“I like talking to farmers about their work and seeing the seasons change through our produce selection,” says Bull Gervasi, facilities and produce department coordinator for Mariposa Foods, a cooperative grocery store in West Philadelphia. Gervasi has been a Mariposa Co-op member for 18 years because he believes co-ops are the least exploitative business model
MoreThere once was a time in Philadelphia when being vegan meant scanning menus for animal-free options and, all too often, settling for a salad. But times have changed. Blackbird Pizzeria, a small shop at 6th and Lombard, serves a 100 percent vegan menu of sandwiches, wings, salads and pizzas.
MoreImagine a world where consumers really did control corporate agendas. Whereby simply choosing to buy from one store over another, consumers could make a business more eco-friendly. This is the Carrotmob model.
MoreZuohong Ed Yin of Queens Farm in West Chester will gladly explain his scientific reasons for growing organic vegetables and fruit. The DuPont chemist and family farm owner has a Ph.D. in plant physiology, a master’s in chemistry and a longtime interest in Chinese medicine. Stop by his farm stand at Headhouse Square (2nd and
MoreA guide to helping cucumbers and melons get their groove onby Char Vandermeer
If summer were a taste, it would surely be cucumber—or maybe muskmelon. They’re both little bursts of sunshine on the vine. While your planting space may be limited to a few pots or a tiny patch in a community garden, that doesn’t mean
A local seed company quietly amasses a tomato treasure troveHearing Happy Cat Organics’ Tim Mountz talk about tomatoes is enough to make any food-loving soul long for summer. Along with his wife Amy Bloom, Mountz has compiled a seed collection featuring 200 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. If that sounds like a lot, have no fear:
MoreUsing small parcels of urban land, a local co-op reaps a plentiful bounty
Off of Washington Lane in East Mt. Airy, down a rough little driveway, is the Mort Brooks Memorial Farm. There, on land leased from the Awbury Arboretum, farmer David Zelov and his crew of apprentices and volunteers are taking local to a new
A young farmer works her family's land
Claire Murray farms land that belonged to her grandmother. Her parents live there as well, and so does her uncle, who raises pastured poultry. “It’s like this little family compound,” she explains.
A third-generation orchard looks to the future
The Frecon family has had a storefront in Boyertown since 1952. Richard Frecon and his family settled in the area in 1944 and began planting fruit—apples, peaches and nectarines. After outgrowing their roadside farmstand, they converted an old restaurant into a permanent retail location where they could sell their
Beechwood Orchard brings fresh fruit to Philly's farmers' marketsby Will DeanA fifth-generation family operation, Beechwood Orchards in Biglerville, PA specializes in heirloom and unusual varieties of fruits—particularly apples—and sells them at many farmers’ markets in the city and beyond.
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