Weis Launches Local Produce Campaign

Weis Markets has launched its “Your Neighbors, Our Farmers” local produce campaign, which highlights the long-term contributions of 13 farmers and their families who supply Weis stores with local produce.

“It is now peak season for local produce in our five-state market area. For 99 years and counting, we’ve been purchasing and selling local produce because it offers the quality our customers have come to expect from us,” said David J. Hepfinger, Weis Markets’ president and CEO. “It also helps us conserve resources and benefits the economies of the states where we operate. This year, we are proud to highlight the contributions of thirteen farmers and their families, some of whom have been supplying us for more than 40 years.”

In 2011, Weis Markets will purchase more than 24 million pounds of local produce from some 150 farmers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

The campaign revolves around individual black-and-white photos of each farmer. These photos are displayed in Weis Markets’ produce departments by region and product; a group shot is displayed in all stores. These photos are also displayed on billboards and in weekly circulars. The photos can be viewed at www.weismarkets.com/products/buy-local/.

Weis Markets regularly purchases locally grown sweet corn, green beans, peaches, nectarines, apples, lettuce, mushrooms, watermelons, cabbage, blueberries, cucumbers, cantaloupes, tomatoes, potatoes, squash and pumpkins.

In Pennsylvania, Weis Markets purchases local produce grown on more than 100 farms in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, including ones in Lancaster, Lycoming, Snyder, Monroe, Northumberland, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, Dauphin and Schuylkill counties.

In Maryland, Weis Markets 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 upstate New York it purchases produce grown in Orange County.

Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis Markets operates 164 stores in Pennsylvania and in Maryland, New York, New Jersey and West Virginia.