Wal-Mart may be honing in on local food market, but suppliers don’t seem worried
For many small businesses, Wal-Mart’s bouncing happy face rolls back anything but smiles; however, local co-op grocers may not be frowning.
Although the company often receives a bad rap, Wal-Mart might be doing more good than you think. As the largest buyer of
“This is good for the surrounding communities and it helps to generate savings on distribution costs that we can pass on to our customers,” says Jami Arms, Wal-Mart spokeswoman. “This is even more important in the current economic climate because organics help us give customers a one-stop shopping experience that will help them save time and fuel costs.”
When it comes to the organic food market, it appears local co-ops are safe from Wal-Mart’s shadow—at least for now.
“Ultimately they can do what they want; we have other niches that they can’t fill,” says Travis Lusk, produce manager of Seward Co-op in
Despite the lack of concern from some neighborhood co-ops, in 2006, the Cornucopia Institute, a farming watchdog group based in
Although the state of
“They’re the largest purveyor of organic products in the world,” Lusk says. “I’m always pleasantly surprised about more acreage being devoted to organic commodities.”
JJ Wienkers
