Weis Rolls Out Local Produce Campaign

In tandem with peak Pennsylvania fruit and vegetable harvest season, Weis Markets rolled out its annual Your Neighbors, Our Farmers local produce program, which showcases the contributions and commitment of 13 local farmers.

“When we talk about our selection of local produce, we want to do more than just talk the talk,” explained Kurt Schertle, COO for Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis Markets. “When customers visit the produce section in one of our stores, we want them to know that the produce comes from the state in which they live, and to introduce them to the hardworking men and women that provide our fresh produce, many of whom have been suppliers of ours for two generations.”  

In 2014, Weis will purchase more than 25 million pounds of locally grown sweet corn, green beans, peaches, nectarines, apples, lettuce, mushrooms, watermelons, cabbage, blueberries, cucumbers, cantaloupes, tomatoes, potatoes, squash and pumpkins.

Your Neighbors, Our Farmers banners with photographs of its family-farmer suppliers will be prominently displayed in Weis produce departments and weekly circulars, which will highlight the growing region and product for each of its farmer partners, including:

• Titus Hoover, Port Trevorton, Pa. (yellow and green squash)
• John Tebbs, Williamsport, Pa. (sweet corn)
• Dave Rodgers, Great Meadows, N.J. (leafy greens and bunched radishes)
• Allen Conrad, Newport, Pa. (organic leafy greens)
• Paul Lebo, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (corn, cucumbers and cantaloupes)
• Page Houser, Sharpsburg, Md. (corn and cantaloupes)

In Pennsylvania, Weis purchases local produce grown on nearly 150 farms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. These farms are located in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, including Lancaster, Lycoming, Snyder, Monroe, Northumberland, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, Dauphin and Schuylkill Counties. In Maryland, Weis purchases local produce grown on farms located in Washington and Anne Arundel Counties. In New Jersey, it purchases local produce grown in Warren County and in up state New York it purchases produce grown in Orange County.