January 2026 Produce Parable – Year in Review

By Adam Calder

At the beginning of the new year, I like to take a look back on the previous one. In 2025, we sold an incredible $1,136,015 worth of produce! I’ve been doing this job for over two decades, and when I started, I couldn’t have imagined we would ever sell this much produce in twelve months. I am immensely proud of the hard work my produce team and all the other co-op staff did to make this number a reality.

Of that over a million dollars in produce sales, here are the top ten selling items for your statistical pleasure:

10. Green onions – 4,499 bunches.

Not my personal favorite, but clearly, they find their way into many shopping carts and baskets. A few quick chops, and you can add a handful of these crunchy, mildly flavored alliums to a wide variety of dishes.

9. Russet Potatoes – 4,696.54 pounds

This particular potato has a fascinating history, which I will visit in a future produce parable. The large size, starchy flesh, shallow eyes and uniform shape make these potatoes a household name.

8. Garnet Yams – 4,728.95 pounds

Not surprisingly, sales for these really take off around Thanksgiving. They are consistently popular, and available year-round. Some people swear by them, claiming their sweetness and softness is unmatched by other yams.

7. Broccoli – 5,319.45 pounds

When the cases of broccoli arrive at the co-op, they are topped with five to ten pounds of chipped ice to keep them fresh longer. That means we also receive and throw out about 1,500 – 2,000 pounds of ice every year!

6. Yukon Gold Potatoes – 5,328.23 pounds

Developed in Canada in the 1960’s, these potatoes quickly became a huge success. They get their name from the Yukon River (the source of which is in British Columbia) and their yellow skin/flesh. Many people claim these potatoes have a buttery taste. Great for roasting or mashing.

5. Carrots – 6,113.30 pounds

Their versatility speaks to their popularity. Fresh for snacking, shredded in salads, juiced or cooked, there are many ways to enjoy carrots. They keep well, are affordable, nutritious, and available year-round.

4. Yellow Onions – 6,454.08 pounds

This may seem like a tear-inducing pile of onions, but they are so useful it does not surprise me that they sell so well. Not too hot, not too mild, good for storage, these onions are a familiar favorite in many kitchens.

3. Cosmic Crisp Apples – 6,953.91 pounds

These apples have an interesting relationship to Honeycrisp Apples. The Cosmic Crisp is a cross between the Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples. Honeycrisps fruit in a bi-annual cycle, where they produce a large number of apples one year (called a mast year) and then not very many the next. The 2024 Honeycrisp crop was small, so we did not have any Honeycrisps to sell at all the first seven months of 2025. In years where there are few Honeycrisps available, Cosmic Crisps fill in the gap.

2. Avocados – 12,837

That works out to about 40 avocados every day! Sales for this fruit increase every year. They are full of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, so I understand their appeal. I am still amazed at the sheer volume of these that we go through, and that their popularity only seems to be increasing.

1. As always, Bananas – 24,299.30 pounds

I personally stock around 15,000 pounds of those bananas every year. I’m just going to say it: bananas are not that good. It is mind-boggling how many people buy these fruits, and how often, when there are so many better tasting, longer lasting options for fresh fruit. Their power over consumers is near absolute, making them the perennial top-selling item in this produce department.