Food City is well-known for their local produce initiative.  Through a partnership with local farmers, the supermarket chain is able to bring their customers fresh-from-the-field fruits and vegetables.  Many items are delivered directly from the farm to the store the same day they are picked.  What began over ten years ago, with a small number of items supplied by a handful of area farmers has now grown into a multi-million dollar operation.  Today, Food City purchases an average of $6,000,000 in fresh produce from local growers annually.

“We pride ourselves in selecting the best possible products for our customers,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.  “Our local farms are known for producing some of the finest products in the country.  Buying locally is the logical choice.  It provides our customers with the freshest produce possible, while lending additional support to our local economies.  In many instances, our locally grown produce arrives at the store the same day it was picked.  It simply doesn’t get any fresher than that”.

In 2007, Food City created the Wayne Scott Memorial Grower of the Year Award.  The award is named in honor of Unicoi County farmer Wayne Scott, one of the first to partner with the retail supermarket chain.  Wayne Scott’s leadership, passion for the business and dedication to delivering the “best produce possible” are just a few of the reasons for his tremendous success.  The award recognizes one outstanding grower each year. 

“Scott Farms was among the first to partner with our company and Scott’s Strawberries continue to be one of our most sought after products,” says Smith.  “Wayne Scott was one of the finest, most honorable men I have ever had the privilege of doing business with.  We thought it befitting to honor his memory and dedication to the agricultural industry with this annual award”.

Wayne Scott’s sons, Steve and David Scott were selected as this year’s award recipients.  They were honored during the company’s Local Grower’s Appreciation Luncheon in Abingdon, VA.  Food City is proud to have partnered with Scott Farms for over 13 years.
  
Founded in 1959, Scott Farms quickly grew into one of the most reputable strawberry and tomato operations within the region.  Steve and David Scott spent most of their childhood years following in their father’s footsteps, working in the fields and delivering produce from Charlotte to Ashville.  Majoring in Physical Education at Virginia Tech, Steve originally planned to become a coach, but later changed his major to Horticulture.  David played football during his freshmen year of college, before transferring to the University of Tennessee, where he obtained a degree in Agriculture. 

By 1980, both sons were official partners in the family business and helped expand their operation to include locally grown half-runner beans and sweet corn.  Today’s they continue the legacy, while maintaining the high standards their family business was founded upon and looking for new and innovate ways to compete in the ever changing produce industry.        

Food City purchases produce from a number of local farms, including those in Grainger, Blount, Hawkins, Unicoi, Jefferson and Sullivan counties in Tennessee; Scott and Carroll counties and through Appalachian Harvest co-op for locally grown organics from the growers in Scott County, Virginia.

“We enjoy a great partnership with a variety of local farms,” comments Mike Tipton, director of produce operations for Food City.  “And we are proud to be the exclusive retail outlet for a number of them and of course our customers love the added convenience,” says Tipton.
 
Food City purchases a wide variety of items from local growers, including tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, cabbage, half runner beans, okra, peppers, squash, gourds, pumpkins, cantaloupes, watermelons, blackberries, strawberries, pears, raspberries, select organic produce and more. 

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. currently operates 105 retail food outlets in the tri-state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.