Schnuck Markets Inc. in partnership with Foodshed.io, is expanding a farm direct to store concept, increasing the number and types of farms their customers experience, all with the goal of increasing flavor and freshness.
This pilot program began in fall 2024 with one farm supplying multiple Schnucks locations across the St. Louis metropolitan region, according to a news release. Following its success, Schnucks has expanded the program in 2025 to include additional farmers and more 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,” says Michael Tipton, vice president of produce and floral for 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 from the fields.”
Schnucks says Ozark Forest Mushroom, the original farm partner in this program, has played a key role in its success. Operating in the heart of St. Louis in the city’s Fox Park neighborhood, the farm specializes in a line of gourmet mushrooms and now supplies more than 13 Schnucks locations each week, year-round. Their proximity to Schnucks stores enables the farm to handle last-minute orders and efficient delivery.
“Throughout our tenure, we’ve been connected with smaller family-owned farms that were meeting food safety compliance, producing high-quality fruits and vegetables, but just couldn’t meet the volume commitments necessary to make a delivery to a distribution center worthwhile,” says Dan Beckmann, CEO of Foodshed.io. “This program solves a gap in the local food supply chain, matching growers with Schnucks store locations that match their volume capabilities.”
This year, Schnucks expanded their “hyper local” program to their Evansville, Ind., market, offering a variety of local produce items, 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,” says Stephen Rennels, division manager for Schnucks. “It was our pleasure to connect our customers to farms they know and love and expect to expand further as the next summer approaches.”
Schnucks and Foodshed.io have been partnering to improve access to local produce for over six seasons, working on innovations ranging from “Fresh Produce Now” alerts to building systems that make farm direct to store possible and affordable to their loyal customers.
