Earth Equity News

Supermarket Chains Go Local. By Marian Burros, NYTimes, August 6, 2008. "One of the biggest brand names in food this summer doesn't carry a trademark. It's the word 'local'… [In a major signal,] last month Wal-Mart announced that it plans to spend $400 million this year on locally grown produce, making it the largest player in that market… Some independently-owned small-to-medium-size chains… are now expanding [long-established lines of locally grown seasonable produce]. For the largest supermarket chains, though, where for decades produce has meant truckloads transported primarily from the West Coast… soaring transportation costs, not to mention the cachet customers attach to local food, have made it more attractive not just to supermarkets but to the agribusiness companies that supply them. Growers like Dole and Nunes have contracted with farmers in the East to grow products like broccoli and leafy greens that they used to ship from the West Coast. Because of fuel costs, in some instances the cost of freight is more than the cost of the products. 'There is a huge shift,' said Brian Nicholson… of Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, N.Y., who has also become a distributor for local farmers. 'Wholesalers and retailers no longer say, I can get it cheaper from out West.'"