STERN PRODUCE: Developing sustainability metrics for “ARIZONA FRESH
TOGETHER” local food program
[12.01.17]
Salomi Pradhan
This project, in partnership with Stern Produce Co., an Arizona based food distribution company,
is set to identify a set of sustainability metrics for Stern’s local food program, the ‘Arizona Fresh
Together’ (AFT) program. The project’s objective is to help establish the AFT program as a
robust and legitimate stand alone food program in Stern Produce and the local food system in
Arizona. The AFT program is intended to serve as a sourcing platform for the local restaurants
and retail to procure sustainable food from our valley based local growers. It is fundamentally a
local, organic and sustainable food program with an intention to connect local Arizona farmers
with retailers and restaurants statewide, supporting our local restaurateurs’ efforts to source
responsibly. As a result of which, Stern Produce is likely to increase its market share and profit
margin from local, organic produce. Currently, Stern Produce does not locally source most of
their produce since out-of-state purchasing, at the moment, tends to be more economical. With
the AFT program, this trend is going to alter with more in-state, local purchasing.
Stern Produce is a small scale, family owned business that has been serving our local Arizona
community for a 100 years now since 1917. Essentially, it is a food distribution company that
conducts wholesale supply of agricultural farm produce, dairy products and meat. Their mission
is to supply the freshest fruits, vegetables and specialty food products with a first-class customer
delivery experience. They operate from their three warehouse locations in Phoenix, Flagstaff and
Tucson, with their 45,000 sq.ft. Phoenix facility as the major hub. Since its inception, Stern
Produce is committed to building partnerships with local farms in Arizona to meet the wholesale
demand for Arizona grown goods. It has embraced the responsibility to conduct business in a
manner that fosters societal resilience, invests in community wellness and environmental health.
As of today, Stern is continuing to grow more partnerships within the community in order to
diversify its products’ availability portfolio, year round, to maintain consistent supply of
products and strengthen the resiliency of the network.
To ensure a sustainable local food system, we need to holistically look at every single aspect of
the system that possibly may get affected due to the food supply chains. I decided to strategically
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look at factors that will influence the environment, the economy as well as the society as a result
of accelerating business for Stern in the local food system. Hence, I categorized my impacts
under the following buckets: Health, Sustainability, Resiliency, Diversity, Fairness, Economic
Balance and Transparency. After doing enough relevant research and carefully considering AZ’s
food system in particular, I zeroed down on four core sustainability metrics chosen based on their
significance on the human health, its impact on social, economic and environmental
sustainability for local food systems against whom, certain key indicators were identified.
Metrics help to assess progress towards a given goal. They can be composed of multiple
indicators which can be defined as quantitative or qualitative factors that capture system changes
following an intervention in a simple and reliable manner.
There is a huge gap in information and data collection and distribution in the realm of local food
systems. These gaps potentially impact the assessment of progress on sustainable agricultural
development. Additionally, lesser coordination of activities and data sharing between various
stakeholder groups makes this problem even worse. There is a heavy disparity and inconsistency
issue with the supply and demand side in the markets for local produce. We need to improve
market forecasts, warning systems, updated information on crops, and transparent solutions
oriented decisions on the supply side to ensure consistent and close to accurate crop production.
On the demand side, policymakers need cross- sectional information that includes comparisons
between different social groups, regions, and net producers vs. net consumers; information on
long- term trends, seasonal patterns etc. to maintain a systematic, reliable collection of data
(metrics) to track progress. However, that being said, we should look beyond typical economic
metrics like income and job opportunities to account for more social benefits that are intangible
but worthwhile. The AFT program at Stern, ensures building community cohesion. It creates a
platform and opportunity for the food producers to insert themselves into the social fabric of the
rural communities and simultaneously connect with urban customers. While on one hand,
consumers gain a better appreciation for the value of local farms to their communities, they also
develop a sense of trust and resiliency knowing who is growing their food they eat and how they
grow it. These factors account as social capital in addition to the economic capital that are the
key benefits of local food systems.

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