Our Agricultural and Food Preservation Assistant Manager, Rhandi Neal, reflects on Murray’s incredible career and legacy ahead of his retirement.
Today felt like winning the lottery for me. I had the privilege to meet with Murray Driediger, president and CEO of BCfresh. Murray was recently honoured with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and suffice it to say, I had a bit of a fan girl moment. Murray was incredibly gracious. Not only did he sit down for a chat, answering my rapid-fire questions about his life and career, but he also offered to personally guide me on a tour of the BC Fresh facility.
At their 51,000-square-foot warehouse in Delta, BC, they have 500 trucks coming and going every week full of fresh BC produce. BCfresh supplies locally renowned restaurants like White Spot and Browns Social House with items like Kennebec potatoes for fresh-cut fries, ensuring quality through on-farm washing, grading, and packaging.
Murray has always been an innovator. While managing his family’s 240-acre farm at the start of his career, he shifted focus from growing for industrial processors to producing for the fresh market! Over the past four decades, Murray has continued to innovate the industry, transforming a small group of growers into a distribution network across the country.
Driediger Farms history
In the early days, Murray’s grandfather acquired farmland, which his father continued to cultivate in the early 1960s on their 340-acre family farm. Murray himself took over management in the 1980s. Eventually, he sold his shares in the family farm to family members in the early 1990s after years of tireless work.
You may recognize the Driediger Farms Berry logo, a product of Murray and a schoolmate’s brainstorming sessions.
He then spent 8 years as the General Manager of the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission. From there, he transitioned to become President of the Golden Eagle Group, eventually taking on the role of President and CEO of what was then Lower Mainland Vegetable Distributors Inc., now known as BCfresh, starting in 2007.
Under Murray’s leadership, BCfresh has expanded to offer over 400 different skus, designing all packaging internally through their in-house marketing team and shipping an impressive 200 million pounds of farm-fresh products annually. July through October are their peak months; the entire warehouse inventory turns over every two-three days, and they manage the shipment of up to thirty million pounds of food a month. Yet Murray’s dedicated team tackles it with smiles on their faces.
After a storied 18-year tenure, Murray is preparing to step down from his role as BCfresh CEO on March 31st. He will be succeeded by Steve Roosdahl, who most recently served as Vice President of Operations and Food Safety at The Oppenheimer Group. Roosdahl joined BCfresh on January 2nd as part of a strategic 3-month transition plan.
The man, the myth, the legend – Murray has been an inspirational leader at BCfresh and guided his team with passion and dedication. He is also a longtime friend of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, and through BCfresh, an incredible partner as well. We at the GVFB have nothing but high praise for Murray.
In the words of Craig Edwards, our Director of Operations:
“Murray Driediger is a passionate advocate for the work we do. He and BCfresh have been steadfast supporters of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank for many years, consistently providing fresh donations from local farms. As he embarks on a well-deserved retirement, we extend our heartfelt thanks and wish him all the best. We are excited to welcome Steve Roosdahl as the new CEO of BC Fresh and look forward to continuing this journey together.”
Thank you for all your tireless work and support, Murray. We wish you all the best in your next chapter and extend a heartfelt welcome to Steve! I can’t wait to see where this partnership takes us!
About the Author
Rhandi Neal began her GVFB career as a Driver in early 2021 and eventually became the Driver Maintenance Lead. In June 2024, she moved into the role of Agricultural Partnerships Lead, using her affable nature and experience in food transportation to connect with farmers and build meaningful partnerships to promote food rescue while supporting local producers through the BC Farmer’s Tax Credit. For her outstanding efforts, Rhandi was promoted in March 2025 to Agriculture and Food Preservation Assistant Manager to expand her work into overseeing the GVFB’s food preservation program.
