Cherries are the highest dollar sales-per-square-foot item in produce during July, so it was fitting that members of the produce teams from Associated Food Stores’ retail divisions, ARO (Associated Retail Operations), MRO (Member Retail Operations), and the corporate AFS office, recently traveled to Wenatchee, Washington, to tour CMI Orchards during the height of cherry season.
The trip offered team members a behind-the-scenes look at one of AFS’s most trusted produce partners and provided valuable insight into the extensive care and quality that goes into every cherry, apple, and pear CMI grows.
“It was a great learning experience for me,” said Leigh Vaughn, director of produce for AFS. “This trip helped our ARO and MRO team members better understand what it takes to grow and deliver truly exceptional fruit to our guests.”
The group toured active orchards and facilities and watched as crews hand-picked cherries directly from the trees—no machinery involved! At CMI, every cherry is harvested by hand to protect the fruit’s quality, with each variety treated differently depending on its sensitivity. Team members also learned about how cherry size is measured, by “row count”, a system that fits cherries across a twelve-inch span to determine grade and sizing. For example, a 12-row cherry means a dozen cherries fit across that ruler, whereas a 9-row is larger because it indicates a greater individual fruit diameter.
Bob Mast, president of CMI Orchards, personally guided part of the tour. “Bob was right there with us,” said Leigh. “You could see his passion—and the passion of everyone at CMI. It’s clear how much pride they take in what they grow.”
With the industry producing over 22 million cases of cherries annually (CMI produces 4 million), and each case averaging 18 pounds, the tour was a vivid display of scale while maintaining impressive precision. But for Leigh, the real takeaway was the value of AFS’s produce partnerships. “There are a lot of cherry suppliers out there, but we’ve partnered with the best-in-class,” Vaughn said. “They don’t just get us the most competitive costs; they get us the best fruit.”
That quality matters. According to Leigh, cherries are almost entirely an impulse buy: “When a customer enters your store, they buy with their eyes,” he said. “They want to see fruit that’s big, beautiful, and shiny. If it doesn’t look good, they’re not going to buy it. That’s what our suppliers provide: the best!”
For AFS team members, the visit to CMI reinforced both the importance of fresh, high-quality fruit, and also the strength of the relationships that bring those items into stores across the Intermountain West.