7 Sustainable Food Sources You Should Know

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Your guide for Real Food shopping online. 

1.
URBAN HOMESTEAD
WHAT An especially prolific organic city farm. 
IN DETAIL Complete with ducks, chickens and goats, the Urban Homestead project is a model for sustainable agriculture in the most unexpected of places. The business, owned and run by the Dervaes family, yields a whopping 6,000 pounds organic produce annually, including 350 different herbs, fruits and vegetables. 
WHERE Pasadena, California.
SPECIAL TOUCH the Dervaeses are so wholeheartedly committed to minimizing their carbon footprint, that they even brew their own bio diesel. 

2.
GOTHAM GREENS
WHAT New York’s first greenhouse facility.
IN DETAIL This Brooklyn-based rooftop greenhouse is home to a paradise that produces 80 tons of premium pesticide-free produce all year round, catering to local supermarkets, restaurants and markets. True to their name, Gotham Greens sell baby butterhead lettuce, basil, red sails red leaf and tropicana green leaf lettuce, primarily catering to restaurants, markets and supermarkets. 
WHERE Brooklyn, New York, NY.
SPECIAL TOUCH Gotham Greens is dedicated to sustainable growing practices, such as hydroponics – growing plants in liquid mineral nutrient solutions and without soil. 

3.
STOCKBOX GROCERS
WHAT Mini grocery stores stocked with fresh, local and organic food. 
IN DETAIL A new start-up, Stockbox Grocers aims to bring good food back to communities, especially in urban areas where fresh food is hard to come by. 
WHERE The first Stockbox Grocers store will be opening in Seattle’s South Park on August 15. Stockbox Grocers aims to expand into a chain of stores. 
SPECIAL TOUCH The ubiquitous corner store in a new, healthy mode. 

4.
IN.GREDIENTS
WHAT The first package-free zero waste supermarket.
IN DETAIL in.gredients’s plan sounds utopian: selling exclusively waste-free organic, non-chemically treated food and other goods in bulk. 
WHERE Austin, Texas.
SPECIAL TOUCH Precycling is the name of the game for in.gredients: in order to eliminate waste, customers stock up on products with their own containers from home.

5. 
FARMPLATE
WHAT An online directory for sustainable food businesses.
IN DETAIL Boasting over 40,000 businesses, FarmPlate aims to make local food sources – markets, restaurants, farmers and the like – more accessible to foodies. This ‘real food’ listings website aims to make sustainable food easily accessible for consumers while boosting the business of real food professionals – fueling sustainable, healthy lifestyle for all.  
WHERE Online, covers the US. 
SPECIAL TOUCH Farmplate’s Glossary demystifies sustainable food lingo.

6.
GOOD EGGS
WHAT A marketplace for local food. 
IN DETAIL The online stop for local food trade, Good Eggs allows local food traders market and sell their goods, while connecting with their clientele. 
WHO Founded by Alon Salant, Rob Spiro, Greta Carus, Randy Puro and Bob Zoller. 
WHERE Now available in several Bay Area neighborhoods, while plans are underway for expansion into our cities stateside and worldwide.
SPECIAL TOUCH An enlightening collection of quotes about food, such as this:
“Recipes do not make food taste good; people do.”

7.
BEACON FOOD FOREST
WHAT A 7-acre food forest in the works. 
IN DETAIL What if you could walk outside your door and pick fresh fruit and nuts from the local forest? Well, if you live in Seattle, this will soon be a reality, as just 2.5 miles outside of the city, plans are underway to create a free edible forest open to all. The forest is being designed to incorporate compatible plant life and insects to generate a self-sustainable environment. 
WHERE Just 2.5 miles outside Seattle.
SPECIAL TOUCH An edible food forest? Simple and innovative at the same time. 

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