This spring, retailer-owned supermarket cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. invited local farmers and growers in the Northeast to join its network of suppliers and participate in a Produce Local Supplier Summit to be held July 9 at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison.
“Wakefern’s Produce Local Supplier Summit is another way to help small- and mid-size local growers bring their fresh produce to our stores,” Mark Van Buskirk, group vice president of fresh for Wakefern, said in a news release.
Wakefern member companies own and operate supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, Fairway Market and Di Bruno Bros. banners.
“Our number one focus is to source as close to our market as possible,” Ross Farnsworth, vice president of produce at Wakefern, told The Packer. “Our customers value locally sourced produce,” he continued, “so, if you want to do business where you’re growing your product, Wakefern and our banners are the place to be.”
Growers interested in attending the summit and being considered as a Wakefern supplier must apply online by May 30 through the RangeMe platform. Applicants should share their brand or product’s origin story as part of the application process. Farnsworth said the application process should take no more than 20-30 minutes.
In addition to attending producer panels, those invited to attend the summit will have the opportunity to talk to some existing Wakefern members, according to Karen O’Shea, corporate communications at Wakefern.
“The cooperative is retailer-owned, but it is made-up of these multigenerational families that operate ShopRite stores and some of those members will be there from different families.”
