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Friday, January 17, 2014

Where can you find nutritious food when it's not in your neighborhood grocery store?

I've been on a journey towards traditional foods for the past three years, and finding healthy foods is one of the biggest hurdles I've encountered during this process. I would read about the benefits of raw milk or grass-fed beef, but then I wasn't sure where to buy them. I live in a suburb of Philadelphia, and we don't have dairy farms or chickens in our backyards. With a little investigation, I've discovered raw milk, grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and eggs, and raw honey within a 20 minute drive of my home. During a typical week, I may purchase food from 3-4 sources, so it's definitely not as convenient as one-stop shopping at the local grocery store. However, I know I'm buying fresh, healthy food, and I'm directly supporting local farmers. Here are some of my sources, and I'll continue to add more to the list as I find them.


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Butter from grass-fed cows: 

2. Trader Joes or Wholefoods  - I buy Kerrygold butter.
3. Local health food store.
4. My local milk co-op (see raw milk section) has found a source of raw butter and raw cream. It's not always available, but I was really excited about the option.

Coconut Oil:

1. Trader Joe's or your local grocery store
2.  Tropical Traditions - also has coconut flour, coconut milk, and tomato products in glass jars instead of cans
3. Vitacost

Organic Produce:

1. CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) - We have been part of Red Hill Farm and Red Earth Farm. Red Earth Farm has delivery points throughout the Philadelphia area. 
2. Indian Orchard - A tiny, hundred-year-old family farm where you can pick peaches, blueberries, pears, and apples. It's located near Linvilla Orchard in Media, PA.
3. Farmer's Markets - Ridley Park (Thurs. 4-7pm), Swarthmore (Sat. 9:30am-1:30pm), and Media (Thurs. 3-7pm). Here's a link to information about many farmer's markets in the Philadelphia region
4. Your Family Farmer
5. Door to Door Organics
6. BJ's Wholesale and Costco often sell organic produce

Raw milk and pastured eggs: 

1. The most affordable milk I've found ($4/gallon!) is through a local milk co-op. We pick up from Green Ridge Farm in Parkesburg, PA. You can find many more farms that sell raw milk in PA at the www.realmilk.com.
2. My local health food store Martindale's sells raw milk, cheese, pastured eggs, grass-fed beef, and organic produce.
3. Your Family Farmer is a group of farmers that sell raw milk, raw cheese, pastured poultry and eggs, woodland pork, and grass-fed beef. They deliver every 2 weeks to drop-off points throughout Pennsylvania.
4. When I've traveled, I've found sources of raw milk in CT, FL, and NH through the website www.realmilk.com. It has a "real milk finder" with information about each state in the United States. One of our favorite vacation memories was meeting a three day old calf at a dairy farm in NH when we stopped to buy raw milk and cheese.

Pastured Chickens and Grass-fed beef:
1. Canter Hill Farm in Malvern, PA. They sell at local farmer's markets, and they sell retail in Wolff's Apple House in Media, PA.
2. Forks Farm in Orangeville, PA. They also sell at local farmer's markets, and they have a monthly drop-off in Media. There is a Facebook group you can join if you are interested in their drop-off.
3. Your Family Farmer - They have weekly drop-offs in Media, and they have weekly or bi-weekly deliveries all over the state of PA.
4. Farmer's markets - Ridley Park (Thurs. 4-7pm), Swarthmore (Sat. 9:30am-1:30pm), and Media (Thurs. 3-7pm). Here's a link to information about many farmer's markets in the Philadelphia region.

The Weston A. Price Foundation produces an annual "Shopping Guide" with 'Best, Good, and Avoid' categories for all kinds of food.  I have several copies of this guide if you would like one, and you can get more information or request one at www.westonaprice.org. 




2 comments:

  1. This is awesome Kinsey! Thank you for the great sources! I knew about a few of these, but I really want to check out Indian Orchard. How are they different/better/worse from Red Hill?

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  2. Indian Orchard actually does the fruit share for Red Hill, but you can pick or buy fruit directly from them. They offer a few vegetables in season like tomatoes and beans, but mostly they have fruit.

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