Carrots for the Reindeer: Walmart Helps Power the Holiday Tradition Families Love
From a 4th-generation Colorado farm to Walmart shelves in just days, here’s the story behind the carrots that families across the country place next to Santa’s cookies.
Key Insights
- The carrots families leave out for Santa’s reindeer often begin their journey on a 4th-generation Colorado farm, bringing fresh, U.S.-grown goodness to a holiday tradition each year.
- Walmart’s long-standing work with Hungenberg Produce reflects its commitment to supporting U.S. agriculture and ensuring fresh, locally grown carrots are available as families embrace key holiday moments.
Every December, as families make their final holiday shopping trips, there’s one item that reliably ends up in carts across the country.
Carrots. For Santa’s Reindeer.
What started as a simple gesture, leaving a few crunchy carrots next to the cookies and milk, has grown into one of the most heartwarming and enduring holiday traditions for families with young children. It’s a moment filled with imagination: kids carefully selecting the perfect carrots for Santa’s reindeer, debating which gets the biggest one, and proudly arranging their display before heading to bed.
As the holiday approaches, parents and kids often stop in Walmart stores specifically to pick out fresh carrots for Santa’s team. And behind this growing tradition is a uniquely American story, one rooted in family, local agriculture and a decades-long collaboration with a Colorado farm.
A Colorado Farm Behind a National Holiday Moment
Many of the carrots families rely on for this year’s ritual come from Hungenberg Produce, a fourth-generation family farm in Greeley, Colorado. From its modest beginnings a century ago with just six acres, the farm has expanded to more than 6,000 acres and harvests nearly one million pounds of carrots every day.
A trusted Walmart supplier for over 20 years, Hungenberg Produce now delivers locally sourced carrots to customers across 36 states.
During a recent visit from Walmart associates, Jordan Hungenberg, CEO at Hungenberg Produce, reflected on the on the work their teams are doing together:
“At the time, there was only one major carrot supplier in the country. Walmart took a chance on us over 22 years ago, a small, local producer. We can’t say thank you enough.”
Freshness That Makes the Tradition Even Sweeter
While the holiday tradition may be timeless, the carrots themselves move fast. Many of the carrots shoppers will buy during the holiday season were grown in Colorado soil just days before they made it to stores.
At Hungenberg Produce, carrots are harvested, washed, packed and on a truck to a Walmart distribution center in under 48 hours. From there, they travel through Walmart’s supply chain and onto store shelves, often arriving within 72 to 96 hours of harvest.
That speed means families picking up carrots for the reindeer are taking home produce at peak freshness. For kids, it adds a touch of real-world magic: these carrots really did come straight from the farm in time for Santa’s arrival.
A Simple Tradition With Big Meaning
As families look for ways to create connection and joy during the holidays, the reindeer-carrot tradition continues to grow. It’s imaginative and easy for children to take ownership of, and it celebrates the idea that even small acts of kindness matter.
And behind every carrot left out for Rudolph is a bigger story: a Colorado family farm, a fresh and efficient supply chain, and Walmart’s commitment to supporting U.S. growers.
This holiday season, as children place their carrots beside Santa’s cookies, Walmart is proud to help keep the tradition alive, and even prouder to support the American farmers who make it possible.
