The onus, D’Arrigo said, is on distributors like D’Arrigo, which has a nationwide presence, to do more to promote its growers and also help consumers get legitimate answers to where the product is coming from.
“We have found that when we take people to the farms, it totally changes their perspective on what they think about farming,” she said. “It gives them a better appreciation for their food and for the hard-working people who help put these healthy and safe products on their plates.”
D’Arrigo, a fourth-generation member of the D’Arrigo family, is quick to add that the company has a long history of successfully working with a select number of eastern apple growers, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, to develop a reliable and consistent supply of apples to market.
“It has been a very good relationship for many years,” she said, adding that about 50 percent of the company’s apple crop comes from eastern states, with much of the rest coming from the Pacific Northwest. “We work very well together, understand each other and know what the goal is. Anytime there are problems, such as with the weather or transportation issues, we work together to figure out a solution.”
D’Arrigo said that the upcoming late summer and fall apple seasons so far look great. She noted that all three growing regions in New York — the Champlain area, the Hudson Valley and western New York — look to be headed to strong harvests.
“Champlain had an early frost, but it is finishing with a strong season with very good variety,” she noted. “The crop in the Hudson Valley is coming in at nearly 95 to 100 percent and there is a great crop coming from western New York, with strong volume, variety and sizing. Good things are also expected from the Pennsylvania apple growers.”
The fact that D’Arrigo services more than 1,500 retail and foodservice customers, as well as serving dozens of different ethnic groups in the increasingly diverse and expanding New York metro market, makes taking a leadership role that much more important.
“We know that we have a lot of responsibility to help,” D’Arrigo said. “It is our job to work with our retail customers and with such groups as the New York Apple Association to develop the right promotions to help sell apples through to consumers. We want the shopper to know that many of these apples are locally grown and the price point is more friendly than it has been in recent years. Also, it is important to let them know that the growers have a lot of pride in what they grow.”
D’Arrigo is also hopeful that a strong crop will help consumers in their never-ending battle with inflation and being able to afford to feed their families. “We are really emphasizing eastern apples because they offer lower transportation costs,” she noted. “That, along with an abundant crop, should help lower costs to shoppers and make it easier to put groceries on their tables. Better prices at retail stores will help consumers and make the day-to-day experience easier for everyone.”
In the end, D’Arrigo realizes that there is much to do and much at stake. “There is a feeling that we are no longer living with the land, but living on the land,” she said. “We need to go back to living with it and understand that when we work with the land, it beneficial for us and the land itself.”
