Schnuck Markets Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, is expanding a farm direct-to-store concept – increasing the number and types of farms customers experience, with the goal of increasing flavor and freshness.
The pilot program began in fall 2024, with one farm supplying multiple Schnucks locations across the St. Louis metro region. It has since expanded to include additional farmers and stores.
“This program is a natural next step in our mission to strengthen our local food economy and provide our customers with the freshest possible products,” said Michael Tipton, VP of produce and floral at Schnucks.
“By working with ‘hyper-local’ farms located just miles from our stores, we’re able to reduce transportation time and deliver produce to our shelves just hours after it’s been harvested from the fields.”
Ozark Forest Mushroom was the original partner in the program. Operating in St. Louis’ Fox Park neighborhood, it specializes in a line of gourmet mushrooms and now supplies more than 13 Schnucks locations each week, year-round. Its proximity to the stores enables the farm to handle last-minute orders and delivery.
Foodshed.io is a logistics and marketing platform that helps major retailers source produce from local, independent farms in a way that protects quality and safety for consumers.
“Throughout our tenure, we’ve been connected with smaller family-owned farms that were meeting food safety compliance, producing high-quality fruits and vegetables but just couldn’t meet the volume commitments necessary to make a delivery to a distribution center worthwhile,” said Dan Beckmann, CEO at Foodshed.io.
“This program solves a gap in the local food supply chain, matching growers with Schnucks store locations that match their volume capabilities.”
This year, Schnucks expanded its “Hyper Local” program to its Evansville, Indiana, market, offering a variety of local produce, including sweet corn from Family Tradition Farm, blackberries from Stoll’s Greenhouse and bell peppers from Mayse Farm Market.
“We’ve been serving the Evansville market for nearly 50 years,” said Stephen Rennels, division manager at Schnucks. “It was our pleasure to connect our customers to farms they know and love – and expect to expand further as the next summer approaches.”
Schnucks and Foodshed.io have been partnering to improve access to local produce for more than six seasons – working on innovations ranging from “Fresh Produce Now” alerts to building systems that make farm direct-to-store possible and affordable to their customers.
About Schnucks Markets
Founded in St. Louis in 1939, Schnuck Markets Inc. is a third- and fourth-generation, family-owned grocery retailer that operates 113 stores in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana with more than 11,000 employees.
According to Forbes’ 2024 rankings, Schnucks is the 203rd largest privately owned company in the United States and the 13th largest privately owned grocer. It donates more than $15 million in food to pantries.
The company is part of 1939 Group Inc., which is owned by the family that founded Schnuck Markets and named after the year they opened their first store. Other members of the group include Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers Inc.
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