Mid October 2005

Deli Items at our Store

We are proud to introduce you to introduce Bradley “Dean” Parent of Alchemy Organica.  He is now working on a line of grab-and-go deli items for our store.  Dean has extensive experience as a chef, cooking instructor, natural foods retailer and all-around foodservice guru.  He will be taking the great food brought to us from local farms and food artisans and expertly preparing them in exciting ways.  We are looking for your ideas and thoughts as to what sorts of items you would be interested in seeing down at the store. Hummus, salsas, salads, dips… ? What would you like to buy?

Blue Corn Chip Clearance

We have just under a case of Blue Chips that are getting close to expiration. Produced by Whole Grain Milling in Welcome Minnesota, these excellent organic blue corn tortilla chips come in a 16oz bag and are normally priced at $3.49.  While supplies last, get them for only $2.49.

Warehouse Store Opening November 5

Things are starting to come together down at the warehouse store and excitement grows as the farmers market season wanes. Our suppliers have been stopping in and working on displays and inventory planning.  We are making contact with a number of other local and regional food suppliers and will continue to grow our product line over the winter.  You may be familiar with Virgil from Gingerbread Cheese, he has the fresh curds down at the market and has a small store on Highway 12 in Augusta. We’ll be getting fresh curds and a variety of other cheeses from Gingerbread in November. We’re also making plans to work with Bob and Martha of ROMAR greenhouse for a supply of fresh greens and salad mixes.  Fresh organic produce is in the works via Co-op Partners, a produce distributor operated by the Wedge coop in Minneapolis.  If you have ideas for other items in our store, don’t hesitate to let us know.

Eggs

We are proud to introduce you to another egg supplier we are now working with. Some of you may remember getting eggs from Kummer farms at Sunyata or Copp’s.  The Kummer family is committed to chemical free sustainable agriculture.  Their chickens are happy and free, the eggs brown and nutritious.

Local Cranberries

Cranberries are the largest fruit crop for Wisconsin.  Last week at the market I met Jerry, a cranberry farmer down near Tomah. He asked if we’d like to get some cranberries from him, and as usual, I asked a bunch of questions.  I learned first off that cranberries don’t grow under water.  He told me they actually grow in a bed of sand and peat. It’s only when they want to harvest them that they flood the bogs to bring the berries to the top. I asked Jerry about chemical use.  He reports that they spray the beds once in the early spring with an herbicide to knock out weeds, before flowers and berries form on the cranberry plants.  They never spray when the flowers are there or fruit is present. The cranberries were harvested this week.  We will be offering cranberries from this local farm while our supplies last. They are packed in Ziploc bags, the small size is just under 2# and we’re selling them for only $2.49.  The large bags weigh over 4 pounds and are only $4.79.  Cranberries come frozen, and you can use any amount at a time and refreeze.  These are phenomenal prices on local cranberries, you can buy some now and have a supply thoughout the winter for sauces, jellies, salsas and more…