Nourish Organic Market: Your Third Best Food Source

There is much talk these days about sustainability: sustainable business practices, sustainable farming and the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle. Sheri Rop wants to see if this idealistic concept can be put into actual practice. Nourish Organic Market is her experiment to see just how sustainable sustainability is.

Nourish’s official Grand Opening took place Saturday, Oct. 8. Evolving from Rop’s web-based business, ArtisanFoodExpress.com, Nourish Organic Market focuses on educating consumers about the value of high-quality and organic food options. Rop feels the time is right to open a storefront business where customers can stop in at their convenience to pick up locally grown produce and organic goods. Rop, a former teacher, places an emphasis on education and envisions using the shop to host cooking demonstrations, gardening lessons and sustainable agriculture lectures.

“All of our prepackaged goods are certified organic. Organic is not magic, but it is the best standard we can use for our packaged items," she says. "Our produce is all locally grown using sustainable practices. All of our animal products come from animals that are pastured and from farms where we can see the animals -- happy animals produce the best food. We want our customers to be able to know where their food comes from and how it is produced.”

Rop values the importance of establishing relationships between her clientele and the farmers who produce their food. “If you don’t care where your food comes from, how it is grown, what chemicals are used or how far it has been shipped, then there is no need to shop at Nourish; we want to be useful to people in their search of good food that is produced properly, and we want to connect customers with who is producing it.”

Rop wants people to think of Nourish as their “third best source of food.” She explains, “The best source of food is food you grow yourself. The next best source is food produced by a farmer you know and trust. We are the third best source, providing customers with food produced by local farmers.” In keeping with the theme of education and information, Rop encourages people to grow their own produce and, if possible, to tend their own animals -- Rop recommends keeping chickens to start. She envisions Nourish as an educational resource center as more than as simply an organic market. At the center of Nourish Organic Market’s philosophy is the sense of community and forming enduring relationships.

Currently, Rop gets most of her produce from Luke Malski and his operation Reformation Growers. Malski, like many sustainable farmers, is not officially “certified organic,” but he uses sustainable farming techniques endorsed by Rop. Nourish recently hired Emily Martin as a produce buyer to expand the number of producers represented at Nourish. Two main criteria determine whom Nourish will work with: “Quality is the bottom line, but we also try to buy as locally as possible. There are a very limited number of farms that can give us the quality we need at a price I can work with.”

Higher quality food does come at a higher price, but Rop is quick to point out that food that is “properly produced” is worth the extra cost. Some of the price difference can be attributed to larger farms being subsidized in ways smaller farms are not. “Just because some produce at the supermarket says ‘Grown in Michigan,’ [it] doesn’t tell consumers which farm it is grown at or how it is produced, " Rop says. "You could still be buying produce that is drenched in pesticides.” Rop believes consumers will be willing to pay a small premium for the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where and how their food is produced.

Rop also aims to serve the needs of a variety of consumers. Nourish caters to people with specialized food needs such as a gluten allergy or those on a raw food diet. Customers who are simply interested in jumping on the “sustainability” trend will find information on affordable and practical ways to cook with seasonal produce, an array of gardening supplies and advice on how to grow their own food. Nourish will also take EBT food assistance. Nourish will also feature a large bulk goods section prominently featuring whole grains soon. The small commercial kitchen in the back of the store is currently doing double duty as an office, but will soon be used for preparing healthy grab-and-go options and for cooking demonstrations. Rop is excited about the “interesting mix of people" that will benefit from a store like Nourish. “There isn’t really any other store committed to food production and teaching people how to cook with whole food ingredients the way that we are,” she says.

Rop began looking for a place to open a storefront operation shortly after The Green Life Market (formerly located on Fulton St., near Diamond Ave.) closed its doors last year, eventually settling at 643 Wealthy SE.

Rop says that the Wealthy Street business community has been “tremendously supportive.” This support has been crucial to helping her get Nourish off the ground. Rop candidly admits that financial assistance for starting a small business is sparse at best. “It can be frustrating. It would be good if there were a stronger retail support system, especially for marketing and technology. Many small businesses just don’t have the budget to afford graphic design and advertising.” She relied on moral support and wisdom of surrounding businesses to help her over some of the early hurdles. Nourish is a small family start-up employing less than 10 people: Rop’s husband Chuck and her two daughters, Cara Camp and Tessa Jesse make up the backbone of the staff. Recently, Nourish hired Kelly Mundt to act as grocery buyer. Rop expects the operation to remain small for quite some time, but hopes to expand enough to have a full deli and a larger selection of offerings.

Nourish is located at 634 Wealthy SE and is open 9.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Questions can be directed to (616) 454-3663 or [email protected].