Sourcing Our Ingredients

The quality of our ingredients determines the quality and value of our foods. From our founding in 2006, we have made every effort to source the highest quality, most nutrient-dense ingredients and to cultivate a sustainable, integrity-based food-system while keeping our foods affordable. Feel free to contact us  at info@threestonehearth.com with any questions, concerns or recommendations about specific ingredients.

Organic and Non-GMO

Almost every ingredient used in our kitchen is certified organic, which also means GMO-free. At the same time, we also focus on building relationships with trusted producers who may choose not to go through the cost and process of organic certification but whose practices meet or exceed that standard. Certain ingredients, like Celtic sea salt, wild-harvested sea vegetables and regional wildflower honey, cannot be certified organic due to their being sourced from undomesticated environments. Grassfed beef may not be certified organic because of the challenge of certifying hundreds or thousands of acres of wild open pastureland where cows roam  and rotate through the seasons. Sometimes the cost of organic animal feed is prohibitively expensive, and some ranchers choose to source feed they trust that's grown and milled locally rather than import less expensive organic feed from uncertain sources.

Grassfed and Pasture-Raised Animals

Almost all of our meats, eggs and dairy products are from animals that are grassfed or pasture raised. Our animals deserve to be nourished in the way that’s best and most natural for them: on open land. We are learning now that not only is this more aligned with our nutritional needs and the wellness of the animals, it is also a critical component in capturing carbon and rebuilding depleted soils to aid in climate change and water retention. 

One area where our sourcing is a work-in-progress is chickens. It's always been our goal to source our chicken meat, livers for pate, and bones for making broth from pasture-raised birds. Unfortunately, because of changes some of our vendors have made, the lack of established standards around the term "pastured," and cost constraints we haven't been able to achieve this. Because of concerns around GMOs and other aspects of conventionally grown feed, in having to choose between pasture-raised birds fed non-organic feed, and non-pastured birds fed organic feed, we've chosen to go organic. Currently most of our chicken meat and parts come from Mary's Organic chickens in Sanger, California outside of Fresno, and the feed is grown at a nearby farm. 

Local and Seasonal

We develop new models for sustainable food distribution and processing when we collaborate with small, local farms and ranches, and cook with an authentic taste of place. Eating with the seasons brings us into closer connection with our land and with the plants, animals and humans in our food system, and provides nutritional qualities suited to our needs throughout the year. We incorporate wild foraged items as well when we can, such as bay nuts, elderberries, nettles, nasturtiums and sea vegetables.

Due to the rising prevalence of digestive sensitivities and intolerances to local staples such as dairy, as well as our desire to celebrate a wide range of traditional cuisines from around the world, we do include some far-flung ingredients that provide valuable nutrition --such as coconut products, ginger and spices, occasionally bananas -- always organically grown, fair trade and sustainably produced. But if something can be grown or produced locally, and in keeping with our seasonality, we'll always choose that option. No tomatoes in February, or butternut squash in August!

Our Sources and Suppliers

Meat

Marin Sun Farms (MSF) - grassfed beef, pastured, heritage-breed pork (ground, whole braising cuts  and livers), beef and pork bones for broth

Carman Ranch Beef - the first Certified Regenerative Ranch in the U.S., a cooperative of women-owned ranches in Northern California and Oregon - grassfed beef (ground, whole  braising cuts, livers, and bones for broth)

Pittman Farms, aka Mary's Chickens - organic, raised and processed in California,  whole and ground chicken meat, livers and bones for broth

Eggs

Burroughs Family Farms - pastured, organic

Dairy

Straus Family Creamery - organic, pasture-raised butter, milk, cream, yogurt

Sierra Nevada - pasture-raised raw cow and goat cheeses

Belfiore Mozzarella - artisanal cheese made in Berkeley from locally sourced milk

Valbreso Feta from France - sheep milk, pasture-raised 

Authentic Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy - raw, grassfed

Produce

Veritable Vegetable (VV) and Earl's Organics - both long-time, leading organic produce distributors based in San Francisco, with a strong commitment to small family farms and sustainable practices throughout their businesses. They work closely with dozens of farms. including include Tomatero, Full Belly, Riverdog, Happy Boy, Dwelley, Route One and many smaller specialty producers of fruit and vegetables. 

Other Ingredients

Salt - Celtic Sea Salt from Selina Naturally

Rice - Massa Organics, near Chico

Almonds - Kashiwase Farms, Winton (near Modesto)

Walnuts - Double A Walnuts, a small family farm in Colusa County

Beans - Iacopi Farm, Half Moon Bay, and Pleasant Grove Farm, near Sacramento

Olive Oil - Seka Hills, stewarded by the Yoho Dehe Wintun Nation in the Capay Valley

Dried Herbs and Spices - Frontier Organic Coop and Lhasa Karnak in Berkeley

Dried Mushrooms and Porcini Powder - Woodland Foods

Tomato Paste - San Benito, a small California company, certified for Fair labor practices and sustainable farming

Coconut Oil and Butter - Artisana, Oakland

Coconut Milk - Native Forest (no gums or additives in the food service-size cans), based in SoCal

Coconut Palm Sugar (organic, fair trade, and minimally processed) - Coracao Confections, Richmond

Cocoa Powder - Equal Exchange

Sea Vegetables - Pacific Wildcraft and Yemaya Seaweeds in Mendocino

Honey (raw and unfiltered) - McClaughry Farms and other producers in and around Grass Valley

Other dry goods - Azure Standard, an Oregon-based food distributor sourcing regionally grown and produced foods from small farms and purveyors, focused on organic, sustainable and regenerative practices

Click here to learn about the travels and research of Dr. Weston Price and the Traditional Diets movement; and here to read about how we incorporate a Traditional Diets approach at Three Stone Hearth.