More Wegmans Produce... and Meat dissapointment

Just back from Wegmans. Lots of things to talk about, including a particularly eventful trip to the meat department. First, the good.
I spoke with Jim Pepper (no, that's really his name), who is one of the more senior workers in the produce department, and he confirmed in great detail essentially what i heard over the phone from ann hyatt. i talked at length with him about local vs. imported and what wegmans does in that regard. the bottom line is this: as soon as a product is in season and they can stock it from local farmers, the warehouse shuts down that product, the buyers in rochester stop bringing it in from far away lands (save a small emergency supply) and those items which can be sold from local farms are. This was excellent news, because it really proves that wegmans is helpful to the community. they aren't just there to shut down local growers.
Some specifics:
the only local product they can stock all year is hydroponic basil because they have located a grower in Elbridge, NY (near skanaetles). Obviously it's a bit difficult to grow vegetables and such in the winter in CNY. That said, around the end of May is when the first local crops start appearing in the Dewitt store (which is the largest Wegmans, moreover the largest supermarket in the country). peas, snap peas, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn. It's all local as soon as possible in the season. And from personal experience regarding the corn, that is a good thing because CNY puts out some damn fine corn. all of the green beans come from Utica. The Reeves and Johns farms are two big suppliers as well. Demarco supplies all leaf lettuce (aside from that bagged crap) once the season rolls around.
Jim said that this is not only beneficial to the farmers, but also the shopper. the consumers want a one-stop place and it's great for them to be able to pick up diapers and walk a few hundred feet to get the local corn or tomatoes that they want, rather then driving to a local stand. For the consumer, convenience reigns supreme, and Wegmans is well aware of this.
Now, lets face it. This wonderful system simply cannot work all year round in this region. So, for that time, Wegmans does import a lot of goods. This means many other countries, especially South America. Jim also said that when this time of year comes they are very up-front with the customer about where a product comes from geographically. some customers may not want a product from mexico of Chile or wherever the place may be, and they respect this and are informative. That said, some people just prefer the farmers' market. And that is great for them. However, for the bulk of the American public, the supermarket is the place, and Wegmans does a great job of bringing that local farmers' market feel into their store. Just look at the produce section; it is totally reminiscent of a open-air market.
Did i mention the fact that there was some sort of field trip being conducted when i walked in? I was greeted by a swarm of wee children saying "Welcome to Wegmans!!!!!!" But I digress (or do I?)
Now, on to the bad news. After a wonderfully productive talk with Jim Pepper (that is so funny), I went back to the meat department. With the look and feel of a small-time butcher's shop, my hopes were high for a similar interview. I spoke briefly with whom I assume to be the meat dept. manager, and told him my name and intentions. He whipped out some sort of intra-wegmans communication device, and called up "Eric". My guess is "Eric" is the store manager or someone in a similar position. He said (and i paraphrase) "I've got an SU student here who would like to ask a couple of question about the meat department and regarding where we get our meat from. Is that OK? DEFINITELY NOT? Ok, thanks". He turned to me, apoligized that he wasn't authorized to answer my questions, and i was on my way. Maybe i'm a fool, but is it so difficult to tell a student whether your meat comes from local stock farms or the ranches of Argentina? I don't see why this needs to be classified. Certainly makes me wonder if they're hiding something. Or maybe it's just another silly store policy out of millions that corporations like this have. At any rate, all has not been lost in the hunt for where the meat comes from. Ann Hyatt told me on friday generally that the lamb comes from Australia. While she stated to know nothing about Cargill Meat solutions, I have seen from more than one source regarding a recall of Cargill Meat that Wegmans has been involved in said recall. That tells me that Cargill, located in Pennsylvania, is a big supplier of meat to Wegmans. This, however, is no local farm. Maybe farms from all over the Northeast supply cargill with stock, but this is yet to be uncovered.

All in all, it was a very successful trip to Wegmans, despite obtaining nothing but doubt and more questions from the meat department. At least we know the produce section is really helping the local economy.