Increasing consumer concerns about food safety and the environment are prompting more shoppers to search for local produce. They flock to farmers markets for it and they’re coming to expect it at their local food retailer as well.

Perishables Buyer spoke via e-mail with Craig Ignatz, vice president of produce with Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, about the buy local movement. For more on this topic, see the January issue of Perishables Buyer which writes about the local produce phenomenon in a produce category spotlight.

PB: What are the benefits for a retailer to locally source produce? How strong is consumer interest and demand for local sourcing and is it expected to grow in 2012? 

What we’ve found is that our customers associate in-season produce from regional suppliers with the peak of freshness, so consumer demand is strong and keeps growing every year. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, 83 percent of adults ranked fresh fruit among their top five grocery list items followed by 70 percent who included fresh vegetables.

PB: What are the challenges of local sourcing, issues like consistency of quality, finding sufficient volumes of products, seasonality?  

Seasonality in our northern climate creates unique challenges and limits our ability to source locally grown product throughout the year.

PB: I've seen you quoted on the issue of seasonality of produce, having the proper items in their season, does that dovetail with local or does it represent a different approach to sourcing? 

Depending on the season, the produce may not necessarily be from our region, but may come from farther away where climate and growing conditions are more ideal. 

PB: Does Giant Eagle do local sourcing, if so for which produce and how long has it been doing this?

For decades, Giant Eagle has worked with a growing number of more than 100 farmers to bring fruits and vegetables to the stores from our immediate and neighboring regions. Items typically include corn, beans, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and beets. We also offer apples from Washington, blueberries from Michigan, and pears from South America. Giant Eagle sources millions of pounds of fresh produce to stores every year, including 56 million pounds of bananas, 11 million pounds of strawberries, 17 million ears of corn and nearly 17 million pounds of Idaho potatoes.

PB: Do locally sourced items command a price premium over non-local similar items? 

We work closely with our suppliers to provide and ensure competitive pricing for all of our perishable items, including what is locally grown.

PB: If Giant Eagle does local sourcing, how extensively does it market that fact, in print ads, in-store, etc?

Since customers have come to look for produce grown from our region, we market the availability extensively in our stores, through our weekly sales circular, and online at our Web site.  We also train our produce managers and team members so they are able to answer customer questions and provide assistance when necessary.