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More Valley Consumers Looking for Organic Products: Some Grocery Stores Offer Small Organic Selection

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

Apr. 11--EDITOR'S NOTE: Interest in organic foods is growing at a rapid pace in the United States. As the demand for organic products increases, farmers, researchers and consumers in the Rio Grande Valley are beginning to explore this new market. In the third and final installment of a three-part series, Valley Morning Star reporter Melissa McEver takes a look at consumer demand for organic products in the Valley.

By MELISSA McEVER melissam@valleystar.com 956-430-6252

Eleanor Mosimann likes to bake from scratch. She likes to use fresh fruits or vegetables in her recipes. She doesn't like not knowing what chemicals might be lurking on the apples or lemons she buys, and that's why she prefers organic produce.

Mosimann, who lives in Rio Hondo, has a tough time finding organic produce in local grocery stores. She combs the produce section looking for organic lemons to use in recipes, but never finds them. And she's sure she's not alone.

"If we want to buy it, we can't find it, and that's because they say we don't buy it," Mosimann said. "It's a catch-22."

Nowadays, more Rio Grande Valley consumers are asking for organics, but they're not so easy to come by. At some stores, organic fruits and vegetables are nearly impossible to spot among the conventional items and are often marked with tiny labels, said Gene Lester, plant physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Subtropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco.

"It's very difficult for the consumer, who's in a rush anyway, to find organics," Lester said.

Although no one is documenting how often Valley shoppers are snapping up organic foods, some storeowners say they've definitely noticed a trend.

"The demand for organics is high," said Sandra Feldtmose, spokeswoman for Sun Harvest, which has a natural-foods store in McAllen. Because of that increase in interest, she said, the store's owners are planning to increase the selection of organic produce.

Some H-E-B stores have begun stocking organics in response to increased demand. At the H-E-B on Trenton and 10th streets in McAllen, the shelves are now piled high with organic foods, said George Quiroz, central checkout operations manager.

In addition to stocking a special organics line of foods from H-E-B Central Market, the Trenton H-E-B also has an ample section devoted to organic produce. The section is clearly marked with a large green sign. Other types of foods are on the shelf next to "regular" items, Quiroz said.

"We're getting more requests to add additional items," he said.

Finding the organic foods is harder at other Valley stores, however.

A trip to a Harlingen grocery store reveals a sparse selection of organic fruits and vegetables -- a shopper might be able to find organic broccoli or apples, depending on the day, but they're not always in the same place. During one visit, the organic bananas could be found stacked with the conventionally grown bananas -- a no-no according to USDA rules, Lester said.

Many stores did have a large section devoted to organic foods such as popcorn, crackers, salsa and chips, if not to produce.

H-E-B regional representatives did not return calls seeking comments for this story.

Wal-Mart, which has a significant presence in the Valley, recently announced a push to sell more organic products, which could pressure other stores to do the same, said Bob Scowcroft, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Wal-Mart representatives also could not be reached for comment.

Even with the increased selection, many Valley families might not be able to afford organic foods, suggested Hortencia Armendariz, a San Benito resident who abides by a strict vegan diet. Armendariz grows organic fruit and vegetables in a personal garden, but said she knows others who would like to buy organic foods and can't afford them.

"Working families have to live from day to day," Armendariz said.

A price comparison between organic and "regular" foods at the Trenton H-E-B suggested that organic products can run 20 cents to $2 more than comparable regular foods -- a major difference for families scraping to make ends meet.

Organic foods are more expensive because of the extra work involved for the grower, said Steve Bridges, executive director of the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Developing a market to sell organic produce locally in the Valley might make a difference in the price, he said.

"Most produce travels 1,500 miles from the farm to the consumer," Bridges said. That's more expensive than selling locally and direct to consumers, such as in farmer's markets, he said.

Finding a local market

Although anecdotally, consumers and storeowners said the demand for organics is increasing, while local organic farmers and growers said they haven't found a market here for their produce. Almost without exception, the Valley's organic growers sell to other parts of the state and country, they said.

When organic grower Dennis Holbrook, who owns South Tex Organics in Mission, started his business, he tried to sell produce to local health-food stores and supermarkets. He met with very little interest, he said.

"It taught me I had to (grow) enough to sell elsewhere," he said.

One of Holbrook's main buyers today is the Austin-based Whole Foods Market chain, and he also sells to customers in California, Colorado and throughout the Northwest, he said.

Holbrook said that Valley consumers seem less "sold" on organics than consumers do in the rest of Texas or the Northwest.

"You have to be sold on the concept of consuming something natural," he said. "It's going to require consumers' requesting it to get it in the stores."

Some consumers, like Mosimann, are hoping to attract organic growers to local farmers' markets. She is among a group of residents who pushed to start a farmers' market in Harlingen. The market started up in February, and is held the first Saturday of each month.

The farmers' market has attracted one organic grower so far, said Juan Anciso, vegetable specialist at the Texas A&M Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Weslaco. Anciso is one of the market's organizers.

"Organic growers don't do many local markets," he said. "To succeed full-time, they really need to send (the product) out."

Valley organic grapefruit grower Norris Adams thinks the market exists here for organics, and hopes to see more opportunities for growers.

"If someone would push it here, I think it would sell," he said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

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Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

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