PSFC Products

More on Produce

2008-05-15T16:49:00.000-04:00

It's been a month since I have written and a lot has happened. We continue to experience scattered high prices. As you would expect, high prices are driven by higher fuel costs, poor growing conditions and product scarcity.
You might be surprised to learn that much of the higher prices that you experience right now in produce is entirely normal and what you should expect in April and May, and follow a pattern that happens every year. (But certainly worse than ever this year.) The world food shortages and highest fuel costs ever have coincided with the predictable, seasonally normal high prices to produce a "perfect storm."

At the General Meeting on April 29 I reported that organic broccoli had gone to over $4.00 a bunch. I predicted that the price would soon fall as the current growing regions begin to warm up. Today the price is $2.52. There is every reason to be concerned about the future of our food, its cost and even its availability, but don't forget that late spring is when produce stops growing where it has all winter and is just starting up where our warm weather supplies come from, including of course, our local farms.

Here's what's locally available so far (not much):

Minimally treated apples continue to be available from Hepworth Farms: empire, fuji, golden delicious, honeycrisp, jonagold, mutsu, stayman winesap.

New York State organic asparagus started May 14, and the New Jersey conventional started on the 15th.

Other conventional local items are dill, arugula, mint and parsleys.

Sporadically available local organics include dandelions, mustards, arugula, spinach, lettuces, shallot greens, watercress, radishes, rhubarb, kale, pea tendrils and collards.

Fiddlehead fern supplies remain strong, but the local ramps are already winding down.

Remember that you can learn which produce is local by checking elsewhere in our website, or on the individual shelf signs, or by looking for the green highlights on the produce banners at either end of the produce aisle. Seek out the local items, learn how to eat something new; in exchange for a fair price, you will get the freshest, finest foods and do a little bit to keep local family farms alive.
—Allen Zimmerman

First Local Produce Has Arrived!

2008-04-15T14:08:00.006-04:00

Our first local organic produce items have arrived in small amounts:
Paradise Farm PA- tarragon
Elm Tree Farm PA- wild watercress
Chesapeake growers- green mustards, radishes, kale and spinach
All are limited quantities and only sporadically available.
We are hoping for some daylily shoots and nettles from Amy Hepworth and will keep you posted.
**Caution: Daylilies, especially the raw shoots, may cause digestive distress in some people. Eat only 5 or 6 shoots to gauge whether you are sensitive to them.
Use the shoots raw in salads, or sauté, steam, stir-fry, deep-fry, bake,
simmer in soups, or pickle.

Do you remember that the Park Slope Food Coop made the news when a member found a frog in her spinach? We all would like to think that that was a unique event but see this link.
—Allen Zimmerman

Help Fair Trade Banana Farmers Affected by Floods in Equador!

2008-04-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

The following is a message from Jonathan Rosenthal,
Managing Director, Oké USA:
Dear banana eaters, sellers and concerned persons,
As many of you know, our organic Oké USA fair trade bananas come from El Guabo, a cooperative of 500 family farmers in coastal Ecuador. Since late January, the region has experienced devastating flooding. One co-op member's son was killed, roads and houses were damaged and several farmers have lost all of their plantings.
The Oké USA staff and I are asking you to join us in supporting the farmers of El Guabo by raising $20,000 to buy a Bobcat Excavator that the co-op will use to drain the flooded farms and do preventative maintenance to mitigate the impact of future floods.
All contributions are tax deductible, courtesy of Oké co-owner Red Tomato, a tax-exempt non-profit, and will go directly to fund the purchase of the Bobcat. The Bobcat fund has been seeded by another Oké co-owner, Equal Exchange. We are already more than 10% funded!
Finally, please remember that fair trade is a powerful part of sustainable development, the key to minimizing the impact of natural disasters.
Thank you for your concern, your contributions and your solidarity with the farmers of El Guabo.
-Click here for more info and to make a donation.-

Produce Prices and Shortages

2008-04-03T15:36:00.000-04:00

Sometimes produce items become scarce or even completely unavailable. In the last 2 weeks, I am seeing a 100% increase in the cost of organic broccoli and nearly 50% increases in the cost of organic kale and lacinato kale.
Chard and collard and lettuce prices are likely to climb. On any given day, any of these items may become temporarily unavailable. Random fluctuations of supply or price, even when they feel extreme, are entirely normal, but often unpredictable.
We all have to remember that we live in a part of the world where if we were to run out of broccoli for a day or 2, we would still have dozens of alternative green choices. While in other parts of the world people are dying for lack of bread in countries that have little previous experience with daily hunger.
I'm going to continue to scramble to get what we need but I am realistic that our part of the world is changing too and I fear that random commodity shortages may become a more common occurrence for us.

—Allen Zimmerman

Rice Prices Increase 30% on Global Market

2008-03-28T10:33:00.004-04:00

Heard on NPR this am: on commodity markets rice prices increased 30% yesterday.

Bulk rice prices at the Food Coop haven't increased since last December but be prepared for an increase.

The Christian Science Monitor has a very interesting article on the horrific effect of grain shortages around the world. Rapidly increasing oil prices which cause increases in price of fertilizers and cost of transportation coupled with severe droughts in Australia and the Ukraine.

According to the CSM, Vietnam, India and Pakistan have banned grain exports in an attempt to protect the supply of these basic foods for their poorest citizens.

-Click here to read this alarming article-

Banana Update

2008-03-24T10:54:00.011-04:00

The following is excerpted from a report from one of our major organic banana suppliers, and will provide further information about the banana problem and a more personal look at the lives of the people who grow our food. —Allen Zimmerman

OKé organic fair trade bananas come from small farming cooperatives in Ecuador who own part of OKé USA. Since late January, our farmer partners have experienced devastating flooding caused by heavier than usual seasonal rains. Some farmers have lost all or part of their land due to the flooding. The Zaruma family of 5 brothers, who live entirely off of their production, lost their entire 18.5 acre farm. Some farmers have experienced even more difficult losses including William Vitonera who lost his 14-year-old son in a surging river that changed its course due to the floods. The flooding in Ecuador has been so catastrophic that in early February the President declared a national state of emergency.
Here at OKé, we are trying to help our producer partners in any way we can, including advance payments to the co-op so it can provide emergency credit to its members. The farmer co-ops are also working with additional credit agencies to facilitate replanting of farms. The farmers also want to start lobbying local authorities to improve watershed management and start dredging rivers in order to avoid these problems in the future.
During times like these, it makes me really proud to be a part of an organization with farmer co-owners. Within the conventional banana trade, these disasters often leave farmers without a market, as traditional companies flee to source from different countries.
Our ownership structure is sincerely our most unique quality. This structure is what creates long standing relationship and a culture of commitment whereby we stand by our producer partners even when “inconvenient” difficulties arise that create gaps in our supply chain. We hope that you will do the same and stand by us during this difficult time.
Overview of Damage of Ecuador Flooding
A bird's eye view of loss in Ecuador:
51,300 people affected
3,645 people evacuated
490 experienced property loss
24 provinces affected
4 dead
OKé Farm damage
25 acres of organic farm land
300 acres of conventional farm land
4% decreased production
6-9 month estimate to recover from damages
If you would like to see additional pictures of the Ecuadorian floods,

click here

Visit

our blog

to see pictures of the damage our farmers have incurred.

Controlled Atmosphere Storage

2008-03-12T18:02:00.002-04:00

One of the reasons that it is often not understood that even apples have their seasons, is that some varieties are available year round. We have come to expect them, and it has become rare that we have a gap in supply of our favorite apples. The reason we have the luxury of year-round availability is because of a process called controlled atmosphere storage, or "CA."
A simplified explanation of the process is that oxygen in the cooler is reduced from the approximately 21% in our atmosphere down to about 1%, and replaced with nitrogen. The carbon dioxide levels are controlled and the humidity is maintained at a very high 95%. Conditions may vary slightly depending on the particular apple being stored.
As we approach the new year, we may experience some diminishing in quality of the apples that have been stored in regular refrigeration for the 2 or 3 months after their normal harvest time. If we haven't had access to CA apples yet, you may think that your apple was not worth trying anymore. If you don't give up, you will find that the apples are back to their post-harvest quality and will remain pleasing until their supply is exhausted.
Controlled atmosphere storage has evolved since farmers in England began this practice prior to World War II. This is a routine and approved practice for certified organic apples.
—Allen Zimmerman, Produce Buyer

Banana News

2008-03-06T16:26:00.003-05:00

We don’t know all of the market forces that are driving banana prices to unprecedented levels, but they certainly include social unrest in Ecuador and flooding in Peru.

Several weeks ago the conventional price started to climb, until last week when a 40 pound box of conventional bananas actually cost $5.00 more than the organic. Now the organic price is climbing and availability is becoming problematic.

It is becoming harder to find the bananas that we like, the Fair Trade, and we are forced to buy whatever we can get, including bagged and Dole.

Our price has been about $.69 per pound for so long. So long to that. The organic banana price will approach $1.00 per pound by March 10th and we don’t know where it is going.
—Allen Zimmerman

Locally made organic cashew nut cheese

2008-02-26T10:20:00.003-05:00

From Dr Cow (?) in Williamsburg a hip new vegan cheese made from organic cashew nuts. Both a cream cheese type and a delicious aged variety - look for them both in the cheese case.

New Fruit Bars

2008-02-19T13:16:00.002-05:00

Just in: Mitica Lemon and Orange bars. Fruit, Marcona almonds, sugar and honey. 1.7 Ounce bars for $1.61. Look one the end-cap facing the chicken. . .

2008-01-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

Dole Goes Green?

From Allen Zimmerman, produce buyer:

I received the following "News Flash" from a supplier on 1/29/08:

Dole Switches to Bio-diesel Fuel

After five months of testing, Dole Fresh Vegetables Co., a division of Dole Food Co. Inc., Westlake Village, Calif., has converted all of its harvesting equipment in Salinas, Calif., and in Yuma, Ariz., to B20 bio-diesel fuel, according to a news release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that B20 bio-diesel, a domestic renewable fuel for diesel engines that is derived from natural oils, has 20% less unburned hydrocarbons than conventional diesel as well as less carbon monoxide and particulate matter, the release said. "Being good stewards of the environment is very important to Dole, and this includes reducing emissions and using alternative sources of energy," said Kevin Fiori, Dole's senior vice president, agriculture operations. "Those of us in agriculture, who depend on the environment, land, water, and air quality to grow foods, are keenly aware of the importance of applying sustainable agricultural practices," he added.

The person who sent it to me was impressed that Dole made such an important environmental contribution. I was also impressed, but mostly because Dole managed to look "green" while possibly not helping the environment at all. I responded to my supplier:

"I’m not sure, but I think that bio-diesel may be worse for the environment than petroleum. Especially since it allows giant corporations to claim that they are green. Bio-diesel, so heavily dependant on corn, encourages mono-cultural farming, the acquisition of small family farms by giant corporate farms, is very involved with genetically engineered corn, uses tons of petroleum fertilizer. A good deal of the corn is grown overseas, for example India, where land is diverted from food production, and water is diverted from local consumption to irrigation."

2008-01-16T14:07:00.000-05:00

Winter Weather Shortages

Cold weather in current growing regions, Florida, California, Texas, and Mexico, have led to various crop shortages and higher prices. Rain, wind, mud, and frost will affect the availability of many green things for a few weeks. Among the items that are most affected are artichokes, arugula, basil, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, chard, collards, cucumbers, dandelion, escarole, all kales, leeks, lettuces, okra, parsleys, radishes, scallions, and spinach. The severest shortages will affect availability of salad mixes and baby spinach. All tomatoes are scarce, expensive and why do you all need to eat tomatoes in the winter anyway? Let this scarcity problem inspire you to try something new, and to continue to support our local family farmers by eating more roots.
—Allen Zimmerman

2008-01-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

Long Time, No Blog

The period of time beginning a week before Halloween and ending a week after New Year's is a time of extreme stress for the produce department. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's require a great deal of handling of special orders, special items, special quantities, and oh so special needs, that it would be impossible to write during this period. In addition, our local abundance ends and we transition our sourcing for each item, one by one, to far away places, just when the peak shopping, cooking, and eating season occurs. I apologize for the lack of information during the last few months.
—Allen Zimmerman

Calendars Galore!

2007-12-10T15:57:00.002-05:00

All the 2008 calendars are in the Coop -- we've got something on every subject from cute puppies to the phases of the Moon to revolutionary politics, so stop by the display and pick up some hot dates : )

-- Elinoar

2007-12-10T15:57:00.001-05:00

Amish Soup Chickens!

2007-12-10T15:47:00.000-05:00

New Item: Stewing hens from Lancaster County Farm Collective! These tough old birds used to lay eggs at a farm outside Quarryville, in eastern Pennsylvania.

You wouldn't want to try to roast or broil one of these, but there's nothing better than an elderly hen for your soup pot -- older birds have more flavor per ounce than young ones. Try one in your favorite chicken soup recipe and find out what you've been missing all these years!

-- Bill, Meat & Poultry Guy

2007-12-05T07:36:00.000-05:00

Fig and Date Almond Cakes

mmmmm . . .cakes

Freshly pressed by hand in Valencia, Spain. Excellent paired with cheese or sliced thin, added to salads.

2007-11-26T10:46:00.000-05:00

Local Items of the Week

Tilsit from Harpersfield, NY
Ron and Corrine Brovetto have done it again with two new Tilsit style cheeses from their small dairy farm in upstate NY near the Catskill Mountians. I visited them last weekend and saw the "cave" that they age the cheeses in and tried some new raw-milk varieties they were working on. This week we got in Rosemary Tilsit and Cranberry Tilsit. Both are brilliant and compliment full, rich holiday flavors.

American Vintage Wine Biscuits
Delicious little biscuits perfect for cheese or eating all by themselves. Made right here in NYC - Long Island City to be exact - Right now we have Red Wine and Black Pepper and we'll try out some new flavors as the holidays progress.

Amy's Kids Meals

2007-11-16T22:25:00.001-05:00

New in the freezer case is Amy's Ziti meal for kids. It is gluten and dairy free, contains some broccoli and a small dessert. -Click here for more info on this product-

Holiday Items just in . . .

2007-11-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

Available now in the butter case for all your holiday and baking needs: Buerremont 83% pastry butter at the low, low price of $2.94/LB. Made in the cultured French style in New England. Get it while we have it. The sample table in the membership office thought it was great.

Cacao Noel Chocolate Semi-Sweet Bar A rich 52% cocoa liquor chocolate bar for baking, confections and eating! – 7oz for $1.46

Cacao Noel Chocolate Noelettes Delicately rolled dark and white chocolate batons. Great for decorating desserts, ice cream and beverages. 2oz packs for $1.74

Valrhona Chocolates – A wide assortment of bars, cocoa and gift boxes for the holidays. Priced to move!

Yuri

Thanksgiving Turkeys at the Coop

2007-11-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

FRESH turkeys available beginning
Tuesday, November 13th

Plainville Farms Pasture-raised (New York)
16 to 24 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 15)

Eberly Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
8 to 24 lbs., $3.67 lb. (November 16)

FROZEN Wise Kosher Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
12-24 lbs., $3.45 lb. (November 13)

Stonewood Farm Pasture-raised (Vermont):
16 to 20 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 19)

Murray’s (Pennsylvania):
12 to 24 lbs., $2.42 lb. (November 13)

Bell & Evans (New Jersey):
8 to 26 lbs., $2.14 lb. (November 13)

Jaindl Farms (Pennsylvania):
10 to 16 lbs., $2.25 lb. (November 13)

All the above are delivered FRESH, except for Wise Kosher. All are locally raised, hormone- and antibiotic-free.

RISING GRAIN PRICES LED TO HOLIDAY SHORTAGES. BUY YOUR HOLIDAY TURKEY EARLY.
SMALL SIZES GO FAST.

Current Out-of-Stocks in the PSFC Freezer Section

2007-10-29T16:49:00.001-04:00

Dear Co-Owners and Co-Workers,

This stuff is all out of stock from our distributors for various reasons:

Boca Burger Garden Vegetable
Frontera Roasted Vegetable Pizza
All of the Ling Ling Products
Natural Sea Crab Cakes
Omega Salmon Burgers
Perfect Addition Chicken Stock
P.J.'s Chicken Burrito and Breakfast Burrito
Putney Butternut Squash, Mushroom and Spinach
Quorn Gruyere Cutlet
Shelton Turkey Sausage
Tandoor Chef Naan and Chana Masala
All of the Bell and Evans ChickenApplegate Chicken Pot Pie

This stuff has been discontinued by our distributors for whatever reason:

Cedarlane Garden Enchilada, Vegetable Lasagna and Three Layer Enchilada Pie

Always a bit chilly,
The Freezer Guy

PSFC Globe-Traveling Produce Update for 10/12/07

2007-10-12T18:01:00.000-04:00

Here's what's new from around the world and around the globe. And please don't yell at me about the food miles; these are some concessions for the sake of variety and adventurousness

Local cherry and grape tomatoes are winding down, so we have added Lady Moon grape tomatoes, and Del Cabo sugarplum tomatoes.

Organic asparagus from Argentina

Rambutan from Guatemala. (Think gorgeous, hairy, expensive lychee). Eats like a lychee

Black Mission figs and North American blueberries are ending. Organic Fair Trade blueberries may start soon.

Organic hachiya persimmons are slowly starting. They are the kind that must be ripened until marshmallow soft.

Organic pomegranates

Organic pluots, the flavor fall and the flavor gem arrived this week. Many members decided that the flavor gem, a pluot that is a cross between an apricot and a black plum, was really a plum. It is not, it's a pluot. Looks like a plum, but it's a pluot. Really, it's a pluot.

PSFC Local Produce Update for 10/12, 2007

2007-10-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

Here's what's new and local this week from local organic farms:

Cranberries

Kiwi berries-the no fuzz, no peel cousin of the traditional kiwi. Pop them in your mouth and eat them like grapes.

Loose spinach has returned from the Finger Lakes, and most of the bunched spinach is from the Catskills.

Brussels sprouts on stalks have begun. We have found some worms in the early harvest, so we might have a gap in availability.

White and orange cauliflower are now available from Hepworth Farms and Finger Lakes Organic Growers Cooperative. To the members who wonder how can cauliflower be orange, I say how can cauliflower be white?

Amy Hepworth has harvested the last of her sour gherkins, a tiny cucumber about the size of a grape tomato.

Lima beans and okra have returned for perhaps a last hurrah from Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop.

Limited supplies of various local sweet potatoes have arrived. Most of them are the beauregard variety. Jewel is the California word for beauregard.

Winter squash making their first appearance of the season:
Hubbard (red, blue or green)
Red kuri (AKA orange hokkaido)
Sweet dumpling and carnival (both in the acorn family)
Sweet mama (variety of buttercup, but it often doesn't have a cup!)
Black futsu (a perfect squash for all of your black futsu needs)

News from the minimally treated apple orchards of Amy Hepworth:

Cortland and Spartan are ending. Empire and Mutsu (New York state calls them crispins) arrived this week, and Jonagold and Stayman Winesap begin next week.

Fall Frozen Ground Beef Blowout!

2007-10-12T13:16:00.000-04:00

We've got more locally-raised, grass-finished ground beef in the Coop freezer than we know what to do with, so we're putting it on sale! All frozen Hardwick, Natural Acres, Slope Farms, and McDonald Farm ground beef is priced to sell at $3.50 a pound...down from nearly five dollars, and more economical than most square supermarkets' ground chuck. So put meatballs on the menu and stock your home freezer with some of the best hamboiger in Brooklyn!