Ahold businesses offer locally grown BrightFarms produce

March 21, 2016

Ahold USA announced that its Giant Landover retail division now carries locally grown produce, year-round from BrightFarms Capitol Greenhouse, a 150,000-square-foot greenhouse farm located in Culpeper County, VA. In addition to Giant Landover locations, the BrightFarms greenhouse will soon supply select Martin’s Food Markets and Peapod within the Giant Landover market.

BrightFarms will provide Giant Landover an assortment of the freshest salad mixes such as baby arugula, Asian greens, baby spinach, spring mix, spinach blend, baby kale, as well as basil and a variety of tomatoes. The produce supplied will total nearly 1 million pounds per year.

“Ahold USA and our retail divisions are on a mission to transform our produce departments from good to great — that means more local produce, better prices and better quality for our customers,” David Lessard, vice president of fresh produce for Ahold USA, said in a press release. “BrightFarms is a key partner in this ongoing strategy and takes our long heritage of supporting local growers to the next level offering select ‘in-season’ local produce year-round.”

BrightFarms’ state-of-the-art greenhouse farms are specifically designed to conserve land and water and help the environment by locating the farms close to markets to reduce greenhouse gas emission from transportation. Its produce can go from “seed to shelf” in as little as 26 days, and will be delivered to stores within 24 hours of harvest, ensuring the produce is as fresh as possible.  Additionally, BrightFarms creates green-collar jobs for local farmers, allowing more money to stay within the community that it serves.

"The BrightFarms Capitol Greenhouse allows us, in partnership with Ahold USA, to provide consumers with the tastiest, freshest and most sustainable local produce possible, no matter the season,” Paul Lightfoot, chief executive officer of BrightFarms, said in the release. “It's a huge win for both Ahold USA retail consumers and the environment."

Ahold USA partners with more than 270 local farms.  “Ahold USA embraces the responsibility to support local economies by offering the widest selection of locally grown products possible,” said Lessard.