Is there a standard day when produce is delivered?

[prio girl]

Yesterday (Wednesday) I went out in search of fresh fruits and vegetables. I live in Queens and stopped at: Key Food and Strawberry Farms in Whitestone as well as LL, an Asian supermarket on Northern Blvd in Flushing.

I bought very little because most of the produce was old, wilted, even moldy and rotten in some cases.

I never thought about it before but this experience got me wondering. Is there a standard day when produce is delivered and I just happened to be shopping on the wrong day?

Another thing I saw that really shocked me was that, at Strawberry Farms, a worker was opening plastic baskets of strawberries, picking out rotten ones, replacing them with fresher ones from other baskets, and then putting the 'improved' baskets back on sale. I really didn't like the idea of someone doing this. Is this normal?

I know you CH's will have an answer for me - thanks in advance!

[Gio]

I was just thinking this situation points to the rationale of shopping for locally grown produce at the source.

[meatn3]

Ask your grocer what their deliver schedule is - it is not at all unusual for customers to inquire.

Produce by nature is highly perishable. As soon as it is harvested it is moving towards decay...One of the signs of a well run department is have the employees rotating, cleaning and culling daily. Even a just arrived product might have some pieces that are over ripe - just happens.

[escondido123]

About the strawberry baskets. I don't understand what you don't like. Would you prefer they sell the baskets with the rotten ones or do you think they should throw the whole basket out? I am glad the purveyor was keeping an eye on their produce and making sure buyers didn't get bad ones. I like my strawberries super ripe so that is only one step away from too ripe so how else could the purveyor do it?

[Gio]

I agree...I've seen that sort of culling done from the finest gourmet markets to supermarket chains .

[Uncle Bob]

100% Correct! ~~ It's SOP to "rework" Strawberries, Cherry Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, Bags of Apples and Oranges, even Potatoes... etc, etc... as/if needed.

Depending on volume, distance between warehouses and stores etc.....Deliveries can be daily, to every other day.....What the OP described it not a delivery problem...Generally it's an operational (personnel) problem in that store....If no improvement is noted...shop elsewhere.

[prio girl]

Thanks for the education on 'reworking' the strawberries. Actually, that's what my husband said too (he worked in a supermarket when he was a young lad)...fine, so I have to tell him he's correct!
But, I'm still disappointed and surprised at all the bad produce I encountered in 3 different stores during my shopping expedition yesterday -

[Uncle Bob]

I don't blame you for being disappointed....All you can do is complain to management/corporate office/owners...If things don't improve, then have the attitude that all "they" have to sell you is service period....If "they" can't handle it...You can buy ketchup and mayonnaise.....and fresh produce.... all up and down the street.....

[Harters]

Major supermarkets and chains will usually get daily deliveries of fresh produce - obviously not a daily replacement for everything it stocks, just whatever has been ordered through their central procurement arrangements for that day.

Smaller outlets may have supply arrangements with wholesalers or may shop themselves at wholesale markets.

[soupkitten]

grocery stores get produce daily unless they are very small. some distributors will do a second daily delivery in the afternoon to better grocery stores, called "shorts" or "short runs" in distributor/shipping lingo. grocers stock up on very popular or hard to stock fresh produce on short runs and it's a mark of a good produce department to get a hefty "short" order each day in addition to their regular morning order-- it shows the produce manager is paying attention to what sells in their store and replaces it promptly, and also to the availability of very fresh produce, limited supply produce, or well-priced produce. restaurants may get produce only once a week, depending on the type of restaurant it is and the distributors they deal with.

farm deliveries are another kettle of fish. many farms only deliver once a week, because that one day/week is when the farm can spare the worker/truck to do the delivery. grocers and restaurants that deal farmer direct can get deliveries on any day and at practically any hour.