The Wilmington morning star., 1940-10-18

ana have benefited, both farmers
and consumers.
Broccoli, string beans. . a S,
lettuce, tomaoes, oranges, grape
trult, watermelon-these are just
a few of the many fresh fruits
and vegetables which e un-
heard of in northern winters some
years back, but which even fam
lies in the most modest circum-
stances can enjoy today. Straw
berries in January is a particular
~ dramatic example of this de-
velopment and one for which we
feel We are largely responsible.
The per capita consumption of let
tuce has increased 300 per cent
in the last twenty years and nine
times as many peas are eaten"
Recalling the days W h an
orange was seldom reen during.
winter months Except in the toe of
a Christmas stocking" Mr.. Brin-
dell said that mass merchandise
ing has been particularly effective
in Increasing consun- 2tion OF cit
rus fruits. In the past twenty years
consumption of oranges has more
than doubled, he said.
Canned citrus fruits and juice
are among the most recent addi-
tions to the daily American diet.
We were the first distributors of
canned grapefruit, and the effec-
ti7eness of our activities in offer
ing this product at reasonable
prices is indicated by the act that
canned citrus fruits and juice now
rank among the first four or five
items in point of volume and dis
tribution in our entire canned food
line"
Mr.. Brindell said that the bene-
fits derived by both producers and
consumers from mass merchan-
dising were particularly evident,
with regard to poultry, which only
in recent years has gone beyond
it's traditional role of a holiday
dinner" He. pointed out th-.t when
the A & P first started selling poul-
try, ducks were purchased by com
paratively few families, but as a
result of the company's coopera-
ton with the Long Island duck
producers, there. is today an out
standing demand for this item.
The company was the first to bring
country fresh killed chickens to
consumers in many markets and
the result of this activity has not
only been increased consumption
of poultry and better returns to
growers, but increased demand on
the part, of consumers for fresh
killed fowl, he said. ...i
"We feel thatawe are in no small
way responsible for the improved
grading and handling of FIR e S h
killed chickens" Mr.. Brindell said,
because of our insistence upon
high standards of quality.
about ten years ago turkeys
sold only at Thanksgiving a d
Christmas holidays and butchers
had to charge enormous prices.
Immediately after the first of the
year turkeys went into cold stor-
age for the next year. We began
to feature turkeys all the year
round at prices in line with other
fowl, and as a result more and
more families are eating turkeys
and the producers have benefited
greatly. Americans ate rs, DOC, 900
turkeys in 1888 as against 17,000,-
900 in 1929. Year round distribu-
ton has enabled the farmers to i'm
prove the eating quality of turkeys
by converting the industry from
a barnyard production basis to a
specialized branch of agriculture.
The same i%nsistence upon quail
ity purchasing and low-cost mass
distribution has characterized the
company'ss activities since it be-
gan to. distribute meat, Mr.. Brin-
dell said. He cited as a particular
contribution the effective way in
which the A & P increased con
sumption of sliced bacon by bring
ing it down from the luxury class.
Mr.. Brindell said that the ma
TONS mass distributors had per-
formed yeoman service in distri-
buting dairy products. He pointed
out that the A & P maintains a
force Of expert butter makers who