Our region is blessed with family farms and we want to do our part to keep it that way. Most of our ingredients are all grown within 50 miles of our kitchen with 300 miles being the farthest our ingredients have traveled. We form close partnerships with our local farmers to ensure the highest quality of ingredients make it into our baby foods so we can provide the best for you and your baby. We can do what we do because they do what they do so well.
Besides the herbs I harvested from my own garden, I chose to work these growers either because of quantity, variety, or location. Whatever the reason, they must meet our criteria of safety and care.
A co-op of 28 Mennonite families in the heart of Morgan County, Missouri, provided a variety of freshly-harvested produce for Oh Baby Foods and brought peace of mind. Although CMPA pushed the boundaries of what we consider to be our region, I felt confident that my purchases were as clean and fresh as possible. I consulted with the auction manager before each trip on which lots he recommended I bid on; he knew
my safety concerns. Here’s a picture of Lucy
and I during our first trip there. Much of the produce was brought to market by horse and buggy. We took a field trip to one of the farms.
Johnny, my husband, was a huge help when it
came to bidding.
Chris Ranalli, daughter Heather, and sister Agatha, have been a pleasure to work with. In addition to their Tontitown produce shop and bakery, Chris manages the family’s 80 acre grape and vegetable farm that has been in their family since 1907. The Ranalli family was Farm Family of the Year for Washington County in 2006, a great honor. They say, “We, at Ranalli Farms are excited to partner with Oh Baby Foods in providing top quality, locally grown produce to feed our future generations!” We love this family. If you’re in Tontitown, stop in for homemade breads, pastas, and other Arkansas’ made food products. You can learn more at www.ranallifarms.com.
Marc and Kilia grow their veggies and flowers along the banks of the West Fork of the White River. Their son and daughter help out when they can. Marc and Kilia can also be found at the Fayetteville Farmers' Market.
The Carpenter Family grows veggies in Grady, AR, just five miles down the road from my family’s farm. It is something really special to be able to partner with this family. I remember visiting Mr. Abraham Carpenter Sr. with my grandparents as a kiddo, buying sweet potatoes and turnip greens. We spent all weekend cooking and putting up turnip greens. The Carpenters’ farm is inspected by the USDA.
The Fulbright Family has a beautiful farm outside of Hot Springs, AR. They have numerous greenhouses where they grow herbs year-round. Most of our mint and all our rosemary came from the Fulbright’s.
Laura is our urban grower, and a good friend of mine. She grew all of our parsley, smack-dab in the middle of
Fayetteville. She’s been growing for a while in her back yard and has since expanded to other pocket gardens around town. Green space at its most useful: edible!
This place has the blueberries. All of our berries came from a 45-acre patch, only 7 miles from my home. It’s pretty neat to be working with our neighbors.
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Central Missouri Produce Auction
Carpenter Family
