Wal-Mart using store demos to tout organics
Wal-Mart using store demos to tout organics
Matt McLean, founder and chief executive officer of Uncle Matt's Organic, spent four hours April 19 at a Wal-Mart store in central Florida sampling product and discussing organic fruits and juices with the chain's customers.
The event in Ocoee, FL, was just one of many such demonstrations that take place at Wal-Mart locations throughout the country on a regular basis.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson said that this is part of the firm's effort to educate consumers about organic produce and highlight the company's locally grown program. Although Wal-Mart has sophisticated distribution centers that source product from all over the world to sell in its thousands of stores, it also encourages its divisions to buy and promote local products. In fact, the chain has a five-page document promoting organic and sustainable products on its web site.
At the April 19 sampling, Mr. McLean discussed the health benefits of organic Valencia oranges, conducted sampling demos and answered customers' questions about organic farming practices. Uncle Matt's Organic, headquartered in Clermont, FL, supplies Wal-Mart with organic fresh fruits and juices. The company maintains that organic oranges contain 12 percent more Vitamin C than conventional oranges and significantly less nitrogen, which it claims can be harmful.
Wal-Mart publicly expanded its assortment of organic foods in specific stores about two years ago. It now carries a wide range of products in both the perishable and center-store sections in many of its supercenters and Neighborhood Markets. The locally sourced program has been designed to appeal to the growing movement of reducing food miles by buying products that do not have to travel great distances to get to a store.
An item on Wal-Mart's web site estimates that food travels an average of 1,500 miles from the farm to the end-user's table. The company maintains that this "results not only in higher fuel costs but can hurt rural communities where agriculture is the backbone of the economy."
Wal-Mart has introduced a Food Miles Calculator to its buying operation, which allows buyers to calculate the distance its purchases must travel to reach the chain's 38 food distribution centers in the United States. Wal-Mart said that this calculator is used to influence the firm's buying decisions.
Speaking about the initiative on behalf of Wal-Mart, Amanda Rich of Golin Harris, a public relations firm, said, "To further reduce food miles, we're buying more products locally, especially items like tomatoes and peaches. We are also working with state departments of agriculture and suppliers to develop growing areas for products like corn in Mississippi and cilantro in southern Florida, which had not grown there before. Not only will these efforts save food miles, but they will provide our customers with fresher products."
Mr. McLean has been growing organic citrus for more than 10 years, and his company currently manages 1,000 acres of organic Hamlin and Valencia oranges. He recently was awarded the Orlando Sentinel's first "Culinary Cup," an award that recognizes those who have made significant contributions to how people in central Florida eat, drink and dine.
He also is currently a board member of the Organic Trade Association.
The event in Ocoee, FL, was just one of many such demonstrations that take place at Wal-Mart locations throughout the country on a regular basis.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson said that this is part of the firm's effort to educate consumers about organic produce and highlight the company's locally grown program. Although Wal-Mart has sophisticated distribution centers that source product from all over the world to sell in its thousands of stores, it also encourages its divisions to buy and promote local products. In fact, the chain has a five-page document promoting organic and sustainable products on its web site.
At the April 19 sampling, Mr. McLean discussed the health benefits of organic Valencia oranges, conducted sampling demos and answered customers' questions about organic farming practices. Uncle Matt's Organic, headquartered in Clermont, FL, supplies Wal-Mart with organic fresh fruits and juices. The company maintains that organic oranges contain 12 percent more Vitamin C than conventional oranges and significantly less nitrogen, which it claims can be harmful.
Wal-Mart publicly expanded its assortment of organic foods in specific stores about two years ago. It now carries a wide range of products in both the perishable and center-store sections in many of its supercenters and Neighborhood Markets. The locally sourced program has been designed to appeal to the growing movement of reducing food miles by buying products that do not have to travel great distances to get to a store.
An item on Wal-Mart's web site estimates that food travels an average of 1,500 miles from the farm to the end-user's table. The company maintains that this "results not only in higher fuel costs but can hurt rural communities where agriculture is the backbone of the economy."
Wal-Mart has introduced a Food Miles Calculator to its buying operation, which allows buyers to calculate the distance its purchases must travel to reach the chain's 38 food distribution centers in the United States. Wal-Mart said that this calculator is used to influence the firm's buying decisions.
Speaking about the initiative on behalf of Wal-Mart, Amanda Rich of Golin Harris, a public relations firm, said, "To further reduce food miles, we're buying more products locally, especially items like tomatoes and peaches. We are also working with state departments of agriculture and suppliers to develop growing areas for products like corn in Mississippi and cilantro in southern Florida, which had not grown there before. Not only will these efforts save food miles, but they will provide our customers with fresher products."
Mr. McLean has been growing organic citrus for more than 10 years, and his company currently manages 1,000 acres of organic Hamlin and Valencia oranges. He recently was awarded the Orlando Sentinel's first "Culinary Cup," an award that recognizes those who have made significant contributions to how people in central Florida eat, drink and dine.
He also is currently a board member of the Organic Trade Association.
