Autumn is Chico’s most bountiful harvest season. One can find all manner of local squash, roots, veggies, and fruits in the Co-op’s produce case. You may notice that this year’s batch of fresh, delicious apples come from farther afield than in years past. Our fall apples hail from the Filigreen Farm in Anderson Valley, California, rather than Durham.
The change is a result of our Produce Department’s renewed focus on ensuring that only the finest, most sustainably grown products are offered to our owners. Earlier this year we heard that one of our local apple growers might be engaging in questionable growing practices. Our Produce department investigated, and discovered that lack of transparency hid practices that were in clear violation of the standards we set for our vendors. As a result, we made the difficult decision to terminate our business relationship and to search for other providers.
We do have some good news to report from all this. The produce manager from the Ukiah Co-op introduced us to Filigreen Farms, based out of Anderson Valley. Our Produce Manager, Cameron Scott, still wanting to find fresh, California grown apples to satisfy local connoisseurs, and our Front End Manager, Alissa Ziemianski, drove a truck out to the farm and discovered something special.
