When one of the world’s largest public corporations makes a move toward supporting the local economy, it is only natural to wonder what is the motive is behind this grand gesture. It appears most Americans have a strong feeling one way or the other about this discount retailer. Many people swear by the deals and bargains found at their local Walmart, while others complain about the conglomerate which has played a big role in putting mom and pop companies out of business. Whether you like Walmart or not is not really the issue here. The issue is whether or not Walmart can help the local economy in areas where they have been blamed for the downfall of the same economy.

According to a piece written by Corby Kummer in the Atlantic magazine, it appears Walmart may be helping small farms and local economies more than their competitor Whole Foods (WFMI). Whole Foods Market is also one of the world’s largest retailers, specializing in natural and organic foods. Despite the fact that Americans are showing an increased interest in where their food comes from and the quality of products going on the dinner table, the struggling economy has made it more difficult for some families to afford the high price tag associated with better quality foods. As a result, more consumers are turning toward the local discount giant, Walmart for lower priced groceries that are more affordable. In Kummer’s essay, he notes that he was surprised to discover the variety and quality of foods found at Walmart, as well as the fact that many of the products came from local farms. This lead to a discovery of a little known program called Heritage Agriculture offered by Walmart.

Through this program, local farms (within a day’s drive of Walmart warehouses) are encouraged to grow crops that otherwise would take days to truck in from out of state. This might prove to be a big boost for local farmers and economies as well, due to the fact that many small to medium sized farms are simply unable to compete with industrial farms. With a guaranteed buyer of their crops, these local farmers can focus on growing quality products that will be bought and consumed locally. Of course this benefits Walmart by giving them a larger piece of consumer spending. And at the end of the day, corporations must pay attention to the bottom line. It appears even if Walmart has to pay slightly higher prices to buy locally grown food, versus buying from large industrial farms, they save money on transportation and other costs associated with buying from non-local farmers. If those savings can be passed on to you and your family, while supporting the local economy- it could be a win-win situation.