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Ripe, Fresh and Juicy - BI-LO Supermarkets Features a Bounty of Local Produce

Date: July 02, 2009

BI-LO Launches Campaign to Promote Local Farmers and Produce

GREENVILLE, S.C. (July 2, 2009) — As summer heats up, BI-LO stores are ripe with an abundance of fresh, flavorful local produce.  The crisp, cool program in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee seeks to educate customers about the benefits and variety of produce options that are available throughout the summer and into the fall, thanks to local farmers across BI-LO’s four-state operating region.

The company’s local produce initiative is designed to help showcase the farmers BI-LO partners with to provide locally grown produce.  The produce is of the highest quality, freshness and sustainability – all major criteria for any Walter’s produce sold at BI-LO.  To ensure that the local produce meets Walter’s high standards of quality and freshness, it is inspected three times: at the farm, at the warehouse and at the store.

BI-LO ensures that its local produce is left untouched until it’s fully ripened, packed with the maximum amount of flavorful, natural nutrients.  This attention to detail results in produce that’s sweeter, juicier, longer lasting and extremely healthy.  The company only works with farmers that yield the best, most consistently fresh produce.

“Nearly 50 percent of BI-LO’s produce comes from farmers across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee,” said Bob Denomme, Director of Produce with BI-LO.  “Throughout the summer months we hope our customers will taste first-hand our extensive selection of high-quality, fresh and affordable local produce.”
Hot days, humid nights and rich soil make these four southern states some of the best places in the country to grow produce.  BI-LO’s local produce campaign highlights partnerships with local farmers, including:

NORTH CAROLINA
Carolina Blueberry
Cherry Hill Farms, selling packaged herbs
Flavor First, selling an assortment of vegetables
Hollar & Greene, selling cabbage
Southern Produce, selling sweet potatoes
Sunny Creek Farms, selling alfalfa sprouts, black eyed peas and bean sprouts

SOUTH CAROLINA
Phil Sandifer, selling cantaloupe
Randy Johnson, selling watermelons
Rawls, selling greens
Titan Farms, selling peaches
Coosaw Farms, selling an assortment of vegetables
Hilliard Farms, selling mustard, turnips, collard greens and rutabagas

GEORGIA
Coggins Farms, selling carrots and an assortment of other vegetables
Dean Tucker Farms, selling watermelons
Hendrix Produce, selling Vidalia onions
Paulk Vineyards, selling muscadines and scuppernongs

TENNESSEE
Lillian Stratton Tomatoes
Monterey Mushrooms
Triple C Chandley Farms, selling tomatoes
Sale Creek Honey

In addition to the great quality and price benefits customers gained by buying local, they are also helping out the local economy and protecting the environment by purchasing locally grown produce.  Selecting this produce not only supports the farmers, but also the distributors and drivers that transport the product from the fields to the stores.  On average, trucks carrying local produce emit four times less emissions than trucks carrying produce grown in the global market, so the miles to deliver the product are reduced by transporting local produce, lessening greenhouse emissions and driver’s reliance on oil for gas.

For more information about local produce available at BI-LO, please visit www.bi-lo.com.

ABOUT BI-LO
BI-LO,headquartered in Mauldin, South Carolina, operates 214 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and employs approximately 15,500 people. The company sponsors the annual BI-LO Charity Classic golf tournament each June. The BI-LO Charity Classic has raised more than $48 million in the past 26 years, with grant funding focused on children’s charities, hunger relief and education.

Media Contact:
Amanda Larsen
Erwin-Penland
(864) 672-2810
amanda.larsen@erwinpenland.com