Lee County citrus thrives in cold snap, farmers adapt to icy weather

LEE COUNTY - While icy temperatures are putting some produce at risk, one crop is thriving in the cold.

Farmers and distributors are keeping a close eye on their produce supply during the current cold snap in Florida.

Sean Pequigney, sales and marketing director, said, "A lot of people don't know citrus is a winter fruit. We just have a lot of sunshine and palm trees."

Mangoes, on the other hand, are struggling as they can't withstand temperatures below 32 degrees.

Sun Harvest Store in Lee County is prepared for potential delays but isn't too worried. Their fruits are sourced locally, and oranges thrive in winter months.

Pequigney said, "Our production team kind of keeps an eye on the weather, so they kind of know how to plan and stuff like that. But, you know, every week we get our fresh, fresh deliveries of citrus all throughout the Florida citrus belt and all the way down to Indian River and stuff like that."

While distributors work on protecting produce deliveries, some customers are unfazed. Butch Nye, visiting from Connecticut, said, "We just had 20 inches of snow. So I'm not even complaining about this cold weather."

Sun Harvest is expecting their weekly delivery tomorrow, and for now, everything seems on track.