On a recent trip to Whole Foods Market to purchase staples for my pantry, I was pleasantly surprised to see a large number of local items in the organic produce section.  I had all but given up on Whole Foods as a source for local fruits and veggies, since they had averaged a mere 4-5 local items per week for most of the summer.  In dramatic contrast, I was now seeing a wide range of local organic foods including carrots, leeks, green onion, parsley, cilantro, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, okra, various squashes and greens, eggplants, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, pears, and persimmons. There were also some conventionally grown local choices including apples, mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes.  I was enticed enough to stray from my list, and pick up a bunch of rainbow chard and an acorn table squash.

I decided to give Whole Foods a call to find out whom to thank for the wonderful change I was seeing.

The man largely responsible for the surge in the availability of locally grown produce is Don Nishiguchi, a Local Produce Buyer/Forager for the Southern Pacific Region of Whole Foods Market.  His territory ranges from Fresno, CA to the Mexican border, and includes parts of Arizona and Nevada.  A third generation farmer himself, Nishiguchi knows what it is like to rely on brokers who try to get your product for next to nothing.   He appreciates the hard work that goes into farming, and ensures that the farmers are receiving a fair price for their product – on a $2.00 bunch of chard the farmer would earn $1.50.

Nishiguchi usually spend four days a week visiting various farms and inspecting them for quality and safety.  On his office bound days, he is often fielding phone calls from farmers who are interested in selling their product at Whole Foods.  He is looking for both conventional and organic producers, but always has to make sure that the bottom line will work for both the company and the farmer.

Part of his job is also researching which fruits and veggies are most desired by the consumers, and trying to ensure that those products are available.   Nishiguchi is starting an Heirloom program at the Hillcrest (San Diego) location.  He is able to have local farmers grow heirloom produce directly for the store.  Currently available are heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, and onions.

Nishiguchi says that Whole Foods should be able to maintain a reliable and consistent crop from the local farmers.  He has 8 different farms that supply the produce for the Hillcrest store, and 10-15 farms that supply the La Jolla location.   For Hillcrest, the farms are located in Fallbrook, Valley Center, Hemet, San Juan Capistrano and Carlsbad.  He is also working on adding a farm from Bonita.

The ability to get a fair price from a large retailer allows the farmers to spend more of their time working in the field, and less time, money and energy driving to various farmers’ markets around the county.  It also benefits the consumer by giving us easy access to locally grown produce on a daily basis.  While it is true that on any given day (except Monday) you can find a farmers’ market somewhere in San Diego county, it is not always convenient or cost effective to attend them.  Where I live, the closest farmers markets are Saturday or Sunday morning, or Thursday afternoon – all of which are times that I regularly work.  The markets that take place on my days off are at least a 30 minute drive from my neighborhood.  If I can get local produce on every day of the week just eight blocks from my house, it saves me not only time, but gas as well.  That for me makes a big difference.  I am always happy to support local farmers directly a farmers’ markets when I can, but I am even happier knowing that my fellow San Diegans and I will still be supporting local growers when we make the more convenient trip to Whole Foods.