Harveys commits to carrying locally grown produce

ALBANY — As a growing number of customers continues to look for locally grown and produced products, Harveys grocery store parent company Southeastern Grocers, which also owns BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, has announced a new local sourcing policy in which the company has committed to source produce from local farms and orchards whenever possible.

The move, which the company announced earlier this month, is designed to help bolster local economies and attract those customers looking to find fresh produce, while also continuing the company’s legacy of featuring locally grown products on its shelves, something the Harvey’s brand, in particular, is known for.

Featuring locally sourced products is nothing new to Harveys, as the company has a long history of carrying fresh products produced on farms across the Southeast for the past 90 years.

“We have long-term, standing relationships with the farmers in the communities we’re located in,” said Harveys Regional Vice President Ken Wicker. “We have a great supply chain network with multiple farms producing what our customers are looking for.”

Wicker said the company currently sources a wide variety of items locally from a network of 125 local growers, which helps Harveys keep its cases stocked with fresh produce.

“This is an opportunity for us to deliver quality to our customers and an opportunity to bring these locally grown (and) fresh products to our customers,” said Wicker. “We want to provide the best and freshest products we can. We’re committed to providing products at the peak of ripeness, the peak of perfection.”

In fact, Wicker, who recently joined Harveys associates and celebrity chef/company spokesman Curtis Stone on a tour of farms in Southern Georgia to see how the store’s products were being grown, said that in many instances produce can be on sale at a given location within just a few days of being harvested.

“Most of the produce can go from the field to the store in 48 hours,” said Wicker. “The peaches we saw being picked (Friday) could realistically be in a Harvey’s case on Monday.”

In addition to bolstering the company’s ability to provide fresh produce, the initiative also sends a clear message to Harveys customers that Southeastern Grocers is committed to supporting the local economies where its stores are located.

“If you consider the fact that many of the farms that we’re doing business with are located in towns and communities we’re located in, we’re helping the local communities,” said Wicker. “It’s important for us that we support the local communities we operate in. The partnerships we have make perfect sense.”

In Southwest Georgia alone, the company operates roughly 20 locations, with six locations clustered in Albany. The company has not announced which local farms it is dealing with in the region, but Wicker did share that the company is always looking to develop additional relationships to ensure the company can meet product demand.

“Our product availability is good,” said Wicker. “(But) we continue to look for great partners that have the same commitment to excellence that we do. We always welcome that.”

Additionally, Wicker said if the company continues to see success with locally grown produce it will also strive to add other locally produced products such as meat and dairy products, something the company already does to some extent.

“We’ve got a tremendous opportunity with produce,” Wicker said. “We have done things in the past in other areas (as well). Most of our poultry is Georgia grown. We center on fresh and we support local.”