OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Local produce stands in Omaha are successfully competing with major grocery chains despite price differences, building customer loyalty through freshness and community connection.
- When it comes to fresh food, markets like Jilian's Produce on 156th and Fort are giving neighbors the quality they expect from their fruits and veggies.
- The June food price outlook from the USDA shows that grocery costs are estimated to increase by 2% in 2025 — slower than the 20-year average.
- “It’s definitely more expensive, but the cost is worth it."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This watermelon was grown right here in Nebraska — just about 20 miles away. In fact, everything in this tent was grown here. When it comes to fresh food, markets like Jilian's here on 156th and Fort are giving neighbors the quality they expect from their fruits and veggies.
Watermelon, sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and more — fresh produce stands like this one in northwest Omaha draw a crowd.
Owner Jilian Heldt tells me selling locally grown food has its pros and cons.
One pro: “It is a higher quality product, and it is fresher."
The con: Competing with big and better-known grocery stores.
“Sometimes they'll have things that we can't compete with, like they will sell watermelons cheaper than us, but the only thing I feel like we have going for us in that market is ours are fresher,” said Heldt.
Over the years, Heldt says she’s tried to keep her prices as fair as possible in order to serve her loyal customers well.
“I don't like to change my prices. I don't like to surprise people. I, I want people to come here and know what to expect.”
Take a look at this cucumber — at Jilian's Produce it's priced at $1. If I pull up my phone here and get on the Walmart app, that same cucumber is only 62 cents. I'm visiting a few local markets to find out why some neighbors flock here and skip out on the grocery store.
“We usually go out to the farm quite a bit, and so having it closer to us is obviously a bonus for us,” said Lucy Aguoga, a shopper at Nelson’s.
To these neighbors at the Nelson’s Produce stand, where they get their produce matters.
The June food price outlook from the USDA shows that grocery costs are estimated to increase by 2% in 2025 — slower than the 20-year average.
So while prices remain lower at the store, I had to know from neighbors: Why come to a produce stand like this one in Westgate?
“It’s definitely more expensive, but the cost is worth it,” said Guillermo Espinoza, a shopper at Westgate.
Or here in northwest Omaha?
“So a lot fresher, a lot, a lot more flavor than what I would get in the grocery store,” said Kim McKinley, a shopper at Jilian’s.
Jilian Heldt, the owner of Jilian’s Produce, told me she’s seen the same families come back year after year. And those relationships create a family feel for her. Like many farmers, she loves having bumper crops so she can sell at lower prices.
And for customers?
“Well, we love to support local businesses,” said Aguoga.
