The Importance of Eating Local

As we all know, the further we are from the origins of the food we eat, the more chance for contamination of one form or another. The recent e. coli spinach scare reminds us all how dependent we have become on certain areas of the country to supply our demands to eat everything we want, whenever we want, instead of eating locally and seasonally.

Local favorite Ellwood Thompson did not waste time in both "educating its customers" and also providing alternatives to bag spinach.


"Greetings Ellwood Thompson’s Customers,

We know you are concerned about the recent E. coli outbreaks and we want to give you the following update from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) dated September 17, 2006. We would like to mention that we began to carry the pre-packaged produce items, like spinach, to meet increasing customer demand for them.

As an independent, local business, we are strong supporters of locally-made or locally-grown products so naturally it is our preference to offer you more local items and encourage you to buy local when it is available.

As a consumer it is your responsibility to make informed decisions about your purchases, and we want to provide you with an alternative to the affected products mentioned in the FDA's spinach recall. For an alternative to those products, you may consider the vine-grown Malabar or Indian spinach from our local farm liaison, OG Roots Produce in Farmville. Only 63 miles from Richmond, OG Roots uses vegan farming operations and sustainable methods. We will receive a delivery from OG Roots Tuesday, September 19th. OG Roots is an independent, Virginia farm and is not a part of the corporate entity, Natural Selection Foods, LLC, whose products are in question....."