Morgantown...organic foods (Washington: condo, co-op, buying)

[jimdc58]

Is there a good source in Morgantown for those of us who prefer organic foods over conventional?

[clintsullivan]

Not sure about Morgantown specifically, but the options seem to be growing in chain supermarkets. Martins/Giant, Weiss and Food Lion have all expanded their natural & organic selections here in the Eastern Panhandle. Just be careful to still read the labels. I was buying organic from Martins/Giant, their Natures Promise brand, only to one day read the country of origin for the frozen vegetables, China. Can you believe it? We live in a country with some of the best soil & climate for growing vegetables and they are importing organics from China. I wrote to them about it and stopped buying those.
But on a positive note there is, because of demand, an upsurge within the US growers to convert to organic. It does take several years to convert land & orchards to certifiable organic production.
Something to consider, if you have access to a little ground, is growing what you can for yourself. It doesn't take much space either. Get the book One Acre to Security. It's amazing how little space it takes to produce some good food. We have a garden that's about 80' x 40' and another bed that is about 8' x 60'. This year we have canned, frozen or dried approx: 107qts green beans, 18qts pickles, snow peas, 40qts and still rising tomatoes, salsa, cabbage, broccolli, corn, green peppers, yellow peppers, dill, basil, sage, carrots, garlic, spinach, carrots, etc. Watermelons & pumpkin are yet to ripen. Not alot of fruit this year, just some raspberries, wineberries & strawberries. My apple, pear & cherry trees were poor this year, but that's the drawback of organic practices.
I also read an interesting article about a gentleman in a condo in Washington DC who grew grapes & made wine. The vines stretched from the ground to the rooftop. It really doesn't take lots of space, just good planning.

[CTMountaineer]

The new Krogers in Suncrest has a great organic food department, and there is also the (I think the name is) Mountain Coop, or something like that, across from the intersection of Beechurst and University.

[WVUPharm2007]

Check out the Mountain People's Market Co-op downtown...here's their website (http://www.mountaincoop.com/dynamic/ - broken link)...I think everything they have is organic...I might be wrong, call 'em up.