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Old 08-26-2013, 07:25 PM
 
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I'm looking for the independent stores that sell more local and regional produce. I have yet to see any, anywhere.

I'm sure they exist, of course, but I have not had time to look yet. New house, need to stock up...
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Old 08-26-2013, 08:34 PM
 
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Not exactly what you are looking for --

Farmer's market?
Warrenville Park District Rec Center parking lot at*Warren and Tracey*in Warrenville, Illinois

Dates
Wednesdays, 3 - 7pm
June - September


Warrenville Farmers Market*
Warrenville Park District
3S260 Warren Ave
Warrenville, IL* 60555
(630) 393-7279


There are some permanent /seasonal farm stands not too far away also...
http://windyacresfarmstand.com/


There is a Whole Foods in neighboring Glen Ellyn at the eastern most part of Danada off of Butterfield Rd.

Last edited by chet everett; 08-26-2013 at 08:45 PM..
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Old 08-27-2013, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
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Here are the Naperville farmers' markets:

City of Naperville || Farmer's Market
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Old 08-28-2013, 11:50 AM
 
9,470 posts, read 6,968,141 times
Reputation: 2177
Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
Not exactly what you are looking for --

Farmer's market?
Warrenville Park District Rec Center parking lot at*Warren and Tracey*in Warrenville, Illinois

Dates
Wednesdays, 3 - 7pm
June - September


Warrenville Farmers Market*
Warrenville Park District
3S260 Warren Ave
Warrenville, IL* 60555
(630) 393-7279


There are some permanent /seasonal farm stands not too far away also...
Windy Acres Farmstand


There is a Whole Foods in neighboring Glen Ellyn at the eastern most part of Danada off of Butterfield Rd.
I'm sorry I wasn't clear.

I was looking for regular grocery stores or produce outlets that have local and regional stuff all year long.

We had a local store, an independent grocer, who had a huge produce section that had everything they could get their hands on, and it came from local producers where possible. We had no Whole Foods, but they were far less expensive and generally a much larger selection of stuff. Frankly, I have little use for Whole Foods. It is badly overpriced, and a lot of stuff is poor quality.
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Old 08-28-2013, 12:27 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
6,219 posts, read 5,940,900 times
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Try Caputo's Fresh Market in south Naperville. Frankly, I doubt you're going to find what you're looking for in Warrenville itself. You might find this helpful:

Naperville CSA Programs (Community Supported Agriculture) | Ecovian

Science of Spirituality in Naperville has an annual vegetarian festival, and I think a local Hindu temple (in Aurora, I think) does, too. You might contact them to see if they have any suggestions.
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Old 08-28-2013, 12:47 PM
 
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I don't know if you are going to find anything exactly like you are looking for -- the majority of "independant" grocers in the region like Caputos are getting their produce from the cooperative buying group Centrella which so far as I know does not distinquish from stuff grown locally or elsewhere. http://www.central-grocers.com/find_...cers_illinois/ Pretty sure the "motto" at the top of page is not meant to be seen as consumers : "Pay less. Profit More." Hardly something to inspires confidence in their dedication to the plight of farmers or nutrition conscious food lovers...

I have a few local options for "organic" produce but my experience is similar to what you said about Whole Foods -- costly and not anything special quality wise.

The permanent "farm stands" may be your best option, heck even my local meat guys at Casey have people lined up for the special sweet corn that they bring in...

I know folks that have tried the CSA thing too but then you have to figure out what to do with 10 lbs or rutabaga or something.

In Wisconsin and parts of Michigan there are enough "back to the earth" types to support some of the hippie dippy "Coops" like you find in Ann Arbor & Madison but so far there is not enough support for that anywhere close to Warrenville...
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Old 08-28-2013, 01:46 PM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,261,841 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
I don't know if you are going to find anything exactly like you are looking for -- the majority of "independant" grocers in the region like Caputos are getting their produce from the cooperative buying group Centrella which so far as I know does not distinquish from stuff grown locally or elsewhere. http://www.central-grocers.com/find_...cers_illinois/ Pretty sure the "motto" at the top of page is not meant to be seen as consumers : "Pay less. Profit More." Hardly something to inspires confidence in their dedication to the plight of farmers or nutrition conscious food lovers...

I have a few local options for "organic" produce but my experience is similar to what you said about Whole Foods -- costly and not anything special quality wise.

The permanent "farm stands" may be your best option, heck even my local meat guys at Casey have people lined up for the special sweet corn that they bring in...

I know folks that have tried the CSA thing too but then you have to figure out what to do with 10 lbs or rutabaga or something.

In Wisconsin and parts of Michigan there are enough "back to the earth" types to support some of the hippie dippy "Coops" like you find in Ann Arbor & Madison but so far there is not enough support for that anywhere close to Warrenville...
As a wholesaler, I don't find the slogan offensive. The grocer needs to make a profit or Poof, they're out of business. AND AS LONG AS THE QUALITY IS GOOD, if the grocer pays less, then often you pay less. There is too much competition for grocer's to get too complacent with what they charge. And even if the produce is not organically grown, locally; still better to wash and then consume produce than consume boxes of pre-packaged food stuffed with "shelf life enhancers"!
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Old 08-28-2013, 02:07 PM
 
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Did not mean to impune any wholesalers, just saying that business is business and whether it is Whole Foods or WalMart or Aldi/Trader Joes or an "independant" that is getting their produce from Centrella or even somebody growing stuff on the back forty and then having an "honor box" farm stand the market forces around here are a heckuva lot different than in a place where there are folks working at a collectivist coop or something...

I often buy produce at a place called Nature's Best, a Greek family owns it and his overhead is a fraction of the bigger places, but he rarely bothers specifying the source of any of the produce. At the other extreme I enjoy dining at Vie and the menu there practically lists out the family tree of all the meat and thisclose to having the latitude & longitude of every bit of plant matter they serve; it is easy to mock...
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Old 08-28-2013, 02:46 PM
 
14,798 posts, read 17,680,532 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
Did not mean to impune any wholesalers, just saying that business is business and whether it is Whole Foods or WalMart or Aldi/Trader Joes or an "independant" that is getting their produce from Centrella or even somebody growing stuff on the back forty and then having an "honor box" farm stand the market forces around here are a heckuva lot different than in a place where there are folks working at a collectivist coop or something...

I often buy produce at a place called Nature's Best, a Greek family owns it and his overhead is a fraction of the bigger places, but he rarely bothers specifying the source of any of the produce. At the other extreme I enjoy dining at Vie and the menu there practically lists out the family tree of all the meat and thisclose to having the latitude & longitude of every bit of plant matter they serve; it is easy to mock...
Good post, as for the OP, he/she is unlikely to find what they are looking for. I have seen Whole Foods have fruit from some farms we frequent in SW Michigan, but other than that Farmers markets and coops are the best options.
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Old 08-28-2013, 05:30 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
Good post, as for the OP, he/she is unlikely to find what they are looking for. I have seen Whole Foods have fruit from some farms we frequent in SW Michigan, but other than that Farmers markets and coops are the best options.
How strange.

The store back in Washington state went around to growers in the region and made deals to buy direct from them. Yes, they had produce from California and Mexico in the winter, local onions (ever eaten Walla Walla Sweets? ), local fruit, potatoes, berries, even hydroponic tomatoes, etc. I had just assumed that there would be several large stores that do the same things. This one had a huge ethnic foods selection, a very large vitamin / herbal section, deli, bulk dry foods, and even their own branded spices. And it served an area of about 80,000 people ( total population for the region). I figured there'd be even more like that.

I was in Cermak Fresh Market today and had to laugh... Badly abused Fuji apples from near where I used to live... 2000 miles from here And, a little lump in the throat, too.
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