Plant City may be the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, but BJ’s Wholesale Club is more interested in its locally grown vegetables.
For the third consecutive year, the membership warehouse retailer has selected Rosemont Farms off Turkey Creek Road to provide Florida locations with fresh produce.
“Rosemont Farms provided product for our Eastern Veg program prior to Farm to Club, so it was only natural to have them included into the Farm to Club program once we rolled it out in Florida,” said Dominic Viglione, produce buyer for BJ’s. “They always did a great job for us.”
Rosemont Farms is the primary provider of Florida Farm to Club corn. All 31 Florida stores will receive corn grown at Rosemont Farms. Some also will receive tomatoes and green beans.
“They are able to provide high quality product on a consistent basis to give our members a great experience on a regular basis,” Viglione said.
The Farm to Club program began in the spring of 2011. Florida was the inaugural state for the program, which subsequently expanded up the East Coast to 15 other states. For farms to participate in the Farm to Club program, all produce included in the program must be grown in the same state as the BJ’s location it would serve.
The program is a benefit to growers, because BJ’s is able to help the farmers plan in advance of the crop season. Usually, farmers grow a certain amount and hope the market is good, so they can sell all of it. BJ’s is able to tell farmers in advance how many pounds and what produce items it needs.
And it’s not just the farmers who benefit. Shoppers also get their pick of fresh produce. Many fruits and vegetables travel long distances from the ground to the grocery. According to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, in a study of 16 common fruits and vegetables, the average piece of produce traveled just under 1,500 miles before it was sold to a consumer. Additionally, 39% of fruits and 12% of vegetables were imported from other countries. To keep food from spoiling during these long trips, some produce is picked before it has had a chance to fully ripen and absorb nutrients from its surroundings.
“The Farm to Club program was created to promote locally-grown produce to help local economies and provide the healthiest options,” Viglione said. “BJ’s makes it possible for customers to have fresh fruits and vegetables that are practically grown in their own backyard.”
BJ’s has also worked with C&C Agricultural Farms, in Clewiston, and Williams Farms, in Punta Gorda.
Headquartered in Westborough, Mass., BJ’s Wholesale Club, a membership warehouse retailer in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 201 clubs in 15 states — from Maine to Florida — and employs more than 25,000.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
VEGGIE TALES
Corn: On average, an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows.
Tomato: Americans eat 22 to 24 pounds of tomatoes per person, per year. About half of that comes in the form of ketchup and tomato sauce.
Green beans: Green beans used to have a very thick “string” running along the outer curve of the pod. This led to their nickname of “string beans.” In 1894, scientists found a way to grow the beans without the string. Today, nearly all green beans are grown without thick strings.
