Where hope blooms Veteran finds purpose in farming and family
Story by Judy Farah • Photos by Rob Andrew
Endeavour Shen had to pivot, fast, when his business world came crashing to a halt last March on, symbolically, Friday the 13th. One of his top clients, the Escondido School District in San Diego County, canceled all orders for the butter lettuce served each week in its healthy lunch program. The coronavirus had shut down schools throughout the district, which used the lettuce Shen grows at his Sundial Farm in nearby Vista. Next came canceled orders for the specialty orchids grown at Shen’s other farm, South Coast Orchids, from high-end f loral clients, including several Ritz-Carlton hotels in Southern California, Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and event planners and home stagers in Los Angeles. In a typical year, Shen would sell 3,600 heads of 23 different varieties of leafy greens and 10,000 orchids each week. “In a day, it went to zero. Everything went down to zero at one time,” he recalled. “I had over 6,000 to 7,000 orchids blooming.” That meant he had to change his business model on the f ly. He started selling his lettuce online, then added goods from other local farmers along with some Asian products, and allowed his customers to customize their food boxes. Soon, he was busy enough to bring his staff back. “It was almost like starting a brand-new business,” he said. A child on his own If there’s anyone who has had to adjust to challenging circumstances, it’s Shen. That began in earnest at age 9, when his parents sent him and his 13-year-old brother to live in the U.S. due to political unrest in their native Taiwan.
The Shen family gathers at South Coast Orchids in Vista. From left, Zechariah, Kolton, Deborah, Endeavour and Josephine.
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January/February 2021
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