Homegrown Local Food Co-op

Now that I have lived in Orlando a while and learned a few things I can’t say I am as impressed with Homegrown as I used to be.
Here’s a tip – if you want fresh, mostly local produce simply swing by Clemons Produce and get a ton of fresh veggies and Amish dairy and eggs on the cheap. Last time I was there I stuffed a cart for under $ 30.00.
You can also try discount chain Aldi which now offers organic produce and gluten free options, much cheaper than Trader Joe’s and certainly Whole Paycheck. Their «gourmet» food line is awesome as well. I like the no frills shopping experience and they have really stepped up their game since I was last there.
I have yet to go (but will soon) but friends assure me Fresh Fields is not only awesome, with locally raised meats and produce, but also cheap! Their website looks promising, with locally raised meats, fish, dairy, veggies.
Homegrown doesn’t sell any kind of fish (a major part of my diet) and is SUPER EXPENSIVE! Um, $ 8.00 for eggs??? No. Unless you are committed to the food coop mission (and there is nothing wrong with that) and have money to burn, I say skip Homegrown. The beauty of Florida is that fresh produce is easy to find!

I moved down from Brooklyn NY where it may seem strange but there is no shortage of farm fresh produce including veggies fruits meats eggs milk bread… I could go on. However when I moved to Florida I was disheartened to see a serious lack of farm to table produce. Every produce stand was merely produce from the same truck that delivered to Walmart or publix. Super sad considering I live between two orange groves and a cow farm across the street.
Then a ray of sunshine descended upon the webpage of homegrown local food coop and my search was over. I cannot say enough good things about this place. Reasonably priced (the deals are in the seasonal boxes) and a great seasonal selection throughout the year. Customer service is out of this world awesome. Thank you homegrown for making it possible to eat farm to table in Florida

Been a member since 2013, I’m so glad I found the coop! I’ve learned a ton about growing and cooking food, who knew there could be so many kinds of avocado?!
At first, it was tough to think about ordering next week’s groceries when I wanted them NOW, so I started with basic salad ingredients — Spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers etc. Now, I go bold and regularly eat things with names like Tindora, Nopale, and Jaboticaba! I love reading the farmers’ descriptions of native and exotic items, and really appreciate that it’s all grown here, harvested when it’s ripe; the flavor is undeniably better.
Elevate your palate y’all, try this place out!

Homegrown is THE best place in Orlando to get locally grown organic produce, local bread, and much more. The staff and volunteers are super friendly and know you by name. I love being able to just order online during the week and then picking up my order on the weekend (conveniently located near downtown Orlando, right off of I-​4).
The produce is the freshest you will find anywhere and you gain the satisfaction of supporting small local farms and businesses. You can choose what specific produce you want to order each week or you can pay a flat fee and be surprised with a selection of whatever is in season (I prefer the latter).
I’ve been a member since 2011 and still love this place. Go check out this hidden gem!

So easy to buy local fresh food to support local farmers. Order online pick on the weekend then make awesome food! I made killer chicken soup with all co-​op purchases. Non gmo chicken, celery, onions, carrots, chickpeas!
Get in here, do something new that’s good for your body and your community! Feed your family good healthy natural food!

Went to Homegrown for the first time yesterday for sushi saturday. What a nice little place! Local vendors inside for lunch. I had great koffee kombucha from my favorite, Living Kombucha and vegan sushi from the squidbox. Produce looked nice. I left with a container of Dandelion’s hempy hummus. I didn’t know I could buy it outside of a Dandelion side, so I was very excited. Will most likely try a produce box in the near future, but everything seemed pretty expensive. May need to do cost comparisons before determining if it’ll be a good decision for my household.

Date of visit: once a week since 2012
I LOVE HOMEGROWN LOCAL CO-​OP! Thanks to the co-​op, I have met most of the farmers that supply my food order each week. Everything the co-​op has to offer is locally sourced and organic — carrying everything from local breads, meats, and cheeses to veggies to kombucha! They even started offering face creams, lotions, and tonics.
Did I mention this is all locally sourced?! Think about what a positive impact it is to support local farmers and other producers, not only for the economy but for the environment.
Ordering is a breeze and can be done online Mondays through Friday mornings, and you can pick up your order (near College Park and Downtown) on Saturday or Sundays from 12 – 4. (Deliveries are available for a fee, too!) Your first two orders are free, then you are asked to become a member for a very minimal yearly fee. The pricing is about on par with grocery store organics, but the quality is much higher.
If you forget to order one week, just stop by the store on Saturday or Sunday from 12 – 4 to shop the surplus. Each weekend, the producers bring in extra products that you can simply pick up. Amy and Bailey will show you around and answer any questions. And Amy is great to ask for recipe ideas!
Not only does the co-​op offer all this local goodness, but they also make their space available for community classes. I lead a meditation class there on Thursdays at 7PM and the environment is welcoming and inviting!

I went in to pick up my neighbors order for her. Head no idea this place was in Orlando. The staff were very friendly and took the time to explain the process. Next trip will be to pick up my own groceries :)

Homegrown is back and on its way to restoring its former glory! The online ordering system is back — so I made an order for delivery on Saturday. Everything arrived in excellent condition and I was so pleased with some of the goodies I bought! Creamed honey, fresh kale, hummus! This is such a great resource for people who have busy schedules but still want to buy food and produce from their local community. I’m so glad the option to order online is back. It’s early January, so the variety of items is pretty slim but Homegrown’s comeback looks promising!

What a great little place! I volunteered for the first time today (of course, it will definitely not be my last) and got to see what they had to offer.
You get a lot more selection if you browse their online market but in the store, there’s plenty of bulk items (rice, beans, flour, and sugar) and spices on hand. There were also some oranges, peaches, carrots, squash, onions, garlic, eggs, and cheese available, but I like said, you get a better selection of produce and other goodies from the online market.
As soon as pay day rolls around, I will definitely be investing my money in this establishment. Support local and organic food!
Edit: Remember to bring your own grocery bags, they do have paper bags in the store but encourage customers to bring their own [reusable] bags.

Such a cute market! They carry a good selection of teas and jams. It is very small, but Orlando is not yet a cooperative friendly city like Seattle or Portland. Everything is organic and local. I encourage everyone to give this little market a try.

I heard about this place when I was searching for gardening help. I started 3 community vegetable gardens in my neighborhood Avalon Park & I was interested in finding local farms & advice on how to grow. My searching led me to Econ Farm, a local fruit & vegetable grower among other things…
Homegrown Local Food Co Op sells locally produced & environmentally friendly products. They are great for Vegetarians, Vegans & people with specialty diets. They also sell grass fed beef & local eggs & milk & believe me… it tastes so good!!!
You would be so surprised of the flavor and nutrient increase you find when you buy LOCAL. A lot of growers in the Orlando area use red worms & volcanic rock to break down compost which then makes worm tea & castings which you can mix with your top soil. The results of using this type of soil makes your vegetables so much more nutritious than the vegetables you’d buy at Publix & Walmart.
It is amazing how long store bought apples, oranges & tomatoes last. They are not supposed to have long shelf lives. It is the pesticides and chemicals they spray on these fruits & vegetables that make them last. Then we ingest them?! It doesn’t make sense to me, but hey, it shows that Capitalism is alive and well! ;)
At Homegrown they sell organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, vegan products (tofu, tempeh, quinoa, hummus, etc) as well as oils, fresh breads, and plants. They even sell local environmentally friendly cleaning products as well as worm composting equipment & growing supplies.
This place is great for it’s convenience too. They take online orders on Wednesday and Fridays and will have your order ready for you during the week & on the weekends. I also heard they extended their hours to Mon-​Sun from 10 – 7. I used to be a Volunteer for Homegrown so that’s how I have the inside scoop. I am also a member. Which means that I paid an annual due to be involved in the running of this business… hence the name «Co-​Op».
Check out Homegrown sometime soon… they are located across from Florida Hospital Downtown on Orange Ave & Princeton St. Your body will Thank You!!! :)

Great concept. There’s online ordering as well as a storefront. I was misled by the directions to the store and thought it was in the actual Florida Hospital medical village! It’s across the street from it in a standalone tiny building. It is slightly pricier, but I think it’s negligible since you’re supporting local growers and farmers. There’s the standard veg fare as well as frozen grass fed beef, free range eggs, locally made cheeses… Everyone was very sweet in the store and helpful.
Also I didn’t bring a reusable bag and was slightly embarrassed at the «you don’t have a bag?» comment. Felt like I was in Portland! So a tip for newcomers… bring a bag!

so, I really wanted to make an order online for produce. however for some reason, I always seem to not be online at the appropriate times to order. So, after deciding is just too hard for me to order online — I decided to drop by when I passed story by mistake.
When browsing the story it’s easy to understand why some people are not eating organic and local. It’s really expensive. And since I am not a member of the co-​op, there is also a 10% surcharge added to my order. I was able to get some kale on sale, as well as some organic broccoli. I will say organic broccoli taste a world of difference from conventionally farmed broccoli. It doesn’t have that chemically taste to it, it makes a huge difference.
I was welcomed and told of how the co-​op works when I walked in. There were other baked items, as well as pickled good, and other snacks that were available, in addition to produce. There were also roots and cheese available as well.

Such an amazing concept. Execution is pretty good but could use some work.
Things that may have deterred me if I cared more about safety (which I should): Giving my cc number over the phone. I suppose I could have drove to the office if I cared that much but I was lazy and just provided it over the phone. It would be nice if everything was done online.
It was delivered to the wrong house. I live in a carriage house, clearly stated street address on the label and it was still delivered to the front house. This is imperative because there was frozen meats and by the time I discovered it, the ice started melting. But, I did get a voicemail from an unknown number which I didn’t listen to till much later in the day and it was the delivery person telling me he dropped it off and that he left it with ice and to note, if I was not home to leave a cooler outside next time. Well, I was home but it just happened to be delivered at the front house and I happen to miss their phone call. Bummer but okay effort on their part.
They take orders twice a week and everything is listed on the site. I did order a few things that said they were in stock but by the time I received the delivery, I guess they were out and were taken off my order.
I loved everything I received from the veggies to the cookies to the fresh, local meat and fish. Like I said, this is an amazing concept and I will continue to support, just can’t wait to see many improvements and growth!

My husband and I have been looking for a place besides Whole Foods, and I finally bit the bullet and tried out HomeGrown Organic Local Food Co-​op. We love it. I usually place an order on Sunday to pick up Wednesday on my way home from work, and because of that we’ve stopped buying produce at Publix. The produce is really fresh, and last week I meet the farmer from Heart of Christmas farms who grows some of our food! I got to thank him for what he’s doing and let him know that I love his produce. It’s made me really appreciate eating local and supporting local businesses. There are bakery items available (the cookies from Old Hearth are amazing) as well as tea and cleaning supplies that are made locally by City Maid Green. I haven’t tried them yet (haven’t run out of what we’re using) but I plan on buying some all purpose cleaner soon. The yearly fee is $ 40, but you get two free visits if you want to try it out. You can also volunteer there a certain number of hours to get a discount off of most of what they offer. The only ordering systems is easy to use, and great for us because my husband has dietary restrictions, so we can choose things that he can eat versus getting a box of produce that he may not be able to. I highly recommend it – we’ll never go back to grocery produce if we can help it!

I absolutely love the concept! I love being able to get fresh mostly organic and all locally grown produce! While I can’t always find everything (like bananas or apples) there are plenty of greens, vegetables, mushrooms, berries, fresh and dried herbs. They also have an assortment of juices, jams, baked goods… and for those who aren’t vegan yet, they do have meat and eggs available as well.
Since its local and mostly organic its also seasonal. You order your produce and other food items via the «online market» and can either choose to have it delivered for a fee or pick it up on one of their two pick up days. I think its fabulous concept. You can also buy their «overstock» produce though the selection will be a bit more limited its still worth a look.
The prices are comparable to organic produce at the grocery store. And do keep in mind most meats and regular produce is less expensive because of government subsidies, so you aren’t really paying the real price it cost to produce the produce.
Anyhoo, I really like this place. They allow you to make 2 purchases without paying the member fee but they will charge an additional 10%. The membership fee is $ 40 for the year. Which I think is reasonable to support local agriculture and organic produce!

I love this place. I love the idea of this place! I usually place an order for a basket every other week so I rarely find myself shopping for produce at Publix. I love how the contents of the basket is always a surprise. For this reason, I’m forced to cook foods I would never encounter otherwise.
The website is easy to navigate and now they actually moved into the yellow building on Orange Ave. The employees are so friendly, I look forward to going there every week :-)
I only wish there were more co-​ops like this in Orlando. I say if more people use what we already have, the businesses will grow and get better. So come on guys and try this out!

Homegrown Local Food Coop is slow food at its finest. Homegrown provides produce, meats, eggs, garden supplies and various canned items from local producers while supporting sustainable practices. You can get your food one of two ways:
1. You place an order online on their «Market» between Sunday at 5pm and Wednesday at 9am. Your order is available for pick-​up at their North Orange Ave. location Thursday between 2−8pm or for a fee you can have it delivered to your door. (Your first two online orders are free, then there is a $ 40 membership fee. Your online order is discounted compared to surplus purchases)
2. You can drop by their North Orange Ave. shop for «surplus» on Thursdays from 2−8pm. You’ll have a much smaller selection with this option.
Since I missed the online deadline I swung by the shop last week. First, the parking. There is a tiny, barely noticeable driveway immediately north of the building. I missed it (three times!) because it is gravel and grass and is unlit.
The girls working the shop were friendly and helpful and gave me tips on preparing the food I bought. I’d never cooked an acorn squash before but it was really delicious! They didn’t have a huge assortment (this was surplus/​leftovers) but I did get a whole free-​range, grass fed chicken from Pasture Prime (
), quinoa polenta, and a handful of different squashes. I also picked up a delicious Blueberry Disaronno (Disaronno is a type of Amaretto) spread.
Although I love the concept I really wish they had more of a fruit selection. This is February and the only things available are citrus fruits and organic strawberries at $ 7 a pint? I love snacking on apples, pears and other grab and go fruit but there are none available. I know their focus is local but it would be nice to have organic options available for fruits not grown in our state.
I placed my first online order and was impressed with the selection (except for fruits, mentioned above). They have many options from great companies such as Olde Hearth Bakery, Winter Park Dairy, Heart of Christmas, Raphsodic Coop, Global Organics and more. Ordering was a breeze and now that I know where to park picking up will be a breeze as well!