Years ago, a group of friends would organize a potluck Thanksgiving for the “orphans” - people who would not spend the holiday with family for whatever reason. Everyone would bring something, either a prepared dish or a healthy appetite, and we would sit in the living room of the venerable 4th Avenue house in Portland’s Carson Heights neighborhood. Cooks and non-cooks alike, the holiday orphans would celebrate with good food and friendship.
The practice ended as we grew older, coupled, and moved to other neighborhoods and other towns.
In memory of those gathering, and in consideration of the non-cooks and holiday orphans, below is an incomplete list of places where you can get tasty, organic, local food for the Thanksgiving holiday. Several of the places have good delis and good food all year.
Please feel free to add suggestions in the comments below.
Worldwide - Your local farmers market
You’d be surprised at how many farmers markets show up in Google if you search for your city’s name, followed by “farmers market”. Readers near Gloucester (pronounced “Glo’ster”) and Swindon should check out Fresh-n-Local Farmers’ Markets. Pay attention to the results - I looked for Tokyo farmers markets and found a link to a market in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.
Seattle, Washington
PCC Natural Markets offers holiday dinners to go, including free-range turkey dinners, ham dinners, and pies. They require 48-hours advance notice.
Organic To Go, is offering a catering menu for groups of at least 20 people. Gather a bunch of orphans and pool your funds. They also have branches in Los Angeles and Orange County.
Portland, Oregon
New Seasons Markets, a locally owned grocery chain, offer local, organic products. They have great delis, and even offer the option of ordering groceries online for pickup or local delivery in their biodiesel vans. They don’t appear to cater a full turkey dinner, but check with their stores.
East San Francisco Bay Area, California
Berkeley Bowl in the East Bay is offering whole precooked Thanksgiving dinners with free-range turkey and some side dishes using produce from local farms. The Bowl is closed for Thanksgiving and you do have to order them in advance, so call now.
Central Coast, California
Diamond Organics sources organic products from California’s Central Coast region. I’d rather get my foods locally, but if you live in a cold, harsh part of the world - say, Donnelly, Idaho, or Fairbanks, Alaska, Diamond may be a good way to induce local interest in organics.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Zingermans, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, carries fresh bread and a number of organic products. Their offerings are delicious and, if you don’t live near a better option, they ship their products nationally. Tip: Search for “organic” on their website.
Your local Whole Foods Store
If you live near a Whole Foods, chances are that they have multi-course Thanksgiving dinners for 4 or 8 people with turkey (natural, free range, or organic), ham, steak, or rack of lamb, and even vegan. Prices and selections vary by region. Check the Whole Foods Catering page, select the Whole Foods nearest you, and then click on the link for their Thanksgiving Menu.
Thanks for the following tips: Dairy Queen, S&J in Michigan for taking me to Zingerman’s, the Seattle P-I, and Jacqueline at Gourmet Food.
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November 18th, 2006 at 8:13 am
I don’t think you can really shop at Diamond Organics—I thought they were just a warehouse/distributor. I think a better suggestion on the Central Coast would be to combine a trip to one of the local farmers markets (in Santa Cruz on Wednesdays and Saturdays or Aptos, Monterey or Salinas on Saturday, Thursday, and Sunday respectively) with a visit to either New Lead Community Marketa or Staff of Life market. Either of the latter will be less expensive than Whole Foods, and both are supported so well here in Santa Cruz that we don’t need a Whole Foods.