With the biggest turkey cooking event of the year right around the corner, this seems like the perfect time to introduce you to some of the local farmers who raise the turkeys we provide for your Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s one that supplies stores in our Midwest region:

Not a large conglomerate, Michigan Turkey works strictly with farms in west Michigan – within 25 miles of the plant. All the farms are dedicated to the same goal – a fresh product that people can trust. They get an order every week and fill it every week – only three days from when they produce the product to it being ready to sell. This leads to the freshest, highest quality turkeys around.

While Michigan Turkey may not be available in your local Whole Foods Market store, you can ask your local meat team members about where your turkey comes from. And come back to the blog; we’ll be sharing more profiles on our local turkey producers.

Check out our Holidays 2010 web pages for ideas on cooking, carving and what to serve with your delicious turkey this year.

Chesterfield, MI

Achatz’ 100 employees know how to make a pie. All-natural and created by hand, their pies are as close to homemade as you can get. They’re proud that roughly 95% of their pies’ ingredients – the peaches, strawberries, rhubarb, pastry flour and beet sugar – are local to Michigan. Achatz Pies are perfect for Whole Foods Market shoppers, who know that what they’re buying is free of hydrogenated oils, chemicals and preservatives. You can also pronounce all the ingredients. Learn more about Achatz Pies by watching this short video.

Ann Arbor, MI

Zingerman’s is part handmade candy bar company, part handmade creamery and 100% fresh. Playing with sugar all day can’t be a bad gig. Making something you can be proud of? Even better. Zingerman’s knows they’re doing something really special. They make every candy bar by hand, using fresh ingredients, for a great bar with a wonderful finish and no bad aftertaste. Not many candy bar companies do everything by hand with such attention and love. Their goal is to give you a really delicious bar and make you happy with your purchase.

All Zingerman’s cheeses are also made fresh by hand. They don’t have equipment to help with the process, which makes every piece of cheese a great product full of love and devotion. This attention sets them apart from many larger operations. When you can get a fresh cheese, within two days of it being made; to taste the milk that is so fresh, in these cheeses that are so fresh, it’s a really incredible and unique thing. Learn more about Zingerman’s in this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience their chocolate and cheese yourself? We’ve got local vendors all around the country providing great products like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Intelligentsia Coffee
Doug Zell and Geoff Watts
Chicago, IL

Intelligentsia Coffee started 15 years ago, when the founders recognized a need for great coffee in Chicago. Now, they’re buying more than 2 million pounds of coffee from 18 countries in a year. As owner Doug Zell states, “It’s one of the most complex beverages in the world; it should have a really sweet, satisfying taste.” To him, this is the epitome of great coffee. But, also important is taking good care of the product and the people who provide it. Doing the right thing isn’t a choice; it’s a mantra that has carried over into every aspect of their business, from sourcing the coffee to paying the growers.

Find out more about Intelligentsia Coffee in this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience this coffee yourself? We’ve got great local vendors all around the country creating unique products like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Rushing Waters Trout Farm
Palmyra, WI

Farming isn’t just a Monday through Friday job – it’s an every day, every hour job – in particular when your goal is the highest-quality, freshest trout available. Over the years, their philosophy has changed: quality over quantity. In fact, the farm has been chemical free since 1999. The lack of harmful chemicals improved not only the quality of their fish, but also of the water and the land. Rushing Waters hatches their rainbow trout from egg and raises them up to one pound for onsite harvesting. Since all their filleting and smoking is done in-house right on the farm, fish are cut to order and delivered the same day. People are encouraged to visit the farm, fish for their own trout, and most importantly, learn how Rushing Waters operates. After all, it’s important for Rushing Waters that people see where their food comes from. Learn more about Rushing Waters Trout Farm in this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience their trout for yourself? We’ve got local vendors all around the country providing great products like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Two Brothers Brewery
Jason and Jim Ebel
Warrenville, IL

Beer lovers by nature, the Ebel brothers’ passion for creating beer were bolstered by a “beer adventure” in Europe. The trip helped the two brothers hone in their love for how beer is created – and celebrated. They wanted to bring those same qualities to America, where beer is still considered “that yellow, fizzy stuff.” The Ebel brothers prefer to focus not only on the quality of the beer, but on helping people realize that they’re getting a family owned company that is very concerned about the community. You’re becoming part of that when you purchase and enjoy their products.

Learn more about Two Brothers Brewery in this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience this beer yourself? We’ve got great local vendors all around the country making unique products like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Ineeka Tea
Chicago, IL

Ineeka Tea takes pride in being the only North American tea company that is vertically integrated. With upwards of 25,000 people living and working on their 12 farms, spanning 15,000 acres, they also consider themselves the largest biodynamic community in the world. Every person living and working on their farms receives free housing, medical care, electricity, utilities and mandatory education for children. This focus has created a model never really seen before in the agricultural community. The result of this successful biodynamic community is fabulous organic and biodynamic teas without using any artificial flavors.

To learn more about Ineeka Tea, watch this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience their tea yourself? We’ve got local vendors all around the country providing great products like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Star Valley Flowers
John Zehrer and Phil Mueller
Star Valley, WI

One source of pride for Star Valley Flowers is that they harvest and cut fresh flowers all year– even during the cold, snowy months – without the use of a greenhouse. Star Valley reduces its carbon footprint by foregoing the use of greenhouses. Not only is their environmental impact important, so is a customer’s reaction to their flowers. They hope customers consider their flowers to be interesting, long lasting, traceable, and cared for along the way by somebody who loves flowers.

To see more interesting tidbits on Star Valley Flowers, enjoy this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience these flowers yourself? We’ve got local vendors all around the country growing great flowers like these. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Enjoy Life Foods
Schiller Park, IL

In the seven years Enjoy Life has been in business, they’ve seen the need for devoted gluten-free products increase dramatically. Their products not only meet the needs of those with gluten intolerance, they go even further and are free of the eight most common allergens: wheat, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, fish and shellfish. While safety is their first priority, taste is an extremely close second. Food, no matter what types of allergies you suffer from, should still be delicious and enjoyable. Enjoy Life is proud that parents and those with allergies, can turn to them for a safe product that tastes great.

To learn more about Enjoy Life Foods, enjoy this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience their products for yourself? We’ve got great local vendors all around the country making great food just like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.

Local Vendor Highlight: Harmony Valley
Richard de Wilde & Andrea Yoder
Viroqua, WI

Richard de Wilde has farmed high-quality produce on 140 acres of organic land for over twenty years. Not only is organic farming important, says de Wilde, but so is buying local.  The farmers at Harmony Valley also believe that buying local enables shoppers to trace their food, know who grew it, find out where it came from and have that connection. What’s de Wilde’s favorite part about organic farming? “Knowing we have a positive influence on so many lives by providing delicious and nutritious food.”

Learn more about Harmony Valley and Richard de Wilde in this short video.

Don’t live close enough to experience their produce yourself? We’ve got local vendors all around the country growing great food just like this. Check your local store for what’s available in your neck of the woods.