Hannaford Supermarket Organic and Local Map

Figure A: Base Map Of Hannaford Supermarket, Shelburne Road, Burlington Vermont

Figure B: "Key" to Figure A

Hannaford supports local Vermont companies and organic food

Local Food Sign's Mark Local Foods

Three Isles of Purely Organic and Natural Foods!!

Hannaford's Offers Several Brands of Local Maple Syrup 

Whole Coolers of Locally Brewed Beers! 

Three Brands of Local Ice Cream

Used Books for Sale, With All Profits Supporting Local Charities 

Local Food Shelfs

Hannaford Interview

Hannaford is one of the most popular chain supermarkets in the Burlington area. The company also has a reputation for being one of the “better” big name brands in terms of supplying local/organic foods and having a positive effect on local communities. For these reasons, we decided to use Hannaford as a comparison to City Market in our project.

The following are statistics from the Hannaford website:

·               =There are over 180 Hannaford locations in the greater New England Area

·               =Hannaford built the world’s first LEED Certified Platinum (the highest rating possible) supermarket           

          in Augusta, Maine

·               =As a whole, the company stocks over 150 USDA-Organic produce products

·               =Local products vary by store, and are identified by “Close to Home” shelf tags

·               = Each year, Hannaford raises about $1 million in food and cash donations for the Hannaford Fights         

          Hunger charity to help reduce hunger in local areas

We also conducted an interview with Ryan Hoadley, the Produce Manager at the Hannaford supermarket on Dorsett Street in Burlington.

Q1. How many local products do you currently have in stock?

A1. At this time of year, very few local products are available to us. We currently have Cold Hollow Cider, Chapelle Potatoes, Vermont Hydroponic Tomatoes, and Highland Sugarworks Maple Syrup. We also carry a variety of Cabot dairy products year round. During the warmer parts of the year, we stock more local products that are in season.

Q2. How has the percentage of local foods stocked changed over time?

A2. There has been a very gradual increase in the percentage, despite the fact that the amount of local farms in the Burlington area has not been increasing.

Q3. Of the 150 USDA-Organic produce products Hannaford supplies, how many does this location sell?

A3. We sell 110 USDA-Organic produce products, which is about 10% of all our produce.

Q4. How has this percentage changed over time?

A4. Organics has become a huge part of the produce market. Within the last ten years, we have seen our organic food sales triple; demand has risen greatly as many people become aware of the health benefits of eating organic.

Q5. Are there any specific ways that you would say Hannaford encourages customers to buy local/organic foods?

A5. For the most part, we will buy most local/organic products as long as we can pass them on to the customers at a good price. During the summer, the peak season for local foods, we try to have as many displays as we can that showcase our local foods.

Q6. How strong is customer demand for local/organic foods?

A6. Demand for organics is rising constantly. Our demand for local foods is always higher in the summer, and we see very high sales for many of these products. We often get requests from customers to stock specific local foods that are not currently in our store.

Q7. With the increasing demand, how have the prices of local and organic foods changed over time?

A7. Our prices for these products have been gradually increasing, but this is almost exclusively due to inflation. The increase is about 2-4 percent per year.

Q8. Are there any subsets of local foods (for example, potatoes, berries, Vermont apples) that have been experiencing significantly higher sales?

A8. Not particularly, both the supply and demand for each of our local products are mainly dependent on the quality of the growing season.

Q9. Other than the purchasing of products, does Hannaford take any measures to support and encourage local farming?

A9. There are none that I am aware of.

Q10. Has competition from store such as City Market and the Healthy Living Market affected the way Hannaford handles the local/organic food niche?

A10. Declined to answer- matter of company strategy

Q11. Are there future plans for expanding the local/organic food markets, or will future developments be more based on consumer demand?

A11. Declined to answer- matter of company strategy