About Us Our History Our Mission and Values Our Community Commitments

In the beginning

The idea to begin Isidore Foods LLC started in 2006. At the time I was working on Pittsburgh local food issues and advocating to regional consumers to buy from Pittsburgh local farms and other farms throughout the region. While it was rewarding work, I wanted to do more than advocate and consult to others on how to buy or sell local foods. I wanted to start a business that strengthened Pittsburgh's local food system by connecting farmers, businesses and consumers.

Over the last five years of working within Pittsburgh's and Western Pennsylvania's food economy, the one principal lesson I learned is how much power is controlled at the retail level and how little is held by those who actually produce the food – the farmers. I learned how alternative food distribution channels, such as subscription or community supported agriculture (CSA) projects and buying clubs, could help restore that balance - and provide other benefits as well, such as:

• protecting the environment by buying local, minimally packaged, and eco-friendly products;
• building community by creating more direct connections between food producers and consumers;
• reducing traffic congestion and pollution by delivering local foods on a set route;
• educating customers about important food issues through a weekly newsletter; and
• donating leftover food to food outreach groups and disadvantaged families.

By teaming up with an established distributor and operating a low rent warehouse, a business could avoid the cost of a commercial retail space and put those resources into paying local farmers more for their products and into the businesses' distribution, marketing and customer service.  This would offer customers the convenience of workplace or neighborhood delivery for no extra cost than they would pay at their local grocery store. And they would get a year-around supply of something they could not find in local stores.  I had found my sustainable business idea.

Thanks to Thomas Harttung, Tod Murphy and David Van Seters for sharing their visions.

Today

As you sign up today, you will be joining over 400 Isidore Foods customers.  Working along side a local food distributor, over 35 local farms producing vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meats, breads and pantry items, local community groups and businesses, countless friends and family members, we are attempting to leverage the skills of all these partners to build a stronger food system in Western Pennsylvania. 

Thanks for shopping with Isidore Foods, and tell your friends and family about us.

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Our Mission and Values

To be the most socially responsible, environmentally sound, and financially profitable Internet local foods subscription company in Western Pennsylvania while simplifying and enriching the lives of our customers, staff, farmers, suppliers, businesses and community partners.

We have developed values statements in three areas: People, Planet and Profits:

People:

• We build customer relationships that extend beyond product purchases to include dialogue and information exchange.
• We provide meaningful work, fair compensation, a spirit of teamwork and opportunities for growth for our staff.
• We actively participate in our communities to address food security, human health and well being, environmental stewardship, and economic self-reliance.

Planet:

• We adopt policies and practices that honor and sustain our natural world.
• We use the most up-to-date information to reduce our impact on the environment.
• We recognize our staff and suppliers for their efforts to protect the planet.
• We make it easy for our customers to reduce their impact on the earth.

Profits:

• We achieve profits by anticipating customers' needs and meeting their expectations.
• We maximize profits by operating efficiently and effectively.
• We value long-term profits over short-term gains.
• We share our wealth with those who help create it.

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Our Community Commitments
At Isidore Foods, we believe that local is best. When you buy from us, you make a difference to your local community and the environment with every purchase. We care about safe and sustainable food production systems. We believe that easy access to healthy and wholesome food, ethical products and a clean environment is a basic human right. We buy the best products for our customers, favoring those that are local and wholesome.

Beyond our commitment to offer you excellent product quality, competitive prices, and great service, we make the following commitments.

Local Purchasing - We buy from local farms and businesses wherever possible. We seek to balance the needs and wishes of our customers with local market supply and identify whether products are sourced locally in our catalog. Buying local helps to improve our local community and reduces transportation-related impacts.

Environmental Leadership - We adhere to high standards of environmental performance and make ongoing efforts to minimize waste, save energy, conserve water, and reduce all forms of pollution.

Education and Information - We provide information on key issues related to our business to our customers, so that they can make more informed choices about the products they buy. In particular, we advocate for complete and accurate labeling of all food products.

Animal Testing and Factory Farming - We are against animal testing and factory farming. We do not knowingly buy products from suppliers that engage in these activities.

Marketplace Ethics - We strive to be open and honest about all aspects of our service and products. We honor all commitments and guarantees and resolve any disputes in a fair and expedient manner. We investigate, strive to eliminate and fully inform our customers of any health, safety, environmental or other hazards posed by the normal consumption or use of our products.

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