Over 50 Years of Pure Michigan Made Foods at Eden Foods

KELLY WILSON, Director of Community Partners

About 20 miles outside Ann Arbor, nestled in the Irish Hills, is Clinton, Michigan. A small, unassuming town you would never guess is home to the nation’s oldest natural and organic food producer: Eden Foods.

Founded in the late 1960s, Eden Foods began as a cooperative grocery store for individuals interested in “toxin free” whole grains and local produce. In the early 1970s, the company began building direct relationships with local farmers for organic foods. Over the years, Eden Foods has grown into a robust natural food supplier with a strong national presence. Today, they have over 250 unique products; from soymilk to umeboshi to muesli to dried mushrooms to Native American grown wild rice. They have a wide range of flavorful, health promoting foods for every palate. They also boast a full line of traditional Japanese foods thanks to the founder’s appreciation for a Macrobiotic lifestyle.

As Eden Foods has grown, they have maintained an uncompromised commitment to their founding principles and values. They maintain direct relationships with over 370 family owned, organic farms and pays farmers directly for crops. They prohibit irradiated ingredients in their foods, are strongly anti-GMO, and have used BPA-free or glass packaging since 1999 — well ahead of the rest of the industry. They also conduct rigorous in-house testing of their products to maintain integrity, quality and safety of all their food. Raw products are tested by Eden to ensure they are free from GMOs and exceed Eden’s “beyond organic” standards.

EDEN FOODS MAINTAINS DIRECT RELATIONSHIPS WITH OVER 370 FAMILY OWNED, ORGANIC FARMS AND PAYS FARMERS DIRECTLY FOR CROPS.

Eden Foods is strongly committed to sourcing as locally as possible and investing in the farm families they purchase from. They contract Michigan farmers to grow most of their dry beans, source dried cherries from Northwest Michigan, and purchase apples from the West side of the state. The cabbage for their kraut is grown, processed, and packed within 50 miles of their Clinton, MI facility. Eden Foods pasta is also produced at their Detroit facility, the Eden Organic Pasta Company, using some Michigan grown grains.

For over 52 years, Eden Foods has proven to be a leader in the natural food movement and a strong supporter of organic farmers in Michigan, and across the country. Their unique line of products, local purchasing priorities, and high quality standards make them a pure, Michigan made food company.

To learn more about the Eden Foods brand, visit their store at 701 Tecumseh Rd, Clinton, MI. Explore recipes, shop online, and find additional information at edenfoods.com.

EDEN FOODS BY THE NUMBERS

238,209 pounds of pasta produced in Detroit each year

878,000 pounds of beans purchased yearly from Michigan farms

85 products sourced from 13 Michigan farmers annually

1,100,000 pounds of Michigan fruit is bought each year