By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Jun 16, 2023 at 10:01 AM

It’s peach season and Tree-Ripe Fruit Co. is back, delivering fresh Georgia peaches and pecans to farmers’ markets, events and drop-off locations around the greater Milwaukee area.

It’s an annual tradition for the family-owned company, which has delivered peaches from Pearson Farm, a fifth-generation Georgia peach farm, to happy fans in Wisconsin for over 30 years.

A rough year for peaches

That said,  Tree-Ripe notes that the 2023 peach season will be somewhat different than years past, largely due to weather that impacted crops. A late spring frost in the Southeast, which destroyed many of the peach tree blossoms, plus heavy rains and flooding in California, have resulted in smaller crops across the country.  

However, thanks to Tree-Ripe Fruit Co.’s ongoing partnership with Pearson Farm in Georgia, they will still be able to deliver a limited amount of peaches for their Midwest customers. 

"Frosts across Georgia and the south took out about 90% of the peach crops this year, which will likely make peaches hard to come by even in grocery stores this season,” notes Tiernan Paine, owner of Tree-Ripe Fruit Co.

“We are blessed to have a such wonderful partnership with our grower, Pearson Farm, who have exclusively committed to send us nearly all of their remaining crop, which still amounts to millions of peaches, ensuring that our loyal customers may be the only ones in the Midwest to get high-quality Georgia peaches this summer."

Unfortunately, due to the limited peach crops, Tree-Ripe will not be offering home delivery as an option during summer of 2023. However, they hope to bring back the convenience of delivery service next season.

The 2023 season officially begins Monday, June 19, with stops offering Georgia peaches, Georgia pecans and New Mexico pistachios to start and Michigan blueberries around July 4.

You can find the full Peach Stop schedule online.

Nominate an everyday hero

This year – out of gratefulness for partnerships and peaches, even during a difficult season – Tree-Ripe Fruit Co. is celebrating the spirit of appreciation by asking their fans to nominate everyday heroes as part of their new “a-Peach-iation” campaign.

Starting Monday, June 5, fans can nominate someone in their life that they “a-peach-iate” for a chance to win Tree-Ripe gift cards for them and their nominee. To make a nomination, join the Tree-Ripe Facebook group and submit a post about your nominee and why they deserve a little appreciation.

One winner and their nominee will be selected each week to have their story featured on the Tree-Ripe page and receive a free $50 Tree-Ripe gift card for each. At the end of the season, one lucky winner will be selected at random to win a $500 gift card from Tree-Ripe Fruit Co. 

Submissions are open from June 5 through July 21, with winners announced each Tuesday. The grand prize winner will be announced on August 1, 2023.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.