many years appealed only to ethnic groups. Today several of these products are being enjoyed by a very diverse consumer base as health awareness and dietary habits improve, and as Canadian cuisine matures.