The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown program is the middle of one of its two biggest seasons of the year.
The spring/summer season kicks off in April with the start of the Vidalia sweet onion deal and runs through mid-July, said Matthew Kulinski, director of marketing for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Activity will pick up again during the fall season from October to Christmas.
This summer, Georgia Grown will launch a program with Chicago-based IGA Inc. that will place Georgia Grown signage in 160 supermarkets in the Southeast region, Kulinski said.
The main goal of Georgia Grown, which has existed in its present form for about 12 years, is to help producers, farmers and ranchers in Georgia sell their products, Kulinski said.
“We’re focused on an economic development goal,” he said.
Several advantages come with the Georgia Grown program, he said, including environmental benefits, health and wellness support and “bringing together the state of Georgia community, because everyone supports agriculture.”
Georgia Grown creates customized programs with retailers at their location to help promote the state’s fruits and vegetables.
“Georgia is fortunate to have some of the best-known produce brands in the country — everything from Vidalia onions to Georgia peaches,” Kulinski said. “We like to promote each unique commodity that we grow here.”
Georgia watermelons are a perfect way to help celebrate the Fourth of July, he said. Georgia-grown blueberries are popular throughout the spring and summer. Sweet corn, peppers, cucumbers and greens are other Georgia favorites.
Retailers interested in participating in the program can contact Georgia Grown and be provided with artwork, information or signs.
“We’ve done several different models with different retailers,” Kulinski said.
Several hundred retailers participate in the program, including IGA, Kroger, Publix, Food Lion and Wakefern, he said.
There is no charge for retailers to participate. Producers can tie in with Georgia Grown for a fee.