Local Produce is More Than a Fad

Everywhere I turn, there is mention of local produce. My grocery store touts its local grower heritage, and many upscale restaurants provide mouth-watering menus featuring seasonal local produce. Not only can you buy their products any time, you can read about them in newspapers and see them on the local television news. There’s no doubt about it: Local is hot.

This may not be a fad. It has all the promise of a developing trend that could become a normal way of doing business, just as is sourcing from China. But is the industry ready to accommodate the demand? Are the growers ready to match the needs of buyers?

If your customers are asking for local produce, there is one area – food safety – that has not received much consideration. Launching a local grower program has all the requisite challenges of any new commodity program – think cold chain, on-time deliveries and such. But food safety has to become a special focus if you want to satisfy retail and foodservice demand.

Marketing Local

Setting smaller growers in the right direction may be up to buyers for now, since there is limited help in the marketplace. I see a real need out there for education, training and marketing. Implementing, verifying and selling food-safety programs will be important for this growing segment.

According to Juliana Barbassa from the Associated Press in 2006, “about 79 percent of organic growers surveyed by the Organic Farming Research Foundation in 2004 were selling their harvests within 100 miles of their farms, with word-of-mouth as their main marketing strategy.”

These small farmers can help distributors sell more produce, but they need help in the marketing game. By touting the efforts of your local growers to implement and verify adequate food-safety plans, your products may stand apart from the rest. In fact, a lot of attention has grown around sustainability and environmentally friendly practices, both trademarks of locally grown products, and now it’s time for food safety to be a new focus.

Retail

Since there is no “list” or Web site containing all the local growers in any one area, buyers have had to take on the task of identifying available products and suppliers if they want to build a local program.

In the March 26 issue of the Schenectady, N.Y., Daily Gazette, Keith Frosceno, Price Chopper’s vice president of produce, described his company’s efforts to develop a local program.

“It’s very difficult when you’re trading among the six states (we operate within) to distribute local produce. We have a network of farmers now: store by store, region by region.”

It is clear that buyers will have to lead the way. Frosceno described the second annual luncheon they hosted for more than 50 local farmers. Neil Golub, Price Chopper’s president, spoke to the group about the importance of food safety standards. He said he was committed to bringing in experts to train them as a group, since it is difficult to coordinate the on-site training of each farm owner.

Foodservice

Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill has been a driving force in the development of sustainable farming practices in meat, beans and dairy products. In a new effort, the company is teaming with its produce distributors to identify local growers for the fresh products bought for each store around the country. The company is implementing a program this year to develop strong suppliers that it can highlight and market to consumers.

If other foodservice companies or suppliers want to get a program started, they might find more help at the state or university level. For instance, Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) faculty and staff have been providing support since 1999 to link local suppliers with foodservice operators through training, outreach and conferences. With co-sponsorship from Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, they provided their first session on food safety training for local suppliers in April 2008.

Wholesale

Many wholesalers are in the perfect position to take a leadership role and set their company apart from others in their markets. In fact, Edith Garrett & Associates is working with H. Brooks and Co. in Minnesota to get its local growers organized and trained in food safety. Brooks wants to help them implement Good Agricultural Practices and future third-party audits so they can market local products to retail customers for one-stop shopping.

Aside from organizing and training, wholesale processors and distributors that specialize in produce can become a full-service link between buyers and growers. Seasonal differentiation provides an exciting opportunity for suppliers to provide solutions to chefs looking for new menu ideas. Distributors can survey buyers, identify new products and help local growers provide them. In addition, they can help local growers market their products to buyers that may be completely out of their reach.

Take Action

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to join a trend that has long-term promise for our industry. Become a reliable resource to your buyers by identifying and organizing the local growers in your region. Help the growers improve their operations by focusing attention on a thorough food-safety program to provide high-quality and safe commodities to your customers. And then, maybe the next newspaper article will be about your company’s efforts to bring fresh, local foods to your community.

Edith Garrett & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in helping the produce industry with third-party food safety audit preparation, fresh-cut product development, market research, marketing strategies and advertising plans. For more information, call 828-684-3686 or visit www.edithgarrett.com.