-By Meg Major

The economic and eco-conscious benefits of homegrown foods continue to gain clout with consumers from coast to coast. And at no other time is the trend more pronounced than during the peak summer produce-selling season, where prominent features of locally grown and raised fresh fruits and vegetables lend a supplementary layer of splendor to the natural romance of the produce department.

Indeed, while more consumers are actively seeking out a greater diversity of locally sourced products with each passing year, a new crop of promising concurrent initiatives, including the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" program launched last fall by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bodes especially well for supermarket produce teams that can count on continued clamoring for products that offer a personal connection with community-based growers.

Yet, even with minimal weather disruptions, the vast majority of the nation's retail food merchants have only a fleeting window of opportunity to tout local harvests, to say nothing of the wide fluctuations in availability in light of the many competing outlets now angling for homegrown fare.

Meanwhile, although backyard, tabletop and windowsill gardens had already begun cropping up in more American homes in recent years, additional fodder was added to the home-garden hopper this past year courtesy of First Lady Michelle Obama, whose well-publicized White House victory garden has heightened consumers' interest in growing their own groceries.   Indeed, a recent survey by the National Gardening Association shows a 20 percent
uptick in new backyard hobby and urban-edible gardens over the past year.

And though a higher percentage of green-leaning consumers are discovering the simple joy of planting and harvesting their own fresh food, several of the country's leading regional grocery operators are making hay by incorporating community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs into their customer-focused game plans.

To be sure, CSAs — a subscription-based service through which consumers invest in
local farms by purchasing "shares" before the growing season begins — have been steadily feeding the growing "locavore" movement throughout the past decade. In exchange for an initial "investment," CSA shareholders receive a weekly cache of freshly harvested, locally raised foods that typically include fruits and vegetables, as well as locally made or raised meats, dairy and condiments.

Among the industry pioneers of the "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" movement is Kansas City, Mo.-based Ball's/Hen House Markets, which in 2004 formed a unique collaboration with local growers that are part of the Good Natured Family Farms (GNFF) alliance.

As the umbrella brand for a network of local farmers within a 200-mile radius of Kansas City, the scope of the exclusive, innovative partnership between GNFF and Ball's Food Stores — which operates about 30 supermarkets under the Ball's Price Chopper and Hen House Market banners — has widened to include convenient supermarket pickup.

Originally formed nearly a decade ago to bring focus and attention to the quality of food produced by metro Kansas City farmers, the partnership between Ball's/Hen House and GNFF has since grown to become an integral part of the regional independent's successful strategy.

At presstime, Hen House was gearing up for the start of its CSA season that gets underway
on Saturday, May 15 in 12 locations. Consumers have a choice of an 18-week season or a
new eight-week "Pick 5" fruit and vegetable option designed for smaller households. Hen
House also offers a corporate/group CSA that adds another element of convenient pickup
for employee-group members at their office, vs. pickup at a local Hen House store. Last
year, some 70 Hallmark employees picked up their weekly CSA bags as they left work, while program payments were made through payroll deductions.

Another "in-house" adopter of CSAs is Dayton, Ohio-based Dorothy Lane Market (DLM), which last year aligned with its local Farm 2 Fork Fresh local agriculture network at the upscale grocer's three locations. The Farm 2 Fork Fresh CSA provides shareholders with
weekly boxes of fresh food for six, 12 or 18 weeks for $25 per week, plus an annual membership fee of $35.

Billing itself as a "virtual farmers' market" that works with over 20 local producers, Farm 2 Fork Fresh's CSA selection includes fruits, vegetables and other artisan agricultural products, the majority of which hail from a 50-mile radius of Dayton, as well as some special products that are sourced from up to a 250-mile sphere.

This summer's membership signups began in early March at all three Dorothy Lane locations. In addition to facilitating convenient pickup and payment points, the Farm 2 Fork Fresh-DLM partnership also provides a controlled storage point for the locally grown food to reside after being packed for regular Thursday shipments.

Offering a sampling of everything grown on the member farms, Farm 2 Fork Fresh's first CSA batch is expected to feature peas, spinach and lettuce, among other items, while August's grouping will include tomatoes, herbs, peppers and local fruit. The total range of produce includes apples, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, chard, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, herbs, leeks, lettuce, kohlrabi, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, rutabagas, raspberries, rhubarb, spinach, squash, strawberries, sweet potatoes, many varieties of tomatoes and zucchini.

As consumer interest in sustainable buying continues to catch on across the United States, players from all sectors of the produce spectrum are stepping up their efforts to team with state-sponsored coalitions, including Ephrata, Pa.-based wholesaler Four Seasons Produce, Inc. (FSPI), which services an assortment of retail customers throughout the Midwest and Northeast.

At presstime, FSPI was gearing up to support Earth Week 2010 with charitable donations per every case of organic produce shipped during the seven-day period, in support of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). A pair of Four Seasons' growing partners, Lady Moon Farms — the largest certified organic vegetable farm on the East Coast, which offers year-round availability from its facilities in Chambersburg, Pa., and Punta Gorda, Fla. — and Mother Earth Mushrooms, each matched the 25-cent contribution to PASA for every organic case sold by FSPI during Earth Week.

The bid to help retailers and consumers build closer connections with food sources, alongside heightened knowledge of food safety practices and assurances, is also moving vigorously beyond the domain of local and regional growers. In late March, Fresh Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands, rolled out the "Your Salad Story" microsite and Leaf Locator online tool, the latter of which enables consumers to identify the growing region of their particular salad product and follow the journey of Fresh Express salads from seed development, growth in the fields and master blending, all the way through to distribution.

Located at www.freshexpress.com/story, the "Your Salad Story" microsite provides a behind-the-scenes look at many of the value-added salad pioneer's quality, food safety and business practices. Describing the Leaf Locator tool as an "important advancement in consumer engagement," Fernando Aguirre, chairman and CEO of Chiquita, said the innovative feature would give consumers of value-added salads new insights into the rigorous safety practices used in making its salads while sharing information about where they're grown.

When using the Leaf Locator, consumers can quickly identify their salads' growing region by entering a specific code printed on the outside of the package of 60 salad varieties and package sizes (excluding coleslaw and organic salads) sold in more than 24,000 grocery stores nationwide.

The company's comprehensive approach to freshness, quality and food safety is a significant focus of the new online resource, which is also showcased on the "Your Salad Story" microsite inviting visitors to tour Fresh Express growing regions and learn about unique climates and cultivation conditions, as well as providing a wealth of other key information. Profiles by individual Fresh Express salad experts provide insights into seed development, harvesting, cooling, master blending, food safety, quality assurance and transportation.

In addition, consumers can subscribe to receive regular newsletters, updates, recipes and tips, as well as enter a sweepstakes to win a year's worth of free salad (52 bags).

"We created the Fresh Express 'Your Salad Story' microsite to show consumers that not all bagged salads are created equal and to provide them with a tool to discover the origin of their salad," notes Tanios Viviani, president of global innovation and emerging markets, and chief marketing officer. "The microsite and Leaf Locator tool tell a unique field-to-fork story about the meticulous care we take to ensure each bag of Fresh Express salad is fresh and full of flavor."

The new online consumer engagement and education initiative, notes Viviani, builds on the momentum created by a multi-element national consumer marketing campaign begun in 2009 that features high-profile television and print advertising via a "consistently, deliciously fresh" themed campaign. What's more, he adds, the microsite's "consumer-empowerment dimensions further accelerate differentiation by underscoring the value of fresh salads while helping consumers become better informed about their salad choices."

While value-added salads rightly remain a popular favorite with consumers, 75-store Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets — which has long worked with hundreds of local growers throughout its five-state marketing territory, and in 2007 started its own organic research farm to experiment and learn about organic produce — recently addressed consumer confusion surrounding triple-washed, ready-to-use bagged salads on its Web site, courtesy of yet another informative online column by its SVP of consumer affairs, Mary Ellen Burris.

"A question some consumers have … is whether it would be safer to rewash the washed greens. The answer: don't rewash them," noted Burris, citing a recent research report by a panel of microbial safety scientists that concluded that the risk of cross-contamination in the kitchen outweighs any safety benefit from further washing.

"With so many bagged items in the market," wrote Burris, "I am seeing confusion among consumers who may assume that anything packaged in a bag has been washed. Not so. Look carefully at the label to be sure that greens have been washed. If not pre-washed, it's easy enough to do so. Immerse the loose leaves in a large pan of cool water, and allow a minute or two for the debris to sink to the bottom. Then put the greens in a colander and wash under running water. Crinkly leaves such as spinach may need triple rinses. Once washed, don't cross-contaminate … for instance, by chopping greens on a cutting board just used for raw meat (wash and sanitize the board before using for fresh produce)."

Organic greens and locally grown produce — even from backyard gardens — "need the same careful washing as conventionally grown products," cautioned Burris. "Antimicrobial washes have not been shown to be significantly more effective than regular washing for home use."


PMA Reduces, Simplifies Exhibitor Costs

In an era when budgetary restrictions have had direct implications on trade show exhibits,
a new contract inked between the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and its official convention services provider, Las Vegas-based Global Experience Specialists (GES, formerly known as GES Exposition Services), is promising to offer significant savings over the next five years on exhibition costs. Of particular interest to the perishable produce and floral industry, all fresh product delivery and pickup will automatically be free for Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition exhibitors, and available to PMA's Foodservice Convention & Exposition exhibitors.

"We know everyone is watching budgets carefully — PMA included — so we've been collaborating with our volunteer Exhibitor Advisory Committee to generate meaningful cost savings for our exhibitors," affirms Jamie Hillegas, trade show manager for the Newark, Del.-based PMA. "That effort certainly doesn't end here. We will continue to work with GES to provide exhibitors with additional tools to help them maximize their exhibition ROI, including budgeting tips, exhibiting trends and other helpful information."

According to Hillegas, in addition to the new product pickup and delivery terms, Fresh Summit exhibitors will enjoy a range of discounts, including on labor and material-handling rates, as well as elimination of some fees. Storage rates have also been reduced, and small exhibitors now receive complimentary freight (limits apply). For example, the material-handling rates for show site delivery will drop by over 20 percent for many exhibitors.

The 2010 PMA Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition will be held Oct. 15 through Oct. 18 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The 2010 PMA Foodservice Conference & Exposition will take place July 30 through Aug. 1 in Monterey, Calif.

To learn more about exhibiting at or attending these events, visit www.pma.com/
events-conferences. Further details about lower exhibitor costs for both events are available on PMA's Web site at http://legacy.pma.com/freshsummit/2010/exhibitors/exhibitor-savings.cfm.


Southeast Produce Council Rolls Out New Training Program

The Southeast Produce Council (SPC) has added a new education program for nascent retail and foodservice professionals: the Southeast Training Education Program for Upcoming Professionals (STEP-UP). The objective of the new training program is to provide an enriched learning experience for 12 high-potential retail and foodservice professionals, with emphasis on development of strategic business orientation, personal leadership and hands-on field experience.

The program will span eight months and include a combination of industry field tours in various Southeast growing locations and classroom education on industry topics, including category management, merchandising, consumer trends and leadership management. In addition to the hands-on experience, activities will be paired with SPC events to create additional networking opportunities with industry professionals.

"In keeping with the organization's mission to be the Southeast's premier resource for produce education and information, we believe this program creates a venue to identify and mentor rising talent on the buying side of the fresh produce business," notes Tom Page, president of the Tampa, Fla.-based SPC. "This is critically important to assure the availability of high-quality, passionate leaders for our industry's future growth."

The program is expected to kick off next spring at the SPC Southern Exposure 2011 in Orlando, with the first class of participants. Details regarding the application process haven't been finalized, but the program will be open to any SPC member in an up-and-coming or junior-level retail or foodservice role, including produce managers, produce merchandisers, category managers or produce buyers. The application process will require a personal biography, work history, recommendation from company management and brief essay. It's expected that the application details will be available starting in May, and the inaugural class selected by late fall.

For more information, visit www.seproducecouncil.com.