North Carolina Commissaries Complement Ag Industry
In partnership with: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Curtis Smith, a farmer from Seven Springs, first delivered produce to a military commissary in 1985, cantaloupes delivered to Camp Lejeune. Since then, demand for his farm’s fresh produce – and many other North Carolina products – has blossomed at North Carolina’s six military commissaries.
Regional Importance
Smith is the fourth generation on his family farm. He raises 110 acres of cantaloupes and 18 acres of strawberries among 220 acres of produce, which also includes watermelons, sweet potatoes, greens and other vegetables. He ships produce direct to many grocery stores and food distributors. Some produce is also sold from the farm and at farmers markets.
Eastern North Carolina has one of the highest concentrations of military bases in the U.S. “Our farm is right in the middle of them all. The farthest commissary is less than two hours away,” Smith says.
Agriculture and the military, the region’s two biggest economic drivers, have long complemented each other. Farmland near military bases has provided a buffer from civilian populations for military training activities. And some military vehicles now use biofuels, biodiesel and ethanol, all made from North Carolina crops.
Commissary Sales
The relationship between the region’s military bases and farms is showcased in commissaries, where military families and retirees shop for groceries and other goods. “Like any major grocery store in North Carolina, there are hundreds of North Carolina products available in the commissaries on any given day,” says Joe Sanderson, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) marketing director.
Like shoppers at other major grocers, commissary customers are asking for local products, says Dave Shaw, who oversees 11 commissaries in the Carolinas for the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA).
Shaw says many North Carolina farm products have an established presence at the commissaries. That includes fresh produce, such as Smith’s strawberries, as well as dry goods and meats. Major national brands of pork, turkey and chicken may be grown and packaged in North Carolina, Shaw says.
But other North Carolina products are gaining popularity, from specialty sausages to farm-made soaps.
“I foresee the day when we expand into more locally made products, which will require expansion to our dry and chilled sections (of the commissaries),” Shaw says.
It’s not the first time commissary customers have demanded more local fare. Smith says his strawberry demand picked up in the 1990s, when commissary patrons asked for more locally grown strawberries.
“Then (commissary) business really picked up when we started delivering to the two commissaries at Fort Bragg,” he says.
Farm Connections
The NCDA&CS helps the commissaries connect with North Carolina’s farm and food industry.
“They assisted in getting some of the vendors at our stores, conducting demos on their products and creating excitement during our special sales events,” Shaw says.
Signs, banners and displays, sponsored by NCDA&CS, highlight homegrown products in the commissaries, as in other grocery stores.
“Any time they can promote North Carolina agriculture to grocery customers, such as the ‘Got to Be NC’ program, it helps a lot,” says Smith, who visited with commissary customers at a “Sidewalk Sale” event.
Sanderson says the good relationship between the military and North Carolina agriculture continues to benefit customers and food producers.
“The advantage we have with the military is that even after customers have moved from North Carolina, they might want the products they’ve been able to buy here,” he says. “And we’re happy that DeCA has chosen to move a lot of North Carolina products into their stores in other states.”