Farmer Joe’s Thriving And Still Giving Back
When Lee Snyder opened Farmer Joe’s grocery store on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral back in January of 2022, he could
never have envisioned the challenges he would face before his doors were even open for one full year. Aside from the normal issues associated with such a large endeavor, Sept. 28,2022 would change theirtrajectory going forward forgood –forcing him and other local businesses into a differentbusiness model – with a different call. Snyder and his team answered that call, and then some. Hurricane Ian would not hold them back. By Sept. 29 – the day after the hurricane hit – Southwest Florida had already become one of the largest hurricane disaster areas in the United States’ history. Numerous organizations, both local and out-of-state, were gearing up for a long relief process. Farmer Joe’s began that day assessing the damage and preparing to re-open. But it wouldn’t work out the way they had planned. “Thinking back, we were really set up not to go down after a big hurricane,” Snyder recalled. “We had this huge generator that holds enough fuel to run for a few days and keep us open. But after our initial assessment we realized all of the roof damage had totally ruined the generator. So, we had to switch gears. After all of our employees were accounted for, we decided to offer them the opportunity to come back and receive a paycheck.” But this time his employees would be coming back to work for a different reason. Snyder was contacted by a church organization up in South Carolina called Spokes for Hope, whose faith-based volunteers specialize in food distribution relief in disaster areas.
To bring real food back to the family dinner table by partnering with farmers, championing local products, and creating an enchanting customer experience.
They said they were looking for a dry facility where they could stage their operations for sending their food trucks out to the barrier islands. In exchange for providing the staging area they would also provide Farmer Joe’s with assistance to help out locally. Farmer Joe’s also partnered with the Harry Chapin Food Bank – and together those two organizations – along with Farmer Joe’s employees working the long car lines each day for a couple of hours, fed over 15,000 families in four weeks. “Words really can’t describe how it makes you feel when you can give back to the community at a time of need,” Snyder said. “You just know deep down you’re doing the right thing. And on top of that being able to keep our core employees on the payroll when no money was coming in for them was really part of the challenge. Being able to provide for both the community and our employees was special for us.” Snyder has had a long history in Southwest Florida in providing for the community. “I grew up in Cape Coral – been here since 1978. In the mid ’80s I got into the produce business with a buddy of mine, Alfie Oakes,” Snyder recalls. “We’d sell produce out of the back of our pickup truck at the foot of the Edison and the Cape Coral bridges. That led into running quite a few open-air roadside markets between here and Orlando and also up in the state of Delaware – did that for about 15 years before Farmer Joe’s evolved.”
Snyder said the idea of Farmer Joe’s was actually unexpected. He was once asked if he had the choice of building a massive 55,000-square-foot store, where would he build it. He had a few investors that showed interest, so he decided Pine Island Road was the best choice. Supplied with his lifelong experience in the food service industry and with a clear vision for what he could provide for Cape Coral and the surrounding area, Farmer Joe’s finally became a reality in January 2022 and with it a much anticipated grand opening. “We knew going into this that we were going to be surrounded by competitors, and that their buying power would be much greater than ours,” Snyder said. “So, we had to give our customers something extra – our employees had to focus on giving outstanding customer service. We also have the largest produce department in the state of Florida with over 13,000 square feet – not everyone has those bragging rights. Growing up in the produce industry all of my life, I feel like that was my forte.”
In addition to a special customer focused employee base and competitive prices, Farmer Joe’s is also proud to be working with many local farmers in our area. “We’re very fortunate here in Florida – our growing season is eight months long – during the offseason we can lean heavily on our farmers from the northeast, then we can rely on our local farmers for the majority of the year,” Snyder explained. “Hanshaw Farms, Oakes Farms, Gargiulo Farms, and all of our farmers out in Immokalee are just a few of the vendor names you will see in our produce area when you come in to shop.” The Farmer Joe’s mission statement on their website
reads … To bring real food back to the family dinner table by partnering with farmers, championing local products, and creating an enchanting customer experience. It’s a constant
challenge that demands a laser focused effort each day. “The community has totally embraced our store,” Snyder proudly states. “We’ve tried to create the whole atmosphere
here, where you can feel the positive energy once you walk through our doors. We’ll continue to work closely with the Harry Chapin Food Bank on local food drives, offer our customers the finest service in the food industry, and offer weekly specials that will help in making your shopping experience with us a special one.”
Farmer Joe’s
1401 SW Pine Island Rd,
Cape Coral, FL 33991website: farmerjoes.com
Phone: (239)510-4385
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