Kristy Robinson of Purple Porch Food Co-op shares what they provide to support a plant-based lifestyle.
What does Purple Porch do/what do you provide that supports their plant-based lifestyle?
Our kitchen creates vegan/veg friendly items whenever we can. In alignment with the Purple Porch mission, we like to be as inclusive as possible: everyone can eat vegan food, but vegans cannot eat everyone’s food!! For example, in a recipe that calls for butter (if that’s the only animal product), we use Earth Balance instead so both vegans and non are able to enjoy it! We offer several homemade vegan salad dressings and to-go entrees daily. Our grab-n-go soup section always has at least one plant-based option, and often there are two. We always have vegetarian and/or vegan packaged salads in our cooler, with the notion that animal proteins may be purchased separately if desired. Vegetarian and vegan breakfast burritos (both available traditional or gluten-free) are made fresh Monday-Saturday. In terms of catering, our staff recognizes the need for a delicious and filling vegan/veg option alongside traditional offerings. We have several vegan employees here who work hard to make sure everyone not only gets food they CAN eat, but gets food that they LOVE to eat!
A few of our local vendors offer both vegan and traditional varieties of their products. We strive to purchase both! Violet Sky seasonal truffles and Fair Bakery scones, just to name a few.
Last summer at one of our Wednesday Market Nights, we hosted a local vegan meat company (Water & Wheat) as a vendor. It was a huge success! His products were so delicious we grilled up some of his handmade sausages for the vegan meal at our annual Oktoberfest event.
At Purple Porch, our veg/vegan refrigerator is bursting at the seams! We offer several types of tofu, plant-based deli meats, cheeses (Violife and a new local brand!), cream cheese, sour cream, seitan bacon, Vegenaise, and many varieties of plant milks. We are currently working to stock a locally made traditional organic tofu! In our freezer you can find Beyond Meat (ground, links, patties, and breakfast sausage), Quorn (nuggets and patties), Gardein (beef, meatballs, and fish substitutes), and various Hilary’s veggie burgers. And don’t forget the Amy’s frozen vegan pizza and Coconut Bliss ice cream!
A few specific grocery items we’ve given a vegan nod to:
Worcestershire Sauce
Marshmallows (Dandies)
Vegan Candy Bars (Go Max Go)
Vegan Cookies (Back to Nature, Newmans, and others)
Plant-based Toona
Jackfruit (canned and boxed)
Mushroom Gravy
Nutritional Yeast (in bulk and jars)
Powdered Egg Replacer
And of course our awesome produce department!
Over the past year, Purple Porch has been working diligently to offer Special Orders to our members and customers. If you don’t find something on our shelves, we are always happy to search for it from one of our many vendors. Special Orders may be placed by anyone, but our Member-Owners receive unlimited 10% discounts on each case.