Homegrown Virginia is a local food distribution company.  We operate from Charlottesville and provide food exclusively from the Commonwealth of Virginia.  We focus on non-perishable (i.e. canned, frozen or dried) items found on a typical grocery list.  You can combine our goods with fresh local fruits and veggies, meats and dairy products to round out your complete grocery list.  We represent breakfast, lunch and dinner items along with snacks and drinks.

Our motivation:

The local food movement is growing.  Virginians are lucky to have fresh local produce, great meat and eggs, even wine.  Still, we looked around our kitchen and found Virginia peanuts, but no Virginia peanut butter.  We struggled to find flour from a local mill using local wheat.  We searched our spice cabinet and did not find a single local herb.  All these foods are grown in Virginia, and we just need to find a way to get them into our kitchens.  But that’s a complicated process.  To create a local and year-round food economy, a truly sustainable foodshed, we need to stitch together local farms, local mills, local canneries, and local eaters.

Homegrown Virginia is doing just that.

What’s more, Virginia farmers and producers need better access to markets.  We want to help them find those markets.  Grocery stores are hunting for a wider array of local goods, and an easier way to find them.  We want to simplify that process.  More and more citizens desire an entirely local menu.  We at Homegrown Virginia want to see the day when families and restaurants can fill the entire kitchen with nothing but Virginia foods.

Our guidelines:

We are committed to Virginia’s farmers and small producers.  Our producers will source local ingredients whenever possible.  Basically, if an ingredient used in these foods can be grown in Virginia, a Virginia grower should be found.  Also, all products must be manufactured in Virginia.

Remember: this is a different type of company.  At Homegrown Virginia, we are going to try to be purists.  We understand that processing and packaging local food has to be timed around harvest.  After the season, there will be no more apples or corn or broccoli until the following harvest.  What this means to us is that when local ingredients are gone for the season, we will not continue to buy products with substituted ingredients imported from elsewhere.  So, if a pasta sauce uses local tomatoes when they are in season, we will carry it.  Sometimes, however, a company uses local tomatoes in season but non-local tomatoes the rest of the year.  Homegrown Virginia will only sell this company’s sauce when it is made with local produce.  Crazy maybe, but we want to create an entirely Virginia foodshed.

An aside:
The Virginia Department of Agriculture has created the “Virginia’s Finest” food label to help market locally produced foods.  We are huge supporters of this program and they have enabled us to reach many suppliers.  Keep in mind, however, that Virginia’s Finest only insists that products be prepared in the state of the Virginia.  There is no requirement that the ingredients of the prepared foods be local, and many are not.

How the company works:

Homegrown Virginia is a distribution company, buying from local producers and selling to retail outlets.  We can also act as a broker in certain transactions, facilitating direct producer to retailer sales.

We do not make any items ourselves.  Products retain the label and packaging of the producer.  Homegrown Virginia simply adds a sticker with our logo.  This acts as our “seal of approval” that the product meets our ideals (local ingredients, locally produced).

Homegrown Virginia also provides help sourcing local ingredients.  We can help producers find the ingredients needed to make their recipes as local as possible.  This service is free.

During the first year of business, we are starting small, representing just a few basics.  We will distribute near Charlottesville and have pick-up available at our warehouse.  The eventual goal is to expand our line to every possible staple and to expand the market throughout Virginia.

The next step:

To continue moving forward, Homegrown Virginia needs your help.

We are looking for:
Farmers with available produce
Producers who already create food items using local ingredients
Businesses and individuals able to process local foods
Retail opportunities to sell these products
Volunteers eager to help find and create new items

We are especially interested in finding dried herb suppliers and food processors who are able to work with fresh tomatoes.

Please forward this information along to anyone you think may be interested.  We look forward to hearing your questions, thoughts and comments.  If you would like to be on our e-mail list so we can notify you of company updates, tell us that, too!  (We will use this email address for no other reason).

Contact Us:

(434) 960-8958

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it