Check out this article in Richmondside. Our founder, Bob Gerner, will be speaking at The Richmond Annex 100 Year Anniversary event on Saturday, September 26, 2026.
Celebrate the Richmond Annex centennial with a local organic food guru
October 2026 Sales Flyer A (9/23-10/13)
October 2026 Sales Flyer A (9/23-10/13) (larger print)
Independence Matters in Organics
Independence matters.
Not only are we proud to be an independent retailer, we’re also proud to carry countless independent organic brands.
Thanks to the @cornucopiainstitute “Who Owns Organic” list, you can choose to shop brands that align with your values. Here are a few of our favorites:
Alvarado Street Bakery
Organic Valley
Bionaturae
Brew Dr.
Cult Crackers
Equal Exchange
Dr Bronners
Nixie
Pick up a Cornucopia “Who Owns Organic” Booklet in our stores or visit their website to learn more.
July 2026 Sales Flyer B (7/15-7/28)
July 2026 Sales Flyer B (7/15-7/28) (larger print)
Independence Matters in Organic!
The Cornucopia Institute’s Independent Organic Brand List is your roadmap to consumer choice.
Indie or industry? We’re partnering with The Cornucopia Institute to bring you the scoop on organic brands. Join the movement to celebrate the value of independence. As an informed shopper, you can strengthen the marketplace and pave the way for tomorrow’s top brands. Learn more here:
https://www.cornucopia.org/independent-organic-brands/ or pick up a free booklet in our stores.
September 2025 Sales Flyer B (9/10-9/23)
September 2025 Sales Flyer B (9/10-9/23) (larger print format)
World Fair Trade Day – May 10, 2025
We definitely believe that World Fair Trade Day is an occasion to be celebrated. After all, it helps to create a more ethical world!
The Fair Trade movement campaigns to improve the lives of workers and small producers, especially those within developing economies, by asserting their rights and raising their visibility within international trade.
World Fair Trade Day was started by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) in 2002, though the WFTO itself came into existence 15 years earlier, in 1989.
WFTO is a global association of 324 organizations in over 70 countries, and World Fair Trade Day takes place on the second Saturday of May of each year, and it is an inclusive worldwide festival of events celebrating Fair Trade as a tangible contribution to the fight against poverty and exploitation, climate change and the economic crisis that has the greatest impact on the world’s most vulnerable populations.
If you want to take part in this special day, researching the work conditions of people around the world would be a good place to start, just so you can get a general idea about how some people are forced to live. You are likely to be shocked at how the things you enjoy on an everyday basis are made, but awareness is the first step towards making any kind of change.
When workers are paid fairly, they and their families are able to lead better lives. Everyone benefits because there is a fairer and healthier world. It helps to open our eyes to some of the injustices in the world so that we can all fight to do better.
Start with today and make the simple but effective promise to only buy certified Fair Trade products whenever possible, thereby giving your hard-earned money to only those companies that truly care about the well-being of those less fortunate.
What is a B-Corp?
Have you ever seen a B logo on a product and wondered what it means? B-Corporations have been put through a rigorous set of social and environmental standards to ensure that they positively impact workers, communities, customers, and our planet. This March, we’re talking about what it means to be a B-Corp, and providing education on how you as a shopper can make a difference with your dollars. Stay tuned! 🌎
Celebrate Little Labels with Fairtrade America, Marine Stewardship Council and the Non-GMO Project
If you’re like many shoppers, you want to know how the food you buy affects people and the planet, including how it was grown, harvested and produced. You seek out greater transparency from stores like ours, as well as from your favorite brands and the companies who produce your food.
We, too, believe you have a right to know if what you’re buying aligns with your values! That’s where third party certifications play a big role. When you see the little labels by independent third-party certifiers on your food, you know that product underwent a rigorous evaluation to ensure it met a set of strict standards.
To highlight the positive impacts these labels make, this January we’re celebrating Think Big, Shop Little Labels all month – honoring Fairtrade America, Marine Stewardship Council and the Non-GMO Project! By looking for the Non-GMO Project, Fairtrade America and Marine Stewardship Council labels, you can shop sustainably throughout our store! Read on to learn how they are driving big, meaningful change in our food system!
What is Non-GMO Project Verified?
GMOs (or genetically modified organisms) are living organisms whose genetic material has been manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and/or virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
Non-GMO Project verification means that a product is compliant with the Non-GMO Project Standard, the most rigorous third-party standard for GMO avoidance, which includes stringent provisions for ingredient testing and traceability and the most up-to-date definitions around new GMO techniques.
What is Fairtrade America?
Every day, we enjoy products planted, grown, harvested and transported by farmers and workers around the world. These farmers and workers often do not earn enough to have a decent living — that is, to eat nutritious food, send their kids to school, have adequate shelter and weather a crisis. Many live on less than $2 per day.
The Fairtrade Mark works towards rebalancing trade. By choosing Fairtrade, you are choosing to prioritize the farmers and workers behind our everyday purchases. You are choosing products that are certified to meet the rigorous standards developed in partnership with producers.
What is MSC Certified?
The MSC blue fish label is an ecolabel that can be found on seafood products from fresh, canned, and frozen seafood to omega-3 supplements and even pet food. It can also be found alongside seafood items on menus. The blue fish helps shoppers and diners identify seafood that is wild-caught and that has been independently verified for environmental sustainability, because a healthy ocean is vital for people and the planet. By purchasing products with the MSC blue fish label, you are directly supporting well-managed fisheries that have been assessed by a third-party on its impacts on wild fish populations and the ecosystems they’re part of.
When you see the MSC blue fish label on packaging, you can feel good knowing you are supporting continuous changes on the water to help protect the ocean for the future. 95% of MSC certified fisheries make improvements so they continue to meet the high bar of the MSC Fisheries Standard.
Why do we need such labels on food anyway?
“Natural” food and “fair” food are big business these days and greenwashing has become a serious problem. By making unverified or uncertified claims about how their food is grown, caught, or processed (“self-made” marketing claims), some unscrupulous companies capitalize on shoppers’ desire for high-quality food because it supports people and the planet. In response, there is a sea of different labels popping up with claims that sound really good, but have little backing them up.
How does an informed shopper know what label is supported and which are empty marketing words? Choosing well-recognized, independent, third-party certification labels on products is the best place to start. Labels like the Fairtrade Mark, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certified, and Non-GMO Project Verified represent rigorous standards with requirements that must be followed in order to receive the label. This may actually require laboratory testing and supply chain accountability that allows for “identity preservation.”
Fairtrade America, Marine Stewardship Council, and the Non-GMO Project are all nonprofit organizations driven by their collective mission to change how food is harvested or made in order to better serve people and the planet. Fairtrade has been operating internationally since 1989, MSC’s sustainable fishing standard has been in effect since 1998, and Non-GMO Project has been verifying products since 2010. The nonprofits publish their standards on their websites to give shoppers full transparency. Brands both large and small showcase this compliance by including the Fairtrade, MSC, or Non-GMO Project labels on their packaging. This further gives shoppers assurance that it’s not a fad but a sustainability tool used by brands to have a true, positive impact.
What you can do Think big and shop the labels! Our store will be highlighting products that are Fairtrade, MSC Certified and Non-GMO Project Verified throughout January. Support brands working towards a more sustainable future, and try something new.
Want to learn more?
Follow the Butterfly with the Non-GMO Project. Sign up for their newsletters and like them on social
media @NonGMOProject.
Get the scoop on Fairtrade. Sign up to receive Fairtrade America’s newsletter and follow them on
social media @FairtradeMarkUS.
Learn how your choices at the grocery store can make a big difference for the health of our ocean
at MSC.org. Get to know the people behind the label that make sustainable seafood possible at @MSCbluefish.
Organic Fair Trade Cherry Tomatoes from Del Cabo
Changing Lives Through Food
The del Cabo Project’s roots stretch back to 1980, when husband and wife co-founders Larry Jacobs and Sandra Belin began farming in coastal California. By fate, their paths crossed with a group of struggling farmers in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico and together they embarked on a radical mission united by passion.
Today, they farm nearly five thousand acres of field-grown and greenhouse-grown herbs, tomatoes and other delicious veggies.
We Thrive Together
“Our mission is brought to life through the collaboration with our del Cabo farmers — who passionately grow organic products all along the Baja California coast. Our work together provides these farmers with thriving and sustainable farming economies that have transformed and empowered their communities.”, says the del Cabo people.
Putting People First
The del Cabo collective was born in 1985 when co-founders Larry and Sandra met a group of small-scale farmers in San Jose del Cabo. They found these farmers to be some of the best people on this planet who worked really hard, but were not in the right place to make a good living.
The goal of the del Cabo collective was to connect these communities with good products and teach them how to grow food in a way that’s healthy for them, for the consumer, and for the planet.
Less Plastic for Our Planet
Jacobs Farm del Cabo is excited to introduce their newest paper-based pack as an alternative to single-use plastic clamshells. In this year alone, the new paperboard pack is projected to reduce their plastic waste by half a million pounds!
The introduction of paper-based clamshells is part of our steady and multifaceted shift away from plastic toward more sustainable materials, and we’re proud to announce that Del Cabo’s new paperboard pack is as clean and green as it gets!
The pack is made with 100% recycled paperboard and provides a clear view of the bright and flavorful product inside with a plant-based, cellulose window that is certified compostable both commercially AND at home!
The Natural Grocery Company will always ask for this packaging from our distributors but it may not always be available.
Season: In October Del Cabo grows their Fair Trade tomatoes in Mexico
Flavor: Sweet & Juicy, “Nature’s Candy”.
Storage: Keep unwashed in their container on the counter. If they begin to soften you can pop them into the fridge for a few extra days of shelf life. Optimal storage is between 55F and 65F.
How to use: Crudite, snacking, pasta, and salads.
Nutrition: Promotes skin health, improves vision, decrease the risk of oxidative stress, and an excellent source of Vitamin C.