The Oak Center General Store
Route 1, Box 52BB * Lake City, MN 55041 * 507.753.2080
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PLEASE NOTE: Our new mailing address is: 67011 HWY 63 Lake City, MN 55041 E-mail is folkforum@riverland.org
THE EARTHEN PATH ORGANIC FARM The Oak Center General Store is the home-base of Earthen Path Organic Farm, a 14-acre fruit, herb and vegetable farm which provides the produce for our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that allows the public to become CSA members by buying a share of our farm's output - an incredible array of vegetables, and an option of free-range eggs. Download our brochure and join! CSA brochure 2009 Then, as the harvest comes in, we allow share holders to pick up their weekly share at the Oak Center General Store or on Saturday mornings at the Rochester Downtown Farmer's Market.
OUR MISSION Earthen Path Organic Farm will always be dedicated to taking care of it’s members’ needs by combining industriousness and creative adaptability with 25 years of experience in innovative and earth friendly growing methods. Connect with us to the great drama that goes beyond the mere eating of food for nutrients, for as the farm goes through it’s seasonal dance with the forces of nature, weathering the storms and adverse times, flourishing in the interludes, the promises of seed planted and tended end up on your table. You can follow the drama from Spring planting and the early greens and herbs, to late Fall freeze-up. Participate in an evolutionary structure that has arisen out of the need to recreate connection to the land, to it’s laborers, and to the communities on it, that are threatened by the industrial model. Our earth conscience has led us to go beyond merely organic in its present limited definition, to raising questions about technology, energy and resource use and how it all relates to our community and local economy. For this reason, you will see us using draft horses in the field, avoiding large fossil fuel dependant machinery, doing extensive cover cropping, using wind and solar technology, and working for the benefit of our rural communities. All of this you purchase in the price of some very tasty, nutritious fruit, veggies, eggs and poultry. OUR COMMUNITY: The Full Circle Organic Growers Co-operative The Full Circle Organic Growers Co-operative was organized in 1985. “Back to the land” organic fruit and vegetable growers, and the “never left the land” growers who banded together to help each other. Full Circle Organic Growers Co-operative is best known for the extraordinary quality of fresh ecologically produced fruits and vegetables our farm members grow. Over 15 years of experience in growing, packing and delivering produce has given us a solid reputation among retail institutions and restaurants for not only No. 1 quality and consistency, but also for extended shelf life and incredible diversity in more than 100 different fruits, berries, fresh vegetables and herbs that we grow. We’re committed to a long-term relationship with the farmers and community who share in the rewards of the harvest. We are continuously incorporating the best production, harvest and handling methods and strive to provide consumers with the very best foods for nourishment of the self and for the generations to come. OUR PROMISE: "Beyond Organic" What does it mean to go beyond organic? Organic tells you that your food is grown without synthetic ingredients in production or processing. Full Circle Organic Growers Co-operative strives to follow a more complete vision including appropriate technology and renewable energy as part versus sustainable farming methods, such as human, horse, solar and wind power, rather than industrial practices to grow your food. It means thinking in working ecologically appropriate scales so that there is soil is enhanced rather than depleted each season, and healthy social structures and rural community are preserved. It means we know and care for each other as well as our product. In essence, " beyond organic" means committent to quality of life because we realize that the human race is simply one part of a full circle. |