Natural Grocery

Independently owned, organic grocery store. Our Annex serves prepared foods and offers a selection of wine and beer. Our florists are here to help you with fresh local cuts and dried bouquets.

EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Every Day Hours
PREPARED FOOD ANNEX
10387 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day Hours
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Every Day Hours
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Home / Archives for Business Practices

Women’s History Month: Edison Grainery

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We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Edison Grainery is a women owned, family operated business in Benicia, CA.

Edison Grainery

Owner: Lyndsy Barnes O’Malley

Edison specializes in the highest quality of organic ingredients in their top 9 allergen free facility. Every lot of every ingredient is special to them. Edison starts with vetted farmers who met their food safety and good manufacturing practices. Upon receiving an inbound, a third-party laboratory submission is sent to test for pathogens, yeast, mold, gluten (All results aka Certificates of Analysis (CoA) are posted online at Edison Grainery for full customer transparency and confidence). Once given the green light by their food safety officers, they run the lot through their state of the art cleaning line (optical laser color sorter, rare earth magnet, metal detection, sifter) and then into production.

Lyndsy Barnes O’Malley, Edison Grainery Owner: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with The Natural Grocery Company for many years and are so grateful for the community and support”.

Likewise Lyndsy, The Natural Grocery Company appreciates Edison Grainery!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.

Women’s History Month: Veritable Vegetable

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We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Veritable Vegetable

CEO: Mary Jane Evans
Chief Administrative Officer: Shira Tanner
Director of Purchasing: Bu Nygrens
Director of Sales: Karen Salinger

Meet Veritable Vegetable, a women-owned and led organic produce distribution company based in San Francisco, California. Established in 1974, they source and deliver the freshest and highest quality produce, with unmatched service to our stores several times a week.

Powered by a zero-emission green fleet and driven by purpose, they put their values in action to build a sustainable and equitable food system.

Veritable Vegetable supports organic farmers, increases access to fresh produce, and strengthens diverse communities. Their unique, values-driven business model encourages political change, impacts food policy, and demonstrates a radically different approach to distributing organic produce.

Sustainable and regenerative systems increase energy and resources and are life-affirming. Veritable Vegetable envisions our environment, our economy, and our communities as sustainable systems.

As a women-led business, they take a forward-thinking and innovative approach to solving complex problems. They create a fair and dynamic workplace through cooperative and collaborative leadership. Veritable Vegetable deeply values the people who make up their community of staff, growers, customers, and community partners; collective labor is fundamental to the organic trade.

Leadership by Women

Veritable Vegetable knows raising women up raises all people. As a women-led business, they apply a systems-thinking approach to solving complex problems. Collaboration, cooperation and deep listening are critical. They are committed to sharing their resources and knowledge, creating an inclusive workplace, and modeling effective women’s leadership.

  • 45% of staff are women; Veritable Vegetable offers unlimited opportunities for women
  • Robust training program & professional development for all staff; promote from within
  • Long-term reciprocal relationships, in business & beyond
  • Participatory working groups & task forces to address workplace challenges
  • Share best practices with national networks

“We strive for excellence in our work, transparency in our relationships, and integrity through our actions.” – Veritable Vegetable
We love what they do!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
 
Thank you Veritable Vegetable!

Women’s History Month: Beber Fresh Almondmilk

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We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Beber Fresh Almondmilk

Owner: Arielle Danan
Meet Beber Fresh Almond Milk, a women-owned and women-powered Chico, California company, makers of fresh, organic, non-gmo almondmilk! OK so they are not in the Bay Area but they are a small, women owned company that independently makes and delivers their fresh almondmilk to us twice a week.

Beber was founded with a love for local agriculture. They value local agriculture because our farmers are the backbone of a healthy local food system and economy. They source almonds from California orchards as close as fifteen miles from their facility.

They choose glass bottles because they are fully recyclable, don’t leach harmful chemicals, and because they believe they better preserve the fresh taste of Beber Almondmilk. Once you’re done with the bottle, please remove the label and reuse or recycle your bottle at home.

Water usage and bee health are two important topics for agriculture-based businesses, especially in California. Beber is proud to work with their almond provider Baugher Ranch Organics because they are an industry leader in sustainable practices. Their orchards and grower-partners use the latest technology and drip irrigation to monitor water consumption. Baugher Ranch is also a Certified Bee Friendly farm, which means that their orchards are created as healthy habitats for bees. All of their almonds are certified organic, which also means that they are non-GMO.

After their creamy almondmilk has been pressed from the almond pulp, the almond pulp is donated to a local farmer. He uses the pulp as nutritious feed for his livestock (lucky them!) as well as compost for his farm, so not one drop of almond goodness goes to waste.

Locally sourced.

Bottled in glass.

Water wise, and bee friendly!

Composting.

We love what they do!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
 
Thank you Beber Fresh Almondmilk!

Women’s History Month: Black Mountain Beauty

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We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Black Mountain Beauty

Owner: Marnie Jackson

Meet Black Mountain Beauty, a women-owned and women-powered Marin company, makers of organic, non-gmo, no cruelty, vegan and plastic free bath products for your whole family! They care about the future of our oceans!

“I am a farmer out in beautiful West Marin County in Northern California. I love to create products from the bounty of my farm. I am a Fiber Farmer first and create soft, cozy clothing from my Wensleydale sheep and Angora rabbits. 

​We live close to the beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches which I love to visit. Unfortunately, there is more and more plastic pollution on these beaches every day. So, in an effort to reduce my own use of plastic, I began creating all-natural Shampoo and Conditioner bars that need no plastic packaging. These have been selling like crazy to people who like chemical-free products and also care about plastic pollution in our oceans.

I am branching out to new, everyday personal products that can be made with biodegradable packaging or no packaging at all. Hope you enjoy it.” – Marnie Jackson

They are on a mission to create a zero waste beauty line. There are too many single use plastic containers floating around in the Ocean. Black Mountain Beauty is trying to reduce waste by creating, simple, organic, cruelty-free beauty products in biodegradable or refillable packaging. After spending many a weekend picking up plastic garbage on local ocean beaches, Black Mountain Beauty wanted to make a change in the world by doing their best to eliminate plastic waste.

We love what they do!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
 
Thank you Black Mountain Beauty!

Women’s History Month: Cult Crackers

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We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Cult Crackers

Owners: Dianna Dar & Birgitta Durell

 

Meet Cult Crackers, a women-owned and women-powered Bay Area company, makers of delicious small-batch organic crackers. Cult Crackers co-founders, Dianna and Birgitta, are local moms who met while volunteering at their daughters’ school in Berkeley. They became good friends and business partners when they launched their artisan cracker company. The two women are passionate about what they do, making a good-for-you snack that people love. Their biggest fans are their teenage daughters who also help out at their family-run small business. Cult Crackers, in their colorful red and blue recyclable bags, are a customer favorite.

Their totally addicting crackers are filled with good-for-you organic ingredients and packed with flavor and crunch. They bake their crackers at the Berkeley Kitchens, a wonderful community of small food producers in Berkeley, California.

They want you to enjoy their crackers knowing they’re made with your health and our planet in mind. From the very beginning they decided if they were going to do this, they were going to do it right, using their business as a force for good. They are commited to using only the highest-quality organic ingredients they can find, are certified organic, mix and bake every batch of crackers by hand, package in sustainable packaging, pay their employees a living wage, and do things with care and intention.

They love what they do, and that Cult Crackers nourish people in so many different ways.

We love what they do too!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
 
Thank you Cult Crackers!

Thank You Ital Foods Inc!

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Ital Foods Inc is one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors. In each raffle tote you will find a jar of Rigoni di Asiago Organic Nocciolata Spread (chocolate hazelnut) and a bag of Di Bari Orecchiette Organic Pasta.
 
Italfoods is pledged to serving customers and suppliers with honesty and integrity, and an eye towards the particular needs of each one of them.
 
Over forty years of dedication to service, quality and authenticity have made Italfoods Inc. a vital food distribution service, respected by both its customers and suppliers. Each day a fleet of Italfoods trucks hurry from their headquarters in South San Francisco to deliver the finest imported and domestic food products to restaurants, specialty food stores, delicatessens and supermarkets throughout the greater Bay Area.
 
No matter how successful they become, their motto is to follow the ethic of our founder, Walter Guerra, who never forgot the shoes he was wearing when he came to this country, and always encouraged his employees to work humbly and become valued, proactive members of the community.
 
Thank you Ital Foods!

The Bio-Engineered (BE) Food Labeling Law

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BE_Infographic

The Bio-Engineered (BE) Food Labeling Law is going to take effect in January 2022.  This infographic from The Non-GMO Project gives you some solid information about this new law and why The Natural Grocery Company supports stricter labeling standards like the one The Non-GMO Project provides. In our stores the shelf tags that are green indicate products that are certified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project.  Products with blue labels still go through a process of verification conducted by our buyers and staff and we do our best to keep GMOs out of our stores but the best labeling program continues to be The Non-GMO Project Verification. We think it is important to “Follow the Butterfly”.

Pachamama Coffee of the Month: Mexico

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Mexico happens to be Pachamama’s coffee of the month, and since September marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we thought sharing this blog would be helpful, informative, and provide a new perspective about coffee’s wonderful, labor-love journey from seed to cup.

We present Pachamama’s latest Blog,  Journey to the Origin.  Their Creative Director, Rosa,  recounts her discovery of coffee’s incredible journey from seed to cup while visiting one of Pachamama’s owner cooperatives: La Union Regionnal Cooperative, in Veracruz, Mexico.

We hope you find the time to read about her experience.  It’s a short read that demonstrates how Pachamama Coffee is one of the most sustainable coffees the Natural Grocery can offer our customers. It is available in our El Cerrito Store.

June 15th, 2021 – Happy Re-Opening Day California!

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Thanks to everyone who has made the sacrifices necessary to get us to this point! You will notice some changes in our stores the next time you visit.

Hand sanitizer will be available at the door for anyone who wishes to clean their hands before and/or after shopping. It is no longer a requirement but it is strongly encouraged.

We will no longer be limiting the number of customers who can enter the store at any given time but please be respectful of other shoppers personal space and don’t crowd anyone.

Customers who are vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks while shopping but are encouraged to do so until they are comfortable sharing indoor space with un-masked patrons.

If you are not vaccinated for Covid-19 you must wear a mask while inside any of our locations. This is for your safety, the safety of others and the current California requirement. By entering our stores without a mask you are self-attesting that you have been vaccinated.

The board of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, voted on June 17 to approve new rules, which now allows fully vaccinated workers to go without masks at work. Governor Newsom has signed an order, which makes Cal/OSHA’s new rules take effect immediately. Our Natural Grocery Company rules will change to follow the new Cal/OSHA rules, starting Friday, June 18. Fully Vaccinated employees have the option to not wear a mask. Of course, any fully vaccinated employee can continue wearing a mask. Employees who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a mask.

Self-serve Bulk is back! Our Bulk Departments have been given the green light to re-open self-serve bins. Things will look a little different and it will take a bit of time to transition the entire department. Our plan is to have items that are traditionally cooked in open scoop bins while foods eaten as-is will be in the gravity feed dispensers. Dried Fruits will remain pre-packaged. You may bring your own clean containers to fill. Please have a cashier weigh your clean, empty container before you fill it!

The Annex will now have indoor and outdoor seating available! Our menu is expanding and a separate announcement will be made about all the changes you will see there.

Thank you,

The Natural Grocery Company

OPEN EVERY DAY
El Cerrito: 8:30am to 7:30pm, seven days a week
Berkeley: 9am to 7:30pm, seven days a week
Annex : 8:30am to 7:30pm
Wine opens at 9am
EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Seven days a week 8:30am-7:30pm
EL CERRITO ANNEX
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day 8:30am-7:30pm
Wine: 9am-7:30pm
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Seven days a week 9am-7:30pm