Definition of what Sustainable Food Is

Public Law 101-624, Title XVI, Subtitle A, Section 1683, as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term, satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

This is the guideline to what sustainable food should be according to the United States Government. Although in the city of Philadelphia all of the criteria cannot always be obtained. Our goal is to find food that follows closely to the definition that the U.S. Government has put in place.

King Dutch's Country Goods

King's Dutch Country Goods
Corner of 38th and Lancaster
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Saturday 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.

33rd and Chestnut in front of MacAllister Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Tuesday 11 A.M. - 3 P.M.

Fresh and locally grown food from King’s Dutch Country Goods. A variety of fruits, vegetables, baked goods, canned and preserved fruits and vegetables, as well as yogurt will be offered.

King's Dutch Country Goods ($$)

• Produce from Lancaster County
• Not grown organically
• Some produce not local to the area imported
• Organic free range eggs
  

Reading Terminal Market

Reading Terminal Market
51 North 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Monday - Saturday 8 A.M. - 6 P.M.
Sunday 9 A.M. - 5 P.M.

Mouth-watering aromas. Produce fresh from the field. Amish specialties. Fresh meats, seafood, and poultry. Unique, hand-made pottery, jewelry and crafts from around the world. The hustle and bustle of a multitude of diverse people. It’s all here in Philadelphia’s historic farmers market, Reading Terminal Market. An exhilarating selection of baked goods, meats, poultry, seafood, produce, flowers, ethnic foods, cookware and eclectic restaurants are peppered throughout the Market. We invite you to explore this unique and extraordinary historic farmers market in Center City Philadelphia.

1) Iovine Brothers Produce ($)

• Some items marked Organic
• Local foods from Lancaster County
• Import some fruits and vegetables from out of state depending on the produce

2) Fair Food Farmers ($$)

• Produce from Lancaster County
• Organic produce dependent on farm
• A lot of produce in the winter comes from hot houses

3) Thunder Ridge Beef ($)

• No hormones used
• No antibiotics used
• Graze grown corn fed
• Raised Humanely
  
• Raised in the Great Plains

L. Halteman Family Beef ($$)

• No hormones used
• No antibiotics used
• Pasture Fed, Graze Grown
• Raised Humanely
  
• Raised in Lancaster County

Martin's Quality Meats and Sausages ($)

• Butcher didn't know much
• Corn fed (best meat according to the butcher...)
  

USDA Organic Certification

As we visited different farm stands, we discovered that many of them have USDA Organic Certification. So what is USDA Organic Certification and how does USDA define organic?

On the USDA Organic Certification web page, it lists out the four area that involve organic certification: 1)Organic Information for Producers, Handlers, Processors, and Retailers;

2)Standard Organic Labeling for Consumers;3)Organic Farming Production and Marketing;

4)Export and Import of Organic Products.

For the farmer's markets we visited, the organic farming production and marketing is particular important for those farmers. According to the website, organic farming "rely on ecologically based practices such as cultural and biological pest management, exclusion of all synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones in crop and livestock production." Also, USDA points out that many US producers turn to certified organic farming as a way to "lower costs, decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources, capture high-value markets and premium prices, and boost farm income." Thus, organic farming is beneficial not only to the environment but also to the agricultural business.

___________________________________________________________
reference:
USDA Agriculture - Organic Certification
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO&navtype=RT&parentnav=AGRICULTURE

Fitler Square Farmers' Market

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
S 23rd St & Pine St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Saturdays 9 am - 2 pm; Year round

Fitler Square Farmers' Market is a smaller market composed of just a few vendors. Nothing in particular about any of them caught my attention. However, there was a great selection of apples between the vendors.

1) York Co. ($$)

• Organic apples
• Naturally raised, grass-fed beef

2) Highland Orchards ($$$)

• http://www.highlandorchards.net/HOInc/Welcome.html
  
• Organic apples
  
• Fresh organic apple pies
• West Chester, PA based company
  

Clark Park Farmers' Market

Clark Park Farmers' Market
Full-screenBaltimore Ave & S 43rd St
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Thursdays 3 pm - 7 pm; June - November
Saturdays 10 am - 2 pm; Year round

On Saturdays Clark Park is a bustling place with people shopping for their weekly produce. It is a larger farmers' market, decorated with vendors of all sorts. One in particular stood out, John and Linda Shenk Vegetables. I got into a lengthy conversation with him about his farming practices, and was delightfully surprised.

1) Fahnstock Fruit Farm ($)

• Located in Lancaster
• Apples
• Organic

2) Keystone Farm ($$)

• http://www.keystonefarmcsa.com/
• Great selection of vegetables
  
• Naturally raised meat
• Rome, PA based food share

3) John and Linda Shenk Vegetables ($)

• John Shenk has owned and operated his farm in Warwick Township, Lancaster County since the mid 1980’s. Since then, he has established a business based on truly organic and eco-friendly agriculture. His typical growing season spans from May until November, though it fluctuates due to seasonal climate change. He uses less energy consuming and habitat invasive means to fertilize, maintain and protect his plants. These include crop rotation, compost and manure from his cattle. He makes his own compost as well as obtaining it from his local waste facilities. He also uses small amounts of Nitrogen fertilizers to fill the voids of the other three. This is because organic fertilizers contain fewer nutrients per unit weight than inorganic ones. Land that is not suitable for growing any sort of crops, i.e. hills, is utilized to feed his cattle. The beef contains no hormones, antibiotics, and is grass fed. Having said all of this, it would be fair to think that his prices are much higher based on the average prices of organic foods. On the contrary, this is not what I discovered. The cost of a pound of ground beef is only $3.25, reasonable when compared to the $4.50-$5.50 other vendors charge (and boy was it delicious).
  

Questionnaire for Sustainable Food Project

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut St & S 18th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Tuesdays 10 am to 1 pm; Mid-May - November
Saturdays 9:30 am to 3 pm; Year round

On November 21st, I visited Rittenhouse Farmers' Market. There were about five or six farm stands who sold products including fruit, vegetable, pastry, yogurt, chocolate etc. I visited three of the farm stands and they all are organic farmers who used different production methods.

1)Rineer Family Farms
Sat. 9:30 am to 3pm at Rittenhouse Square
www.RinnerFamilyFarms.com

*use little amount of chemical pesticide on few crops
*use heat house for greens
*use some GM seeds, which improve the amount of edible food for up to 50%

2)Crawford Organic
387 Iron Bridge Rd
East Earl, PA 17519
crawford_csa@frontier.com
(They will not be at Rittenhouse Square for winter, but they do participate in the CSA program)

*USDA certified organic
*participated in Community Supported Agriculture program(CSA)
*chemical free production
*use "cold-house" which is a heat house using natural heat such as using the heat from the soil.
*no GM products. They also use corn to block the GM pollens from their neighbor farms. These corns are not sold in their farm stands.

3)Hill Top Produce
*use both heat-house and cold-house(naturally heated heat-house)
*use round up pesticide (similar to the pesticide used in household;less harmful than commercial used pesticide)