Del Monte Foods, once a pantry staple in countless American homes, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a move that signals just how much the food business has changed. After more than a century of canning peaches, corn, and green beans for the masses, the company is now in serious financial trouble — and looking for a buyer.
The filing under Chapter 11 means Del Monte isn’t shutting its doors just yet. Instead, it’s trying to stay afloat long enough to sell off its assets and possibly find a second life under new ownership. In a statement, CEO Greg Longstreet said the decision came after weighing every other option. “We believe a court-supervised sale gives us the best chance to regroup and build a stronger future,” he said.
To keep things running during this critical period — especially with peak canning season around the corner — the company has secured over $900 million in emergency financing. That money will be used to fund operations and keep factories moving. But the numbers don’t lie: Del Monte is currently staring down liabilities estimated between $1 billion and $10 billion.
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This isn’t a sudden collapse. The company has been wrestling with problems for years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for shelf-stable food exploded. People stocked up on canned goods like never before, and Del Monte responded by ramping up production. But when the panic buying cooled off, the shelves were still full — and the company was left holding too much stock. That surplus ended up being sold at steep losses or written off entirely.
The troubles run deeper. In 2014, Del Monte Pacific Limited acquired the U.S. arm of the brand and took on a hefty pile of debt to seal the deal. Since then, rising interest rates have made those loans even harder to manage. By the company’s own admission, its annual interest payments have nearly quadrupled since 2020.
Del Monte’s story is long and storied. It began operations in 1886 and famously opened a massive cannery in San Francisco in 1907. By 1909, it claimed to run the world’s largest fruit and vegetable cannery — a symbol of America’s industrial food might.
Now, more than 135 years later, that legacy hangs in the balance as Del Monte looks for a way to survive in a very different food world.
