Wal-Mart Switches To Local Fruit, Veggies

Retail Giant Says It Is Now Biggest Buyer Of Local Produce In U.S.

(AP)  Wal-Mart stores in Arizona now stock Grand Canyon sweet onions while aisles in New York display state-grown eggplant, as the world's largest retailer says it has become the United States' largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to purchase and sell $400 million worth of produce grown by local farmers within its state stores this year, an effort the company says will only grow. Academic studies show buying locally cuts down on transportation mileage while also assuring customers of a product's providence amid mass recalls.

"Wal-Mart would not be the first" to buy local, said Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. "But they're obviously, without question, the largest retailer to go down this route."

Among retailers, Whole Foods Market Inc. of Austin, Texas, is perhaps best known for buying and selling locally grown produce, Pirog said. Others, like New Seasons Market stores around Portland, Oregon, and Hen House Market stores in Kansas City, cater to customers looking for fresh produce.

For Wal-Mart, which leverages bulk purchases to keep prices down, buying from local farms might not appear to fit the company's strategy. However, the Arkansas-based company has focused on buying fruits and vegetables from farms closest to its distribution centers, making shipping easier while cutting down on trucking in produce from outside of the area, said spokeswoman Deisha Galberth.

For example, the retail giant once only bought peaches from a few suppliers. Now, Wal-Mart buys 12 million pounds of peaches annually from farms in 18 different states, she said.

Because of that, the company estimates it saves about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year and cuts away 672,000 food miles - the distance produce travels from farm to a customer's plate. That adds up to $1.4 million in annual savings, Galberth said.

"It's one of the ways we've been able to keep costs down," Galberth said. "Our customers right now are struggling with tough economic times and looking to us to provide them with products that are at the quality they want and a price they can afford."

Wal-Mart considers locally grown produce anything farmed within a state's boundaries. Galberth said customers will soon see signs near produce that indicate it comes from the same state. The company already has agreements with some states to have stickers and labels show the state certified the produce came from there.

Wal-Mart announced its commitment to locally grown produce Tuesday during an event in Georgia, highlighting that state's cantaloupes, onions and watermelons. The move comes as the company continues a marketing campaign highlighting its environmentally focused practices.

Pirog said Wal-Mart's entry into the locally grown market could have a rippling effect across an industry often associated with local farmers markets. Some restaurants and customers now are willing to pay a little more for fruits and vegetables they know came from local farmers, something Pirog said could change as Wal-Mart moves into the territory and negotiates.

Pirog said Wal-Mart also could be buying from a single large farm in a particular state, locking out other smaller operations. Wal-Mart did not name its suppliers, and Galberth declined to say what percentage locally grown produce represented among all the produce purchased by the company.

However, identifying locally grown food in store aisles can relieve customer concerns, especially after a recent salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes sickened at least 869 people across the country.

"Local food can answer that question," Pirog said. "It can answer a question of where it comes from and how it was grown. That is still somewhat of a mystery to most consumers when they buy food at the store. ... That's what consumers are yearning for."

[whiskyrocker]

Wal-mart is a machine run by communist scumbags feed by the american public.

[ausus-2009]

Wal-Mart can''t win. If it buys locally and keeps the prices down, it is squeezing US farmers. If it pays farmers more, and then raises its prices, it is profiteering. If it buys overseas, it is destroying US business. By buying in bulk and keeping prices down, it is destroying small business. People should think their arguments through. They are contradictory. Of course, there is also the snobbishness by the cerebral Volvo-driving socialists that don''t want to shop at the same place as illegal migrants, white trailer trash and large families.

[noloyalisti]

Mall-Wart has put so many small businesses under and even destroyed some corporations business. They outsourced thousands of jobs by moving manufacturing to CHINA. They are one of the biggest receivers of corporate welfare.

Wal-Mart shoppers are communist sympathizers.

[element51]

How many of you know that your tax dollars built your local WalMart? It''s true. When WalMart picks a town to build in they go to the city government and tell them how much the tax base will increase if they locate there. Then they go to 2 or 3 neighboring towns and tell them the same thing. Once they get all the towns drooling for that tax money they then dictate their terms. Free land, no city tax for them, things like that. Then they just wait for the best deal and the dumbarse tax payers fall all over themselves to shop at the wonderful WalMart. In the meantime the local stores go belly up. They are experts at turning Main street into a ghost town. Don''t you just love em? They also have many manufacturing plants in China that they, WalMart, own. Lots of jobs for the Chinese at .35 cents per hour.

[timothyone-2009]

The question now is, will locals have their bowel movements in our locally grown crops too? If I''m gonna eat poo I''d prefer fresh local poo any day!

[estabwary]

Good for them & better for us. We need to re-evaluate all our habits and do what creates less waste. We will be forced to really.

[kansas1946]

Gosh, if we keep up the bad press agains Wal-Mart, it may just end up being a responsible, decent, company/employer in America. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming though. :o)

[sb0260]

Good for Wal-Mart - this is a huge victory in the campaign to encourage people to consume locally, whether they shop there or not.

Added praise to Wal-Mart for partnering with the amazing nonprofit Mercy Corps (www.mercycorps.org). Their partnership helps indigenous rural farmers in Guatemala increase their agricultural productivity and improve product quality (mainly growing pineapples). These farmers have a non-exclusive buying option with Wal-Mart (which owns something like 75% of the grocery stores in Latin America). This is another example of one of Wal-Mart''s steps to reverse their negative CSR image and give back to communities.

More info on the partnership here: http://mercycorps.org/aboutus/pressroom/2067

spadeisspade:
i feel for ya and there''s not much one can do about either. good luck out there and you can grow a garden. just a thought...

[spadeisspade]

For someone like me, where Walmart is literally the only grocery store within reasonable driving distance, with very little variety in the way of locally grown produce (mostly watermelons), I''m happy that Walmart is taking this step. Of course it''s a double-edged sword; no matter what wholesome thing Walmart tries to do, there is always 10 stories of their corrupt business practices. The biggest thing I''ve heard is forced overtime without overtime pay-big no no!

[noloyalisti]

JTait2, your moronic Rush Limbaugh chaos tactics just won''t work. Too many of the progressives, liberals and democrats actually have brains that they use. Hillary and Bill just got behind Obama. Just grow up!

[southpaw651]

Sorry,guys, I made a boo-boo; My statement should read " X number of jobs WERE created because Wal-Mart BUYS X product to bring to you " That was the banner all Wal-Marts HAD...Great Posts by Everyone today !! Some day the all mighty Wal Mart will be just like Roses and Magic Mart is today ( Never heard of them ? They''re small today,but 20 + years ago they were on top along with K-mart )

[displeased]

If y''''all want to undercut Wal-Mart when it comes to food, get together and form a co-op and deal with the local farmers directly.
Posted by mswolfestock

I''m in my third year with a local CSA program (community service agriculture). We pay a fee up front and a bag of veggies are delivered to us every week from a local farm. The wide variety of veggies are picked within a day of delivery. We''ve recently included eggs and fruit. We''ve been loving it and we spend very little in the grocery stores now.

you can put quotations around the word "local". jacked up prices on stale a** food, terrible labor practices and then the doublespeak of "we care about your community". sure wm...whatever

[gocubs58]

Posted by southpaw651 - "Sam is rolling over in his grave today.Does anyone remember this...When Sam Walton was alive there would be signs up in the stores stating " X number of jobs we created because Wal-Mart bys X product to bring to you..." We will never see those signs again! "

------

No doubt. I also remember the "Made in the USA" signs. That was Sam Walton''s credo. With all their imports from China, Sam is indeed rolling over in his grave.

[gocubs58]

Who the **** cares what they are selling at Chinamart? I go there only when I absolutely have to - I hate wading through all the f***ing trailer trash with their 10 screaming kids and carts heaped up to the ceiling!

[southpaw651]

Well, it looks like there is something everyone can agree on...Wal-mart is a thorn in our side! My wife has worked for WM for 10 years,and I''ve seen their management practices first hand.They bring in people from other regions to be the store manager,and they treat the employees like government mules. Sam Walton stated that he wanted coffee provided for the associates FREE OF CHARGE so that when they took a break,they could sit down and enjoy a cup of Joe and relax.The manager at my wife''s store tried to eliminate the coffee,AND the cups to put it in! They still get the coffee (for now),but have to keep using the same cup they started out with at the beginning of the shift.Sam is rolling over in his grave today.Does anyone remember this...When Sam Walton was alive there would be signs up in the stores stating " X number of jobs we created because Wal-Mart bys X product to bring to you..." We will never see those signs again!

[nssherlock1]

Wal-Mart attracts soooo many fat chicks, I''m surprised that Lane Bryant is still in business.

[fstop100]

If they are buying local they aren''t paying fair prices.
Time for the farmers to stick it to wallymart

[mswolfestock]

I don''t care WHAT Wal-Mart does - I have been boycotting them for about 4 or 5 years. My neighbor works at our local Wal-Mart, and their labor practices absolutely S*U*C*K. The only way the workers get anywhere is when they all get together and file a huge lawsuit. So then Sam Walton is forced to part with a couple million out of his billions to settle with them.

Second reason is I cannot stand the other customers. They are either illegal aliens or poor white trash. You''d better keep your purse strapped to your body, and watch your buggy closely. The last time I shopped there I almost got into a fight with a trashy woman who thought she''d save her valuable welfare time away from Jerry Springer by shopping for items right out of my cart instead of getting her own.

If y''all want to undercut Wal-Mart when it comes to food, get together and form a co-op and deal with the local farmers directly. There is truly power in numbers, and if whole neighborhoods of people remove Wal-Mart from their food equation, then we all win.