Schnuck Markets Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, is expanding its farm-direct-to-store program, increasing the number and variety of farms supplying its locations to boost freshness and flavor for customers.

The pilot program launched in fall 2024 with one farm supplying multiple Schnucks stores across the St. Louis region. After its success, Schnucks expanded the initiative in 2025 to include more farmers and additional store locations.

“This program is a natural next step in our mission to strengthen our local food economy and provide our customers with the freshest possible products,” said Michael Tipton, vice president of produce and floral at Schnucks. “By working with ‘hyper-local’ farms located just miles from our stores, we’re able to reduce transportation time and deliver produce to our shelves just hours after it’s been harvested.”

Ozark Forest Mushroom, the original partner in the program, has been instrumental to its success. Operating in St. Louis’ Fox Park neighborhood, the farm specializes in gourmet mushrooms and now supplies more than 13 Schnucks locations weekly, year-round. Its proximity allows it to accommodate last-minute orders and efficient deliveries.

“Throughout our tenure, we’ve been connected with smaller family-owned farms that were meeting food safety compliance and producing high-quality fruits and vegetables, but just couldn’t meet the volume commitments necessary to make a delivery to a distribution center worthwhile,” said Dan Beckmann, CEO of Foodshed.io. “This program solves that gap in the local food supply chain, matching growers with Schnucks store locations that fit their volume capabilities.”

This year, Schnucks expanded its “Hyper Local” program to its Evansville, IN, market, offering a range of locally grown produce including sweet corn from Family Tradition Farm, blackberries from Stoll’s Greenhouse, and green Bell peppers from Mayse Farm Market.

“We’ve been serving the Evansville market for nearly 50 years,” said Stephen Rennels, division manager at Schnucks. “It was our pleasure to connect our customers to farms they know and love — and we expect to expand further as next summer approaches.”

Schnucks and Foodshed.io have partnered for more than six seasons to improve access to local produce, working together on innovations ranging from Fresh Produce Now alerts to building systems that make direct-from-farm sourcing possible and affordable for customers.