Annette and Jack Aronson
Jack Aronson, a benevolent, kind-hearted person who founded Garden Fresh Gourmet in Ferndale with wife Annette and grew it into a national brand, died Tuesday at age 68 after a battle with cancer.
Aronson and his wife Annette started making salsa in a five-gallon bucket in the kitchen of their barbeque joint in Ferndale in the 1990s. In time, they not only sold salsa, but also salad, hummus and tortilla chips. In 2015, the couple sold the company to Campbell Soup Co. for $231 million.
Four years later, the company was sold to the Fontaine Sante of Quebec. Aronson had hoped to buy the company back from Campbell, but was unsuccessful.
"My heart goes out to Annette Aronson and the Aronson family for the passing of Jack Aronson," Ferndale Mayor Melanie Piana wrote on Facebook. "His heart was all about community, from starting his restaurant on Woodward, growing Garden Fresh into a national brand, making sure jobs stayed in Ferndale when he transitioned to a national chain, then started another healthy food business that he launched in 2019.
"He called me early in the pandemic to donate 1,000 meals for seniors and low-income families impacted by the health crises. He supported children's literacy, supports the Boys and Girls Club, and always found sponsorship dollars for events for all the nonprofits in Ferndale and surrounding cities. Jack was a giver with a kind soul."
When the company was being sold, Crain's Detroit Business reports:
Aronson and his wife met with each of the 450 employees at Garden Fresh and offered them a bonus payable upon the closing. They quietly gave their employees millions of dollars.
Gilda's Club of Metro Detroit posted this Tuesday on Facebook:
All of us at Gilda's Club Metro Detroit are heartbroken by the loss of our friend, supporter and cancer warrior, Jack Aronson. Jack fought so hard to live. His exhaustive and worldwide exploration of treatment will live on as doctors and researchers learned from Jack. His courageous path will help others who face this unforgiving disease.
Former Ferndale mayor and current Oakland County Excutive David Coulter wrote on Facebook:
Jack Aronson’s passion was authentic and contagious, and lives on in everyone fortunate to know him. From modest Ferndale roots to leader of an international company and the city’s largest employer (Garden Fresh Gourmet), he never really changed. His generous spirit and unwavering devotion to family and community proved to be even greater ingredients to success than his delicious salsa. I’ll miss him dearly.
Services are Friday at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Parish Church, 9086 Hutchins Rd., White Lake. Masks are mandatory.
