Sourcing Guidelines

The Bushwick Food Coop looks to source Organic and Local Produce and Bulk Goods for our store and our members. Our goal is to bring affordable and sustainability produced items to Bushwick and surrounding areas.

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• First and foremost, we have an unofficial “Awesome” policy. Our space is very limited, and we want to bring the very best products at affordable prices. We make sure that the products we carry meet our “Awesome” standard, otherwise we do not carry them.
• Most Produce is Organic and Local. If those are not available, we prefer Local over Organic. In the case of non local produce, it will be  always Organic, and Fair Trade when possible. We strive to mark all Conventional, IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and Organic produce in the store, but for any questions, please ask the manager.

• Our Bulk Spices and Bulk Tea come from Frontier Co-op, and are all Organic, and Fair Trade when possible.

• Our Bulk Goods follow the same guidelines, but we want to provide affordable options, sometimes there are bulk items that are none of the above.  At minimum, we request no chemicals (such as our non-sulfured raisins and Apricots), but there are some items that may not meet these guidelines, that we carry due to member demand (Dried Figs are a notable items.)

• All of our Frozen beef is grass fed and grass finished, and one supplier also dry ages their beef 14 days. Pork is pasture raised, with Non GMO feed.
  Poultry and eggs are pastured, with some certified organic options.
  Beef, Lamb, and Pork is USDA processed, and Poultry is either New York State processed or USDA processed.
  *Please note: some animal products may have been fed with GMO grains, specifically our sausages. We strive to label these exceptions.

• Dairy is Pasture Based and Grass Fed when possible. Cheese is prepackaged, due to limitations in processing, and we strive to carry local, grass fed , and raw (aged 60 days or more) cheeses in several varieties.
• Our beauty and soap products are natural. (We are currently working on defining a less vague standard).
• Our Chocolate is Fair Trade and Organic when possible.
• Our Packaged Goods are sourced primarily based on member demand, and are carefully curated based on our sourcing standards. We strive to provide a full range of packaged items, including pastas, canned beans and tomatoes, specialty items, and other products bought by members on a regular basis. Each product goes through a careful process in which we examine the ingredients (No GMOs, no extraneous ingredients), the owner of the particular brand (we source from small brands or cooperatives whenever possible), the demand in the store (what members have requested), before making a decision about which packaged goods to carry.

No GMOs: We currently only have one item in the store that contains GMO ingredients, which is our Shelf Stabel Pepperoni. Otherwise, we do not source any products with genetically modified organisms (GMO) as ingredients, though some animal products may have been fed GMO grains. We verify with the manufacturer any ingredients that may be suspect (all corn, soy, canola, any oils, and anything else that may be suspect.)  We do not require Non-GMO certification and testing due to the cost to small manufacturers, so none of our products are “GMO-Free.”

We are always happy to answer questions about products, sourcing guidelines, and new product requests.