Looking to Buy Bread and Produce in Eastern USA

morrissey
morrissey Posts: 2 ✭✭✭

My parents, especially my mother, are very sick and unable to grow their own food, but are desperate to find some way to tap into the homesteaders network where they live in Virginia, to be able to purchase old-style produce (cultivars that are not modern but old cultivars…for nutrition and also for taste… my mother is literally starving for tasty food that is not all sweet…it is disgusting how even white potatoes are becoming sweet, and corn is turning into corn pudding, all of it…!) that is also organic or close to organic. Furthermore, she is desperate for good old-fashioned whole wheat bread that is not sweet and also does not have that disgusting undone taste, and does NOT CONTAIN ANY MANMADE CHEMICAL ADDATIVES, COLORINGS, FLAVORINGS OR PRESERVATIVES! I have a feeling that Melissa Norris’s bread would meet my mother’s specifications if it is well-baked, but who in this part of Virginia (or anywhere in VA or the eastern USA for that matter) makes such things with these modern homesteading skills, and could sell some to my parents (even if it is via UPS)?? I thought of your network as a way to tap into such growers, sellers, bakers, et cetera. Can you help me connect with such farmers and cottage industries in Virginia?

Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Welcome @morrissey!

    I suggest you check out the Introductions section of the forum. You may be able to connect with others in your area. https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/introductions

    We also have a Front Porch Welcome section with our rules for posting and tutorials to make it easier to navigate. https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/our-front-porch-welcome%21-%28please-read-before-posting%29

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2021

    @morrissey Welcome!~

    If your in a small town area there may be farmers markets open or CSA'a that will be starting soon. I would see if there are co-ops or local health food stores.

    Check feed mills and bulletin boards if they have them. The extension office may have this information, chamber of commerce or court house where cottage industries have to be registered.

    I would also check local re-enactor groups. I know Virginia has several. They have to be able to do all this for their programs they put on.

    Send me a PM. My nephew lives in Virginia and may know people

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @morrissey Welcome. I second @torey's suggestion. You may also be able to browse the North America section for those who may be located in your state & either pm them or tag them by using the @ symbol and their screen name in a post in this same thread.

    I was going to suggest getting a grain mill & grinding organic grain from a local farmer, but not everyone wishes to do that, it takes quite the effort to make bread with straight fresh ground flour and a bit of experience to get it to turn out well. However, I have a really great recipe for fluffy hamburger buns that is pretty easy and quite foolproof if directions are followed. I would be happy to pass it along if you do find a baker & would like to try it.

    We would happily bake for your parents to help them out, but we are in Canada, so that obviously does not work. :(

    We like to source organic when we can. Right now, we get our organic wheat from a neighbor and grind it ourselves. It more than pays for the mill.

    We also have a diet that excludes what you have mentioned. It is very important that we stay away from all those unnecessary artificial additives.

    👏👏👏 @Denise Grant! By the way, @morrissey, she is a good member to align yourself with to get things done. DO contact her!

    Let us know when you are connected with someone your way. Hopefully you can find the sources to fill all their needs. Also, anything else we can help with...just let us know & we will do our best to help you out. 😁 Its what we do!

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2021

    My daughter lives in Maryland and there are usually pop up farmers market during the summer. She also finds that she can get some good produce and other foods which are unadulterated from the local Amish community.

  • @morrissey welcome to TGN. I can only second what @torey and @LaurieLovesLearning said. As you are in VA you might want to look into

    They now send their produce by mailorder. OK it is not homesteading networks but they are the forefront of regenerative and old fashioned produce.

  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    Man, I wish I could make some bread for your mom! I'm not comfortable selling/shipping bread, but if you happen to be in the South Central PA area, send me a message and I'll see what I can do.

    There are a few different small bakeries around here, mostly the Amish or Mennonite. I don't know if any would ship or not. If you can't find anything closer, let me know and I'll see if I can make inquiries.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2021

    @morrissey We also have a lot of amish around her and I bet they would ship - or deliver if they had family in Va. I do not know what the amish population is like in Va but in Pa its large.

    I also sent you a private message

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @morrissey And, may I add, I just might be able to make personal connections through my Mennonite friends that I know here with those in the Mennonite groups in that area and pass on specifics like the ingredients to avoid. Just let me know and I will get to work on it.

    If you wish to tell me the town/city (by pm is probably best), I might be able to find something really close to keep it the freshest.

    Let me know!

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    I pm'd you but am posting here as well for anyone else who wishes to check this page out. It could be useful to many.

    It has chapters in each state, with contacts of people listed for specific regions within each, who should be able to connect you with what you need.


  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @morrissey Did you find what you were searching for?

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    this has been a helpful resource for me https://www.localharvest.org

  • VermontCathy
    VermontCathy Posts: 1,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Most of us on TGN are supportive fans of the local movement, but it does have a downside that we see in morrissey's post. It can be hard to find the products that you want locally, and they may not be available at all.

    If you are looking for seeds, or perennials to transplant, you can order them nationally and then propagate them locally. That doesn't work for finished products like baked bread.

    Even here in Vermont, a place that is big on small local businesses and locally-grown food, it can be tough to find finished goods (like bread), or fruits and vegetables available in large quantities in season for home canning. Most sellers are setup on a CSA model that provides a week's worth of raw vegetables each week for home-cooked meals, or small farm stands that only sell enough for a day or two of meals.

    There is no lack of good potatoes or corn available, but for the most part you would have to grow them yourself. (I've found the texture of home-grown potatoes is dramatically better than the ones from the store. I can tell the difference immediately when cooking them.)

    It would be great if we could see a larger network of small businesses selling jams, jellies, baked bread, and so forth to local people, but with their information collected together in one online location to make it easier for buyers to find one in their area. Perhaps TGN could build a crowd-sourced database that people could directly search to find out what's in their areas?

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @VermontCathy I thought we had a place to put suggestions, but I can't find it.

    @Merin Porter Could this be done in the future?

  • flowerpower *
    flowerpower * Posts: 258 ✭✭✭

    @morrissey My personal quick fix for the bread and grain situation is to buy British and European products in the big box stores, or get organic whole grains, or avoid grains. If you can find organic products, that is even better. Avoiding wheat can be helpful. Even organic wheat can be produced by using modern wheat*2, modified in the lab. Try pumpernickel bread, made with Rye. The other solution that I have is to largely avoid grains, perhaps retaining organic rice*1, and using other starchy foods like potatoes and sweet potatoes. When I drop grains, I lose resistant weight. As others have mentioned: farmer markets are a good place to start; you could also seek out suppliers on the internet; and community supported agriculture (CSA). Additionally, Zinc deficiency is common and can come with a loss of smell and taste. A good nutritionist could advise on this.

    For flavor, I like heritage plants. I still pine for the delicious flavors of my youth and seek those varieties out. Local and fresh has the best flavor, and that can be found in farmer markets or purchased direct from farms. We can also grow vegies in our yards, in pots on a deck, in vertical or hanging gardens, or in small hydroponic setups in our home, or sprouted in bottles.

    Notes (for anyone interested in more details): *1 rice must be prepared by soaking in extra water and discarding the water to minimize arsenic content.

    Organic products will contain less contaminants than non organic ones do.

    Grains especially, but also fruits and vegetables are dried with Glysophate. I am unsure if organic products are prepared with this product. Glysophate sickens us greatly and is a key ingredient in "Roundup". So when weed control is done with Round up we can get Glysophate from plants, and animals, exposed to the soil.

    *2 modern wheat, grown for the last 100 years, was altered in a chemical laboratory by gene smashing to develop a strain with short one foot high, thick stems so that production was increased. The gene smashing did not use gene splicing techniques so the wheat is not technically "GMO". The gene smashing has created a wheat that fattens people, causes food cravings, and may trigger food sensitives and allergies, even mental illness! Tip: ask your organic wheat producers how tall their wheat grows. Be warned that organic farmers will not be pleased to be informed that they are growing modern wheat.

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    I do love this idea, @LaurieLovesLearning! Let's think about how we could make something like this work!

  • VermontCathy
    VermontCathy Posts: 1,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @flowerpower *

    Maybe. But classifieds are usually used as "I have something to sell/trade/give away." What we need is a long-term database of "I have discovered a business that is not mine, located in Vermont, selling/trading something you might want."

    Also, classifieds tend to be short term. The types of business we are discussing now are those that are in long-term business, so a "classified" posted 2 years ago would still be relevant (but probably not read).

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I am going to try this bread recipe. Hopefully its a good one. I know Melissa Norris has a bread book and class she offers,

    https://melissaknorris.com/pioneering-today-bake-your-own-bread-no-kneading/?vgo_ee=vXIQX7IZ3qdpWrlsso4u7g%3D%3D