For the supermarket chain to incorporate farm-to-table principles while still
meeting consumer demands they should utilize the products that local farms
produce and promote those items the most but keep relationships with long-
distance suppliers for the off-season. The supermarket chain could locally
source dairy, meat, and in-season produce.
The benefits to farm-to-table principles are infinite. Customers are looking for
organic, sustainable food and will see that this specific supermarket chain
carries that with the convivence of stopping in at a grocery store at any time
instead of trying to find a farmer’s market on their schedule. Another benefit
to farm-to-table principles is that the grocery store will benefit their local
community by supporting farmers and their businesses. This increased profit
going into the local businesses, especially in rural areas, will allow for further
growth in the economy overall. Small businesses can often feel threatened by
corporate chains, so working with them instead of hurting them will provide
the chain with great publicity, and more business. (Massey, 2021) Another
benefit is that transportation costs will be cut significantly. b
A major risk associated with farm-to-table grocery stores is that their supply
will not be consistent. A location in New England may be able to buy locally-
sourced apples, pumpkins, squash, carrots, and many more veggies in the fall,
but come winter they will only have access to locally sourced root vegetables
and will have to find somewhere else to get those to keep customers happy.
Another risk is that costs of the products themselves or storage may increase.
Communication with farmers to understand the availability of food at certain
times of the year is important to implement this idea. b
Specific forms of communication that are necessary for the supermarket to
implement a farm-to-table philosophy are with the farms directly. This
includes which crops/livestock are available at a certain time of year, how the
supermarket should store any surplus of potentially perishable items, ways for
leftover products that are out of season to be repurposed (such as Can this
veggie be pickled and then still sold as a local item?) I would communicate
with farms to implement a “Just in Time” inventory system, where we may
have more frequent deliveries versus larger deliveries to keep inventory low
and learn the demand of the customers. (Soomo Learning, 2020)
The factors that will determine if my company applies a farm-to-table
principle include:
• Can extra inventory be stored in a unique way to stretch the season for
as long as possible?
• Are there enough local farms around all my stores so that they can each
have a variety of quality produce, dairy, meat, and other products?
• What is the monetary cost of buying local versus buying from a
wholesaler?
• Do the consumers in my area care about buying organic products or can
they afford to?
References
Massey, A. (2021, April 30). Farm to table: Building Local and Regional
Food Systems. SARE. Retrieved b
January 26, 2022, from https://www.sare.org/resources/farm-to-table-
building-local-and- regional-food-systems/
Soomo Learning. (2020). People, planet, and profit.
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