Jeff Orenstein, co-owner, of Eli & Ali’s Organic & Specialty Produce in Brooklyn, NY, told The Produce News that he sees a definite uptick in the demand for organic produce.

Peter Kroner, director of business development, and Jeff Orenstein, co-owner of Eli & Ali’s Organic & Specialty Produce in Brooklyn, NY.“The increase is particularly strong among young people who are looking to feed their families healthier products in all food categories,” said Mr. Orenstein. “The media and overall exposure to health and nutrition information and the importance of sustainability is stronger than ever today, and people are paying more attention than they have in the past.”

He said that although unfortunate events like bacteria or virus outbreaks that make people sick aren’t related to organics specifically, they do make people more aware of the importance of knowing where their food is coming from and how it’s grown.

“All of these factors combine to give organic produce a tremendous amount of growing room,” he said.

Eli & Ali’s continues to do a major business with organic tomatoes, but Mr. Orenstein said that the company is now handling more organic summer fruits like berries, as well as apples, citrus, peppers and other items.

“Organics is a work in progress for us,” he said. “We continually look for growers to work with. We’re highly socially responsible in our partnerships. We want our growers to be treated as fairly as everyone else is throughout the food chain.”

Eli & Ali’s distributes its products throughout the tri-state area of the Northeast, and is particularly strong in all of New York City’s five boroughs.

Arq Hernandez, director of operations for Eli & Ali’s, said the company has expanded its refrigeration space.

“And we’re making major inroads with new software programs,” said Mr. Hernandez. “We have full traceability with a new software program that has been installed. Everything we do, from receiving, production and shipping, is tracked by the program, and we know at all times where an item came from and where it went. This is in place for both organic and conventional categories.”

He added that the company is Good Agricultural Practices-certified and is working toward its third-party audit process.

“We’re finalizing the software now which will lead us directly into the third-party audit,” said Mr. Hernandez. We’re in the last stages and we’re abiding by the rules and are fully compliant in all aspects of the process.”

Mr. Orenstein said he agrees that as more acreage is transitioned to organics, and more products become available causing prices between organics and conventional produce to level off, more consumers will welcome organics into their diets.

“Prices have been leveling off, and we hope that this continues,” he said. “We are highly conscious of the need to support growers, and we’re cognizant of what it costs them to produce. Just as with our retail customers, our grower relationships are partnerships. More growers are getting involved in organic production. Even though it’s a process to go through the transition, they see it as a long term investment. These are people with vision.”

Mr. Orenstein added that Eli & Ali’s is searching in every corner for growers such as these with which to partner.

“We recently found some Amish growers who are producing organic heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes for us, and now they are growing some organic strawberries that will start moving in July,” he said. “We’re very excited about this. And we’re trying to work with some Long Island, [NY], growers. In addition to having more healthy pesticide-free produce available, we’ll be helping to reduce our carbon footprint by supporting local growers.”