Organic Food Booming in Pacific Northwest

USA: SEATTLE DEMAND INCREASING FOR ORGANIC FOOD
April 2, Seattle Post

From a warehouse in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, Ronny Bell, owner of
Pioneer Organics, and his crew deliver organic produce to the doorsteps of
almost 1,000 customers in the Puget Sound area. Bell, who founded Pioneer
Organics in 1997, has found a way to blend his passion for healthy living
with a profitable business.

Besides delivering fresh organic produce to homes, the company recycles and
reuses its cardboard delivery boxes, has a tree-free paper week each month,
donates surplus food and has recently added a natural-gas van to its truck
fleet.

"The one thing everybody does is shop," Bell says. "Who I support and what I
support can really make a difference. The way to change things is to spend
your money in the right place. That is my firm, firm belief. Support
companies that do good by the environment."

Four years ago Bell, a transplanted New York native, was delivering organic
produce to some of Seattle's best-known restaurants when, as he says, he had
a vision: He could deliver produce to customers at home who order over the
Internet or by telephone. Nationwide, at least a half-dozen other companies
deliver organic produce to homes, including Urban Organics in Bell's home
state of New York. Their success is a good indicator of growing consumer
interest in organic produce and natural foods.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, support for organic foods
is strongest among affluent, educated, health-conscious consumers. Home
delivery services appeal to those looking for convenience and variety. The
Hartman Group, a market research organization, reported last year that about
a third of the U.S. population buys organically grown products.
Trudy Bialic, a spokeswoman for the 30-year-old Puget Consumer Co-Op, better
known at PCC Natural Foods in Seattle, said "My guess it that [the market
growth] is because of some of the problems we are seeing in the food system,
such as mad cow disease, E. coli, and genetically engineered foods. I think
consumers have reason to be concerned."

Skagit Valley farmer Ray de Vries has no doubt that demand for organic
produce is increasing. De Vries, who owns Ralph's Greenhouse, has watched
his sales and market reach grow dramatically in recent years. His products,
including leeks, carrots, zucchini and kale, are all organically grown.
"I like farming organically; it works well. There are a whole raft of
problems you don't have to worry about," de Vries said. Because he doesn't
use chemical pesticides or fertilizers, de Vries isn't required to send his
employees to special training programs. He doesn't worry about them becoming
contaminated by walking into a freshly sprayed field. De Vries sells only
through wholesalers, not directly off his farm.

"People like to come and visit the farm and talk to the farmer," de Vries
said. "The problem is that I have so many things to do, I can't pay the
bills if I do it that way."

Except for education, or to satisfy curiosity, there is little reason for
residents to travel to a farm to hunt for organic produce, which is
available through many mainstream grocery stores, PCC Natural Foods and Pike
Place Market.

For those who are too busy to pore over piles of fruit and vegetable, Pike
Place Market has made it easy for downtown workers to receive copious
baskets of Northwest grown fruits and vegetables for 20 weeks beginning in
the spring. The Market Basket program delivers about 370 bags of produce
grown by small farmers to a small number of downtown businesses each week.
Market Basket uses only locally grown produce. Customers won't find a bunch
of bananas or a pineapple in the bag.
But bananas are definitely a part of the program for Pioneer Organics, which
mixes California or Hawaiian organic produce with the local offerings to
offer customers a richer selection.

"People are going to eat bananas, that's the way of the world," Bell said.
"We help them eat bananas that have been produced in a healthy, organically
grown way." In the box this week, Pioneer Organics subscribers will find
broccoli, carrots, celery, chard, red-leaf lettuce, onions, potatoes,
zucchini, asparagus, a Daikon radish, apples, bananas, grapefruit,
tangerines and maybe a mango. A small box of produce costs $30 delivered
and weighs between 12 and 15 pounds.

Can't stand zucchini? Ask to have them permanently removed from your box and
replaced with something else. Don't know what to do with a Daikon radish?
Recipes are included in delivery boxes. Won't be home? The box can be left
in a cool spot or back porch. Deliveries are made to different
neighborhoods on different days. Green Lake customers get their vegetable
boxes on Tuesday, West Seattle on Wednesday, Bellevue on Thursday.

"Sometimes there are children waiting for us. They say, 'It's the vegetable
man. It's the vegetable man.' People are excited to see us," said Pioneer
Organic driver George Caldwell.