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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 Story

Our Story

Real Pickles is a worker co-operative working to change the food system by making pickles!  It all started when Dan Rosenberg began making traditional pickles in 1999 after attending a workshop at a Northeast Organic Farming Association conference. Excited about the benefits of locally grown food, he started pickling cabbage, turnips, greens, and other vegetables as a way to eat locally throughout the winter. Dan also got inspired by the work of Dr. Weston A. Price, a researcher who traveled the world in the 1920s and 30s studying the diets of indigenous peoples and who found that those eating traditional diets enjoyed a high level of health completely unknown in industrialized societies.

Dan quickly became devoted to the craft of traditional pickling and, two years later, decided to go into business.  The idea was to create a small company focused on building a better food system.  As one of a tiny handful of businesses producing raw, fermented vegetables, Real Pickles would offer an important and nourishing food that was largely missing from the food system. This new business would also be committed to local/regional food and organic agriculture.  Real Pickles would buy its vegetables only from Northeast organic farms and sell its products only within the Northeast.

Real Pickles launched in 2001, purchasing 1,000 pounds of certified organic pickling cucumbers from Chamutka Farm, and successfully selling its inaugural batches of Organic Dill Pickles to a couple dozen local stores. The following season, Real Pickles began operating out of the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center in Greenfield, a business incubator kitchen created to boost the local agricultural economy by providing a venue for making value-added foods with local farm ingredients.  At the Food Processing Center, Dan – soon joined by Addie Rose Holland – was able to steadily grow the business, adding products like Organic Sauerkraut and Organic Ginger Carrots, and expanding sales to stores in the Boston area and then elsewhere around the region.

By 2009, Real Pickles had outgrown the incubator kitchen, and we were ready to make the leap to our own home.  We purchased a century-old industrial building in Greenfield, MA and transformed it into a solar-powered, energy-efficient, organic pickling facility.  The move allowed us to expand significantly, tripling our purchases from local farms in the years following.  We look forward to staying here for many years to come.

Meanwhile, we’ve demonstrated that there is a real and growing demand for raw, fermented vegetables and that a business as deeply committed to social responsibility as ours can work!  In 2013, we turned to preserving our social mission for the long term and – following a successful community investment campaign – took the exciting step of transitioning Real Pickles to a worker co-operative.  We are proud to join the ranks of other co-operatives that are supporting local ownership, workplace democracy, and contributing to the co-operative economy!

Read more about Real Pickles

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Still looking for that perfect gift? How about som Still looking for that perfect gift? How about something that supports regional organic farms, creates meaningful jobs in our community, and is super delicious?! Consider a few jars of Real Pickles ferments or one of our cozy organic cotton tees! Check out the store locator on our website to find the Northeast store closest to you, or order a 4 jar sampler, some colorful merch, or a Real Pickles gift certificate on our webstore!
Link in profile.
Yesterday’s staff lunch was catered by Amy McMah Yesterday’s staff lunch was catered by Amy McMahan and Chef Masenie of Mesa Verde in Greenfield, and instead of their usual Cali-Mex menu, we arranged, through Amy, to have Masenie, an immigrant from Haiti, prepare us an authentic Haitian meal and WOW was it delicious! Last June, Greenfield became home to many Haitian immigrant families, and in an effort to help the newcomers feel at home, Amy has been hosting Haitian pop-ups at her restaurant every Sunday evening, serving up this unique and delectable cuisine prepared by Masenie. “I feel like when people feel represented with their cuisine, it’s really what diversity, inclusion and equity is about,” said Amy, and we couldn’t agree more! Our quarterly staff lunches are a time for all of us at Real Pickles to gather, share a meal and create community beyond the day to day work duties. We love it when these lunches become an opportunity to support another local business doing great things! If you’re local, check out the Haitian pop-up, every Sunday from 5-7pm at @mesaverdegf
There is something so comforting about a warm sand There is something so comforting about a warm sandwich on a chilly day. Real Pickles ferments are a tasty and nutritious addition to a grilled cheese. We love adding Organic Sauerkraut and sliced tart apples to ours and creating a sweet and savory, toasted masterpiece! The possibilities are truly endless! Show us your favorite grilled cheese and ferment sandwich, tag us and include the hashtag #MyRealPickles for a chance to win a 4 pack of your favorite Real Pickles ferments!  Details in comments. 

#RealPickles #grilledcheese #ferments #organic #recipeideas #northeastgrown 

📷@clarebarboza @poppybeesurfaces
Real Pickles uses organic, regionally-grown vegeta Real Pickles uses organic, regionally-grown vegetables, abundant with healthy microbes for our ferments. Fermentation by these healthy microbial communities produce many nutritious compounds unique to fermented vegetables and help to increase the availability of essential nutrients to the body! How are you getting your daily ferment fix? 

#RealPickles #regionalfood #organic #fermentation #microbes #fermentedveggies #beets
Wishing you all a healthy and joyous holiday of gr Wishing you all a healthy and joyous holiday of gratitude. 🧡
Take a moment this week to learn about the history of Thanksgiving. The United South and Eastern Tribes @uset.inc has a brief and powerful list of resources for all ages. Link in our bio.
Get ready to please your gut, your taste buds, and Get ready to please your gut, your taste buds, and your party guests! Check out these simple and festive beverage ideas using your left over pickle brine or Beet Kvass. Serve these tasty mock-tails at your next holiday dinner party or family game night! Recipe in bio. 

#guthealth #mocktails #fermented #recipe #organic 

📷by @clarebarboza

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

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