Adrienne Caldwell from Powerkraut has hit all the current food buzzwords. Her product is local, made in Viroqua, Wisconsin by a small independent business. Sauerkraut and Kim Chi are traditional “Slow Foods,” hand-crafted and truly made the old-fashioned way. In addition, they are fermented foods, which are said to promote healthy digestion and growth of helpful intestinal flora.

Brian Fredrickson is serious about his honey. Produced on their “virtual farm” comprising 5 orchards and 300 hives at 18 bee locations throught central and southern Minnesota, Ames Farm honey is “a floral portrait” of our region. Each jar is labeled not only with the type of flower the bees fed on while producing it, but also with the number of the hive. After you buy a jar, you can take it home, log on to your computer, and find out exactly where it came from on the Ames Farm website.

If that isn’t good enough for you, how about the taste?

When you make the best butter in America (awarded by the American Cheese Society, 3 years in a row), you must be doing something right! Linden Hills Co-op is proud to carry PastureLand’s butters and cheeses, from Minnesota family farms. Michelle and Roger Benrud, who are members of the PastureLand Co-op, will be our guest speakers at this year’s annual membership meeting October 28! Here’s a little snapshot of life on a PastureLand farm.

Morning at PastureLand

We get up to milk the cows early, before it even starts to get light. Usually it’s pitch black out.

Many people have learned the “inconvenient truth” about global warming thanks to Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary. What may also be inconvenient for many in today’s society is learning about all of the harmful and toxic substances used in everyday, mass-market household cleaners.

Take a look—what is underneath your sink? While the ingredients may or may not be listed on your household cleaners, if there is a toxic warning label or instructions on calling poison control if ingested, you know it can be harmful to you, your family and the environment.

We’re proud to supply our community with high-quality, healthful 100% grass-fed, Minnesota raised beef, from Thousand Hills Cattle Company, based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Grass-fed beef and dairy products are naturally higher in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and lower in “bad fat” Omega-6. Read more about Thousand Hills here, and check out our new grass-fed chili and goulash at the deli counter!

To contact Bergin Fruit and Nut Company directly, please call 651-642-1234. We will post a link to their new website once it is launched.

Bergin Fruit and Nut Company, founded in 1951, is a staple in the Bulk Department. They provide us with many of our roasted and raw nuts in bulk, along with various candies and dried fruit. During a tour of the company I was lucky enough to take recently, I found out just how much care goes into the products the Bergin processes.

Linden Hills Co-op’s meat department is proud to offer many locally-raised options for our customers, including poultry from Kadejan, based in Glenwood, MN.

Kadejan is a family-owned and operated company, located just two hours west/northwest of the Twin Cities.

Here’s what they say about their chickens:

What’s different about how Kadejan chickens are raised?

Kadejan chickens are raised naturally in small flocks.

Look for fresh eggs and certified organic poultry from Larry Schultz at the co-op.

The Schultz family has been producing fresh, wholesome delicious food for five generations. Schultz Organic Farm has a long and loyal relationship with local co-ops.

“If we find a way to deliver our food at a lower cost without compromising quality, we’ll pass that savings on to our retailers—and we expect them to do the same when they present it to their shoppers. That’s why we do so much work with co-ops.”

Founded in 1878, certified organic since 1997