SWEET STEM FARM (formerly MEADOW RUN FARM) – Lititz, PA

Dee Horst-Landis and her husband Philip are turning her family’s scenic land in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, into a sustainable farming oasis. With pastured chicken and turkey, grass-fed beef and lamb, and pastured pork from heritage breed pigs, this young couple is intent on building fields of healthy soil and grass from which to feed their livestock a grass-based diet.

Joe & Jerry Watson, Monetta, SC

In their second year of growing organic peaches along the “Ridge” section of South Carolina, Jerry and Joe Watson are pioneers in organic peach farming on the East Coast. In a region full of conventional peach orchards, the humid environment deters most farmers from trying to grow the fragile fruit organically. Four generations of Watsons have been active in farming at Watsonia Farms, where they currently farm 900 acres of peaches and 180 acres of organic produce in Monetta, South Carolina.

Snowville Creamery – Pomeroy, Ohio
At Snowville Creamery in Pomeroy, Ohio, the cows graze in pasture all year long and the grasses that are in season affect the flavor of the milk.  Winter milk from Snowville may taste of hay; spring milk of dandelions.  Morning milk even tastes different from evening milk!   Warren Taylor, owner of Snowville, believes that milk is perfect when it comes from the cow, so he processes his milk as minimally as possible.  Snowville Creamery milk is bottled on the farm the same day the cows are milked and delivered to Whole Foods Market the very next day to bring customers the freshest product possible.  As they say at Snowville, they make “Milk the Way it Used to Be!”

Hal and Drew Ambos of Savannah, Georgia

The Ambos family, now in their fifth generation of shrimping off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, provides Whole Foods Market with fresh wild Georgia shrimp that has never been frozen.  The strong tides along the southern Atlantic coast, from which these shrimp are raised, provide these shrimp with a sweet succulent taste and a good firm texture that can only be produced in the wild.

Laura Button – Smyrna, TN
For more than 25 years, Laura Button has been helping people explore healthier ways of eating by teaching them techniques for making delicious, fresh, organic, raw foods. Through working relationships with local family and community farmers in Middle Tennessee, Journey to Bliss Raw Foods is committed to reconnecting people to the source of their food, to empower both those who grow and those who eat.

Linden Vineyards, Linden, Virginia

Since 1983, Jim Law has been delicately working the soil at Hardscrabble Vineyard in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, intent upon growing the best grapes in order to produce the best wine in the region. The soil, site, and microclimate are even more important to Jim than the grape varieties. The combination of a cool mountain microclimate and well-drained mineral soils give Linden Vineyard wines their fresh, assertive aromas and concentrated flavors.

BELL & EVANS – Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania

Bell & Evans is a leading producer of chickens raised without antibiotics.  For four generations, beginning in the 1890s, Bell & Evans has been raising and processing the highest quality chickens in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, in a modern facility equipped with the latest technology. The birds are raised on an all-vegetarian diet in a low stress environment, and delivered to Whole Foods Market within 24 hours of processing to ensure a fresh product with premium flavor.

Jessica & Jeremy Little

Thomasville, GA

Sweet Grass Dairy’s goats and cows graze happily outdoors on lush green pastures in south Georgia and receive no growth hormones or stimulants. Their fresh hand-crafted, semi-ripened and naturally-aged goat and cow cheeses are some of the most unique and delicious cheeses to grace a plate.

As one of the pioneers of organic farming in Georgia, Nicolas Donck grows a diverse selection of certified organic vegetables and herbs year-round on his family’s land east of Atlanta.  When Nicolas was 16, he left his home in Belgium and moved to Georgia to join his mother on her 175-acre farm.  Since then, Nicolas started Atlanta’s first organic farmer’s market in 1995, and has continued to add considerable acreage into organic production on his farm.  Nicolas says the best thing about farming is having the opportunity to live close to the earth with his family.

Note: Our Farm to Market slide shows currently feature farmers and producers from our South and MidAtlantic Regions. We hope to expand to others in the future.

At Jeremiah Cunningham’s Coyote Creek Farms, the chickens live outside and are allowed to fully express their nature as chickens because they can scratch in the earth for worms, bugs, and grubs to satisfy their natural need for animal protein. They also enjoy dust baths to keep themselves clean, socialize with their flock in uncrowded conditions, have fresh clean air to breathe and healthy sunshine for optimal health. Locally available at Whole Foods Market stores and select bakeries.

Just one of our local vendors who is out there doing right by their animals. Check your store for more great local vendors.