Over 50 Years of Our Family Feeding Yours.
Founded in 1973 by Ernest J. Vastine Sr., Valley Wholesale Foods began as a single truck and a bakery route. Since then, we have grown into a premier broad-line distributor, fueled by a relentless commitment to honest service and the growth of our partners across Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
As a family-owned operation, we pride ourselves on being big enough to serve your every need, yet local enough to care deeply about your success. We remain dedicated to our core promise of service-driven partnership, ensuring every foodservice buyer receives the dependable products and personal attention they deserve.
Our Core Values
Forever guided by integrity and a deep commitment
to Portsmouth and our regional community.
Reliability
We ensure your kitchen never stops moving with consistent delivery and dependable product quality.
Local Service
As a family-owned business, we treat every customer like a neighbor with personal attention and care.
Quality
From broad-line selection to specialized foodservice needs, we provide the highest standards of food safety.
Our Journey & Service Philosophy
In 1973, Ernie Vastine Sr. founded Valley Wholesale Foods with a humble vision, a small building, and a single box truck. Serving local bakeries door-to-door, he built the business on one product at a time and a handshake. As the industry evolved, Ernie faced competition by focusing on a broad selection of goods—but his real strategy was simply out-servicing everyone else.
Service became our key differentiator and our greatest legacy. Ernie believed that a distributor shouldn't just deliver products; they should be a partner in a customer's success. This meant arriving early, knowing the inventory as well as the chef, and treating every order with personal care.
Today, that philosophy remains unchanged. We don't just drop boxes; we put products away, conduct weekly in-person visits, and often rush items before the truck arrives. When you call us, you won't navigate a machine—a real person answers the phone, ready to help your kitchen succeed.
In June 2022, our founder Ernie sadly passed away, leaving a legacy built on hard work and deep integrity. Though he is no longer with us, his presence is felt every day in the warehouse and on the routes he once drove himself. Today, Ernie’s wife Peggy and four of their children continue to run Valley Wholesale Foods with the same dedication. We remain committed to carrying on his vision of customer-first service, ensuring that the relationships he built over five decades continue to thrive for generations to come. We truly believe that family is our key ingredient, and our loyal employees and customers are an extension of our own home. Thank you for your continued trust as our family continues feeding your family.