First Worthington Foods Factory

The building depicted here was the first Worthington Foods Factory. The company purchased this house that had been used as a residence and converted it into a factory. The building was relocated to a site on Proprietors Rd. in Worthington. Production equipment was installed in the basement, the first floor became office space, and the second floor was devoted to storage of ingredients and packaging materials.

In 1939 a new company was founded as a partnership in Worthington, Ohio, under the leadership and financial support of George T. Harding III, MD., medical director of Harding Sanitarium, also located in Worthington. The name Special Foods was chosen to identify the company. This name was changed to Worthington Foods a few years later when the company became a corporation.

In addition to Dr. Harding, the original partners of the organization included William Robinson, a former sales representative for the Battle Creek Food Co. He was a patient of Dr. Harding and shared with him some of his sales experience and observations on the need for vegetarian foods among Seventh-day Adventists who adopted and were following a life style that included avoiding the use of caffeine beverages and meat as a health principle. Dr. Harding also felt a concern for this same need and with Bill Robinson's encouragement and help authorized some experiments in the formulation of a few products in the kitchen of the sanitarium. Among these early products was one named Choplets made primarily of wheat protein. Choplets was to become the best known trademark of the company. Later products included peanuts and soy meal to add variety and improved nutritional value. These products were produced and marketed as canned foods. Frozen foods would be introduced in the 1950's.

In 1941 James L. Hagle was recruited to become the business manager. Mr. Hagle was a Seventh-day Adventist and had attended Northwestern University where he earned a Masters degree in Business Administration. Before his move to Worthington Hagle had been serving as credit manager of the Adventist Hinsdale Hospital located in Hinsdale, Illinois near Chicago.