Columbia County Chamber of Commerce Announces Chairman's Award

Hudson , NY – When three million school children stopped going home for lunch and started eating in school cafeterias, one Hudson business owner seized an opportunity. It was the late 1950s. Morton and Ida Ginsberg were running a grocery store his parents, Samuel and Mary, had started in 1909 as a butcher shop on Front Street . They worked seven days a week and two evenings, leaving no time for family outings with their two sons, David and Ira.

Morton, now 87, recalls taking a Saturday afternoon off to take his family to a football game at West Point . “There were 35,000 fans in the stadium and I said to Ida, ‘35,000 people don't work on Saturday!'” Against the advice of everyone, says Morton, he closed the retail store a few weeks later and with no money or customers, he opened a food service business. He recounts calling on potential customers on Monday, buying the food on Tuesday and delivering it Wednesday.

In those early days around 1960, Ginsberg's Institutional Distribution was literally a mom and pop operation. Today, it is a regional powerhouse in the food service business.

“They do more business now in two hours Monday morning than I did the first two years,” says Morton.

The company's growth is the story of how America has changed its dining habits. Think ‘school cafeteria,' instead of lunch at home. Think ‘nursing home,' instead of care at home. Think ‘health care institutions.' And most of all, think of the explosion of restaurants and convenience stores.

By 2010, says David Ginsberg, 59, who now runs the company, the majority of the average family's food expenditure will be spent out of the home. “People don't cook at home anymore. Even grocery stores are trying to sell take-out now.”

It is Ginsberg's Foods which provides all that food – to area schools (20% of their business today), health care (11%), white linen and other restaurants (56%) as well as convenience stores (10%). They deliver from Vermont to Pennsylvania and New Jersey , from western New York to Westchester . They buy direct from the manufacturers and producers, warehouse it and then truck it out. They do no food preparation along the way.

Years ago, recounts David, a buyer had to go to half a dozen distributors to get everything needed. Today, Ginsberg's makes it a simple one-call transaction. They have it all, from fresh seafood delivered to their Claverack warehouse at midnight from Boston (5% of their business today), fresh meats (known as ‘Center of the Plate' 26%) and dairy (refrigerated 12%) to frozen foods (17%), produce (7%), canned and dry goods (26%), even chemicals, equipment and supplies.

The growth of Ginsberg's has been nothing short of phenomenal. From Ginsberg's Market on Warren Street, where David recalls living above the store until he was 10 years old, the food service business moved to 540 Columbia Street in the mid-1960s and then in 1977 to its current location on Route 66. They added on to the Claverack building nine times between 1977 and 1997, to accommodate the rapidly growing business, and then in 1997, doubled the size of the facility. The refrigeration part of the warehouse alone is 30 feet high with more than a million cubic feet of storage area.

Guiding the growth during those years were two generations of Ginsbergs, Morton and sons David and Ira. David handled sales, marketing and purchasing while Ira was the inside man, handling operations and credit. Now the company has a change in leadership. Morton still goes in every day, stopping in each office to say hello. But David is handling the top job himself. His brother Ira, 55, has retired, and sold his interest to David's wife, Nancy.

With 190 employees and over $90 million in sales this year, David expects to mark the company's 100th anniversary in 2009 with well over $100 million/year in sales.

Ginsberg's is a great benefit to the county, says an enthusiastic James Galvin, executive director of the county's economic development agency. “A consistent growth pattern over the years has led the company to make significant capital investment in its facility (which of course increases the real estate taxes paid) and to create many quality jobs for all segments. Because most of the jobs are filled from the community, we can witness the multiplier effect economic developers are so fond of talking about -- nearly 200 people spending their wages right here in Columbia County . That's truly how local business supports the local community!”

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will honor that success with the Chairman's Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award not only recognizes the commercial success of the Ginsberg family but also their energetic support over the years of a wide variety of community organizations, from Columbia Memorial Hospital and Community Hospice to Anshe Emeth Synagogue, the Hudson Boys Club, Salvation Army and more. Morton was chairman of the board of Hudson City Savings Institution until the mid-1990s. David and Ira have continued that commitment to outside service and participation, a credo Morton says harkens back to his immigrant father, who told him, “you must involve yourself in the community, give something back.”

In recognizing these impressive achievements, Chamber Chairman Rick Bianchi says, “The company has made a profound impact on our community. For three generations, this family business has been responsible for providing employment opportunities for our residents while also contributing a tremendous amount of time and money to community organizations.”

A 6 pm ceremony will be held to present the award at the Chamber's Buy Local Business Expo October 26, 4 to 7 p.m. at Columbia-Greene Community College.

The Business Expo, produced by the Columbia and Greene County Chambers of Commerce is the largest collaborative business-to-business trade show in the area. The Expo gives local companies the opportunity to display their products and services to the area's key decision makers, buyers and business leaders. The Expo provides a professional yet relaxed atmosphere, and will feature over 60 exhibitors.

The Expo is free and open to the public. A number of exhibitors will be raffling off prizes throughout the Expo at their individual booths. There will also be three raffle packages focused on local lodging, dining and entertainment. The packages cover different areas of Columbia County and are themed the “City, Country and Ski Packages”. This is a great way to explore the County while experiencing to the buy local spirit!

The Expo is sponsored by First Niagara Bank, National Union Bank of Kinderhook, Hudson Valley Business Journal, The Independent Newspaper, Midhudsonmedia, The Register-Star/Chatham Courier, Mid-Hudson VIP, Accent Furniture, Inc., The Bank of Greene County, Chatham Properties, Columbia Hudson Partnership, Dunn Builders Supply, Ed Herrington, Inc., GNH Lumber, Inc., Go Wireless, Hillcrest Press, Metz Wood Harder Insurance, Pro Printers, The Rosery Flower Shop, Shallo, Galluscio, Bianchi, & Fucito, CPAs, PC, Tierra Farm, Winnovative Tech Consulting, LLC, and The Executive Connection.

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, with its 850 members, is the leading voice of business in Columbia County , providing advocacy, promotional and benefit solutions for its members. Those seeking more information concerning the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and membership can contact the Chamber at (518) 828-4417 or visit the website at www.columbiachamber-ny.com.