Ok, I have to admit it IS a great feeling to walk in to any of the 7 whole foods stores here in Arizona & see the great displays that the produce managers make of our produce. I take my hat off to the Whole Foods stores because they are so committed to truly promoting the produce of local farmers. It seems like they are excited to try anything that we grow. I know that often the produce coming out of Mexico or other parts of the states is sometimes cheaper for them, than the local produce. But Whole Foods has always been the leader in the local fevor and their loyalty to supporting us as a local farm is commendable. Trust me, being a small farm just doesn’t give us the scale of operation that a factory farm has and so many of the expenses associated with growing are higher for us. So we truly can’t usually compete with a factory operation.
I know of a tomato operation right here in Arizona that grows and harvests their tomatoes at their plant in Arizona. Then they load them into trucks and ship them to Mexico to pack them. From there the tomatoes get shipped all the way over to brokers in California. Then the brokers in California sell them to mainstream grocery chains here in Arizona. After the glossy red tomatoes arrive back into their home state at the chain’s warehouse, the warehouse divides up the truckload and ships them out to the individual stores. Phew! At that point the produce manager puts them on the shelf with signage promoting them as locally grown. Oh Pleeese! Let’s be truthful… OK, Well, I suppose the sign is true in the sense that the tomatoes were GROWN in Arizona. But didn’t anyone notice the huge distance that the tomatoes traveled to get back into Arizona after leaving not only our state, but our country!? I think every grower, farmer, or operation (whatever label you use) should march in their own armor and be proud of what they do well. For that operation, being local isn’t their identifying characteristic. But rather, they truly can be proud of the remarkable systems and efficiencies they have brought to growing, packing, marketing, and distribution. That IS a stellar accomplishment. Let’s congratulate them for that – but not for being local.
On the other end of the scale is our little farm. We grow it, pick it, and pack it all here on the farm. Then we we use a local delivery company that’s already doing refrigerated deliveries around the state, to deliver it to stores & resorts right here in Arizona. That’s what we call local.
