Where Can I Find GNFF Products
Can I Visit Your Farm?
We’re not just one farm…there are more than 150 farmers, ranchers, and food
artisans in our alliance! An alliance is an interconnected network of family farms
to pursue common goals and to meet critical business needs while remaining
independent family farms. Under the Good Natured Family Farms™’ alliance
umbrella there are various business forms, including; cooperatives, Amish and
Mennonite communities, individual family farms, family farms who have pooled
their resources together to form corporations or LLCs, and even non-profits.
The 150 family farm locations are within a 200-mile radius of the Kansas City
metro area. The farms range in size from truck gardens and five head of beef to
1,000-acre orchards and 200 head cattle ranches. Some of the farms are third
and fourth generation family farms, and others are young beginning farmers.
Do You Offer CSA?
Yes! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Interested customers
purchase a share and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week
throughout the season. Your investment helps farms continue to grow fresh,
local produce without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. In return, you
can look forward to receiving the freshest and tastiest vegetables! Many of our
delicious Good Natured Family Farms products are featured in the Hen House
CSA. From juicy, ripe berries to Campo Lindo’s free range, all natural chicken, we
think you’ll enjoy their CSA program!
Want to sign up?
https://www.henhouse.com/sign-up-for-csa/
What Does "USDA Certified Grass Fed Beef" Mean?
To qualify for the USDA grass-fed label, cattle must be fed only mother’s milk
and forage (grass and other greens) during their lifetime. The forage can be
grazed or consumed as hay or other stored forage. The cattle must have access
to pasture “during the growing season” and may not have consumed any growth
hormones. No antibiotics, including ionophores in food, water or intramuscular
injections can be consumed within the last 160 days of finishing. The meat is
dry-aged 7-14 days and prepared and packaged without artificial ingredients.
What are you doing to make healthy foods available to vulnerable populations?
To achieve our goal to make good food accessible to the vulnerable community
and children at risk, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and USDA SBIR funded our
project called Good Food + Good Business = Good Futures; good food is
defined as green, healthy, fair, and affordable. The project has three methods to
make locally grown food available and affordable to vulnerable communities in
Kansas City’s inner urban core.
First, we started a program to identify opportunities to match local family farm
producers and consumers living in those food deserts. We partnered with
Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council and creating the Good Food Box – a program
that will empower the faith-based community to work with Good Natured Family
Farms™ and distribute Good Food to their congregation.
Second, we teamed up with local companies like Hallmark Cards, Hen House
and others to expand our Community Supported Agriculture, and their
employees joining the CSA may choose to sponsor Good Food Boxes for a
limited number of families living in vulnerable communities.
Third, we founded (and then expanded) our Farm to School program at Bistro
Kids, Guadalupe Center and the Family Conservancy to bring good food to
schools and head start centers.
All of these programs deliver good food to vulnerable communities which allow the
financial sustainability of this model to carry on, and be sought by others across the nation.
Is there a difference between grass fed and grain fed?
Do cows moooo? Do chickens cluck? YES! We’re glad you asked because
there’s actually a big difference between the two. Animals fed grass eat from
the pasture, roam freely and are able to exert normal grazing and foraging
behaviors. Plus, their diet means no hormones or antibiotics are consumed.
Animals fed grains are usually consuming cheap grain and soy that is GMO to
“fatten them up quickly.” They’re often confined to feedlots, cages or warehouses, and are given hormones and antibiotics.
These factors mean their meat contains more fat, more calories, and higher Omega-6 fatty acids.
What does “buy fresh, buy local” mean?
We seek to enhance the environment, reduce pollution, and practice social
responsibility by ensuring all of our producers meet the “buy fresh, buy local”
criteria.” This means:
1. Products are grown within a 200-mile radius of the Kansas City Metro
area on small family size farms, using environmentally sustainable
methods with minimal use of pesticides. Foods not locally available are
sourced as close to Kansas City as possible.
2. Animals are raised free-range without the use of growth hormones and
sub-therapeutic antibiotics.
3. No genetically modified seed varieties or livestock breeds are used.
4. Any processing is done locally, using traditional handcrafted artisan
methods with no, or minimal, use of artificial ingredients or preservatives.
The main ingredient must be locally grown or produced.
5. Only breeds and varieties best suited to produce the highest quality
products for the Kansas City Metro area are used.
6. Items are sold exclusively at locally owned and operated markets to help
stimulate and support local and rural economies.