Supporting local food suppliers and touting their products are all the rage at retail these days. But Giant Food Stores, LLC has been leading the “buy local” charge for 85 years and counting. This reliance on local sourcing traces back to the 148-store chain’s roots as a two-man butcher shop called the Carlisle Meat Market, which opened in 1923, says Tracy Pawelski, spokeswoman for Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant.

“While we purchase products from large industry leaders, we also have a long heritage of supporting local farmers and manufacturers in the states where we operate,” says Pawelski. Thus, the central Pennsylvania market leader’s commitment to local agricultural programs is no bandwagon reaction to the “buy fresh, buy local” movement gaining ground around the country, she affirms.

However, the grocer does work hard to keep the program fresh and up to date. “Giant’s approach represents innovative, best-in-class practices that continue to strengthen the connection between the agricultural and retail industries,” says Pawelski. “All of these have become increasingly key areas of focus for us.”

The Ahold division is a participant of long standing in its home state’s “PA Preferred” program, which requires participants to source at least 60 percent of their products in Pennsylvania. Giant is especially proud of being recognized in January 2006 as Pennsylvania’s first-ever PA Preferred Retailer of the Year.

Similar to other state-run programs nationwide, PA Preferred’s origins are tied to fresh produce, but its impact goes far beyond that now, to encompass an array of shelf-stable foods, beverages, condiments, and nonfoods. For its part, Giant keeps its doors open to new opportunities for products from hundreds of small farmers and food processors.

“We embrace our responsibility to support the local economy by offering customers the widest selection of locally grown products possible,” says Pawelski, adding that the chain uses “all the tools in our toolbox” to promote its ever-expanding homegrown lineup.

“We use an array of mass-media tools, including tagging PA Preferred TV and radio spots, in-store signage to help customers find homegrown products, and [regular messages] in our circular to talk about our commitment to homegrown,” she says.

That commitment, of course, is proving more timely than ever as fuel prices increase and sustainability grows as a corporate, consumer, and government issue. Giant is aggressively seeking to swell the ranks of its regional vendors, according to Pawelski.

Case in point: Giant this spring hosted the second Supplier Diversity/Regional & Small Business Trade Show in conjunction with PA Preferred, as well as the organizations Virginia’s Finest; Women Business Enterprise Council of Pa., N.J., and Del.; the National Minority Supplier Development Council; Maryland’s Best; and St. Joseph’s University.

In addition to PA Preferred, Giant also showcases a variety of Maryland’s Best and Virginia’s Finest products in its Martin’s stores south of the Mason-Dixon line, including local produce, specialty foods and wines, hams, seafood, peanuts, potted plants, Christmas trees, flowers, and baked goods.

More than 150 companies participated in the event, and it was a golden opportunity for them to have their products reviewed for immediate authorization by Giant’s procurement teams.

Good-neighbor policy

“Supplier diversity is an integral part of our business at Giant,” notes Jeff Martin, the chain’s e.v.p. of sales and merchandising. A Giant veteran, he displays a discernable sense of pride in the chain’s “long tradition of supporting small, local, and diverse vendors who are our neighbors, customers, and part of the economic engine of our communities.”

During the supplier trade show, Giant hosted two workshops for smaller vendor partners, “How to Work Productively with Your Broker,” presented by St. Joseph’s Center for Food Marketing, and “Accessing Capital to Enhance Your Business Opportunities,” presented by representatives from the Department of Agriculture’s PAgrows and Center for Farm Transitions economic development teams.

The trade show was the next logical extension of Giant’s rack program, a first-of-its-kind initiative for the retailer that gives local producers a shot at valuable shelf space. It’s been a part of the merchandising mix chainwide since November 2007.

“The specially designed racks showcase PA Preferred product never carried before in the stores,” says Pawelski. Featured products in the program have 120 days to make their mark. “And if they do well, [they] are considered for the permanent assortment.”

Like the trade show, the rack program puts the teeth in Giant’s commitment to support the local economy. What’s more, it strengthens Giant’s connection with shoppers in a meaningful way. “Everyone wins when we work together to strengthen local economies.”

In yet another tangible show of support for locally grown goods, Giant hosted a highly successful Celebrity Cook-Off last September, at its flagship Super Food Store in Camp Hill, Pa. “Three local celebrities from the media, the political community, and the business community squared off with recipes that featured PA Preferred products,” recounts Pawelski. The chain hosted a similar event featuring Virginia’s Finest products when it opened its Staunton, Va. Martin’s unit in 2006.

New this summer, Giant and Martin’s stores are collaborating with East Coast growers to promote homegrown peaches and nectarines throughout the local growing season.


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Sustainable floral blooms at Giant

Mirroring its intensified support of sustainability, Giant Food Stores, LLC has rolled out a green floral program in conjunction with Nature’s Flowers, a Miami-based floral supplier that supports environmentally responsible growing practices by reducing pesticides, recycling water, composting, and increasing natural fertilizers and biological controls in its greenhouses.

“These flowers add to the variety of ‘green’ items available in our stores, and support good environmental practices one bloom at a time,” says Jeff Beaulieu, Giant’s v.p. of produce/floral.

The new floral bouquets are available two varieties, “Big Bunch” and “Select,” each of which features 20 stems, and are highlighted accordingly as a green selection in all floral departments chainwide.

While the assortment of flowers varies slightly, the bouquets feature mostly alstromeria and mums in a recycled sleeve, notes Beaulieu.

In 2007 Nature’s Flowers farm received the EPA’s highest Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, which is bestowed on companies that make a corporate commitment to protecting the environment with integrated pest management approaches to farming and taking steps to mitigate the health and environmental risks of ozone depletion.