Baltimore’s Jessup Market

Maryland’s ethnically diverse population supports its breadth of produce sales: from growers to wholesalers, chains to independents, home delivery to farmers’ markets, and foodservice of all types. The reason is simple: “There’s a lot of business here because there are a lot of people,” quips Bill Class of Class Produce Group, LLC, based in Jessup.

Since the state’s retail market spills into the metro regions of northern Virginia and southern Pennsylvania, as well as nearby Washington DC—there’s an ever-expanding cache of customers. There are also growers, both large and small, that send an enticing array of fruits and vegetables to market in the area. “Consumers in Maryland say on survey after survey they prefer produce grown in Maryland—that’s a strong allegiance to ‘local’ in our state,” comments Joe Bartenfelder, Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture. And, with the rise of all foods local, wholesalers and retailers have clamored to label and leverage Maryland-grown products.

To understand Maryland’s local vegetable production, head east from Baltimore across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore. Here you’ll find seasonal growers harvesting acres of watermelon, sweet corn, snap beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Then there’s apple orchards, mainly in the western portion of the state.

Monitoring the Market
Eastern Shore vegetable growers find many buyers in the Maryland Food Center, the 400-acre site located between Baltimore and Washington DC, just off Route 175 between I95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The Center houses the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market, commonly called the “Jessup Market,” as well as a warehouse space for regional and national players like Sysco and Del Monte. “We also have one of the only truck stops in this part of Maryland,” remarks Rose Harrell, director of facilities for the Maryland Food Center Authority (MFCA), an added convenience for both short- and long-haul drivers.

Terminal market tenants find sourcing straightforward. “At this location, there is no problem sourcing any products,” comments Tony Vitrano, president and CFO of the Tony Vitrano Company, one of the market’s 25 tenants. Vitrano says merchants are moving more and more local and regional produce. “Until recently, we were primarily sourcing nonregional,” he recalls. “Now we’re sourcing seasonally from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey. Even Ohio, in the whole scheme of things, is not that far away.”

Jessup is also home to many firms outside the terminal market. “It’s an ideal area, a transportation terminus,” observes Jerry Chadwick, vice president at Lancaster Foods, a wholesaler and fresh-cut processor serving the East Coast. Chadwick receives produce from shippers near and far, including international loads from the Port of Philadelphia, air freight from Dulles International Airport in Washington DC, and trucks from Miami.

In 2014 the MFCA received an award from the World Union of Wholesale Markets, based in Netherlands, for a project replacing the produce terminal market’s dock canopy. “That was a direct response to the needs of our produce tenants for maintaining their HAACP plans,” notes Harrell. Due in part to the terminal market’s food safety and abundance of customers, she adds, “We have a waiting list for produce tenants.”

Harrell also emphasizes how the MFCA works with local and state authorities during traffic and weather events, like the historic blizzard from Winter Storm Jonas that pummeled the area this past January. “The market management did a phenomenal job clearing the snow out,” says Vitrano. “We did close for one day, mainly because our employees couldn’t get out of the side streets.”

Overcoming the Off-Season Problem
Wholesalers say weather related transportation issues are not a concern during the Maryland season. Winter is different—but wholesalers here are used to it. “We brought in as many inbound loads as possible before the blizzard,” recalls Sam Cefalu, vice president of procurement at G. Cefalu & Bro. Produce, Inc. “We made sure our fleet of 80 vehicles were all back at our place by four o’clock (pm) and our employees were home safe before the blizzard hit.”

Even with planning, G. Cefalu & Bro. still had to improvise. Drifting snow collapsed the roof of the company’s facility (nearby, but not part of the Jessup terminal market). “We were for all intents and purposes in ‘catastrophe’ mode. But we have an incredible employee team, which made the seemingly impossible possible,” says Mark Moderacki, president of G. Cefalu.

Despite the difficulties and moving to another location, Moderacki says business has increased by two-thirds over the past four years. This summer, the company will move into a new state-of-the-art facility at the Baltimore-Washington Logistics Center in Jessup, the former site of a Giant Foods warehouse.

Production and Shipping
Trucks hauling local product can arrive at Jessup within two hours—without traffic—from Caroline County and neighboring Talbot County (Easton). “We do see an uptick in regional shipping,” says Steve Covey, executive vice president at Choptank Transport, near Preston in Caroline County. “Shipments are not going as far as they used to, I’d say 200 miles is the max,” and direct store delivery from Maryland farms continues to increase as well, he says.

Virginia leads the region for tomato production, though shipments are also increasing from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee, according to some wholesalers. “Retail consumers and some foodservice accounts prefer the quality and taste of Eastern tomatoes in the summer,” notes Ari Pappas of Pete Pappas & Sons, Inc., which is featuring East Tennessee-grown round, Roma, cherry, and grape tomatoes this year.

“There’s some more greenhouse production here now, too,” comments Class. Maryland growers increased the value of food crops grown under protection from $1.9 million in 2009 to $3 million in 2014, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Market access is one of the main benefits for Maryland growers. “Depending upon the size of your business and the labor you have, you can pick between wholesale distributors, retailers who seek direct-to-store, and farmers’ markets,” says Bartenfelder.

Environmental regulations are a major issue for Maryland agriculture, where farms are among the nation’s leaders in nutrient management practices. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the American Farm Bureau seeking to overturn EPA authority to enforce the “Chesapeake Bay Blueprint.” The Blueprint gives EPA authority, under the Clean Water Act, to regulate farmland use within the six-state Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes Maryland. This may mean ­some cropland in the watershed area will have to cease or shift production, according to the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

Consumers in the Driver’s Seat
Local is hot here, as everywhere. The region’s retailers can satisfy whatever the consumer’s preference—from a diehard locavore (Maryland has more than 140 farmers’ markets) to a chain store customer looking for a juicier summer tomato.

The demand for local is greater among retailers than foodservice. “Chain stores want local,” confirms Lee Salins, of Lee Salins, LLC, and Teddy Bear Produce, in Easton. And demand for ‘local’ is moving beyond the Shore’s traditional commodities. “We can’t get enough local asparagus every year,” he notes.

The “Maryland’s Best” program also does its part, promoting production throughout the state. There’s even a YouTube channel with videos that retailers can use in-store. “The videos of farmers in the produce sector alone have been seen more than 3.46 million times,” notes Bartenfelder.

Consumers are also demanding broader product range, and not just among the core metro consumer. Ambra Dolan manages the Fruit Bowl, a two-store specialty candy and produce retailer in Cumberland and Grantsville, more than 100 miles west of Baltimore. “We get more calls for fresh herbs,” she reports. Her store sources hyper-local fresh produce from Maryland and Pennsylvania growers, within 30 miles.

Population diversity, too, continues to feed Maryland’s produce appetite. “There has been a shift in demographics, especially among Latinos and Asians,” observes the Maryland Food Authority’s Harrell, which in turn has been good for fresh fruit and vegetable demand. The most recent census figures put Maryland’s combined Asian and Latino population at 13.7 percent, up from 8.3 percent a decade earlier. Though the pace has slowed somewhat, other groups including European immigrants have continued to climb, doubling in the last 10 years.

Food Safety
Maryland produce shippers and wholesalers are keeping food safety top of mind. “Food safety is the first thing our employees are trained on. To this day, we have not had an issue with food safety contamination,” says Moderacki.

Most of the region’s wholesalers are taking the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation in stride, though some have adopted a wait-and-see approach. “We’re always concerned about food safety,” notes Vitrano. “We’re just waiting to see how things trickle down to the wholesale level.”

Some fear future FSMA impacts could reflect what they’re already seeing. “The biggest problem I see is that the USDA does not have adequate staffing on the import side,” remarks Class. “Delays seem to be getting worse and it is hurting business.”

Choptank’s Covey says FSMA will impact all produce companies. “Ultimately, what FSMA is going to usher in is shared accountability between shipper and driver,” he notes. Technology will be a key part, with various tools available for drivers to monitor trailer temperature fluctuations and prevent trouble loads.

Maryland Ag Secretary Bartenfelder hopes FSMA regulations requiring state oversight will be accompanied by funding. “There is still much work to be done to assist farmers, especially those in the $25,000 to $500,000 category, with the necessary technical knowledge and expense of implementing new practices,” he says. “What is lacking in the FSMA process are the additional resources states like Maryland will need to fully implement this program to address public health concerns and the continued success of our farmers.”

Moderacki expresses a sentiment many in the industry espouse: “Food safety is an integral part of our operation. The only thing that concerns me is that the government doesn’t go too far.”

Although food safety, fuel prices, and weather will always affect the fresh ­produce market throughout the Eastern Seaboard and the rest of the United States, Maryland’s future seems a bit more insulated than other regions. The state not only produces a wide selection of in-demand fruits and vegetables, heavily promoted by the Maryland’s Best marketing program, but its consumer base continues to expand.