Farm to table

[LuvOrlando]

Wondering if there are any US grocery chains whose mission statement is farm to table?

I know I can find items in the farmers markets that were popping up in empty parking lots all over the place in 2018-19, haven't seen them in a while but I hope all that is back this spring, still it would be nice to shop in a store that would choose farm to table before alternatives all the time regardless of the season. I only know what happens where I am and the North East is hit or miss, like I can find seasonal produce items here and there but it's only really local so not really reliable and wondered if maybe other parts of the US have different setups?

 

[RedAngie]

Supposedly Shop Rite gets some of its produce directly from local farms in season. They have signs indicating which farms.

Maybe they pass through Shop Rite’s main distribution center first.

 

[stout]

What about a local food co op? I love my co op. In our city, the co op is open to all, but owners do get discounts.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

www.sprouts.com

 

[bcla]

Depends on whether or not it really takes a "mission statement" or just action that shows direct support for farmers. Some believe that the modern American farm to table movement started at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. They might have been the first restaurant in the US that would routinely identify ingredient suppliers on their menus.

I go to a specific market. They have two locations, so I'm not sure if it qualifies as a "chain", but it's quite well know in foodie circles.

https://www.berkeleybowl.com

But what they have may come from wholesalers, but they also may be sourced from specific farms where they may have different prices depending on the source. Not everything is identifiable though, but I've seen where they've specifically identified that their garlic is from a specific farm, or certain specials are identified by the supplier.

 

[mrodgers]

Silly marketing. Farm to table through a grocery store? How do you get food directly from the farm to the table without going through a 3rd party by it going through a grocery store?

 

[LuvOrlando]

Shoprite and Wegmans do it during summer months when apples and corn show up from local sources, which is what got me to hoping maybe there was a store somewhere they had a 'farm to table" type aisle, like they do with organics and gluten free now.

Haven't seen any co-ops but I maybe need to learn more about this sort of thing.

Thanks for the sprouts.com link.

Funny, I sent DD away to Umass Amherst and at that initial walk-through the student guide warned us the students would come back to us with different perspectives after graduating and now she's wearing Birkenstocks and chastising me about labels & fragrances - cracks me up but it also seems to be rubbing off.

But what they have may come from wholesalers, but they also may be sourced from specific farms where they may have different prices depending on the source. Not everything is identifiable though, but I've seen where they've specifically identified that their garlic is from a specific farm, or certain specials are identified by the supplier.

Oh WOW, I would love to see foods identifiable by farms, like what happens with wine. I do see that with fruit and some stores have little collections of US made items I've grown to like from the North East like Jams from Maine and Hot Sauces here in Boston. Honestly, I would line my whole pantry with it if every category has an entrant.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Silly marketing. Farm to table through a grocery store? How do you get food directly from the farm to the table without going through a 3rd party by it going through a grocery store?

Hmmm, well farmers markets do it with stands and some big department stores actually rent out space to other retailers who sell direct, they pretty much just host the space. Although, if it's not feasible, and sometimes it might not be, I would settle for a section where all the items were directly identified by farm and some sort of stamp of oversight that could be grassroots like the Non-GMO.

 

[LuvOrlando]

www.sprouts.com

Have you used this service? None seem near me.

I tried Misfits but they kept sending me gross food on its way out, some people love it so it is probably just the distribution center where I was.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Stew Leonard’s. Only has stores in Connecticut, NY and NJ.

 

[barkley]

some of our local independent stores get much of their stuff locally but it's hit and miss. an option that seems popular but doesn't give the consumer much of a voice in what items they will receive is joining a 'c.s.a.' (community supported agriculture) boxed veggie/fruit program. you pay a monthly fee and get so many boxes of produce per week that vary depending on what is being harvested at a given point in time.

 

[MillauFr]

I don't understand. All produce comes from a farm.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I need to do shopping today and am willing to go out of my way although research has been a bit underwhelming. For some reason, I expected something like this to be much easier to find, thinking on it this impression is probably because the organics movement is so big that I just sort of figured this to be an extension of that. I'm going to really look closely at Whole Foods and there is a store here called Big Y that seems to host quite a few clusters of collections from local businesses that show upon shelves like how Goya has a whole area, Kelchner's (a staple during Lent) & Stonewall Kitchen.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I don't understand. All produce comes from a farm.

All everything comes from earth, after that there are specifics. I want to be able to be selective so that is the goal that would be achieved by being able to see where things come from, like I can do with wines through info on vineyards, wine will even tell me year of the crops so there is a precedent. This isn't an otherworldly request, all my wine bottles tell me this info, actually so does my honey minus the year.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Have you used this service? None seem near me.

I tried Misfits but they kept sending me gross food on its way out, some people love it so it is probably just the distribution center where I was.

I did, too...it started okay, then I got lousy stuff and my local stores were better, so I stopped...

 

[bcla]

I don't understand. All produce comes from a farm.

Not all meats and produce are necessarily identifiable by where they come from, whether it’s a single farm or maybe a cooperative. The concept is a bit more complex and different I depending on who is asked what it means. A lot has to do with getting local, in season produce.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/farm-to-table-2216574

 

[MillauFr]

Not all meats and produce are necessarily identifiable by where they come from, whether it’s a single farm or maybe a cooperative. The concept is a bit more complex and different I depending on who is asked what it means. A lot has to do with getting local, in season produce.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/farm-to-table-2216574

I saw plenty of local signs at the Whole Foods Produce department in Las Vegas. Which is complete nonsense.

 

[MillauFr]

All everything comes from earth, after that there are specifics. I want to be able to be selective so that is the goal that would be achieved by being able to see where things come from, like I can do with wines through info on vineyards, wine will even tell me year of the crops so there is a precedent. This isn't an otherworldly request, all my wine bottles tell me this info, actually so does my honey minus the year.

I wish wineries would disclose all of the additives. The oak chips, sugar, acids, mega purple, eggs, etc

 

[LuvOrlando]

So bread is very tricky, I prefer the Ezekiel which has no flour but I realize I'm not certain where the grains come from & sometimes the family wants more of a PBJ friendly soft bread so now I'm down that rabbit hole on my sofa instead of shopping...

For flour and breads I found that Montana bread is a thing but I'm having a tough time finding what brands use it other than their own namesake which I will look for and for flour I found this:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/bl... further ado, let us,miles of its Kansas mill.

This is very tricky & tougher too see that I expected.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I wish wineries would disclose all of the additives. The oak chips, sugar, acids, mega purple, eggs, etc

Mega Purple? Eggs? Honestly, I don't have it that often due to migraines pumping the breaks but these ingredients are unexpected and might explain why when I was a kid I was fine and now nearly everything bestows a migraine, like even apples and bread. I figured it was just me being off but maybe I'm eating weird stuff and I'm just sensitive... really this such a nuisance. I don't want a shopping trip to be a SATs review but I'm a few hours in and still bewildered.