Harvest Farms Organic? Who are they?

[foster-adopted mom]

I have been searching trying to find info on a brand Harvest Farms. I can find nothing on the internet and there is no contact info on the products I have in my house. They are generally cheaper but I wanted to know more about the company. Now I am wondering why I can't find anything but the name of the company which is Land O Sky, LLC. Anybody now anything about this company. Is it reputable?

[cltrip]

I have no answer for your question but I also am having the same trouble. I bought some Harvest Farms Organic Spaghetti Rings for the kids but thought I'd better check the web for some info about the company before I served it to them. The can DOES have the "USDA Organic" seal stamped on it but I'd feel better if I knew the company was reputable. I hope somebody in-the-know responds.

[M Kline]

I, too, have found no info on the web. Isn't it unusual that a company in this day and age has no web site?

[anon]

I had similar questions so did some looking. On the NC Secretary of State's website, I saw Harvest Farms shares the same address and registered agent as Ingles. So, Harvest Farms is just Ingles' house organic brand. Presumably their products are produced and packed by a big nationwide company or companies and sold under private labels in stores like Ingles (Harvest Farms), Kroger (Naturally Preferred), and others.
I am curious who the underlying companies are. I'm interested in their milk, which is not ultra-pasteurized, but if it's Dean Farms or the like, I don't want to buy it.

[Al Moseley]

Thanks for your questions/info, I thought I was just missing something! I have been eating their cereal because of the deal I got, but bit into a rock or something the other day.

[tal]

I have been trying to reach Harvest Farms myself, I bought several jars of their spaghetti sauce and each one had several pieces of either wax paper or plastic in it and we didn't find it until we were eating the paper/plastic. I immediately grabbed the jar out of the trash and looked for the familiar 1-800 number to call for questions and comments and there was no phone number. I thought it was illegal for a company to not have a contact number in case of emergency? I am trying to contact them so they can recall that batch of sauce. I took a chance last night and opened another one and made lasagna and low and behold there was a piece of paper or plastic in my mouth half way through the meal. I will not be buying anymore of their products if they insist on being so hard to contact. I love organic items and this is not a good sign that they do not want to be contacted. If anyone has a contact phone number please post so I can call them, thanks.

[Vickilynn]

I suspected that Harvest Farms was actually Ingles in the way they are pushing this brand. I have to say that I doubt they are truly organic since they are so cryptic and seems as if they are trying to hide who they really are.

I have been buying Coleman organic ground beef at Ingles, but they stopped carrying it and when I asked, they sent me to "Harvest Farms All-Natural" beef (not organic).

So, I was desperate for the beef for this week and bought 3 packages of it at a premium price, but I know now in my heart Harvest Farms / Ingles are scamming people with this brand.

I refuse to by any more Harvest Farms brand anything, even if it SAYS certified organic.

Buyer beware!

[Julie]

tal wrote:

I have been trying to reach Harvest Farms myself, I bought several jars of their spaghetti sauce and each one had several pieces of either wax paper or plastic in it and we didn't find it until we were eating the paper/plastic. I immediately grabbed the jar out of the trash and looked for the familiar 1-800 number to call for questions and comments and there was no phone number. I thought it was illegal for a company to not have a contact number in case of emergency? I am trying to contact them so they can recall that batch of sauce. I took a chance last night and opened another one and made lasagna and low and behold there was a piece of paper or plastic in my mouth half way through the meal. I will not be buying anymore of their products if they insist on being so hard to contact. I love organic items and this is not a good sign that they do not want to be contacted. If anyone has a contact phone number please post so I can call them, thanks.

I just contacted Ingles to find out who makes this brand? I am concerned after reading the comments posted and the lack of contact info on the Harvest Brand products.

[Julie]

I am now also concerned and have contacted Ingles to find out who makes this brand. I have looked on the internet before and after reading one of the posts realized too that Ingles seems to push this brand. If you go to their website, this brand comes up immediately. I drink the Harvest Farms milk and want to know where this product comes from. When I have a response from Ingles, I will try to post to this website.

[Harry Hamil]

Vickilynn,
If you're concerned about the beef you are buying, I urge you to buy from local growers, e.g., Foothills Family Farms, Warren Wilson College and Hickory Nut Gap Farm. You can buy direct or through most local natural food stores including the Black Mountain Farmers Market, French Broad Food Co-op and Haywood Road Market.

[Edmee]

I was thinking,why not just stop eating beef ? The way they treat those animals (and others) is so bad. And we EAT them. That's why I stopped eating
meat in fact. Good for us our body doesn't need to have meet everyday. But we can always replace animal proteins by other proteins of course.

[Paul Shykora Arts]

...buyer beware and aware....the hillbilly farmboy has spoken....now most...yodeling....eh.

[organicwhenican]

Julie wrote:

I am now also concerned and have contacted Ingles to find out who makes this brand. I have looked on the internet before and after reading one of the posts realized too that Ingles seems to push this brand. If you go to their website, this brand comes up immediately. I drink the Harvest Farms milk and want to know where this product comes from. When I have a response from Ingles, I will try to post to this website.

Like the rest of you I was wondering, but had a specific question as well. Here is my email to Ingles and their reply. Read from the bottom up.

Dear Steve, Thanks for writing and for shopping at Ingles. All natural peanut butters should be refrigerated once opened, so you're right, there should be something on the label. I believe that this has already been addressed and the new HF natural PB that comes out should have that.
You are also right about Harvest Farms! We should have some simple info about HF on the website. Harvest Farms is our store brand of certified organic products. They are not sourced from one manufacturer but from many who produce a wide variety of certified organic products that meet USDA guidelines for being certified organic. If you have questions about a specific product you can write to or call our customer service line(on our website www.ingles-markets.com or at the bottom of your Ingles receipt) and they will direct that on to the department that works with Harvest Farms.
Thanks for your feedback!
Leah McGrath - Ingles Dietitian

__________

From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]-mar kets.com]
Sent: Sat 1/31/2009 1:11 PM
To: McGrath, Leah; Goff, Cary
Subject: Question for Leah

Steve would like to know:

Q: I wanted to contact Harvest Farms Organic regarding their peanut butter. It does not say it needs to be refrigerated, but there are no hydrogenated oils, so I wanted to be sure it was shelf safe. But there is no phone no. A web search revealed nothing but a lot of suspicion on the part of consumers about why no one can find any info or contact them. I'd appreciate an answer to my query, but I also suggest that for PR, you put something on your website about them, the sources of the products, etc.

Thanks

[GabrielsMom]

Thanks for all of the dialogue about this product, I have a 2 year old son that is Autistic and on a organic/clean diet, it is crucial that I be sure that this product is truely organic, and also have hit a dead end in my research. Nay continued dialogue with their company would be much appreciated!

[Jared McQueen]

Lets contact the USDA or contact Land O Sky LLC.. lets keep asking the all of the grocery stores that carry Harvest. Maybe we can connect with one of the Harvest Representatives.

Here is there address for Land O Sky

P.O. Box 6676
Asheville NC 28816.

Lets find out where the tasty, economical, and "Organic" food really comes from.

[Jared McQueen]

HARVEST FARMS IS DEFINITELY THE INGLES ORGANIC BRAND...I asked a store manager and he told me so.....I'm skeptical of them, but its better than most all other choices in Ingles.....I'm curious how they get their hands on sooo many different organic fruits and vegetables....

[Leah McGrath - Ingles]

Sorry that so many of you feel there is a big mystery about Harvest Farms. It is just our private label of certified organic products. Many supermarkets are doing the same thing, i.e. sourcing certified organic from different manufacturers in the same way they source conventional products and then put their own label on them so they are private label products (like Laura Lynn for Ingles). We've had a lot of success with most of our HF products and people like them and appreciate the fact that they are cheaper than brand name certified organic. Feel free to call me directly if I can be of any help.

[Mary]

We were told by an employee of Ingle's corporate office (that you can phone by calling the phone number on the bottom of your sales receipts) to check this website for information on their Harvest Farms beef to check if it is grass-fed or not. http://www.naturesourcebeef.com/OurStory.aspx It is organic and they are fed grass and grains, and they do feed the cattle corn for the last weeks according to this website. Read the website for more information. Hope this helps.

[MoMommy]

I certainly appreciate that organic products are becoming more available. however, the driving consumer force to buy these products arises from a conscience/consciousness of knowing where our products are coming from. i.e. more local, more moral, cleaner, etc. So, then it is a problem that there is no contact info or info of where the HF product is produced and coming from. yet another reason to simply buy local at farmers markets and such, where you are looking the grower in the face and where they seem more than happy, proud in fact, to discuss their product!

[Leah McGrath - Ingles]

Please remember tha "local" and "organic" are not synonymous. What is "local" to you? Is it 100 miles or within a region? Your local farmer may not be using organic methods and may be using pesticides. I agree with trying to support local whenever possible but this is limited by season and weather issues...