Whole Foods still stocks lots of far-flung produce: mangoes from Mexico, bananas from Colombia, pineapples from Costa Rica. And there's no handy little sign disclosing how many the miles the New Zealand Granny Smiths traveled to Baltimore. But the country of origin was posted, in large print, on signs for each item.
At the Giant store in Hunt Valley, local produce was highlighted in a low-key manner. On a wipe board in black marking pen, the store listed "Locally Grown, Fresh from the Farm" veggies: green squash, yellow squash, green peppers, green cabbage, and red leaf and green leaf lettuces. The items were mixed on the shelves with other veggies.
"The challenge is that it's a global economy," said Giant Food spokeswoman Jamie Miller. "Many times, from a seasonal standpoint, we can't get some items and continue to source produce on a global basis. But we continue to work with local growers."
At the Super Fresh in downtown Baltimore, the emphasis was on organic rather than local. The store highlighted organic suppliers such as California-based Driscoll's, with photos of the farmers and bios that did nothing to soft-pedal their remote addresses.
Super Fresh's strategy aside, local is the new organic, according to research findings presented last month at a U.S. Department of Agriculture conference in Washington..
"Local is doing better than organic," said Amanda Behrens of Johns Hopkins University's Center for a Livable Future, which deals with sustainability issues. Behrens, manager of the center's Eating for the Future project, attended the conference. "Which is all the more reason to be really clear about what we mean.
"One of the things everyone talked about [at the conference] is the demand outweighs supply. The supermarkets can't get enough local produce, even when it's in season."
Part of the problem is logistics. Supermarkets are used to dealing with large suppliers, not lots of little ones.
"A certain number of [local] farmers could supply all the lettuce or apples, but if they're not grouping those together before they get to the supermarket back door ... you're going to have 30 farmers trying to offload their produce," said Rebecca Klein, director of the Agriculture and Public Health Policy project at the Center for a Livable Future.
One of the local farms Safeway promotes is Sunny Valley of Glassboro, N.J. That's Sunny Valley International, which represents about 10 blueberry growers and eight peach growers across the state.
The growers picked their first peaches of the season on June 30, so it came as a surprise to Bob Von Rohr, director of marketing for Sunny Valley, that Safeway last week was touting Jersey peaches - on signs directly above South Carolina peaches. "I wish they would represent the true point of origin," he said, adding, "I don't think it's done intentionally."
Overall, he's pleased that supermarkets are promoting local produce, so people don't have to stop at roadside stands or farmers' markets to buy it. Even farm stands are suspect, he noted.
Von Rohr recalled pulling over at a produce stand on his way to the New Jersey shore early last summer. "They had a big sign up, 'Fresh locally grown peaches,' " he said.
But he knew it was too early for Jersey peaches, so he quizzed the teen-ager minding the stand. "I said, 'Are you sure these are Jersey peaches?' He said, 'Yeah, pretty sure.' "
