As part of our sustainability promise, we are committed not only to protecting the environment, but also the people and local businesses who help our communities thrive. Items with a local label on them have been grown, harvested, or manufactured right in the state in which they are sold, giving our customers a chance to support their local economy while helping to reduce the carbon footprint incurred from the transportation of products. While we may not always be directly involved in our growers’ specific agricultural efforts, we are glad to share some of their practices.

B&W Quality Growers – Land Preservation

B&W Quality Growers, a seasonal watercress farm, believes in preserving the viability of the land. The farm’s soil lies fallow for at least six months out of the year and has recharged naturally for over a century.

Pero – Water Conservation

Pero Family Farms integrates sustainable growing practices into their bell pepper business via irrigation. They use a drip irrigation system that increases their efficiency and reduces their water use by up to 80 percent.

Lakeside – Water Conservation and Recycling

When growing their beefsteak tomatoes, Lakeside Produce always keeps sustainability in mind. On average, they recycle over 500,000 pounds of cardboard and 60 million liters of water per year.

Rock Garden – Repurposing Land and Community Outreach

Rock Garden South grows fresh herbs in an unexpected place—an abandoned railroad spur. Growing organic herbs on reclaimed land allows the Miami urban farm to cultivate fresh produce while educating the public about sustainable agriculture through community outreach.

Clear Springs Farms – Resource Preservation and Recycling

For Clear Springs Farms, producing berries is a breeze. They use windmills and reservoirs on their blueberry farm to reduce water use and filter water naturally. Overhead irrigation is left for extreme freeze events only.

Driscoll’s – Water Conservation and Industry Outreach

One way to maintain sustainability? Education. Driscoll’s uses irrigation systems and technologies that reduce water use during berry production. They educate others about these practices in an effort to transform the future of water conservation.

Growers Express – Energy and Water Conservation

Growers Express is proud to support sustainable agriculture while producing leeks and green onions. The company’s growers are able to conserve water and energy while still maximizing system efficiency.

Vegpro – Land and Water Preservation

Vegpro growers sustainably cultivate crops used in salads by testing the soil annually to minimize pollutants and by carefully managing nutrients to protect water quality.

BBI Produce, Inc. – Recycling, Land, and Water Conservation

BBI Produce grows fresh, juicy, and sustainable Florida strawberries. They have made efforts on their farms to recycle plastic containers, reduce water, and plant cover crops that return nutrients to the soil.

Alderman Farms – Honeybee Conservation

As an organic vegetable grower, Alderman Farms does its best to ensure no honeybees are harmed. Its beehives are inspected monthly for disease and parasites, and they are not used for open field pollination.

Family Tree Farms – Water Conservation

The right irrigation means less environmental irritation. Family Tree Farms uses irrigation systems to monitor tree watering for more precise delivery with less waste.

Scully Packing Company – Water Conservation

Scully Packing Company, a pear supplier, focuses on conserving water, but the company does it by using moisture content sensors in their soil to avoid unnecessary irrigation.

Grimmway Farms – CO2 Emission Reduction and Energy Conservation

Grimmway Farms has spent 9 years investing in cleaner engines and solar arrays to reduce air emissions by 440 tons and energy consumption by 7 million kWh a year.

HMC Farms – Solar Energy

HMC Farms uses solar panels to power its cold storage and water pumps to offset the total yearly electricity usage of almost 1,400 homes—totaling 3 megawatts of production.

D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California – CO2 Emission Reduction

By relocating facilities, D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California created shorter shipping routes for its broccoli supply and reduced its CO2 emissions by 593 metric tons. This is equivalent to removing 123 cars from the road.

Village farms – CO2 Emission Reduction

Village Farms, a Publix tomato supplier, lets nature take the lead in company conservation efforts. They recycle CO2 emissions back into their greenhouse, where fresh tomatoes naturally convert it into oxygen.

Chiquita – Plastic Reduction

There are plenty of uses and reuses for plastic bags, and Chiquita, a Publix banana supplier, takes advantage of that. They reuse over 6,700 tons of plastic bags and twine per year to make buckets, pipes, and paving stones with the recycled material.