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
Download Sales Flyer
Email Us
Join Our Mailing List
Home / Archives for Organic farming

Philippine Chocolate Talk & Tasting – Tuesday, November 18, 2025

by

Calling all chocolate connoisseurs!

Come learn about Philippine Chocolate at 7pm on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, with The Natural Grocery Company Founder, Bob Gerner.

We will be featuring Auro Chocolate, which is an internationally awarded tree-to-bar chocolate brand that promotes sustainability by working directly with local Filipino farmers.

The name originates from the combination of “Au” which is the chemical symbol of Gold in the periodic table, and “Oro” which is the Filipino and Spanish word for gold.

Auro represents the pursuit to refine Philippine cacao and elevate the lives of local Filipino farmers who are as precious as gold.

One of the most exciting things about single origin chocolate is discovering the unique flavor profile that each bar would be able to offer. A 70% chocolate bar from two different origins could taste entirely different and at times, bars from the same origin can also vary in flavor notes because of the different protocols followed.

Join us to learn about sourcing, processing and quality!

This is a free community event at The Annex, 10387 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530, (510) 526-5150.

Hoes Down Harvest Festival at Full Belly Farm – October 4, 2025

by

Over 30 years ago, the Full Belly Farm “Hoes Down Harvest Festival” was started to bring people out to the country and deepen their connection with food and land.

Today, Hoes Down is a festival fundraiser focused on educating people first-hand about the positive impacts of farming. At Hoes Down, guests experience activities like pruning trees, milking a cow, making compost and seasonal cooking. They eat local organic food and dance to the tunes of bluegrass and contra dance with one another. Attendees camp under the stars in their walnut orchard and wake up to a farm fresh breakfast.

Full Belly Farm invites you to join them in celebrating farming and rural living with your two feet in the soil!

Saturday, October 4, 2025

https://www.eco-farm.org/hoes-down

Know Your Farmer: Full Belly Farm

by

Did you know that organic farming practices can support healtheir soil, ecosystems, and communities?

 

This organic month, shop healthy produce grown right here in your community at The Natural Grocery Company stores!

 

We’re proud to partner with Full Belly Farm to bring you a wide variety of locally grown veg and other products like their jams, tea cakes and fresh flower bouquets. Each carrot, onion, or radish was grown sustainably on their organic farm! 🚜

 

“Full Belly Farm is a certified organic farm located in the beautiful Capay Valley of northern California. We are committed to fostering sustainability on all levels, from fertility in our soil and care for the environment, to stable employment for our farm workers. We strive to be good stewards of this farm, so that this generation and future generations may continue to be nourished by the healthy and vibrant food that we produce. Our farm has been certified organic since 1985, and we strive to continue to support local food systems and create a strong local food economy.”

https://fullbellyfarm.com/

 

Want to visit and learn more about Full Belly Farm? Attend their Annual Hoes Down Festival on October 4. Information and tickets available at

https://www.eco-farm.org/hoes-down

Mini Wine Tasting: Populis Wines – Thursday, June 26, 2025

by

Please join us at The Annex, 10387 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, and meet winemaker, Diego Roig of Populis Wines (and Les Lunes Wines) on Thursday, June 26, 2025, 5pm-6pm. There is a $5 tasting fee and you must be 21+ to participate.
 
Saunt Oungoulian and Diego Roig produce two wines, Populis and Les Lunes Wine. With Populis, they purchase grapes from historic vineyards and multi-generational growers from Mendocino County. These wines are fresh, lively, fruit forward, and made in a playful style. They called this line “Populis” because it’s meant to be “wine for the people!”–delicious, honest, and affordable.
 
Their facility is literally the basement of Shaunt’s parents’ house in Orinda, just east of Berkeley. This allows them to produce wine without the interference of other wineries’ yeasts or influences as well as allowing them to age their wine for multiple vintages before release if needed.
 
They are absolutely 100% committed to farming and producing wines organically. They make no additions to the wines save for a small dose of sulfur before bottling if needed, as determined on a barrel by barrel basis.
 
Learn more about their wines on their Instagram Page @lesluneswine

Annex Mini Wine Tasting: Martin Pohl Wines – Thursday, June 12, 2025, 5pm-6pm

by

Our next mini tasting at The Annex is scheduled for Thursday, June 12th from 5 to 6 PM with Martin Pohl, Owner & Winemaker of Martin Pohl Wines, Beaver Creek Vineyards in Middletown, California.

His vineyards are all certified Organic and/or Biodynamic, with a focus on healthy soil and biodiversity.

We will be sampling his Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Sunshine Blend, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

His wines are Natural, Certified Organic, Certified Biodynamic, Native Yeast Fermentation, No Sulfites Added, Unfiltered, & Vegan!

It is $5 to taste and you must be 21+ to participate.

Mini Wine Tasting: Frey Vineyards – Thursday, February 20, 2025

by

Join us at The Annex on Thursday, February 20 from 5pm-6pm to taste and learn with representatives from Frey Vineyards!
 
Frey Vineyards are Organic Pioneers!
 
You can trust that every bottle of Frey wine embodies the pinnacle of organic winemaking. As the first certified Organic winery in the USA, they have pioneered the organic standard in the United States.
 
If you purchase a bottle of wine that says “made with organic grapes,” you will notice that the USDA Organic seal does not appear anywhere on the bottle. That’s because those wines were not fermented using organic methods. Today, in the organic wine industry, there are two tiers of organics: made with organic grapes and certified organic. Every bottle of Frey wine is made with organic grapes and processed organically. Their commitment to organic winemaking means that during fermentation they do not add any chemicals to their wines. No chemical stabilizers, no chemical additives, no artificial coloring, and nothing but the best organic processing aids. They don’t add anything that you wouldn’t want to drink!
 
There is a $5 tasting fee. You must be 21+ to participate in this event.

Auro Chocolate Talk & Tasting at The Annex – Tuesday, February 4, 2025

by

Calling all chocolate connoisseurs!

Join us for a talk and chocolate tasting of Auro Chocolate on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, with a presentation at 7:00pm at the Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex, 10387 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530 (510) 526-5150. There is not a charge for this event.

Auro Chocolate is an internationally awarded tree-to-bar chocolate brand that promotes sustainability by working directly with local farmers to create fine Filipino cacao beans, ingredients and retail products with unique and bold tropical flavors.

This event will include a tasting of samples.

Learn about sourcing, processing and quality!

https://aurochocolate.com/pages/about

Organic Green Onions 99¢ per bunch

by

Greens onions are also known as spring onions, scallions, or salad onions. Green onions are actually baby, immature onions that are picked before they fully grow. The bulb is younger and is cut while the tops are still green. They have tiny white or pale-green bulbs at the end of long green tops. There are slight age differences and bulb types between scallions and green onions, but they are often considered the same vegetable.

Select green onions with white to pale green bulbs. Look for undamaged, unwilted tops. The tops should be bright green and about 8 inches long. When selecting green onions, be sure to look for crisp, firm bulbs.

Store green onions in cool moist areas in the refrigerator, preferably the crisper or vegetable drawer (32-36 degrees F). Scallions will last between 3 and 4 weeks if stored properly.

  • Great source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folate—even more than mature onions.
  • Good source of calcium.

Organic Open Pint Strawberries

by

Farmer Profile – Esteban Martinez

Have you tried the open pint strawberries recently? We’re sourcing them from Esteban Martinez of JW Farms and they are really, no REALLY, great tasting!

Farmer Esteban Martinez grows organic strawberries on 21 acres in coastal Monterey County. He’s been farming for 20 years and in 2017 purchased the land where he currently farms. The rolling hills and sandy soils make the landscape prone to erosion particularly during heavy rains.

To mitigate this erosion, improve soil health and increase biodiversity on his farm, Esteban has successfully planted a hedgerow along two edges of one 14- acre field including natives like ceanothus, coffeeberry, coyote brush and toyon. Esteban is working to extend the hedgerow and incorporate edible trees like mulberry and elderberry. The perennial hedgerows contribute to soil health by covering the surface of the soil, reducing wind and water erosion, and establishing deep roots that promote water infiltration and carbon storage.

As an ambitious and strategic farmer, Esteban is working to establish a farmer cooperative with other regional growers.

You will often see their packed strawberries in pressed card containers. Remember, you don’t have to take the plastic open pint baskets if you don’t want to and honestly your strawberries will arrive home in better condition if you do. You could bring your own container and leave the plastic basket behind or return the clean basket on your next visit and we’ll take care of repurposing it.

Enjoy!

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