Local Vendor Archives - Valley Community Food Co-op, Inc

At Maple Valley, taking care of our forests means providing your family with the most delicious and nutritious maple syrup possible. It also means doing our part to help with Climate Change, provide Sustainable Agriculture, and support the growing Cooperative Economy! For Your Health: Organic maple syrup is not only a sweetener for your diet, but also a nutritious superfood, rich with 54 researched antioxidants and vital minerals that are neutral to alkaline producing for the body. With a lower glycemic index, Maple syrup doesn’t spike blood sugar as fast as most sweeteners and is naturally gluten free. Maple Valley maple syrup is Certified Organic and Kosher, with an extra purity pledge from our farmers for Vegan compliance (No butter or bacon for defoaming use in the sugar shack evaporation process.) Equal parts fresh squeezed lemon juice and our maple syrup, with

Meet Organic Valley Farmers: Zweber Family Farm

ByEvan Friedley

April 12, 2015

Farm Partner, Grocery, Local Vendor

The farm has been in the family for just over 100 years. Tim’s parents, Jon and Lisa Zweber took over the operation from Jon’s father in 1984. A couple of years ago, Tim and his wife Emily joined a long standing tradition by becoming partners in Zweber Farms. Tim’s younger siblings, Sarah, Steven and Samantha still help out on the farm, and one day, Tim and Emily’s children might decide to do the same. Meanwhile, Tim and Emily’s three children ages 7, 5, and 2 like to do the chores with their Papa, and already know all about chopping corn and making haylage. There are always challenges with running a farm; however, the Zwebers have learned to create positives out of negatives. Sited in the Big Woods Area, much of their acreage is characterized by rolling hillsides that taper into tight

Heavenly Hunks

ByEvan Friedley

February 2, 2015

Local Profile, Local Vendor

by Susan Budig By common consensus, a cookie is a small, round, flat, sweet baked product. But what if you’ve bitten into a cookie that’s square as a box? You might be tempted to exclaim, “This isn’t a cookie, it’s a heavenly hunk,” which is exactly what Ellen Redmond’s nephew said upon devouring one of Redmond’s homemade cookies. Not only are the contours of the cookie unique, but its ingredients boost the bar-like cookie to another level of deliciousness. “The secret batter is the foundation for the cookie, but its shape is something different,” says Redmond. Its square shape holds in the moisture so that everything stays soft and chewy. Redmond and her nephew, Casey Webber, co-own Ella’s Heavenly Hunks and produce these biscuits in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For thirty years, Redmond kept her recipe hushhush. She made them for family gatherings where they were always popular. When Webber attended college, she’d stir up a batch and mail them to him. Her parcels

Hidden Stream Farm

ByEvan Friedley

August 4, 2014

Farm Partner, Local Profile, Local Vendor

The name Hidden Stream Farm belies the open-book policy of its owners Lisa and Eric Klein. Besides, the creek isn’t all that hidden, confesses Eric Klein. Lisa Klein spoke with “This is Living Naturally” from her home-office early one morning before any of their six children arose. She said callers are welcome anytime. They like to maintain a transparency in their farming methods so that their customers can pop in and no one will be surprised or dismayed. Pigs Live Like Pigs Likely, visitors who take the drive to the Elgin hamlet, not far from the bluffs of the Mississippi River, will encounter porcine squeals and rooting noises as a passel of naturally curious pigs digs in the dirt, wallows in the mud and plays in the straw. Purchased at six weeks old, the Kleins start a new drove of 100 feeder pigs each month for a total

Vika’s Essentials

ByEvan Friedley

June 2, 2014

Local Profile, Local Vendor, Uncategorized

We live in a world of chemicals. Our bodies’ compounds echo the building blocks of nature: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. So massaging more chemicals into our skin in the form of cosmetics shouldn’t be a problem, but it is. Six years ago, at age 50, Viktoriya Hopperstad found herself with itchy, flaky skin. Creams she usually used provided no relief. A doctor diagnosed her from a textbook, leaving her unimpressed and scratching her head. A trip to Hawaii and the introduction to macadamia nut oil—known for its creamy, indulgent qualities—flipped a switch for Viktoriya Hopperstad and brought her to a new understanding of skincare and the application of chemicals. From this experience, Vika’s Essentials began to germinate. Business Takes Root “Five years ago, I totally reconsidered what I was doing,” she recalled. “One day I decided, that’s enough.” Viktoriya Hopperstad, a 15-year

Vendor Profile: Fresh Bar

ByEvan Friedley

February 3, 2014

Local Profile, Local Vendor

Open your pantry and pull out 11 ingredients from your shelves: oats, honey, applesauce, dry milk, bananas, raisins, orange juice, almonds, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix all together, pour into pan, bake, cut and refrigerate. Make enough for one thousand bars. Do your bars stand up to Five Friends Food Fresh Bar? It took twin brothers, Will Handke and Ross Pomeroy (different last names, but twins none-the-less), dozens and dozens of batches before they devised the right combination for flavor and texture. They also kept in mind freshness, portability and food safety as regulated by the state of Minnesota. Fresh Bar maintains the nutritional values of what makes a great snack bar. Fresh Bar Quest “I was sitting in zoology class and feeling hungry, but I didn’t want to eat the [snack bar] in my backpack,” says Pomeroy, co-owner and manufacturer of Five Friends Food that

Featured Vendor: LUV Ice Cream

ByEvan Friedley

June 21, 2013

Grocery, Local Vendor, Video

Valley Natural Foods is proud to feature LUV Ice Cream, a small ice cream company, established in 2012, based in Stillwater, Minnesota. Products include all-natural, gluten-free ice cream with no sugar as well as sugar free, gluten-free chocolates. Learn more at http://luvicecream.com/

Featured Vendor: Green Earth Growers

ByEvan Friedley

May 21, 2013

Local Vendor, Video

Valley Natural Foods is proud to feature Green Earth Growers, a small wholesale greenhouse company, established in 2004, located just south of the Twin Cities in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Products include custom plugs, bedding plants, unique annuals, tropicals, heirloom tomatoes & peppers, and much more. Learn more at http://www.greenearthgrowers.net.