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Never fear! Organic food is much easier to find than it used to be—it's not just in health food stores anymore. Here's how to get organic food no matter where you live:
Ask the manager at your neighborhood supermarket to stock organic frozen foods, canned soups, and packaged goods. Your grocer can offer these nonperishables as a low-risk way to gauge demand for organic products.
If you can't get organic food at the grocery store, have it come to you. Organize a local buying club. These clubs buy bulk food from natural and organic foods distributors. A number of distributors operate around the country (Ozark Coop Warehouse, 800-967-2667, delivers in Georgia). The Web site www.coopdirectory.org is a great resource for researching buying clubs. It includes a directory of co-op stores (listed by state), distributors, and information on starting a buying club.
Buying directly from farmers gets you more than just fresh organic food—it supports family (rather than industrial) farming and preserves open spaces. These organizations offer lists of farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, and other organic food resources, searchable by zip code and state: Food Routes (www.foodroutes. org), the USDA (www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets), and the Robyn Van En Center (www.csacenter.org).
The Brunswick Farmers Market is held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays all year. Chat it up with the growers there (and at markets in Savannah and Jacksonville, Florida) and find out who are the organic growers near you. You can also check out www.georgiaorganics.org for more info on organic farmers in your region.
For an item you're not finding at any of these other sources, check out Diamond Organics (www.diamond organics.com), which delivers organic foods directly to your door.
Last but not least, plant a garden with your favorite vegetables and rest assured that the produce harvested from it is organic and very local.
