Joseph G. Procacci, 90, known as the South Philadelphia tomato king, died Friday, Nov. 17, of cancer at a hospice center in Cherry Hill, where he lived. Mr. Procacci’s death was confirmed by his son, J.M. Procacci. “If you’re standing still, you’re going backward,” J.M. Procacci said his father taught him. “Charge, charge forward. Be the innovator. Be the first. And then bring others with you.”

Mr. Procacci was cofounder with his brother Michael, and longtime chief executive of Procacci Brothers Sales Corp., a wholesale produce supplier based on Front Street in South Philadelphia. The company, which owns farms in New Jersey and Florida and operates overseas, says it produces 10 percent of the country’s tomatoes. Its clients are as big as McDonald’s and as small as a produce vendor in the Italian Market.