“Customers are starting to explore other crunch lettuces like Little Gem that have the same effect on the plate,” Hodge said. “And there’s a bigger trend toward hydroponic growers — the flavor and quality of greenhouse lettuces have really improved and are more consistently available since they’re not affected by weather issues. Hydroponic can also be grown locally in and around Baltimore, year-round.”
Baldor is also introducing some specialty product items to the market this year since it has relationships with smaller farms, like baby sugar mangoes from Goldenberry Farms or strawberries from Oishii.
The company will source from where it makes most sense to its customers.
“Our first priority is to make sure high-quality produce is consistently available to our customers, so as seasons change, we start pulling from various regions,” Hodge said. “In the spring and summer, we lean on local East Coast produce as much as possible, then turn to the West Coast in the fall and winter. So, the customer is always getting peak season produce, just from different locations. Seasonality does impact price, however. When corn and tomatoes are local, the prices are lower because they’re not paying for transport/freight costs that are incurred with shipping from the West Coast.”
A key part of Baldor’s mission is to engage with the local community and promote healthy eating and access to fresh produce. In fact, Baldor senior leadership went to D.C. back in June to engage congressional representatives about the Farm Bill.
“As a company, we believe we have a critical advocacy role in supporting regulations that impact both ends of our supply chain,” Hodge said. “The Farm Bill is vital legislation that helps our farmer partners while also increasing access to healthy across all communities, including those facing food insecurity. Additionally, Baldor seeks out local, food-focused nonprofit organizations in the communities we serve so they can benefit from our surpluses.”