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“but H-E-B, and people like James look out for the local farmers and will find a place for them. James will make sure it happens.”
Empowering Local Farmers
One only needs to speak with local growers working with H-E-B to grasp the depth of the chain’s commitment to the environment and overall corporate social responsibility. [To respect proprietary relationships, growers’ identities have been protected.] “In my history in the produce world, I’ve been with a lot of different chains, including Wal-Mart, and nobody is better than H-E-B in supporting the local grower,” says one local farmer in the Winter Garden area, who has significantly expanded his business and prospered by part- nering with H-E-B for 14 years.
H-E-B helped guide the cabbage and onion shipper to branch out into growing other products to fill voids in the chain’s local assortment. “We’re a family business started by my grandfather,” says the farmer. “We’re not the farmer with 20 acres and a pick-up truck delivering to H-E-B, which the chain also welcomes, and we’re not the size of Fresh Express in California. We do about 4,000 acres of produce a year,” he says.
“H-E-B is very good at being loyal,” he continues. “A lot of chain stores will leave you for weather or quality issues until next season. H-E-B understands that, and as soon as you’re ready, they’ll come back to you,” he says, adding, “They don’t try to beat up the local farmers with pricing
One only needs to speak with local growers working with H-E-B to grasp the depth of the chain’s commitment to the environment and overall corporate social responsibility.
because they want long-term relationships and know they have to support us over time to keep us in business.”
Another grower who supplies a variety of
vegetables to H-E-B from various regions south and west of San Antonio, agrees. In the farming business many generations, the grower started his deal with H-E-B about 11 years ago. “We grow for a couple of chain stores, but H-E-B is our baby,” he says. “We can count on them and they can count on us. I began with almost nothing, just over 20 acres, and now have at least a couple thousand acres exclusively for H-E-B,” he says proudly.
“HEB is No. 1 to me, and really cares. The team works very well with us on supply issues. ‘At Easter time, will we be good on green beans?’ they will ask us. The buyers really understand weather issues and ask us to let them know if it looks like we’re getting into a gap, so they can turn to Florida or other places to fill in supply,” he continues.
While other chains get bogged down in layers of bureaucracy, H-E-B can react on a dime. “All they ask for is three- or four-day’s notice. That’s where H-E-B whips everybody’s butt. H-E-B can react in 24 hours, where the big chain stores have to go through five different people,” says the grower, who keeps exclusive acreage for H-E-B, knowing that the chain will remain good on its word and help
36 PRODUCE BUSINESS • MAY 2011