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July 16, 2008

Locally grown is the new grocery buzz word

It’s no secret that more food retailers are trying to promote themselves as the primary source for local produce and other foods. Even large chains like Wal-Mart have jumped on the bandwagon and appear to be making progress.

Here’s an interesting Wal-Mart Web site, highlighting what locally grown produce the retailer sells in which state. If you check out Virginia, you’ll see that from June through August, Wal-Mart is selling Virginia-grown broccoli, corn, cucumbers, green bell peppers, peaches, radishes and squash.

And through October, the Virginia selections include yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and others.

Wal-Mart claims that its selection of locally-grown produce is even larger than last year. One example is chili peppers. Apparently 65 Wal-Mart stores in Virginia are selling state-grown chili peppers, compared with zero last year.

Comments

# 1

[July 16, 2008 6:43 PM]

JB

One thing to remember is that locally grown is defined by each grocery story. Wal Mart, for example, defines it as being from the state of Virginia, not by the size of farm. As such, be sure to support produce and other food stuffs from small-scale producers.

# 2

[July 17, 2008 7:32 AM]

Jim D

Question for JB... Why support solely small producers in our state? Both small and large growers produce superior quality products. From the perspective of preserving our farming sector supporting all local growers is wise. There is nothing inherently wrong with a larger sized farm. Besides, what is "small" - less than 50 acres? less than 100 acres? less than 500 acres?

# 3

[July 17, 2008 9:12 AM]

Dave

Why buy local at Wal-Mart? Buy local from the Roanoke City Market or from a CSA and keep more money in the farmers' pockets. Most of what you pay Wal-Mart goes to their overhead and margin, and not to the farmers.

# 4

[July 17, 2008 10:07 AM]

Other John

I saw a similar Eat Local campaign at Whole Foods Market in Charlottesville. They sell a lot of Virginia-made products and fresh produce in that store, and we almost always stop there and stock up when we happen to be in that area. The store has been passing out hand-fans with the "Eat Local" campaign info printed on both sides.

# 5

[July 18, 2008 8:44 AM]

Me

Ukrop's sells a lot of local food, too.

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