Wakefern Commits $500 Million to Northeast-Grown Produce
Wakefern Food Corp. is making a major commitment to local agriculture, pledging to source $500 million worth of fresh produce from farmers and growers across the Northeast over the next five years.
The retailer-owned supermarket cooperative announced the initiative in conjunction with its annual Local Produce Supplier Summit, held July 15 at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison, N.J. The investment is designed to strengthen relationships with regional farmers, expand local sourcing and respond to growing consumer interest in produce grown closer to home.
Wakefern operates a number of supermarket banners throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, including ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Gourmet Garage, Fairway Market, Dearborn Market and Morton Williams.
Through the five-year commitment, the cooperative plans to increase sourcing from farms in states where its supermarkets operate, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
“By bringing our family-owned stores and local, family-owned farms together, we create a win for everyone,” said Travis Riepenhoff, group vice president of fresh at Wakefern.
The investment builds on Wakefern’s longstanding relationships with regional growers while creating opportunities for additional farms to supply its network of independently owned supermarkets.
The company’s Local Produce Supplier Summit brought together Wakefern members, produce associates and more than 20 existing local suppliers, while also providing prospective growers with an opportunity to learn about working with the cooperative.
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn participated in the event, including a panel discussion focused on the state’s Jersey Fresh program and the importance of connecting regional agriculture with consumers.
For retailers, local sourcing has become an important way to differentiate produce departments while responding to shopper interest in freshness, transparency and supporting nearby farms.
Shorter supply chains can also provide seasonal merchandising opportunities centered on products harvested within a retailer’s own market area.
Wakefern said its commitment will provide customers with greater access to high-quality local produce while helping its member-owned stores strengthen ties to their communities.
The $500 million pledge also represents a significant economic commitment to Northeast agriculture at a time when growers face pressures ranging from higher production and labor costs to weather volatility and competition from other sourcing regions.
Local and regional farmers, meanwhile, can benefit from greater access to established retail markets and the purchasing scale of a cooperative whose banners serve consumers throughout a large portion of the Northeast.
Wakefern has been working to broaden its local supplier network beyond produce as well, but fresh fruits and vegetables remain a key part of the effort because of the strong connection between seasonality, regional agriculture and supermarket merchandising.
The investment reinforces the role produce departments can play in connecting retailers directly with the agricultural communities they serve. For Wakefern, the strategy combines the scale of a major supermarket cooperative with the local focus of its independently owned stores.
Over the next five years, that combination is expected to translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in purchasing opportunities for Northeast growers—and more locally grown fruits and vegetables on supermarket shelves.
