Since 1986, Gaia Herbs has been committed to growing certified organic herbs. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, the Gaia Herb Farm is one of the largest medicinal herb farms in the United States, with some 50 crops growing on 250 acres of certified organic river bottom soil.

Since 1986, Gaia Herbs has been committed to growing certified organic herbs.  Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, the Gaia Herb Farm is one of the largest medicinal herb farms in the United States, with some 50 crops growing on 250 acres of certified organic river bottom soil.

When Jane Elder Kunz inherited her grandparents’ farm, she and her husband Fritz decided to create the first organic dairy in Indiana. As a doctor, Fritz knew that yogurt and cheese made from cows that are grass fed would be packed with healthy nutrients.

Tuscarora Organic Growers is a democratically-operated cooperative of more than 40 farms that was founded in 1988 in Hustontown, Pennsylvania. Growers are held to strict standards, spelled out in an 18-page set of guidelines covering harvest, grading, packing, storage and food safety. All of the partner farms are certified organic.

First constructed and planted in the spring of 2010, the Whole Foods Market Garden Project at Healing Place Women and Children’s Campus (both a homeless shelter and a long-term recovery program) in Louisville, Kentucky, has turned into a self-sustaining food system that provides fresh vegetables for the 200 residents and staff of the facility. With a large-scale vegetable garden, Healing Place is now able to incorporate a “plant-strong” eating approach, where it did not exist before. Also, the residents now enjoy the healing qualities of gardening, which ties in well with the overall mission and vision of the Healing Place.

Steve Whitmire’s family has been farming in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina since the early 1800′s.  As a kid, Steve’s chore was to look after the lone family cow.  Today Steve oversees a much larger herd of Angus/Braunvieh cattle on 1,000+ acres in Brasstown, North Carolina, ensuring they always have sufficient spring water, ample grass, freshly mixed feed and room to roam.

We started the Local Producer Loan Program in 2006 with the goal of providing low interest loans to help local farmers and producers grow their businesses. With Thompson Farms, not only are we helping them expand their business with a loan, but we are also potentially helping them increase their 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating — another critical endeavor at Whole Foods Market.

The Thompson family has farmed in Dixie, Georgia for over 75 years, and today are one of the producers who help us attain our goal of carrying only the highest quality pork in our stores. If you are familiar with the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards, Thompson Farms currently rates at an impressive Step 4, which means their pigs live continuously on pasture or outdoor foraging areas. The hogs raise their piglets in huts where they have wallows (otherwise known as “mud holes”), stroll through green grass and are treated gently by their caregiver with whom they are familiar.

Sounds pretty great, right? Well, with the proceeds of their loan, the father and son team at Thompson Farms will take it a step further by building a processing facility on site, which is one of the requirements to achieve Step 5+. If they are successful in this endeavor, they will be the first ever pork producer to reach this high standard! In fact, it’s the highest level possible within Global Animal Partnership’s Animal Welfare Rating system. At Step 5+, the hogs cannot be transported at all, which can cause stress to the animal. All piglets must be born and raised on the farm where they will spend their entire lives with their littermates, doing exactly what pigs are supposed to do.

I love working on the Local Producer Loan Program because I believe in supporting small entrepreneurs who have passion for their craft and produce some of our highest quality products. What an honor to work on a Local Producer Loan that combines our commitment to local products with our dedication to animal welfare.

To learn more about Thompson Farms, check out this slide show!

It might be hard to tell since they are around all year, but tomatoes actually have a season when they are at their best. Since they are warm weather plants, you may think that summer in general is the time when they are the most abundant and flavorful. The fact is, though, that field tomatoes need prolonged periods of warm weather to grow and mature so it is generally later in the summer when we see — and taste — the best.

Of course my gardening friends in the southern states are way ahead of the farms in New England and my home here in the west. In fact, many of the commercial winter farms of South Florida have finished and production has already started to move further north. My farmer friends here in California report good plant growth but unseasonably cool daytime temperatures. So, while full-sized slicers and heirloom tomatoes are still several weeks away in large volumes, their smaller cousins, cherry tomatoes, are coming off the vine now.

Cherry tomatoes are grown in greenhouses as well, but the majority of commercial production is open field. Cherry tomatoes are very labor intensive at harvest time but a single plant puts out incredible volumes of fruit over 8 to 10 weeks of production in most areas. Cherry tomato plants are also faster producers than larger varieties so growers have a shorter period to maintain the plants before they start generating income.

The most common variety produced today is the grape tomato — an oblong, red variety that is firm and very sweet. Grape tomatoes are produced all over the U.S. so chances are if you live in a state that is already warm, you will see some local production. Usually by late June we see the start of the domestic varietal cherry tomato season and, for a few short weeks, the grape tomato will be joined by an explosion of size, shape and color with varieties like the Sun Gold, Red and Yellow Pear, Sno White and Black Cherry.

This expanded availability is usually the signal for me to change from spring to summer salads. As cherry tomatoes become more abundant and reasonably priced, they gradually replace the less flavorful lettuces of summer. Cucumbers also see an increase in availability so my salad of choice consists of sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with basil, some crumbled blue cheese and a little olive oil and vinegar.  I also have a simple cold pasta dish — angel hair with sliced cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil — that is a light, summertime favorite.

Cherry tomatoes also make a great snack all by themselves. For the last several weeks we’ve had a bowl of them on our break room table here at the office that never stays full for long. In a few weeks we will all start obsessing about full-sized heirlooms (for good reason) but it’s the cherry tomato that always starts the season.

For over 35 years, Severino Pasta Company in Westmont, New Jersey, has been the place to find authentic, richly flavored pasta handmade with only the finest ingredients. Joseph and Anna Maria Severino learned the art of pasta making from Umberto Casoli, an artisanal pasta maker in Rome, Italy. In 1971, they returned to America with recipes in hand and introduced their uniquely handcrafted pasta products made from 100% Semolina flour, which are unsurpassed in texture, color and quality.

Pasta from local vendor Severino Pasta Company is currently available in our stores in the MidAtlantic and Northeast regions. We have great local offerings in all of our stores around the country. Ask a team member in your stores about what’s local in your neck of the woods.