Harris Wishnatzki was a Russian immigrant who came to New York City about 1900. Harris was selling fruits and vegetables from a pushcart when he met fellow pushcart peddler Daniel Nathel. They both built up their businesses. In 1922, Harris Wishnatzki and Daniel Nathel both had large fleets of pushcarts selling produce on the streets of New York City when they joined forces to set up a wholesale business. Wishnatzki & Nathel was born. In the late 1920’s, the firm had a buyer in Florida that sold strawberries to them. Harris Wishnatzki spent several winters in Florida while getting involved with the produce buying. In those days, growers brought their produce daily to farmer's market auctions to be traded. Harris become a regular buyer at the Plant City auction. He fell in love with the Central Florida area. He moved his family south in 1929 to set up a produce shipping operation in Plant City. Meanwhile, Daniel stayed in New York to run the wholesale market side of the business.

Harris had three sons that were being groomed for the business when World War II began. Lester the eldest stayed home to help run the business. Joe and Ernest served in the army in Europe. Sadly, Ernest, affectionately known as Ernie, was killed in action shortly before the war ended. Joe returned home to join Lester in the family business.

Joe’s son, Gary began work for the company in 1974. He took over management of the firm in 1981. In 1990, he became President of Wishnatzki & Nathel. During his tenure, the firm grew steadily.

In 1987 Gary began a growing operation, G & D Farms, to help supplement strawberry and vegetable supplies to the shipping business. This was the beginning of the current era, in which the company farms as well as markets for other family farmers.

It was in 2001, after three generations, the Wishnatzki and Nathel family mutually agreed to split off the Florida division and form a new company. Wishnatzki Farms was formed to focus on growing and shipping produce.

In 2003, Wishnatzki joined forces with Allen Williford to form Clear Choice Greenhouses, providing organically grown strawberries from a safe, soil-less growing medium. The operation began with a 1-acre greenhouse. The enterprise has been a platform for innovation and experimentation into new ways to grow organic strawberries. In 2006, 13 acres of outside organic strawberry production was added to help meet the demand. Another 6 acres of strawberries in high-clearance tunnels was added the next year.

Gary Wishnatzki purchased Brock Farm in late 2006, adding over 100 acres of strawberries and tomatoes. It was renamed to Trapnell Road Farms. That farming operation increased to 200 acres by 2008. G & D was adding acreage at the same time and grew to over 600 acres in cultivation.

Wishnatzki Farms has entered into the processed strawberry business in recent years. In 2007 the company opened a processing facility to supplement out-sourced production capacity.

The FreshQC quality control and traceability solution was pioneered by Wishnatzki in 2008. The patent pending system allows for a consumer unit to be traced back to the picker that picked it. It has been proven to increase quality through accountability.

January 19th 2010 was a landmark day for the company. It marked the launch of its new consumer brand, Wish Farms, featuring Misty the Garden Pixie. The purpose is to provide consumers with a memorable icon.

In the 2010 season, 30 million pounds of strawberries were sold fresh or processed by the company from 1,200 acres of strawberries.

Wishnatzki Farms has grown from the humble beginnings of an immigrant pushcart peddler to Florida's largest strawberry shipper. This is a true American story.

Currently Wishnatzki Farms is in expansion mode. We are actively seeking out growers who align with our core values of Quality, Integrity, and Responsiveness. Wishnatzki Farms has a diverse customer base. This customer base allows us to market large quantities of product with the goal of delivering optimal returns to our growers while providing value to our customers.