A Cheat Sheet for Eating Locally

When I moved to the Bay Area from LA 7 years ago, I had never knowingly eaten something organic. And the concept of food miles didn’t even exist.

Things have changed a bit since then. Maybe it was watching An Inconvenient Truth, or maybe it’s all the food blogs I read, but lately, I can’t purchase food without thinking about where it came from. Is it organic? How many miles did it travel to reach me? Is it made by a huge corporation or a small business?

It can get kind of exhausting so I thought I’d make it easier for those of us in the Bay Area. I know I’m tired of making my head hurt in the bread aisle, trying to figure out what’s local and what’s organic.

So here’s a hopelessly incomplete list of local farms and companies in the extended Bay Area that make delicious food. I’ve left off the obvious – produce, beer, and wine – because there are dozens of local options to choose from (and I just wouldn’t know where to start). Enjoy:

Name	Location	Organic?	Products	Notes
Acme Bread Company	Berkeley	Yes	Bread	You can find this bread just about anywhere in the East Bay.
Clover Stornetta Farms	Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino	Many Products Are	Milk, Cheese, Sour Cream, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt	They win the prize for cutest mascot. You can find their products in most stores that carry natural foods.
Cowgirl Creamery	Point Reyes	Yes	Cheese!	Visit them at the SF Ferry Building and sample away.
Galaxy Granola	Marin	Yes	Take a wild guess…	Just discovered them – try the cranberry orange granola. I’ve only seen this at Whole Foods.
Ginger People	Monterey	No	Ginger candy, ginger cooking sauces, ginger juice, ginger beer	Their Sweet Ginger Chili sauce with Hodo Soy’s tofu jerky is a great combination.
Hodo Soy Beanery	Somewhere in the 415	Yes	Yummy flavored tofu, plain tofu, soy milk, soy custard, soy noodles, soy chocolate mousse	I can’t live without their tofu jerky and sesame tofu strips. They’re at all of the major Bay Area farmer’s markets.
Ici Ice Cream	Berkeley	Yes	Ice cream, sometimes of the wildest flavors, including earl grey, stout, peaches and cream, rhubarb, rose petal, lavender….	Only available at their store on College. You might have to wait in line for a half hour, but trust me, it’s worth it! The person who started it was the pastry chef for Chez Panisse so you know it’s got to be yummy, local, and organic.
Numi Tea	Oakland!	Yes	Tea, tea, and more tea. I recommend trying one of their variety packs.	I live by tea, and Numi’s one of my favorite. Many stores and cafes carry their teas.
Phoenix Pastifico	Berkeley	?	Pasta, ravioli, pasta sauces	Pricey, but worth the treat once in a while. You can find their pasta at many farmer’s markets, and at their small store in Berkeley.
Redwood Hill Farm	Sebastopol	No	Goat cheese and yogurt	Not certified organic yet due to lack of availability of organic feed. Still, no GMO or pesticides used.
Santa Cruz Organic	Santa Cruz	Yes	Juice, Soda, Apple Sauce, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Sauce	I can’t get enough of their lemonade during the summer. Most stores carry their products.
Strauss Family Creamery	Point Reyes	Yes	Milk, Yogurt, Butter	Their butter is heavenly. I’ve mostly seen their products at Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl.
Three Twins Ice Cream	San Rafael	Yes	Ice cream	Way too tasty. I’ve only seen this at the Berkeley farmer’s market, but I know some stores carry their ice cream.

Not convinced about eating local? Check out this this great YouTube video I found on the Eat Local Challenge blog, and learn to watch your (fo)odometer:

 

Advertisements