What is Hy-Vee Homegrown?
The Hy-Vee Homegrown label means your produce is fresh and local. Hy-Vee works with over 250 Midwest farmers to provide the highest-quality fruits and vegetables from within 200 miles of each store. This commitment to local and fresh began in the 1930s when co-founder David Vredenburg drove from farm to farm buying from local growers.
Omaha,
Nebraska
Meet the Grower:
Paul & David Wenninghoff
Grows:
The Wenninghoff farm has been growing produce since 1928. Paul Wenninghoff began working on the farm at age 7, and he and his sons still work the same land. Today, the Wenninghoffs grow over 40 different fruits, vegetables and herbs.
What makes them unique
Decades of experience have helped the Wenninghoffs perfect their farming techniques. They also know how to quickly get their produce from the farm to stores; Paul notes that their evening deliveries to Hy-Vee often include produce that was still growing earlier in the day.
How they grow the best produce
Why supply Local Hy-Vee Stores?
The Wenninghoffs have supplied their community since the 1930s, first at a local market, then at grocery stores and through their produce shop on the farm. Paul especially enjoys seeing local customers try their produce. “I love growing things,” he says. “I love people biting in and saying, ‘Wow, that ear of sweet corn really tastes good.’”
reap the benefits:
economy
Buying local supports members of your community and creates economic growth within your area
MORE OPPORTUNITIES
Buying produce from local farmers makes it easier for them to expand, which can create new jobs and growth within the community.
STAY LOCAL
When you buy produce that has been grown nearby, your money stays within the community and can be reinvested in other local businesses and services.
HELP FARMS
Buying food from community farmers is one of the best ways to support them. It allows them to continue providing local food and to grow their business.
Columbus,
Nebraska
Meet the Grower:
Daniels Produce
The Daniels always put quality first and handpick all of their produce to guarantee that only the best veggies make it to customers. They also maintain one of the highest food safety qualifications available through the Primus Global Food Safety Initiative.
How they grow the best produce
Andy and Tannie Daniels started farming over 40 years ago, and their children Kelly and Jason have followed in their footsteps. “My childhood was made up of weeding, picking and packing every vegetable imaginable,” Kelly says. Today, the family farms over 600 acres of veggies each year.
What makes them unique
Why supply Local Hy-Vee Stores?
“I know how important it is for people to know where their food is coming from, and Hy-Vee does such an amazing job at informing their customers of where they’re getting their products,” Kelly says. “I know the care and quality they put in our product once it leaves our farm.”
reap the benefits:
nutrition
You’ll taste the difference when you buy local produce.
SAFER FOOD
Fewer steps from the farm to your plate means there are fewer opportunities for contamination during harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.
MORE VARIETY
Local farmers who supply directly to stores, restaurants and farmers’ markets in their community have the support to raise many different kinds of produce.
PICKED RIPE
Local produce is grown in season for your area and harvested when ripe. Seasonally grown food doesn’t need to be artificially ripened with gas or chemicals.
Oelwein,
Iowa
Blake Kerns
Meet the Grower:
Why supply Local Hy-Vee Stores?
Supplying to local Hy-Vee stores ensures Blake’s customers get the freshest, best-tasting produce. “The minute sweet corn’s picked, it starts losing sugar content,” Blake says. “The quicker you can get a bag of corn into the customer’s hands, the better the product’s going to be.” Because it usually arrives in stores the same day it’s picked, it also has a longer shelf life.
reap the benefits:
environment
Help the environment and preserve your community by choosing produce from local, sustainable farms.
CONSERVATION
Local farms also maintain greenspace and natural resources, which helps keep local ecosystems healthy and preserves the landscape in your community.
FEWER MILES
Produce grown within 200 miles doesn’t have to travel nearly as far as food grown across the country, which reduces shipping costs and gas emissions.
SUSTAINABILITY
Smaller family farms are usually more sustainable and environmentally friendly, especially if they’re able to grow produce in season for the area.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, cantaloupe, peppers, asparagus, squash and green beans.
Grows:
sweet corn, bell peppers, cucumbers, cabbage and zucchini
Grows:
sweet corn, raspberries and green beans
Blake plants every other day during the growing season to stagger when his corn and green beans will ripen, then harvests and supplies his produce to stores within the same day so it’s as fresh as possible. “I feel like we put the product in the customers’ hands faster than anybody else,” Blake says. “We have it figured out so when it gets picked, it gets to the store.”
How HE grows the best produce
Blake Kerns began growing sweet corn at age 16, and continued farming while studying entrepreneurship and business management at the University of Iowa. As his farm has grown over 21 years, Blake has worked to improve sustainability on the farm by planting cover crops to improve soil quality, reducing water use and practicing no-till farming to prevent soil erosion.
What makes HIM unique
View Recipe
tomato
mini pizzas
View Recipe
cheesesteak pepper boats
View Recipe
sweet corn & avocado toast
Through the Midwest to learn about
Hy-Vee’s Homegrown program and meet some of the farmers who grow your produce.
Take a tour!
Hy-Vee’s Homegrown program brings locally grown fresh produce straight to your table.
