Fresh & Easy Delivers "Farm to Store in 24"

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Aug 2nd 2010 @ 1:00PM

Photo: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market(TM)

Our desire for fresh(er) food has been heard, though the responses have sometimes been questionable. We've got everyone from Walmart to McDonald's touting "organic" and "local" but we're perhaps most excited when grocery stores, other than standbys Whole Foods Market and Stew Leonard's, start delivering from their neighboring farms.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, an energy-efficient supermarket chain in California, Arizona and Nevada, started their "Farm to Store in 24" pilot program earlier this summer with grapes and strawberries picked and shelved within 24 hours. Their customers liked it so much, the company has decided to roll it right into fall, introducing local stone fruit for August and root vegetables come September.

A "Farm to Store in 24" logo on a package of produce signifies that it has not only been shipped but also picked from a nearby farm in California within 24 hours. This accounts for up to 65% of the store's produce.

True, it's not uncommon to have food shipped within 24 hours, especially if your store is located in California, but up until recently, a "local" label in a supermarket could simply mean it was made in California or Mexico (wherever you were). This meant that produce was most often picked before it was fully ripe (rather than at prime) so it could man the travel and shelf time. Some labels even straight up lie -- a huge "local" sign hanging above, with fine print on the cartons reading "Mexico."

Along with their "Farm to Store in 24" logo, Fresh & Easy's cartons will state the farm the produce came from, including San Diego-based Andrew & Williamson for the company's program in Ventura County and Watsonville. Local product will, therefore, change with the season -- almost like being at a farmers' market.

Filed Under: Farming, Business, Food News
Tags: california, farm to store, featured, fresh and easy, fresh and easy neighborhood market, supermarket, whole foods