In 1964 Dean and Syvilla Pence established Wholesome Foods Inc. as a home delivery service of poultry, meat and egg products in the Washington D.C. area. They got the idea for the business from Deans father, Walter, who for many years made weekly trips to the D.C. Farmers Market where he sold local meat items. On Deans first route to D.C. he sold only 9 dozen eggs and brought a lot of meats back to put in the freezer at the local locker plant. Dean started without any customers. He obtained his customers by selling his products door to door. It was nothing for him to put in 20 hours a day.

In 1965 Wholesome Foods expanded their delivery area to include parts of Virginia. In that same year, Wholesome Foods became the first poultry plant in the area to cut poultry product for Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the area and also became an approved USDA inspected plant. From 1965 to 1985 our facility began expanding with the addition of a freezer, and additions to the maintenance shop, processing area, cooler and dry storage space. Also that time period included large scale cutting and distribution of fresh poultry to include clients such as Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits, Marriott Restaurant Service, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Roy Rogers, Red Barn and many more.

In 1986 Wholesome Foods started the distribution of meat products beginning with Smithfield and Kunzler brand meats. By 1990, a full line of western grain fed beef was added delivered directly from the Midwest. In that same year our outlet store, Wholesome Foods Country Deli and Butcher Shop, was opened to offer our full line of deli, poultry, beef & pork cuts to the local community. The 1990’s included the addition of other fine lines of meat, deli, cheese and salad items.

In 1992 we expanded our own private label, The Old Dominion Brand, to include whole and cooked country ham, turkey breast and cheese.

In 1996 Wholesome Foods was approved to distribute meat and deli items to both Wal-mart and Food Lions stores.

In 1998 we had our BBQ Pit Grand Opening with “Cooter” from the Dukes of Hazzard . Our BBQ pit was built to state approved specifications to offer clubs and organizations a sanitary facility in which to produce and sell barbeque chicken in order to raise money for their group.

In 1999 Wholesome Foods launched a mail order Internet site @ www.wholesomefoodsinc.com to offer our line of fine food items all across the U.S. directly to customer homes.

The year 2000 brought an expansion of our loading dock, which included completely enclosing the loading area and adding more loading bays.

Presently Wholesome Foods Inc sells and distributes product for many suppliers including Pilgrims Pride, Allen’s, Cargill and Tyson, and Perdue. We are selling over 25 million pounds a year to over 600 customers and employing over 50 people.

In 2005 we started producing "Virginia's Best" and custom-labeled pure Shenandoah Valley water.

In 2006 we expanded our maintenance shop and loading dock to give us a total of 13 bays.

Wholesome Foods Inc. has come along way since 1964 from a door to door huckster business selling 9 dozen eggs to over 25 million pounds of product, from no customers to now over 600 and from 1 man working 20 hours a day to now employing over 50 people.

We will strive to continue the commitment to quality, service and value that has allowed us continued growth over the years. We realize that each customer is a key to our continued success and will continue our commitment to each and every one.