Local products increase options for farm stand shoppers

The Palmer-area’s landmark farm stand continues to add local products to its shelves.

While the ground thaws, days lengthen, and fresh Alaska-grown produce gets closer for winter-weary residents, Bushes Bunches is heading into spring with several new vendors supplying locally produced goods. Among them is central Mat-Su microbakery Delaney’s Sourdough and its distinctive line of all-sourdough, all-organic baked goods.

Delaney Peters, the baker behind the operation, is no stranger to local commerce. Her goodies are already in Milk + Honey Coffee Co. in Wasilla, and The Fern in Palmer, and are available by pickup through her periodic open sales.

Still, she said joining the Bushes Bunches family of local vendors is a “meaningful step” for her business.

“I’m so excited to be included among a handful of local businesses that value supporting local makers and producers,” she said. “My husband and I have always prioritized consuming locally when we can, so it’s incredibly exciting to see how open the Mat-Su Valley is to buying and selling locally made food.”

Delaney’s Sourdough makes weekly deliveries to Bushes Bunches on Wednesday afternoons. Recent drops have included brioche bagels, English muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls and cardamom buns, along with her delicious brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Her signature artisan loaves will also be available in coming deliveries. Existing and prospective fans can also order through her website, www.delaneyssourdough.com.

“We are so grateful to our customers who purchase from us, you really are supporting a local family,” Peters said. “We can’t thank you enough.”

In a Facebook post announcing the new vendor earlier this month, Bushes Bunches wrote, “Just so impressed with Delaney’s Sourdough with her care, attention to detail, consistency, and quality of product. So excited to have her added as one of our amazing local vendors.”

Karianne Smith, who operates Bushes Bunches, said the customer response to Delaney’s Sourdough products was quick and positive.

“It’s been great,” she said. “The stuff has been flying off the shelves. It’s hard to keep up.”

Wildfish Cannery is another new addition to Bushes Bunches inventory. From the Prince of Wales Island town of Klawock in Southeast Alaska, Wildfish Cannery will be keeping shelves stocked with smoked salmon, cod, and herring. The business is a family-owned historic smokehouse that crafts sustainable, canned seafood harvested by Alaska fishing families.

Closer to home, Aethereal Coffee, a Palmer roaster, now has products at Bushes Bunches, too. Unlike higher-volume roasters, Aethereal Coffee air roasts its beans in small batches. Those beans are purchased only from small co-op, fair trade, organic farmers.

The company’s website, www.aetherealcoffee.com, explains the motivation behind its process.

“From Nicaragua to Sumatra, Uganda to Peru, we carefully select the farms we source our beans from to ensure they engage in fair trade practices and organic farming. Every bag of organic fair-trade coffee beans you purchase from us helps improve the quality of life for the workers who pick your beans, the families and communities who support them, and this planet we all live on together.”

A new line of frozen pizza has joined the growing frozen foods section at Bushes Bunches. Alaska Flour Company, a family-owned and operated flour mill in Delta Junction, is producing the only frozen pizza in Alaska. There are three varieties – cheese, pepperoni, and supreme – and they’re all made with dough from Alaska-grown Sunshine Hulless Barley.

For anyone looking ahead to the growing season, Bushes Bunches just added a full seed display from Seeds and Soil Farm in Palmer, too. All seeds are grown and produced locally after extensive research of what grows best in the conditions here, giving local backyard gardeners an edge over commercially produced, mail-ordered seeds.

In the coming weeks, Smith said, organic beans, rice, oats, and sauces from Oregon-based Azure Standard will be coming to Bushes Bunches. By mid-April, starter plants will also be available, to be followed by certified seed potatoes by the end of April.

“We’re just trying to always get more products,” Smith said. “Our first priority is always Alaska-grown. Second is to keep our customers satisfied with options for healthy living.”

Located on the Old Glenn Highway just outside Palmer, Bushes Bunches is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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