Nation's Largest Retailer Buys Local to Go Green
Walmart buys 70 percent of its produce in the United States
By MEREDITH LAND
Updated 5:15 PM CST, Sat, Nov 14, 2009
When you shop for produce, do you know where it is grown? The nation's largest retailer wants you to; it's a way to go green and keep costs down.
Walmart said it buys 70 percent of its produce in the United States as part of its locally grown initiative. And plenty of the produce found in North Texas Walmarts is grown in the Lone Star State.
A Dallas Walmart recently offered spotted potatoes from Dalhart. The cabbage came from Uvalde. The peanuts were grown in Sea Graves. The grapefruit came from Edinburg.
"Most people think of oranges as coming from California, but they don't realize how much produce is actually grown in the state of Texas," said Shaun Enloe, a Walmart representative.
Chasity Strange, who has a large family, said it's important to her where her produce is grown.
"I do shop around, but for things like my produce -- we're doing veggie subs for dinner tonight -- and I always come here," she said.
Chasity said she always looks for the "Go Texan" label, which signifies goods grown in Texas, when she shops at the Walmart along Cockrell Hill in Dallas.
"You go into other stores and you don't have the confidence of knowing where it came from," Strange said.
Enloe said Walmart's locally grown initiative is three-pronged. It supports local farmers, cuts down on transportation costs -- which helps the environment -- and cuts prices.
That's music to the ears of shopper Jean Hubbard.
"I'm always looking for a bargain," Hubbard said. "I live clear across town but drove over here to Walmart."
First Published: Nov 10, 2009 2:52 PM CST
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