Celebrate organics!
This article was originally published in September 2012
From crunchy, first-of-the-season Honeycrisp apples to creamy milk — the taste alone tells you that organic is better. Yet great flavor is just one of many reasons to choose organic. Research shows organic foods are more nutritious, safer for people and the planet, and an important part of the solution to global warming.
Organic by the numbers
Washington has long been a leader in the organic farming movement — the Evergreen State has experienced a steady increase in organic production and now is home to 729 certified organic farms, covering more than 90,000 certified organic acres.
20 percent of Washington organics is our world-famous tree fruit — pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines and of course, apples!
At PCC, we like to think we’re part of this success story. We’ve been committed to building an organic food system for decades, as we guaranteed a market for the early pioneers and helped them expand organic acreage.
When the national organic standards were being developed, PCC member/owners sent 30,000 comments to the USDA — 10 percent of all the comments nationwide.
PCC has chosen voluntarily to be a certified organic retailer at all nine of our stores to ensure the integrity of organic foods is maintained.
More than 95 percent of PCC’s produce is certified organic in season, and we source from more than 40 Washington organic farms.
100 percent of the coffee in PCC’s coffee bars is certified organic — as are all the milks and cream, the syrups for lattes, and even the chocolate sauce for mochas.
Washington Organic Week
PCC is happy to support Washington Organic Week, or WOW!, a Tilth Producers of Washington campaign to connect consumers to Washington organic farmers and products. See tilthproducers.org for a list of fun events, from farm tours to harvest dinners.