Ward’s Fruit and Produce is a fifth generation, family owned and operated wholesale produce distributor. We have been providing fresh produce to the Triangle area for the better part of a century.

We first opened our doors in 1934 on Mangum Street in Durham, NC primarily as an open air market retailing fresh produce.

In 1962, Howard Ward moved his father’s business to the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh, NC and began delivering wholesale fresh produce to restaurants, hospitals, hotels, county schools and small stores to name just a few.

In 1991,  Ward’s Fruit and Produce moved to the State Farmers Market located off Lake Wheeler Rd into a commercial warehouse space then grew again in 2024  to our current location at 900 Withers Road.    Ward’s continues to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to local restaurants, schools, retirement communities, country clubs and charity organizations in Raleigh, Durham and Wilmington with additional expansion of delivery areas and product availability.  The company is now operated by Joey and Lonnie McNeill – daughter of Howard Ward.

In order to keep up with today’s health and safety issues, Ward’s voluntarily implemented a program known as a Food Safety Program which is part of a HACCP program, which is a nationally approved sanitation program specifically designed for the produce industry.  We received and continue to maintain our superior ratings.

While Ward’s Fruit and Produce continues to grow, we have never lost sight of the initial goals, which gave us the successful reputation we have today – providing quality products with excellent personal service and competitive prices.