Local Farm Teams Up with Walmart to Push for Fresher Produce in Stores

Written by Skyler Henry on . Posted in Local

FORT VALLEY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A big-name retailer is teaming up with a local peach orchard to get fresher produce in its local stores.

Walmart has teamed up with Lane Southern orchards to get local fruits and vegetables inside their stores.

Walmart’s Vice President of Produce and Floral, Dorn Wenninger, believes finding farmers close to their stores will enhance the consumer experience.

“It’s great to be right here in Georgia, the heart of Peach country, because there is no fresher peach than you can get in Atlanta than one coming from Georgia itself,” Wenninger said.

Lane Orchards VP of Sales Duke Lane III knows when customers come to his orchard, they love seeing the journey of their produce…from tree to shelf.

“Retail has been really good about educating consumers, giving them an opportunity to kind of peak behind the curtain to see what goes on in a working farm,” Lane said.

Lane Southern Orchards has produced 1 point six million pounds of peaches to Walmart stores in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina in this season alone.

Lane says Walmart’s’ campaign will let farmers’ crops thrive in their stores.

“They recognize the value in flavor and making sure that inventory is fresh and those are really important to delivering a really good eating experience and Walmart recognizes that,” Lane said.

“When you buy a peach today, tomorrow it will be a little bit different and that puts a higher responsibility on us the retailers to make sure we’re picking only the best growers and the best produce that we can have,” Wenninger said.

Walmart plans to double the sales of locally grown fruits and vegetables nationwide in the next two years.

Stores in Georgia have sold more than 19 million dollars of locally grown produce including lane orchard’s peaches.