Looking for something delicious, healthy and refreshing that will keep you hydrated and happy? Fill your plate with farm-fresh fruits and veggies and get a taste of sunshine in every bite. Whether grilled, cut up in a salad or eaten alone as a snack, the most flavorful produce is locally grown — and you’ll find a bounty of options in the Produce Department at your local Strack & Van Til Food Market.
Why local produce? Strack & Van Til Produce Director Andy Muller says the reasons are as plentiful as the cornfields of Indiana. “When you buy local, your produce has to travel less and hits our shelves faster and fresher,” he explains. “Buying locally grown produce supports local and family businesses and farms. At Strack & Van Til, we’re a family-owned business with deep roots in the communities we serve, so we like to help others just like us and support our local communities.”
Muller notes that the produce experts at Strack & Van Til define “locally grown” as produce grown in Indiana or any bordering state and bought during the peak season to offer in their stores.
Current offerings include Indiana-grown broccoli, sweet corn, green and red cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, green tomatoes, muskmelons and pickling cucumbers. Choose from Michigan-grown blueberries, peaches, iceberg lettuce, romaine hearts, leafy lettuces and green beans. There’s also fresh dill weed, kale and collard, turnip and mustard greens from Illinois.
Enjoy BrightFarms and Wilder Fields greenhouse-grown salad greens and Meyer Farms fresh cut herbs and Local Roots potted herbs all year-round, all sourced in Illinois and Indiana.
Other locally sourced items include honey from Farmer Dan’s Honey in White Pigeon, Mich., and Albanese Candy in Merrillville.
In August, treat yourself to sugar-sweet watermelons, mouth-watering muskmelons, juicy peaches and crunchy carrots from Indiana, and tasty tomatoes from Indiana and Michigan. This fall, sink your teeth into apples from our Michigan apple partner Dave Pagel Produce in Berrien Springs, Mich., plus pick up some Indiana- and Illinois-grown pumpkins for Halloween carving, baking and pumpkin-seed toasting. It’s all waiting for you in the Produce Department at your neighborhood Strack & Van Til store.
“We work hard to bring our customers the freshest produce, regardless of the growing region. That’s why we have a buyer at the Chicago produce market who inspects the produce we buy and why we work with many of the same local farms year after year,” notes Muller. “We source locally grown fruits and vegetables to provide the freshest, most delicious eating experience. This means you can trust that Strack & Van Til produce is the best of the best.”