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.

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10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
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PREPARED FOOD ANNEX
10387 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
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1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
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Home / Archives for Sustainability

Chocolate Tasting: Auro Chocolate – 7pm, Tuesday, October 15, 2024

October 8, 2024 by The Natural Grocery Company

Calling all chocolate connoisseurs!

Join us for a lecture and chocolate tasting of Auro Chocolate on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 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.

The lecture will include a tasting of samples.

Learn about sourcing, processing and quality!

 

About Us – Auro Chocolate

Filed Under: Annex, Blog, Chocolate, Events, Know Your Farmer, Organic foods, Special Events, Sustainability

August 2024 Sales Flyer

August 1, 2024 by The Natural Grocery Company

2024 08 August Sales Flyer (larger print)

Filed Under: Annex, Berkeley Store, Blog, Eating Well, Events, Organic foods, Stores_both, Sustainability

Chocolate Tasting: Auro Chocolate – 7pm, Tuesday, August 13, 2024

July 29, 2024 by The Natural Grocery Company

Calling all chocolate connoisseurs!

Join us for a lecture and chocolate tasting of Auro Chocolate on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 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.

The lecture will include a tasting of samples.

Learn about sourcing, processing and quality!

 

About Us – Auro Chocolate

Filed Under: Annex, Blog, Chocolate, Events, Know Your Farmer, Organic foods, Special Events, Sustainability

Organic Open Pint Strawberries

June 5, 2023 by The Natural Grocery Company

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!

Filed Under: Blog, Eating Well, Know Your Farmer, Organic farming, Produce Notes, Stores_both, Sustainability

Voting Open for EBX Best of The Bay

April 13, 2023 by The Natural Grocery Company

It’s that time of year! Time to vote for the Best of the Bay in the East Bay Express Reader’s Poll.
 
We are very proud that readers have chosen The El Cerrito Natural Grocery Store as the Best Natural Foods Store in the East Bay for 2021 and 2022. Let us know how we’re doing with your vote for 2023. The category is Everyday – Best Natural Foods Store.
 
https://vote.eastbayexpress.com/

Filed Under: Blog, El Cerrito Store, Health foods, Non-GMO, Organic foods, Sustainability

Women’s History Month: Black Mountain Beauty

March 9, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

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!

Filed Under: Blog, Business Practices, Local Producers, Stores_both, Sustainability, Zero Waste

Thank You St. John’s Family Farms!

February 12, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

St. John’s Family Farms are one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors. In every raffle tote you will find a coupon for a dozen of their eggs, redeemable in our stores.

Their hens are carefree and pasture-raised. They explore, play games of chicken, and never have to cross the road. Best of all, they lay darn delicious eggs.

  • Small flocks, free to roam, roost, and graze on green pasture
  • Custom-blended, Non-GMO feed feed all sourced from the USA
  • Eggs are hand collected, packed, and delivered fresh

Healthy food comes from a healthy environment. This all boils (in St. John’s case steams) down to location, trust, and attitude. Nestled among walnut orchards and open pastureland in Corning California, St. John Family Farms is organically growing and prospering.
 
They have taken land that was once dry & desolate and farmed it to be lush & green. It’s a perfect home for their Outdoor Hens. As a Non-GMO Project Verified farm, you can trust the transparency and traceability of their food sources. Their healthy farm thrives on human kindness. From the farm’s passionate owners to its dedicated employees and team of livestock guardian dogs, we are committed to keeping our environment safe for all.
Thank You St. John’s Family Farms!

Filed Under: Blog, Food Sheds, Know Your Farmer, Non-GMO, Pasture Raised, Stores_both, Sustainability

Thank You Tofu Shop Specialty Foods, Inc.!

February 9, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

Tofu Shop Specialty Foods, Inc. is one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors. In every raffle tote this month you will find a coupon for one of their products, redeemable in our stores.
 
Tofu Shop is a small manufacturer and wholesaler of organic, artisan tofu products. Located in beautiful Humboldt County on the remote north coast of California, they bring over 30 years of culinary experience in small batch, open kettle tofu-making, crafted in the classic tradition of the great tofu shops of Japan and China.
 
As a food producer in a rural area, they’re committed to the health and well-being of both customers and community. They’re active in the development of local food systems, are leaders in recycling and waste reduction, and support a wide variety of non-profits working to make our community vibrant and sustainable.
 
Thank You Tofu Shop!

Filed Under: Blog, Organic foods, Stores_both, Sustainability

Organic Fair Trade Cherry Tomatoes from Del Cabo

October 13, 2021 by The Natural Grocery Company

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.

Filed Under: Blog, Food politics, Food Sheds, Produce Notes, Stores_both, Sustainability

Pachamama Coffee of the Month: Mexico

September 16, 2021 by The Natural Grocery Company

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.

Filed Under: Blog, Bulk Foods, Business Practices, El Cerrito Store, Food Sheds, Know Your Farmer, Organic farming, Organic foods, Sustainability

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EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
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EL CERRITO ANNEX
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
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1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
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