Fighting food costs: Discount stores turn 'jobbed' veggies into deals

Asparagus was priced $1 a bundle at Freestone Produce.

On the floor, Brhanu Brhanu's hands flew trying to keep the display counter full as customers grabbed at the deal. The parking lot outside was packed, even though it was mid-week, and the aisles were full of shoppers sorting through persimmons and half-price bananas. 

This is the world of discount produce, where excess produce in the system gets offered for cheap, and high inflation across the grocery sector means business is booming.

Freestone Produce on 32nd Avenue N.E. is one of the oldest discount shops in Calgary. When we asked people where to get a good deal, they also pointed to Basha International Foods, H&W Produce and Fresh Produce in Sunridge Mall, all in Calgary's northeast.

That's where this type of independent discount store is concentrated. On the south side of the city, The Crisp Apple opened in Douglasdale partway through the pandemic.

Customers say the quality of produce at these stores is mixed. But the increasing cost of food put a squeeze on many Calgary budgets, so we interviewed the owners of three stores to understand where the food is coming from. 

Mike Soufan owns Freestone Produce. He says those asparagus were priced to fly off the shelves because it's a consignment deal with a supplier he knows down south. The supplier had way too much; he sent a load to Soufan with instructions to just move them before they go bad, and split the profits.

Soufan's cucumbers last week were a consignment deal, too — 20 pounds for $10.

But the bananas were on sale because another grocer in the city wasn't selling them fast enough; it rejected this shipment on arrival rather than accept them and have them turn brown on the shelf.

That's called "jobbed" produce in the industry.

"There's nothing wrong with them," said Soufan, pulling the lid off a 40 lb box in the warehouse. "The tips are green. Still a nice mix of yellow and green. The same bananas you could buy in any major store in the city."

"We sell them 49 cents a pound, sometimes 29 cents a pound, based on how much we have," he said. "Produce is under pressure. We have to move it fast."

Business consultant Martin Gooch says typically 1.5 to 2.0 per cent of all shipments get rejected for various reasons. He's seen small, nimble independent produce stores flourishing across the country as they take advantage of those kinds of deals.

But discount stores say rejected or "jobbed" produce is only a small part of their business. They also get deals on quality produce just by buying smart, focusing their energy and taking advantage of their small size.