Kansas City Food Circle Directory of
Local Organic and
Free Range Food Producers


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Table of Contents - KCFC Directory:

• Who We Are
• What We Do
• Know Your Farmers
• Organic Farmers Markets
  - Badseed Market in the Crossroads
  - Farmers Community Market at Brookside
  - KC Organics & Natural Market at Minor Park
  - Merriam Organic Market
  - 39th Street Community Market
  - Troostwood Youth Garden Market
• Other Farmers Markets
• Retail Markets
• Featured Restaurants
• PRODUCERS DIRECTORY (our Member Growers, in alphabetical order)
  the DIRECTORY is being edited for 2009 - See our >> KCFCMG pages << for current listings
• Peas & Carrots of Buying Locally
  - Farmers Markets
  - Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)
  - On-Farm Sales
  - Home Delivery
  - Retail Grocers
  - Eating Locally and In-Season
  - Extend the Produce Growing Season
  - Tips for Buying Meat Direct
  - What does "organic" mean to the KC Food Circle?
  - What do other labels mean?
  - - USDA Organic
  - - Certified Naturally Grown (CNG)
  - - Free Range
• HOTLINE
• Mission Statement
• Membership and Funding - Sign-up Form

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Who We Are

Welcome to the Kansas City Food Circle’s (KCFC) Directory of Local Organic and Free Range Food Producers. The KCFC was created to promote the development of a community food system that will nourish the present generation of Kansas Citians without degrading the ability of future generations to nourish themselves. We provide an alternative to the conventional agricultural system, which is dependent on farming practices that are destructive, both to our health as individuals and to the rest of the community of life. Most of our work centers on making connections between area growers who agree to meet our organic produce or free range animal standards (see What does Organic mean? ) and people who want to eat delicious, healthy, locally-grown food.

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What We Do

1. Educate the public about the health and ecological benefits of a small-scale, local, organic and free range food system, in contrast to the destruction caused by the industrial-scale, global, and fossil fuel-dependent conventional food system.
   
2. Increase the demand for locally-grown organic and free range foods.
   
3. Help small family farmers to earn a fair living and stay on the land. Beginning on Page 6 of this Directory, you’ll find an updated list of our producer-members, which provides details about the foods they produce, how to buy from them, and their contact information. In addition, if you would like to learn about the benefits of eating locally-grown organic and free range foods, plus get some helpful hints on how to get started, you’ll find that information in the final section.

If you would like someone from the Food Circle to speak to your organization, please call our hotline at 816-374-5899 or send us an e-mail through our website, www.kcfoodcircle.org.

We are primarily supported by member donations and would be happy to have you join us in our work, whether through contributions of money, time, or both. Our membership form is on the back cover of this Directory.

Farmers Markets are typically open-air outlets where anywhere from a few to dozens of farmers/producers regularly gather throughout the growing season to sell their fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy foods, and other items. Please refer to pages 3 and 4 for more information on where to find the many farmers’ markets in the KC area.

Questions to Ask on First Contact with a Grower at a Farmers Market:

Do you grow all of the produce you sell or do you distribute produce from other growers?

Is your produce organically-grown (as described on pages 25-27 of this Directory)?

Are your chickens (cattle, pigs, sheep, etc.) given access to the outdoors? How are they confined?

Do you use antibiotics, hormones, or arsenic to promote the growth of the animals on your farm?

Do you welcome visitors to your farm?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a unique partnership between eaters and farmers. Members normally join a CSA at the beginning of the calendar year, reserving a spot and paying for at least part of the season up front. This helps to provide a guaranteed market and income to the farmer. The farmer then provides a weekly share of fresh, seasonal, organically-grown vegetables, fruits, herbs, eggs and/or meat during the growing season. Both partners share in the risks and rewards of small-scale farming, from weather worries to bumper crops.

CSAs are a great way to get to know your farmer, your community, and your vegetables and fruits. Most provide information with each week’s share to help you prepare those fresh vegetables you rarely eat. Some require participation several times a year, either helping with harvesting or distributing the food. Others deliver right to your door.

Each CSA is unique, so be sure to learn the specifics. If you are interested in joining a CSA, ask the farmer about the following:

What quantity of produce can I expect to receive from week to week?

What is the payment schedule?

Is the produce grown using organic farming methods (as described on page 25)

Do you welcome visitors on the farm?

On-Farm Sales give you the opportunity to go right to the farm to see for yourself where and how your food has been grown. This can be great fun for kids and adults alike and helps to remind us all that food comes from the land, not the supermarket.

Home Delivery is less common, but some of our producer-members will take orders by phone, e-mail, or regular mail and deliver right to your door. See individual listings for farms that deliver or simply ask. Retail Grocers make it easy and convenient to buy locally-grown foods because they’re open year-round and throughout the week. Though most of our members only sell direct, a few do market through retail stores. Please check their individual listings for details.

Retail Grocers make it easy and convenient to buy locally-grown foods because they’re open year-round and throughout the week. Though most of our members only sell direct, a few do market through retail stores. Please check their individual listings for details.

The entire purchase price goes to the farmer.

You get high-quality, delicious meat from farmers you can get to know over time.

You avoid the cruel and destructive system of industrial meat production. Buying beef, pork, lamb, bison, poultry and other meats this way is vastly different from the meat counter at your local supermarket and it will take some adjustment.

Consider:

1. Most of our farmers produce seasonally on a small scale and have limited marketing outlets. Consequently, they sell only frozen meat because it’s not feasible for them to sell all the meat they produce before it spoils.
   
   
2. Producers prefer to sell beef and pork by the half (side) or quarter, but sometimes they offer a bundle of mixed cuts in 20-25 pound lots. These are processed in facilities that have been inspected by the state and/or federal government and come in marked butcher paper or labeled plastic. Some sell at farmers’ markets by the individual cut.
   
   
3. Some poultry producers prefer to sell fresh chicken at the farm on the day of slaughter, but you can also pick up frozen whole or half-chickens from the farm at other times. Some sell through retail grocers and to restaurants, as well.
   
   
4. If you choose to buy meat in bulk, you may find it worthwhile to purchase an additional freezer to ensure adequate storage space. One cubic foot of freezer space will accommodate 35-40 pounds of cut and wrapped meat (slightly less if the meat is packaged in odd shapes).
   
   
5. Buying meat in bulk can save you substantial money over time, but it requires a significant initial investment. Splitting a large order with one or more other households can help make this more manageable.
   
   
6. Some of our farmers use feeding methods that result in very lean meats in comparison to most supermarket meats, and so different cooking methods are required for best results. This is often the case with meats from grass-fed and pastured animals. Please ask the farmers you buy from for tips on how best to prepare the meats they sell.

 

fertilizers made from natural gas and biocides made from petroleum;

irradiation (for more on this issue, please go to );

the use of municipal waste-water sludge as fertilizer;

antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones in meat, egg, and dairy production;

and genetically-modified organisms.

Just as important as what certified organic farmers are prohibited from doing is what they are required to do. For example, the NOP sets standards for animal treatment, including access to the outdoors.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) legal control of the term “certified organic” has opened the door for large industrial producers to lobby the USDA to weaken the original NOP standards. The grassroots organic movement has resisted these efforts at every turn. For more info on these issues, please visit the Organic Consumers Association’s Safeguard Organic Standards campaign online at www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm. While only some of our producer-members are certified organic under the NOP, we require all of our vegetable & fruit growers to agree to use organic growing methods. We do not require our animal farmers to do so, however.

Please see the section titled “Free Range” to learn about our animal-farming standards.

Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) - According to the organization’s website (www.naturallygrown.org), “CNG is a nonprofit alternative eco-labeling program for small farms that grow using USDA Organic methods but are NOT a part of the USDA Certified Organic program.” The CNG program was created to be a small farmer-friendly alternative to the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). Farmers can become certified under the CNG system for much lower fees and without the large amount of recordkeeping required by the NOP, which many small, diversified farms find to be too burdensome. Under the NOP, farmers must keep a paper trail of everything that happens from seed to sale. This is manageable for large farms that grow only a few types of vegetables and/or fruits and then sell them in bulk to chain stores or big processing plants. In contrast, small farms may grow upwards of 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits, and most of them sell directly to eaters in their own area. Under these circumstances, farm visits are readily accessible, and eaters can build relationships of trust with the farmers they buy from. Also, every farm’s application, affidavit, and inspector reports are available online for any member of the public to review (see www.naturallygrown.org/farm-list.html for a list of CNG farms). Several KCFC farmer-members are Certified Naturally Grown.

Free Range - “Free range” is the term the Kansas City Food Circle uses to describe the animal treatment standards our farmers must agree to meet. You may have seen this term used elsewhere but not known for sure what it means. The U.S. Department of Agriculture legally defines “free range” for use on food labels this way:

“FREE RANGE or FREE ROAMING: Producers must demonstrate to the agency
that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.”

We don’t think that goes far enough. Here’s what we mean by “free range”:

Our farmers agree to avoid the use of any synthetic growth stimulants—no hormones, subtherapeutic antibiotics, or arsenic—and feed that contains any arm animal byproducts. They also agree to either house their animals in or allow them some access to outdoor pens and/or pastures. As a rule, animals are so much healthier in these conditions compared to industrial confinement systems that treatment with antibiotics for disease is rarely needed. Our animal-farmers are permitted to use feed containing conventionally-grown crops as well as therapeutic antibiotics when necessary, practices which are prohibited under the National Organic Program standards. It is simply too difficult at this time for all of our small farmers to source 100% certified organic feed, and we think a complete prohibition of all antibiotic use is too strict.