Coosemans LA shipping facilitates good food for local Families

Coosemans Los Angeles Shipping supported the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC) since its inception in 2011. The LAFPC works with policy-makers and academics on improving how food is distributed in LA County. The non-profit advisory council describes its mission as, “A collective impact initiative, working to make Southern California a Good Food region for everyone—where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable.”

An example of this unique collaboration is facilitated by Coosemans LA Shipping between produce distributors, growers, the families who qualify for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the WIC-only retailers. In what Coosemans LA Shipping Dir. of Business Development Jill Overdorf describes as, “A win-win-win arrangement”, growers with fruit that is cosmetically blemished or undersized for the specifications of most retailers but otherwise perfectly delicious and wholesome can now be sold to WIC-only stores at a discounted price making it more available to needy families. “This is fruit that may otherwise be discarded by the suppliers and the costs associated with its production taken as a total loss,” explains Overdorf.

Coosemans LA Shipping arranges for the fruit to be bagged by the growers, reducing its cost while maintaining a slim margin. Fruit involved in the program includes popular items such as petite avocados, bagged organic Valencia oranges, organic heirloom Washington navel oranges, organic Crimson Gold apples and Ojai Pixie tangerines.

In the first four years of the program close to 400 tons of local speciality produce were sold at a much lower price than the regular wholesale price of products with typical retail specifications. “The produce industry is very bottom line driven,” says Overdorf. “Of course we need to look after our bottom line, but it’s important to strive for collaborative and community-based ways to approach profitability. That kind of philosophy and commitment to transparent negotiations make this kind of model possible.”

To extend this model to small local retailers, Coosemans LA Shipping is working with the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s LA Corner Market Program to help bring healthy, affordable produce to underserved neighbourhoods. It’s another example of how for-profit and non-profit entities work together in the produce industry to ensure that all residents of LA County have access to fresh, local, seasonal and high quality produce.

For more information:
Jill Overdorf
Coosemans LA
Tel: + 323-588.1127
Email: jill.overdorf@coosemans.com