Shop Local: 5 Best Local Food Suppliers (Beyond the Grocery Store)

written by

Ike Mallula

posted on

January 16, 2021

You know the foods you need to eat clean and fuel your body but finding them in your local grocery store can prove to be a challenge. Here at Red House Ranch, we have established a network of local food suppliers to help you find all the real foods you need feel good about the phrase, “you are what you eat.”

Muddy Fingers Farm (Hector, NY)

Since 2003, the folks at Muddy Fingers farm have remained true to their roots of providing fresh, pesticide-free vegetables. From arugula to zucchini (and a veggie for practically every letter in between) this year-round farm functions at the hands of just two dedicated farmers, Matthew Glenn & Liz Martin. Matthew and Liz have created a high tunnel system for growing (which allows their year-round production) and are dedicated to a permanent bed system, which minimizes damage to their soil. They also host spontaneous pot-luck meals at their farm, allowing you to walk the fields, pet the goats, and eat right where your food is grown.

You can sign up to be part of their shared CSA vegetable program, or find them at any one of these markets:

  • Grove Park Farmers Market (Outdoor market – Elmira, Mondays 3:00-6:00 June 6 – October 30)
  • Corning Farmers Market (Outdoor market – Thursdays 10:00-3:00 June 9 – October 26)
  • On-Farm Market (Outdoor market – Fridays, Noon until Dark, June 2 – October 27)
  • Ithaca Farmers Market (Outdoor market – Saturdays (hours vary), September through March)
  • Chamberlain Acres Farmers Market (Indoor market – Elmira, Sundays 11:00-3:00, November through March)
  • Corning Winter Farmers Market (Indoor market – 1st and 3rd Saturdays 11:00-3:00, November through March)

https://www.facebook.com/MuddyFingersFarm/, http://www.muddyfingersfarm.com/

Catlin Hollow Mushroom Co. (Wellsboro, PA)

Passionate about her product, Staci “the mushroom lady” is a master gardener who grows and sells a variety of gourmet mushrooms. Available at Chamberlain Acres Farmers Market (Elmira, NY) or the Wellsboro Growers Market, Catlin Hollow Mushrooms are grown year-round without chemical pesticides or herbicides on hardwood sawdust in a climate-controlled grow-room.

From Blue Oysters and Lions Mane to Pioppino and Chestnuts, the variety and quality of product coming from Catlin Hollow is hard to beat. Take a peek inside the grow-room by following Catlin Hollow on Facebook.

Green Star Natural Foods Market (Ithaca, NY)

With hundreds of local vendors represented, the GreenStar Natural Foods Market is a staple for whole, clean goods. You can find health and beauty products, vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs, bread, flowers, packaged goods, even beer and hard cider– all produced within 100 miles of Ithaca, NY. (Get the full list of goods here: https://greenstar.coop/shop-local/)

This is more than a food supplier. GreenStar is a food co-op governed by a council that makes decisions regarding expansion, suppliers, and governance of the member-owned food store. You don’t have to be a member to shop there, but members enjoy perks and discounts along with the opportunity to participate in social events and community projects. GreenStar also offers classes to educate the public on the importance of clean eating, and addresses topics like Cooking for Health, Indian Vegetarian Food, and Traditional Healing and Modern Medicine.

As a co-op, GreenStar is committed to community, cooperation, sustainability, education, and (of course) good food.

Learn more about the GreenStar community – https://greenstar.coop

Delivered Fresh (https://deliveredfresh.localfoodmarketplace.com)

If you’re more of a “bring it to me” type of person, try out Delivered Fresh – an online grocery market serving northern PA that allows you to choose a pick-up point and order your goods online. Delivered Fresh is committed to sourcing their food from local farms who use only the healthiest techniques for growing, harvesting, and producing – proven by the fact that Muddy Fingers AND Caitlin Hollow Mushroom Co. (above) are two of the farms they source from!

You can find pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed and finished beef, antibiotic-free chicken, breads of all kinds, a huge amount of vegetables, canned goods, and even packaged goods – all available to you at the click of your mouse.

Orders can be picked up at any of these convenient locations:

  • Howard Elmer Park, Sayre PA, Friday 10-12
  • First Presbyterian Church, Wellsboro PA, Thursday 3-5
  • Farmer Fred’s, Monroeton PA, Friday 3-5
  • Milky Way Farms, Troy PA, Friday 3-5
  • St. James Episcopal Church, Mansfield, PA Thursday 4-6
  • WindStone Landing Farms, East Smithfield PA, by appointment

Red House Ranch (Van Etten, NY)

We are excited about the opportunity to sustainably feed our community.

We are excited to be closing the circle and returning to land that our grandparents and parents poured their life into.

We are excited about producing food that will be beneficial to all who consume it.

We are excited about meeting and working with all our customers to provide top-tier products for your home table, store, restaurant, CrossFit members, and DO or functional medicine office clients.

At Red House Ranch, we are motivated by a deep heritage of good farming and love of the land. We’re committed to providing growth-hormone free, pasture-raised meat and eggs to our community and have seen firsthand the benefits of the LCHF and paleo diets. That’s why the food you get from us can be trusted to be whole and simply un-messed with.

Our chickens are raised outdoors in the grass and sun, free to graze on bugs and the organic, non-GMO supplemental feed we provide to them. We use the silvopasture method for our pork, utilizing areas of forest to provide a stimulating environment for our pigs. And our beef cows are raised with a mob grazing technique that provides optimal nutrient availability. All of these pasture-based techniques result in nutrient-dense meat and eggs that will benefit your body.

You can find our products online https://redhouseranch.net/store.

Choosing to follow keto, Whole 30, Paleo, or any other real-food based diet is rewarding and life-altering. With these quality, local suppliers, you can rest assured in the knowledge that your food is expertly and cleanly produced.

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