Can you Afford Organic Food?

It may seem odd to knock Whole Foods with a new location being built in Downtown Detroit, but if you’ve ever been to a higher end grocery store that carries organic foods, you know how expensive it can be to purchase organic foods. But why, are organic fresh foods only for the rich? Greg Willerer of Brother Nature Produce believes organic foods should be an option for everybody.

Greg and his wife Olivia make up the brains of one of Detroit’s best Urban Farms. I had the pleasure of meeting both and with Greg’s “just do it” attitude and Olivia’s Horticulture degree from MSU (Go Green), they’ve created a thriving farm that specializes mostly in salad greens. Not the boring Iceberg and Romaine salad greens either. Brother Nature Produce is reinventing the salad while inspiring local Michigan restaurants to move towards more seasonal menus based on the seasonal produce being grown right in the city. The people of Brother Nature Produce do all this while staying true to their mission to “grow organic food without the organic price”, thus keeping “organic” accessible to everyone.

Interesting Insights Into Brother Nature Produce

1. I got there at around 6:30pm and worked until 8…everyone else had been working since 7AM and didn’t stop until around 9PM (That’s some dedication)
2. Among the salad greens I have never heard of such as Purple Bok Choy and Bordeaux Spinach; Sorrel has the most surprisingly lemony flavor that is becoming my favorite salad green.
3. Greg makes his own salad dressing which is AMAZINGLY delicious
4. It took 5-6 years for the farm to build by hand. Greg’s hands to be exact as he made several trips to the farm with bags of soil to build up the soil line. “Just do it!”
5. Detroit Dirt is part of Greg’s vision which will “teach other people to fish” by making their wonderfully organic and effective soil mix available for purchase.

Want to learn more? Contact Greg at gweg27@gmail.com or pay him a visit Saturday mornings at the Eastern Market. Pick up some reinvented salad greens while you're at it!