New England Produce Center

The New England Produce Center in Chelsea is a wholesale terminal market where tenant companies supply fresh fruits, vegetables and related agricultural products to wholesalers, retailers and food service businesses. Its distribution area covers more than eight million people, stretching from Connecticut to the Canadian border and the Maritime Provinces, and west to Albany, New York. It is the largest privately owned terminal market in the country.

The market carries on a tradition that began at Faneuil Hall, which served as Boston’s produce distribution hub until 1968, when the Center was built in Chelsea. It is served by CSX railroad as well as freight and trailer trucks delivering thousands of loads a year, and it employs more than a thousand people from surrounding communities. The facility has 128 store units with covered truck platforms at front and rear, high ceilings for pallet racking and pillar-free warehouse space.

What to Know

• The Center is governed by an eleven-member board of directors made up entirely of tenants, who elect officers annually.
• A tenant map and directory help buyers find specific wholesalers.
• It has taken part in an EPA clean diesel project to reduce emissions from refrigerated trucks.
• It works with local officials on community initiatives in and around Chelsea.