alas the Harvest, woe is us

[jadelennox]

Former Harvest Co-op shoppers: have y'all figured out your replacement stores yet?

I especially miss the bulk (spices and dr. bronners as well as the main bulk); some of the random local things: the Just Soap and the 21st Century Tofu from JP; big containers of active dry yeast; eco pack bags of Nature's Path cereal.

(I am in favor of places that are T-accessible from greater Davis, and especially in favor of places that aren't Whole Foods.)

Comments

[mindstalk]

Harvest Co-op is closing? Both of them, or just the one in Central?

[jadelennox]

Both of them. They never recovered from the double whappy of the enforced central move and the whole foods that are everywhere, and they spend a lot of this year trying to restructure their debt, to no avail.

[mindstalk]

That's unfortunate... Granted I only ever went for the bulk spices, or sometimes the raw honey.

[elusiveat]

I think Cambridge Naturals has bulk spices, if that is helpful.

[3rdragon]

Cambridge Naturals does have bulk spices. I think their selection is even better than Harvest's was.

[lauradi7dw]

Penzey's Spices at 1283 Mass Ave in Arlington Heights has an amazing selection, although they are kind of expensive. The 77 and 79 buses stop near the front door. And it's only a couple of blocks from Trader Joe's, for some other stuff. We buy our dried fruit and nuts at TJ.

[squirrelitude]

I think our best bet is to form a bulk buying club. Millstone Co-op ran one for a while, although UNFI (the main food distributor that supplied Harvest) was kinda flaky. The idea is that maybe once a month, people place orders on a shared account, and when the delivery comes, people come to pick it up. They pay for their items + a share of the delivery cost. You can get everything from snack bars to 50 lb bags of wheat flour. It takes a certain amount of coordination, and we would need a spot for the delivery truck to drop stuff off, as well as enough room indoors to store items for a day or two. Someone would need to be around to give people access to their stuff and receive payment. I think that last part might be the hardest.

Are you on the big spreadsheet of people interested in staying in touch about Harvest? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xoVC3mTgL5gkYi64Y7EDDMLw9bA4D4DY7e5spS2LTSM/edit "A spreadsheet of Harvest Co-op members so we can find each other after the co-op closes. This is an opt-in spreadsheet. Everyone who fills out the form to put themselves on the spreadsheet will receive a link to the spreadsheet."

[lb_lee]

Sadly not surprised about Harvest; I had to stop shopping there after they tossed all the non-organic stuff I could afford. :\ Alas, poor Harvest, we knew ye.

[elusiveat]

For our own dietary needs, we've located good corn tortillas (Mi Tierra tortillas, which are local) at Pemberton Farms and Dave's Fresh Pasta, but both of these places are rather pricey. I'd love a source for 21st Century Tofu that doesn't involve a trip to J.P.

I'm having trouble finding a source for Green Valley Creamery Lactose Free Kefir that isn't 1) Whole Foods, or 2) special ordering from Pemberton for $7+/bottle.

I'd be interested in exploring setting up a bulk buying club for non-perishables, and/or some sort of cooperative grocery shopping arrangement to transport specialty items from far-flung stores into Somerville.

[3rdragon]

I don't know about kefir, but Bfresh used to carry GV LF yogurt. I haven't seen it recently, but I would guess they can still order it. Of course, ordering a case is an investment of money/fridge space/hauling it home. (I'm also a non-wholefoods GV LF-eating person, if you wind up doing something bulk, though I'm more interested in yogurt.)

[elusiveat]

Thanks for the information. It seems a lot of places have single-serving GV LF yogurt, but not the quart containers. I checked the GV website, and it doesn't look like you can order products through the website, although it might be possible through a supplier/warehouse.

In case you didn't see my other post, it seems that Wegmann's carries a number of GV products (I learned this through the GV website).

[3rdragon]

Single-serving yogurts are not practical for my life! [end mini-rant]

It's good to know about Wegmann's; I guess if I get desperate I can trek across the river. I wonder if Cambridge Naturals could be convinced to start carrying GV if there was interest.

(I have seen GV cream cheese at Market Basket, though they're sometimes out. But goat cheese is an easy substitute there, and there isn't really one for yogurt. Maybe I should try making my own with regular LF milk...)

[3rdragon]

I think I've gotten white corn tortillas at Market Basket, though it's not on the red line and they're less organic/local/ethical. Winter Moon Roots often has tortillas at the winter farmer's market, too, and those are good, but I can't remember how they're priced.

[3rdragon]

Because I was curious, I called Cambridge Naturals, and they could special-order GV LF Kefir in cases of 6. She couldn't give me a definite price, but said that it would be not more than $7.99/bottle, with a 10% case discount (so about $7.15 per bottle, assuming that price is correct).

If any lurkers are also interested in yogurt, they can order that too, possibly coming in at $37 or $38/case. I think I paid $29 or $30/case at Harvest.

[elusiveat]

Good to know. At Wegman's, I paid $4.99/bottle for the kefir.

[elusiveat]

Today I checked out Wegmann's in Medford, with generally happy results. The place is huge, and kind of visually overwhelming, but there seems to be a fair amount of good stuff.

In particular, they have a large gluten free section with lots of Bob's Red Mill, and a substantial bulk foods section, which will evidently soon included fresh-ground nut butters (there are three machines there, which appear to be brand new, but which do not actually contain nuts).

Importantly for me, they also carry Green Valley Creamery Lactose Free Kefir. Very glad to have a source of this that is not Whole Foods.

Other information: the Medford Stop and Shop (a couple blocks from there) sometimes carries Fair Trade bananas. When I went there were only a few, which I purchased, compared to a large display for other organic bananas, but maybe if more people start buying them there they'll start carrying more? I don't know how this works.

[3rdragon]

I will also miss the big containers of yeast. Worst comes to worst I can buy a lot when I'm visiting my parents and keep it in the fridge, but that's going to require being organized and also knowing how much yeast I'll want for the next eight or ten months.