N.C. purple tater goes national

The North Carolina-grown purple honeyed potato might shortly be accessible in stores all over the country.

Stokes Foods, the Walnut Cove grower of the Stokes Purple, has sealed a placement agreement that will take the line of purple honeyed potatoes and purple honeyed potato products to stores nationwide.

The deal, with Georgia-based Columbus Gourmet, will assistance the association enhance the reach. For the past year, the Stokes Purple has been sole in Southeastern Whole Foods stores, together with those in the Triangle. The new understanding will concede Stokes to work with Whole Foods stores in alternative regions, as well as suggest intensity inroads with alternative retailers with that Columbus Gourmet works, together with Southeastern grocery sequence Publix.

The one more commercial operation will assistance Stokes" bottom line as well as farmers in the Stokes County area, pronounced Bill Cobb, the companys handling director. "I think the protected to contend we design to be means to stand in volumes [annually] for a little time to come," he said.

Stokes County is about 100 miles northwest of Raleigh, nearby the Virginia line.

Staff contributor Sue Stock