Wal-Mart stores in Arizona now stock Grand Canyon sweet onions while aisles in New York display state-grown eggplant, as the world’s largest retailer says it has become the nation’s largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

For Wal-Mart, which leverages bulk purchases to keep prices down, buying from local farms might not appear to fit the company’s strategy. However, the Bentonville-based company has focused on buying fruits and vegetables from farms closest to its distribution centers, making shipping easier while cutting down on trucking in produce from outside of the area, said spokeswoman Deisha Galberth.

For example, the retail giant once bought peaches from only a few suppliers. Now, Wal-Mart buys 12 million pounds of peaches annually from farms in 18 different states, she said.

Because of that, the company estimates, it saves about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year and cuts away 672,000 food miles.

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