Where to shop?
No Whole Foods (if you can afford it) or Trader Joe's in the area?
I have relatives living in the NE -- they can find organic raised chicken, etc.
Even SuperWalmart has some of that sort of thing.
Market Basket? Hannaford? Sam's?
I'm not sure why you can not find "safe" fruits and veggies in your area, regardless of what grocery store you visit.
Every town has a local butcher shop. Might be a bit more then the chain stores, but a lot better for you.
I live in a city where there is a lot of chain stores and yet I rather shop at the smaller family owned stores. I get my produce either at the year round city market or at a small Lebanese store. I use to love produce shopping at the Chinese store, but they went out of business.
I am pretty weird in that I like to talk to the owners of the store and learn about their families, cultures and how they prepare foods in their homeland. I also would rather support the mom and pop shops that are going out of business because of the chain stores.
Take a look around and I am sure that you can find plenty of smaller stores that sell almost everything that you need.
I also live in the northeast and there are several year round farm stands around my area. There may also be some farms you aren't aware of. I would ask around. Or if you'd like message me and I'll try to help you figure out where to go.
