berries and cherries

Of course, a good way to save money, eat locally, and heathfully is by picking your own produce when time allows.  It's also a good way to get your family together to pick and to teach children where food comes from!  Three places that I found in the newspaper are listed here:

BEAUTIFUL BLUEBERRIES.  You pick and ready picked, Rt 22, Penn Run, across from eastern orthodox foundation.  Open Mon-Sat 8-6 Tues 8-8, Closed Sunday.  Call avail ready picked: (724) 463-7915

RED RASPBERRIES, you pick $2.50/qt, we pick $5.00 /qt.  Call Alum Bank (814) 439-2897 for directions and availability.

PICK YOUR OWN CHERRIES. $1.25/lb (This year, July 1 7a-8p daily until all harvested) We have both sweet and sour cherries. Both varieties are excellent for baking, canning, freezing, preserves or just eating fresh. Our family and employees welcome you to our cherry orchards. It is our goal to make your visit here a pleasant and memorable one! Remember to bring your own containers (preferably handled ones) for picking.  274 Blossom Lane Schellsburg, PA 15559
Picking dates vary from year to year, but usually begin late June to early July. Hours are 7 AM to 8 PM daily until the crop is harvested.

Ridgetop Orchards also sells apples and peaches when ripe, apples beginning August, and peaches Mid-August

In addition, if you want to search for more Pick Your Own places, the website www.pickyourown.org is helpful.  Be sure to call first to the place that you set your eyes on, as there is no guarantee of updates to the website.  Good Luck!

Personal Search Tools

Again, this is by no means a definitive list of all local products or local stores to our area. These are just the stores and items that we know of and strive to use exclusively in our daily lives. It is not hard to tell when and if an establishment is locally owned or is part of some huge corporation. While it is nigh impossible to sustain a completely local diet, buying things that you feel are essential that are just not locally made like peanuts or coffee can easily be purchased at locally-owned establishments, sometimes for cheaper than the huge companies. When shopping, just take a look at the back labels of foods and see where they are coming from. We have found many things that we would have never known about like salsa from Punxsutawney and several products from here in Johnstown.

Please check with your local Chamber of Commerce for more information on buying local! Somerset County does a very nice job of having brochures available at their office for many attractions, foods, wine lists, maple syrup camps, etc.

Below are some websites that are in fact search engines to try and find any products we have not listed that you may be interested in, restaurants that exclusively use local produce, local stores, or farms in any area by zip code. Don’t limit your local search to food! Local Harvest pulled up a place in New Enterprise (Health By Choice) that does Wellness Days, which has a nutritional counseling center as well as Ella’s Market which is a local food store as well. Read your local paper for more information, including where to buy local Christmas Trees (Green-Briar Tree Patch), and keep your ears open for people talking about their newest find, where we found local Bread, Beef, Jam, and bulk foods (Friendship Farms)!

www.localharvest.org
www.foodroutes.org
www.newfarm.org
http://agmap.psu.edu/
www.agriculture.state.pa.us/papreferred/site/default.asp
www.sustainabletable.org
www.eatwellguide.org
www.eatwild.com (grass fed meat)