Houston – For 70 years, DiIorio Farms has been growing more than crops. The family farm has cultivated generations of memories and built a lasting connection with the Houston community.
But the DiIorio family story goes back even further.
In 1902, the family made the journey from Ricca, Italy to America, eventually settling in the Hempstead area. What began as a farming operation grew over the decades, with the support of a community that continued to return to the family’s roadside market.
Brian DiIorio says that support helped shape the farm into what it is today.
“We just farmers in the beginning. And when we popped up a roadside market they supported us and and when they supported us and kept coming back. They just kept coming back. They just changed our lives.” DiIorio said.
Now, as DiIorio Farms celebrates its 70th year in business, the family is looking back at the people and stories that helped build its legacy while also finding new ways to preserve them for future generations.
One of those projects is a series of interviews featuring the family’s matriarch, Mrs. Angelina DiIorio. Her great-grandchildren sat down with her to hear stories about her past and how the farm became what it is today.
The interviews have resonated with the community, with customers and former employees sharing their own memories of the farm online.
DiIorio also created a new book, “Cody’s Watermelon Summer,” as part of the anniversary celebration. The children’s book draws from his own childhood memories growing up on the farm, his nephew Walker and his first Australian Shepherd, Koda.
Buy Cody’s Watermelon Summer HERE.
The book is another way for DiIorio to add to the family’s story and share a piece of farm life with a new generation.
And while the family is celebrating its history, the farm continues to look toward the future. DiIorio Farms grows seasonal Texas produce throughout the year, including corn and tomatoes in the summer, pumpkins in the fall and greens, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts during the winter with watermelons being their biggest crop.
After seven decades, the DiIorio family says the goal is simple: keep growing, keep serving the community and continue the legacy for the next 70 years.