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Real Pickles

Northeast Grown, 100% organic, fermented & raw pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kvass, and hot sauce

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Home / Our Facility

Our Facility

Energy Efficient & Solar Powered

We operate Real Pickles out of a solar powered, energy-efficient, 6,500 square foot organic pickling facility on Wells Street in Greenfield, MA.

In 2009, we purchased a century-old industrial building in Greenfield, MA and transformed it into a new home for Real Pickles. We made significant building renovations to minimize energy use and to prepare the space for certified organic food production. Two community loan funds – Franklin County Community Development Corporation and Equity Trust – helped to make the project possible, along with financing from our local community bank.  The move from the Western MA Food Processing Center (where we got our start) to our own organic pickling facility allowed us to expand significantly in the years following, and we look forward to staying here for many years to come!

Minimal Energy Use

We are proud of the many steps we have taken to make our facility as energy efficient as possible, including:

Stacking cabbage at Real Pickles

  • High efficiency lighting, including LEDs and high output T5 fluorescents,
  • Occupancy sensors and photo sensors (adjacent to skylights) to keep our lights operating only when needed,
  • On-demand, tankless water heater,
  • Freeaire system for our walk-in refrigerator, utilizing outside air during the winter months to keep things cool and reducing electric usage by an estimated 60%,
  • R40 ceiling insulation and mini-split heat pumps in our fermentation rooms.

Solar powered

PV Squared and Real Pickles staff pose on the roof with our newest solar array! (Photo: PV Squared Solar)

We are excited to be supplying the majority of our electricity from solar panels installed on our rooftop!

Our efforts to maximize energy efficiency in the course of our building renovations have resulted in remarkably low energy requirements for a commercial facility of our size. In 2011 and 2019, we turned our efforts toward deriving as much of our remaining energy needs as possible from clean, renewable sources.  We hired Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics (a fellow worker co-operative that shares our building) to install two photovoltaic systems on our roof (17 kW in 2011 and 31 kW in 2019).  Our solar array provides much of the electricity needs for both businesses!

By making our facility energy efficient and solar powered, we have taken small but important steps as a business to help move our society forward in pursuit of cleaner air, greater community self-reliance, and a more stable global climate.

Read more about Real Pickles

Our Mission
Our Farmers
Our Co-operative
Our Story

Primary Sidebar

Real Pickles production alum Aliza came home from Real Pickles production alum Aliza came home from college for a weekend of Garlic & Arts! She is serving up ferments with Derek all day at the 25th annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival in Orange, Ma. The weather has cleared up, the music sounds great and there is so much fun to be had! Come say hello and grab a Garlic Dill pickle! 
@nqgarlicandartsfestival #garlicandarts #RealPickles
Can't wait to see you this weekend at the 25th Ann Can't wait to see you this weekend at the 25th Annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival! Come say hello and get a Garlic Dill pickle! Rain or shine! #RealPickles #GarlicAndArts #FermentedAndRaw @nqgarlicandartsfestival
Honeypie in Jamaica Vermont is definitely one of t Honeypie in Jamaica Vermont is definitely one of the Green Mountain state's coolest and most delicious spots to eat!  Honeypie is a modern fresh take on a roadside burger joint. They are committed to sourcing their ingredients locally and sustainably and serving good, honest fast food in a beautifully updated, old roadside gas station. Check out their burgers, sandwiches and salads served with Real Pickles Organic Kimchi! 

#RealPickles #RealPicklesServedHere #FermentedAndRaw @eatathoneypie
We are so excited to reveal the newest colors of o We are so excited to reveal the newest colors of our trucker hats and our new sleeveless t-shirt! These beauties are locally printed and embroidered by our friends at @onewayscreenprinting in Hadley, MA. We have also updated stock on all of our colorful t-shirts and sizes available for most everyone. Head over to our webstore to take a look, or come see us at the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival next weekend and get a discounted festival price on your favorite! 
#RealPickles #FermentedAndRaw @onewayscreenprinting
Check out these gorgeous paprika and habanero pepp Check out these gorgeous paprika and habanero peppers, grown for us by Ray at Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. Their land sits within the famed Hadley loam region (world class soil!), in the rich bottomland of the Connecticut River Valley. Next Barn Over Farm grows a wide and diverse array of certified-organic vegetables for CSA, farmers markets, local grocery stores, small distributors, and restaurants in Western Massachusetts and throughout the Commonwealth. This year their crops will be used in making the next batches of our Organic Red Pepper Hot Sauce, Organic Beets, and Organic Kimchi! #loveyourlocalfarmer #knowyourfarmer #supportyourlocalfarms
Studies show that including lots of fermented food Studies show that including lots of fermented foods in your diet, including naturally-fermented vegetables, contributes to higher gut microbiome diversity and improved immune response. What a great reason to pile some Real Pickles ferments on your avocado toast! 

#RealPickles #fermented #avocadotoast #kraut #pickles #organic

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Contact

311 Wells St
Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 774-2600
info@realpickles.com

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