Meet our Producers!
RAVENSFIELD FARM, MABERLY, ONTARIO
On any given day in the summer, you will find Titia Posthuma in her 1 acre market garden, barefoot, working the soil, pulling weeds, watering the huge variety of organic crops she grows, or picking heritage vegetables chosen for flavour.
Ravensfield is a re-generated farm, trusting in nature and the integration of select animals to help enrich the soil. When Titia first arrived on the land in 1981, the farm was only starting to recover from a state of near desertification. Setting to work immediately, she began a program of remediation that continues to this day.
The farm is organic, so weeds are pulled by hand and used as mulch to inhibit further weed growth and allow decay into fertile soil. Cultivation is done with hand tools to support microorganisms. Manure from her pigs and chickens helps improve the soil condition and replace essential minerals. Everything is aimed at making the soil as healthy and enriched as possible, from encouraging reforestation (the basis for good soil is "tree manure" like leaves and chips) to understanding how plants and animals interact with the land.
Ravensfield Organic Farm is certified organic and biodynamic by Demeter. You can find Titia's fresh vegetables and greens in our produce department.
FLUID SOLAR ROASTED COFFEE, CLAYTON, ONTARIO
Lorraine and Bill have lived off the electrical grid for the past 25 years, generating electricity and heat directly from renewable resources. 100% of their water use is recycled back to nature, and their garbage waste stream motto is simple; “If we can’t recycle it or reuse it, we don’t use it”. Recently they also began driving a fully electric car that is charged using solar electricity.
Their coffee is organic, free-trade, hand-roasted in small batches, carefully selected from distinctive coffee beans. The beans are roasted using a unique Sivetz Fluid Bed roasting system powered by renewable energy that is generated on site.
PURE LAB VITAMINS, OTTAWA, ONTARIO
Pure Lab Vitamins is an Ottawa-based natural health company owned by Roger Biddle and Cyrus Kuhzarani. Cyrus is a leading compounding pharmacist, known for his patient-championing support of natural health. Their products have been developed to focus on helping replenish the body from key deficiencies - and they really work.
RND BAKERY, SMITHS FALLS, ONTARIO
rND is not your usual bakery. Everything they make is hand-made. Their yeast-free, gluten free, vegan bagels have a distinctively soft, airy texture that comes from Canadian oats. The tagline on their website says it all: "Bread Uncomplicated."
But their approach to creating bread is anything but uncomplicated. Will Spencer, PhD, is the owner of rND Bakery. Will began his educational career in lab technology, did a Masters in Oncology, a PhD in Microbial Physiology and a Postdoctoral in Human Nutrition. He has worked with CHEO and the Neonatal unit at the Ottawa General Hospital, looking at nutritional foundations for children, and the development of food allergies later in life. But it was his work in a bakery that influenced his decision to start making scientifically nutritious bagels and breads.
Will's bread and bagels can be found in the gluten-free section of our bakery.