When the employees of PrairieLand Partners in Emporia planted a garden at their business they wanted to do more than provide some fresh vegetables for themselves. They wanted to prove to area gardeners that if you grow it, local businesses will buy it.
And that is just what happened.
Paul du Toit, store manager of PrairieLand Partners Inc., has been successful this summer selling produce like tomatoes, lettuce, onions and more to area grocery stores and restaurants.
Du Toit sees this project as a success because businesses are not only getting better, fresher products but it’s also proving to local gardeners that they could earn extra income by growing fruits and vegetables.
“We have young farmers coming back to the farm with families,” he said. “Grandpa is still drawing an income, so these young families have to develop extra income. High tunnels to extend the growing season can help provide needed income for families.”
Local food initiatives and food cooperatives are on the rise around the country. An estimated $4 billion in 2002 was spent on local food, and that will jump to an estimated $7 billion in 2012. The increase has been helped by more restaurants, and grocery stores are joining the local food initiatives.
That increase has also been seen locally. “We continue to have record sales at the Emporia Farmers Market and we are getting more requests from restaurants who want local produce.” said Rachael LeClear, Director of General Education and Community Education at the Flint Hills Technical College.
Staff at PrairieLand planted their garden in the spring and it was over 200 feet long with 100-foot rows. The PrairieLand staff worked over their lunch hours and evenings tending to the garden.
Despite oppressive heat this summer that caused many gardens to fail, the PrairieLand employees installed a drip irrigation system to help their garden be a success.
Price Chopper sold corn, potatoes, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes and cucumbers that were grown in the PrairieLand garden.
“We have had many positive comments and people were very interested in it,” said Jonathan Lewis, Price Chopper Assistant Store Manager. “We will carry it again next year.”
Jena Johnson, owner of the The New Breck Cafe in Americus, used lettuce and okra that was grown by PrairieLand.
“I will always use locally grown produce first. My customers just prefer it. And it just tastes better,” Johnson said. “We try to always have feature items on our menu that use items that are grown locally.”
It doesn’t look Perfect
When a customer visits a produce aisle at grocery stores there awaits perfect looking fruit and vegetables.
With locally grown produce there is a learning curve for customers because the produce may not look perfect when compared to items grown commercially.
“Some customers didn’t like the looks of the sweet corn,” du Toit said. “It might not look perfect but it is healthier. We only used manure to fertilize our garden.”
Amy Becker, director of sustainability studies at the Flint Hills Technical College, agrees.
“Commercial crops are treated so poorly,” Becker said. “With locally grown produce there are less chemicals and a shorter travel time, which makes them taste better.”
To help raise visibility for local food, du Toit purchased a 1948 International truck that they plan to restore. “We hope this truck, which will go door-to-door delivering vegetables, will be an icon for Emporia promoting locally grown foods,” du Toit said.
The future
Du Toit hopes he proved this year that if you grow it, business will buy it. Now the task will be to get more gardeners to band together to grow more food locally next year.
“Our district manager wanted to carry the produce in our other stores but they couldn’t meet the volume,” Lewis said. “We would have bought more.”
This sentiment was also echoed by Walmart Store Manager Randy Heavener said they would also like to sell local produce. There is also a push being made by the school district to include more local food with school lunches.
“Local businesses will buy locally grown produce, but now we need growers,” du Toit said.
• If you are interested in helping provide food call Amy Becker at 343-4600.
jamesbordonaro (James Bordonaro) says...
Very Cool!
I'm going to do more shopping at Price Chopper for my produce when I can't to the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays.
I'm wondering if Praire Land gives tours of their garden.
August 25, 2011 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )