Angelus Oaks

Recenlty I discovered The Inland Empire Organic Produce Co-op which consists of a group of people from the community in and around Redlands, California.

The purpose of the group is to pool money so they may buy organic produce in bulk, at wholesale prices. They do not charge a markup or make a profit. Participants contribute $21 each ($20 for produce, plus $1 to help with expenses like gas, supplies, trailer rental, and meetup fees). They collect the money and uses it to buy cases of certified organic produce from wholesalers and local organic farmers. Then divide the produce equally between participants.

In addition to receiving superior quality organic produce at wholesale prices, their goal is to support the organic farming industry, in particular; local, organic farmers. They strive to increase awareness of the benefits of consuming organic versus conventionally grown. They encourage families to eat lots of healthy fruits and veggies. Plus work together for the love of health, community, environment, and real food.

They meet every Saturday at Brookside Park in Redlands, and
gather under the awning, behind the brick wall, on the right side of the building.

I'm posting this information to find out if there are any fellow Angelus Oaks residents who might be interested in this. As the meet up is every Saturday we as a community could pool together and send a representative to pick up the produce and distribute it among those who contribute.

We could alternate who drives down the hill so nobody would be stuck with picking up the produce every Saturday. If this is something that you might be interested in please respond...

Patti here from Stetson Creek Ranch. Don't forget your local farm! Looks like we will have a great crop of apples this year, and as always, we are organic. Right now it is just apples, but over time, we will be adding additional fruits and veggies, eggs organic chicken and eventually free range turkey, guinea fowl, etc. We will open when the early apples are ripe, either late August or September. We will stay open as long as we have good apples. We have different varieties that ripen throughout the season.

We will offer a discount for locals. Last year we opened for U-Pick for the first time, and were only open for 2 weeks before the fire that closed Forest Service roads. That essentially ended our season.

This is U-pick, and a small amount that we pick. As a matter of conscience, we don't hire illegals. That puts us at an economic disadvantage in competing with other apple growers.

Some may be intimidated by our road. It was just graded and is very good for a dirt road. Thank you again Lenore and the USFS!

The new ranch email is stetsoncreekranch@yahoo.com. Our number is (909) 389-9410. When we are ready to open this year we will buy an advertisement on this site and post here. I'll be setting up a website before then too.

Thanks!

Patti

P.S.

Also, We got a suggestion last year that we offer garden plots for interested locals (for a fee) We would have to determine a good, accessable site, fence it, run water there, etc. We do have good sun and great soil. We have a rototiller and can have the soil tilled for you. We can provide composted manure and till it into the soil for fertilizer. This would be for next year, begininning in spring after snowmelt. Please let me know if you are interested in having your own garden plot.

Awesome!!!!!

Please send an update on this message board once you open, I would love to come and visit! Also interested in the garden plots that you may have available..

Currently I have a garden plot with Redlands:

http://www.ci.redlands.ca.us/recreation/community_gardens...

$28.00 for a 31’x 32' plot which includes water for the whole year. Great for year round gardening!!!

Lets keep this dialogue going it's important to know all of our resources.

"Organic" is an ambiguous, cliched buzzword used to lure in the aging hippie generation. Food is food.

Not as much as it used to be:

Organic food
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Organic vegetables at a farmers' market in Argentina.Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.[1] Livestock are reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.

Organic food production is legally regulated. Currently, the United States, the European Union, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain organic certification in order to market food as organic.

Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms[2] — which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food has had growth rates of around 20% a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide. Future growth is expected to range from 10-50% annually depending on the country.

Thanks Roncpp!!

I realize this is a public forum which is open for everyone to participate, and provide their own personnel opinions regarding the subjects that are posted, but if you are not interested in this then there is really no need to comment. This board has been filled with negative remarks about various subjects, and I would like to focus on providing positive resources for people in our community rather then a venue to continue to slander others.

I was unaware of the Stetson Creek Ranch, nor the possibility of them providing garden plots for those in our community who are interested in growing their own produce. This is a great resource for those who are interested in community gardening.

With grocery prices continuing to rise because of the price of fuel I believe the Co-Op is another great resource for those who include fresh produce in their daily diet and are interested in uniting as a community to help each other out.

Again I would like this subject to be used as a resource for our fellow neighbors, please keep the positive dialogue going, and information flowing!!

Nobody was aware about garden plots. I just mentioned it, and it won't be until next year.

Definately interested in the bulk organic produce community pick up. My e-mail is anneao@verizon.net. Let's get this rolling.

Also, Stetson Creek Ranch, thank you for being open and available. Will head your way for apples and check on plots too. Thank you.

We are also interested. Email me at charlesmarrs@aol.com. Not to sound like a cheap ass, but about how much do you get for $21?

Some friends of mine went a couple of Saturdays ago and they thought it was pretty cool. For $21.00 they got baskets filled with berries, peaches, carrots, squash, some leafy greens, and some rhubarb. Definitely worth the money! When I went to visit their web page at: organic.meetup.com/100/
To get more info it stated that the IEOPBC is temporarily out-of-order. All meetups have been canceled. As soon as I hear that it has started up again I will let those interested know and will post the information on this site. Good to hear that there are a few in our community that are interested in this though. Another thought is buying in bulk from the Redlands Market Night. I work for the city and my office is just a mile from state street.

Now if someone delivers it to the town it will be worth it for the gas savings!

Robert makes a good point. I don't know about health regulations or that sort of thing, but selling the produce from a local retail establishment (no, not THAT one) would make a lot of sense to me as a potential customer. I could care less about the "organic" part, but the convenience factor would be great...

I went to Loma Linda's Farmer's Market on Sunday (9am-2pm), and met a lovely lady that represents the Inland Empire Community Supported Agriculture. They have GREAT stuff, and are based near Temecula. They boast two farms, one, Sage Mountain Farms is in Aguanga and they are Certified Organic. The second is the De Luz Farms and Nursery. They grow lots of different fruits, but also grow organic, starter transplants aquaponically They are doing a "mass buy" for some folks in Arrowhead, and would be willing to set something up for AO. Their website is www.inlandempirecsa.com and their phone is 951-693-0272 for more info.

That is awesome SRLR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

O have been out of it for the past week since my wife gave birth to our new baby boy last week!!!(Add one more to the population sign in town!) So I guess the first step is to find out more info on this and how much it would cost and how we would pick it up...

OakTrekker, congratulations. You picked a great place to raise kids, having grown up in the general region myself.

howdy, first entry into the rim site.

my wife and i (and new baby **take note oak trekker) have been buying CSA and local organic for a while now. Some of our experiences:

a). tierra miguel farms ... these are the farms in temecula that deliver to a home in redlands each week for pickup. We can strongly recommend this. http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/ Great mix of veggies and fruits. Some interesting stuff. $370 for every two weeks... big box for about 3 months. We know the growers... visited the farm... great people/spot.

b). inland orange conservancy. http://www.inlandorange.org/
These guys drop off two bags of oranges to various drop sites (closest is casa maya) every week. $60 for about 3 months. Supports groves from converting to KB home.

c). Best spot: GSM organic produce on Citrus just E of Wabash. http://gsmproduce.com/default.aspx
It just doesn't get any more local than this.
This is likely the greatest find in the area. place is run by three local farmers (one who is biol. control expert) ... can literally see the groves and the gardens are a couple of blocks away. Lots of stuff... best strawberries in town (heirloom... like strawberries used to be before they were selected for shelflife.) Farmers are often at the side of the road stand. Prices are GREAT... often MUCH cheaper than grocery stores... and if things are going just a wee bit bad, they usually just give it away or for a dime or something. Also, local honeys of various sorts... bees are 50 yards away.

Count us in on all group efforts to save trips down the hill. Oak Trekker... note that we both have brand new kids!! Likely we should hook up. email: psherman888@msn.com

Cheaper than grocery stores? I do most of my grocery shopping at the Super Wal-Mart, so I'll let you know how the prices compare at GSM.

I understand your sign problem was one that falls close to the tree! Hope it will be under controls this week.

Nice screen name “PMS”!

Every time I have passed GSM organic produce store on Citrus they have been closed. I have been wanting to try some of their honey for quite sometime now.

The Inland Empire Organic Produce Buying Club is up and going again, check out their web site: http://organic.meetup.com/100/

The group gathers at Farm Artisan Foods restaurant, located on State Street in down town Redlands: http://www.farmartisanfoods.com/

If you have not eaten here please pay them a visit as I believe it is one of the finest restaurants in the area!!

The group meets on Saturday mornings and from what I understand you get a large portion of fruits and vegetables for the $21.00 fee. The produce is picked up in the L.A. area and brought back to Redlands. My only concern is the pick up is only on Saturdays and as you all know once we get home up the hill it’s hard to want to go down on the weekends for a special trip. I would much rather pick something up on a weekday after work to prevent another trip down the hill.

I work in Redlands during the week and if we could set something up through GSM to buy in bulk for those residents in AO who are interested in buying local produce at a discounted rate it would be great!!!!

PMS I will shoot you an email and maybe we can set something up with GSM and present the idea to the community..

Good to hear there is another little one in town, when I was at the community pancake breakfast I was reminded about how many little ones are in our community. Such a cool place to raise a child!!!