We should know….it’s our staff Pick of the Week! Castle Rock Organic Farms makes stunning, authentic, raw cheddar cheese and we carry it in six flavors here at Valley Natural Foods! Stop by anytime and ask our deli staff all about it.

These raw cheddars are available in Sharp, Mild, Garam Masala, Spinach Leek Garlic, Jalapeno Cranberry and Venetian flavors.

When you buy products made by Castle Rock Organic Farms, you help support sustainable agriculture, locally produced organic dairy products and a family farm. Plus, it’s delicious!

Join Castle Rock on their Facebook Page!

It’s organic, it’s locally produced, it’s Seven Sundays Artisan Muesli! With four unique and delicious varieties to choose from, healthy-breakfast lovers are in for a real treat. This Minnesota company sources their whole grains from a MN family farm and mill as well as unpasteurized honey from a MN processor—you can’t get any more local than that! The dried fruits contain no sulfites, and the nuts and seeds are only lightly toasted to maximize flavor yet maintain their nutrition.

Valley Natural Foods carries all four flavors—Ginger Pear Macadamia, Vanilla Cherry Pecan, Original New Zealand and Bircher Unsweetened. Welcome to our store, Seven Sundays!

What exactly is Muesli? Click here to learn all about it!

There’s no such thing as having too many varieties of chocolate at the co-op, so why not add another chocolate vendor to the mix! We now carry locally-owned and produced, hand-crafted chocolate from B.T. McElrath Chocolatier. Based out of Minneapolis, this company’s mission is to create a WOW! experience each time you taste their chocolate.

Some of us here at Valley Natural Foods really did exclaim “WOW!” after tasting the salty dog bites–truly good dark chocolate containing butter toffee bits and flecked with a sprinkling of sea salt–no wonder they’ve been placed at our registers where they can be purchased impulsively. We currently also carry two of B.T. McElrath Chocolatier’s bars, located on the same shelf that holds all those other wonderful chocolate bars, right across from customer service.

Time to eat more chocolate!

One of the cool things about working with local vendors is sometimes we see them out and about! One of our vendors, Margarete from HoneyGlow Candles, recently attended a Dakota Valley Symphony concert and noticed Valley Natural Foods was listed as a supporter in the concert program. Imagine our delight when she gave us her concert program, autographed to us by the symphony conductor — thank you Margarete!

Margarete is the creator and owner of HoneyGlow 100% beeswax candles, made right here in Minnesota with beeswax from nectar and pollen found in nature’s own fields and forests! These candles are virtually dripless, and burn clean and bright with no smoke, and they contain a natural honey scent. Look for them in our general merchandise area, along with the other unique gift items we carry here at Valley Natural Foods.

A good cup of coffee, whether enjoyed up north in a north woods cabin or right here in a suburban kitchen can be doubly appreciated when you know the beans are freshly-roasted close to home.  

There’s a new blend of locally-produced coffee beans on our shelves as a result of “roasted votes” cast by our own customers! Back in February, Alakef Coffee Roasters, located up north in Duluth, was here to offer tastings of various special blends to our customers and then collected several votes. Click here to view the results. 

Roasted in small batches using organic, 100% Fair Trade beans, this unique blend of 80% Mexican, 10% Guatemalan, and 10% Peru French Roast beans is available exclusively at Valley Natural Foods. Look for our Down in the Valley blend, a recent addition to our bulk coffee bins. We also offer our unique Down in the Valley blend in attractive blue packaging - makes a perfect gift for that special someone who loves locally-produced products!