266: Wal-Mart gets progressive

I do love it when I find good news in a trade journal. And today I found it in Progressive Grocer! Today's linked article can be found in the journal's rather interesting section on corporate social responsibility, and reports that supermarket giant Wal-Mart has recently made a number of commitments to source fresh produce locally. The company is defining 'local' as being within the same state as the store concerned, and says that such produce already makes up about 1/5 of its inventory. It is working with state and local departments of agriculture, too, to expand or reintroduce the growing of key crops in certain states - for example, corn in Mississippi. It will save Wal-Mart money by reducing transportation costs, but the trend has other benefits too. Reducing 'food miles' helps cut pollution and CO2 emissions. Customers often like to know where their food has come from and are reassured by local sourcing. So this is good news all round, especially if you are willing the world's largest retailer to be a more progressive grocer...

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It's a leap year this year, so I reckon that means I have exactly 100 days to go until my 1-year experiment is through. I'm kind of surprised I got this far, actually! Keep on keeping on...