Anyone that knows me or read this blog, knows that I am passionate about local food. Not only does it support the community or state you live in, but most the time you are supporting small farmers who need it and in the end you are getting a better product. Sometimes it's even something you would never get anywhere else (that's how I have tried as many apples as I have). You will find me at the farmer's market each and every week during the height of the season. Somewhere else you might find me now looking for local produce, meats, and cheeses is Busch's Fresh Food Market. In 2015, I have been super impressed with how the company has really upped their local game. Many stores are doing local, some just get their feet wet, but Busch's is diving head first into it.
Let me give you a sample of what you might find and why I felt it was worth my time to talk about them today. It's not everything they have locally, just a few things I want to highlight.
The Produce
When it comes to local, there is nothing more important than produce. When you enter their produce section they are local signs and stickers everywhere. Plenty of stores do local. It is easy to have local corn, blueberries, or apples here in Michigan when in season. Every grocery store carries those items. Busch's has those items but they also carry things that other larger chains typically don't. They had some wonderful local cherries in July that were black as a cherry can get and rich in flavor.
They have local organic potatoes from one of my favorite vendors at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market, Tantre Farms. It's getting a piece of the farmer's market any day of the week. I recently heard that their Ann Arbor store on Plymouth/Green Road is going to carry organic garlic from Dyer Family Organic Farm, who I featured in my 1st issue of my e-book series "Fruits of Their Labor".
They have plenty of local greens from kale to salad mixes. I also saw tomatoes, summer squashes, micro greens, onions, fava beans, green beans and more.
I am really excited to see what they will offer as we get into the bounty of the autumn harvest season, particularly apples!
The Grocery Aisle
As we walk through their grocery department, there are stickers all over the place highlight locally made products. You can find all your favorite local items, as well as many I haven't seen at other stores like the uniquely flavored peanut butters from the Granola Tree.
One of the coolest things I spotted was this canola oil from B&B Farms. Most canola oil you find in stores is from Canada and is nearly all made from GMO canola. This oil is made from non-GMO seed and is cold pressed.
Cheese
Plenty of selection of local cheese available - many of them were on sale during my visit. Farm Country Cheese was one of the featured producers that was on ad. I tried both their Colby and Monterrey jack cheese. Both were cut into small, thin blocks which I liked. Both these cheeses were so good, I came back a few days later to buy some more.
Meat
As I was heading out the door, I noticed a sign advertising a one day sale on house made sausage. The best part is that the pork was coming from a local source - Valley View Farms in Walkerville, MI.
Big props to Busch's for really taking the "local craze" to the next level. Check out your local Busch's to see what local treats you might find. They have stores in Ann Arbor, Saline, Carleton, Clinton, Dexter, Farmington Hills, Livonia, Novi, Pinckney, Plymouth/Northville, Rochester Hills, South Lyon, Tecumseh, and West Bloomfield.
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