HERITAGE FOODS USA

We believe the best way to help a family farmer is to buy from him.

Get Heritage products delivered to your home by clicking here!

Heritage Foods USA was founded in 2001 as the marketing arm of Slow Food USA’s Ark project. The first Ark products to be sold were Heritage turkeys raised by the foremost breeder of Heritage poultry in the nation: Frank Reese. Many breeds of Heritage turkeys (Bourbon Red, Narragansett, Jersey Buff) are on the endangered species list for farm animals. They are endangered because they are not the breed of choice for corporations who desire fast growing inbreds with abnormal amounts of white breast meat. The only way to save the true American turkey, the one eaten in this country in the 19th century, is to raise them as food. That is what the partnership between Frank and Slow Food USA accomplished and on Thanksgiving 2002, about 800 Heritage turkeys were sold to Slow Food members around the country. Today hundreds of farmers raise Heritage turkeys including Frank Reese and his team at Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch who will raise about 10,000 this year. As a result, numerous breeds have been removed from the critically endangered species list.

After two years of growing the Heritage Turkey project, Heritage Foods USA became an independent company that sold other endangered animals like Red Wattle pigs and Katahdin lamb. At first these breeds were sold to home chefs with the help of our friends at Fed Ex. Thanks to a 2005 trip to Kansas with New York chefs Mark Ladner, Jason Denton and Zach Allen a wholesale division of Heritage Foods USA was launched. All animals come from Heritage genetics, are anti-biotic free and raised on pasture.

Today Heritage Foods USA purchases 200 Heritage pigs a week, each and every week, from a network of about 25 independent farms. These pigs are processed and cut into parts under the watchful eye and skilled hands of our partners at Paradise Locker Meats in Trimble, Missouri. Breeds like Tamworth, Gloucestershire Old Spot, Large Black, Berkshire, Duroc, and Red Wattle are delivered on Mondays and Tuesdays as the Heritage Foods USA office take orders from a network of more than 250 restaurants around the country. For a full list of these restaurants click here. Together the wholesale and mail order division of Heritage Foods USA move over 50,000lbs of Heritage, pasture-raised, anti-biotic free meat a week.

In addition to pork, Heritage Foods USA processes about 7,500 Heritage turkeys each November as well as small amounts of other foods like Heritage lamb, beef and chicken. In 2011 a new project was launched: No Goat Left Behind. No Goat is an annual project each October (or Goatober as we like to call it) that sources unwanted male dairy goats from farms in the Northeast and sells them to restaurant and home chefs. In 2012 more than 750 goats will be sold.

In 2009 Heritage Foods USA created HeritageRadioNetwork.org (HRN) in honor of Carlo Petrini’s Radio Bra Onde Rosse, the second independent radio station in Italy, which broadcast good, clean and fair content in 1974 and 1975. Today HRN features more than 30 weekly shows about such topics as food technology, beer, cheese, food history and politics, and cocktails. In May 2012 more than 1 million people clicked onto HRN to learn about artisan and handcrafted foods.

The best way to follow Heritage news is through our weekly emails. To sign up, click here. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also call us at 718-389-0985 or email us at info@HeritageFoodsUSA.com.

Contact Us Staff Mission & Values Production Standards Advisory Board

CONTACT US

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or if you would like to receive more information about ordering one of our products, please feel free to contact us. If you are a farmer who would like help on marketing your foods, please contact us!

Heritage Foods USA
Box 198 --- 402 Graham Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel: 718-389-0985
Fax:718-389-0547

Email: info@HeritageFoodsUSA.com
Patrick Martins: Patrick@heritagefoodsusa.com
Serena di Liberto: Serena@HeritageFoodsUSA.com
Daniel Honig: Dan@HeritageFoodsUSA.com
Erin Fairbanks: Erin@HeritageFoodsUSA.com
Catherine Greeley: Catherine@HeritageFoodsUSA.com
Janani Lee: Janani@HeritageFoodsUSA.com

back to top

HERITAGE FOODS USA STAFF

Patrick Martins

Patrick Martins was born in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital on February 10th, 1972 and has lived in the city ever since. Patrick received a Masters' Degree in Performance Studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Patrick is the founder of Slow Food USA, Heritage Foods USA, Heritage Radio Network and co-founder of the New York City Trivia Game.

Serena Di Liberto

She is now part of the Heritage Foods USA team and she is also a fitness instructor for Equinox Gym and New York Health and Racquet Club both located in NYC.

Daniel Honig

Daniel was born in the great state of New Jersey in 1989 and went to college at New York University where he studied philosophy and environmental studies. Daniel is pursuing a Masters in bio-ethics, which is the perfect combination of philosophy, environmental studies and the great work we do with heritage Foods USA. Daniel helps with sales and special projects at Heritage.

Katy Keiffer

Katy Keiffer has been immersed in NYC's food world for the last thirty years, from butchering meat to publicizing famous chefs to writing for Food Arts Magazine and other publications. Katy was trained in cuisine in France and has spent the last ten years working in media. Katy helps run all divisions of Heritage Foods USA.

Jack Inslee

Jack Inslee is the President of Heritage Radio Network. He is a graduate of New York University's Music Technology program and has worked in sound and recording since he was 12 years old. After meeting Patrick Martins in 2009, his diet and appreciation for good food has improved drastically. In his spare time, Jack produces and performs as 1/2 of the electronic music duo Knifeshow. He is also a die-hard Knicks fan.

Erin Fairbanks

In 2005, Erin moved to New York City and walked into the kitchen of Savoy offering to peel carrots. From Savoy she moved on to Gramercy Tavern, before heading north to spend a year at Flying Pigs Farm where she directed “Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm.” She completed her graduate degree in Urban Policy Analysis at Milano The New School in 2012..

Joe Galarraga

Joe Galarraga grew up outside of Baltimore, MD where he learned his appreciation for the outdoors and nature. After spending many summers working as an outdoor educator and volunteering on CSA farms in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Joe moved to New York City to pursue a degree in Music Technology at NYU. In 2011, Joe graduated with honors from NYU Steinhardt's Music Technology department, and is glad to be an engineer at Heritage Radio Network, where he can foster his interests in music and farming.

Janani Lee

Janani is a California native is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Food Studies at New York University. After completing her BA degree in Dance and Religious Studies at Wesleyan University, she spent time farming and working in kitchens in California and Hawaii. She is interested in urban farming, arts education, and food history.

Catherine Greeley

Catherine was born and raised outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Culinary School at Johnson & Wales University and later graduated with her Bachelor's degree from Cornell University. Catherine is part of the Mail Order Team at Heritage Foods.

back to top

MISSION AND GUIDING VALUES

Mission Statement
Heritage Foods USA exists to promote genetic diversity, small family farms, and a fully traceable food supply. We are committed to making wholesome, delicious and sustainably produced heritage foods available to all Americans. In doing so, we will foster the link between sustainable land use, small-scale food production and preservation of the foods of past generations for future generations.

Guiding Values

American

• We uphold the American ideals of equity and dignity for all producers and their foods.
• We are committed to heritage foods of all of the Americas, North, South and Central.
• We believe that our inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness include access to high quality, sustainably raised and traceable foods

Genetic Diversity

• We value the earth's bounty in all its diverse expressions
• We advocate the maintenance of genetic diversity in all foods
• We strongly oppose GMO's.

Education

• We educate consumers about the difference between small family farms and industrial agriculture.
• We educate consumers to allow them to know where their food comes from and how it was raised.
• We invest, from our profits, to educate every creed of American on how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals and how to appreciate the wonderful cultures from which those production methods are based.

Accessibility

• We will make previously inaccessible foods available to all consumers
• We will work with farmers to bring their foods to market

Traceability

• We believe that it is the right of all Americans to know everything about every aspect of their food supply
• We will provide complete transparency with all of our products so our customers can trace the food all the way from their dinner table to the farm that raised it.

Loyalty

• We believe in long-term sustainable relationships with our families, staff, partners, suppliers and customers.
• We are committed to sticking with each and every breed of animal and plant until they have reached a point that they can survive on their own, without our assistance.
• We believe that trust and integrity are the foundation upon which our business will be built and that by upholding those values we will ensure loyalty with all who work with us.

Stewardship

• We believe that it is a tremendous honor to represent each and every farmer and producer and that it is our responsibility to represent them in such a way as to be deemed worthy of that honor.
• We believe that farming is an immeasurable gift and one that we must not take for granted
• We will work to make our foods and the land where they are raised available for future generations

back to top

PRODUCTION STANDARDS

Heritage Foods USA strives to maintain the vision of its Advisory Board member, Alice Waters, and her restaurant when she writes:

"Chez Panisse gathers its ingredients from known and trusted purveyors-purveyors known to be committed to sound and sustainable practices and trusted to remain informed and responsive to these values in a rapidly changing society. Our purveyors are committed to healthful products and practices that are pure and natural as possible, without synthetic additives or pollutants and without the unnecessary complexities of packaging or marketing. They are also committed to the conservation of resources, both natural resources like the land and water, and societal resources like the families and businesses that plant and harvest."

Heritage Foods believes in respecting the traditions of our past. Our meats and poultry are raised on pasture and are not fed antibiotics and animal by-products. Our fish are harvested in ways that do not harm the environment. We are searching for sources of organic feed.

Our pork farmers are Certified Humane and our poultry farmers are certified by the Animal Welfare Institute. Please visit their sites for more information on their rigorous protocols: www.certifiedhumane.com and www.awionline.org.

Our value added products are made in small batches by independent, farmers and businesses.

Thanks to all these guidelines, our foods actually taste better and, better yet, the producers do their best to minimize their negative effects on the environment and society.

back to top

ADVISORY BOARD

Mario Batali
Mario, whose original career path had him studying the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, took his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a "lack of interest." An apprenticeship with London's legendary Marco Pierre White and three years cooking and learning in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne, population 100, gave him what he needed to return to his native US and plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant establishment. Among his many culinary accolades, Mario was named "Man of the Year" in the Chef category by GQ Magazine in 1999, and in 2002 won the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: New York City award. In addition to steering his businesses through their successes, Mario Batali hosts his own programs, "Molto Mario" and "Mario Eats Italy" on the Television Food Network. His new series "Ciao America" premiered in October 2003. He most recent book, The Babbo Cookbook, was released in 2002. Batali lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn, of the Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons, Benno and Leo. Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001 D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, a prestigious lifetime achievement award.

Michael Batterberry
Michael and Ariane Batterberry have founded two of the milestone national food magazines in this century: FOOD ARTS, the publication by and for the country's leading food and drink professionals and FOOD AND WINE, one the country's leading consumer magazines. Together or individually, they have authored eighteen books on food, entertaining, and art and social history. Several (The Pantheon Story Of Art; Fashion: The Mirror Of History; Bloomingdales Book Of Entertaining) have been best sellers. The Batterberrys are among the few authors who have had four concurrent Literary Guild selections.

Michael Batterberry has appeared regularly on CNNFN (CNN's financial network) as commentator on trends in the restaurant industry. He served as introductory host to the Public Television series "Rising Star Chefs"in 1997 and he continues to be repeatedly interviewed by CNN, TV Food Network, Britain's BBC and other European programmers.

The Batterberrys are in the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who in Food and Beverage in America, and were also chosen by the Foundations as Editors of the year in 1994. IN 1998 Ariane Batterberry was chosen as Women of the year by the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice. Michael Batterberry served for six years as a member of the National Board of the American Institute of Wine and Food. He is also on the Board of the French Culinary Institute and a Member of the Corporation of the Culinary Institute of America. He was also asked onto the board of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. He is on the Board of Stone Barns and the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in 2005.

Samuel W. Edwards III
Samuel W. Edwards III became involved with his family¹s business at an early age. Learning the business from the ground up included sweeping floors, chopping hickory wood and cleaning the grease pit, it wasn¹t long before his father and grandfather began teaching him the art of curing and monitoring Edwards Virginia Country Ham, Bacon and Sausage. Sam III eventually joined the company in the late 1970¹s as the third-generation Edwards to take charge. He focused on the specialty food trade, mail order and the internet site while opening two Edwards Virginia Ham shops in Surry and Williamsburg, VA.

He currently serves as a board member of the National Country Ham Association and past president of The Virginia Meat Processors and the National Country Ham Association. He also is serving on the Governor of Virginia¹s appointed Specialty Food Advisory Committee. Sam is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Southern Foodways, the DMA and NASFT. He is a Regional director on the Southern Virginia Community Board for Eastern Virginia Bank and serves on the Board of Zoning Appeals in Surry County. He is also an active member of Olga¹s foozball emporium and pool hall.

Sam III and his wife Donna have two children Stephanie 21 and Sam IV 20 attending college in Virginia.

Winona La Duke
Winona La Duke is an Ojibwe community organizer, economist and author who lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota.

She has worked extensively on Indigenous rights and environmental issues, most recently on the issues surrounding the patenting and genetic threats to wild rice, or manoomin.

Winona's four books include Last Standing Woman (fiction), All our Relations, Winona LaDuke Reader (non fiction), and In the Sugarbush, a children's book.

Winona has served as a boardmember of the Indigenous Women's Network for the past 10 years. She also served on the board of Greenpeace USA (l99l-96) and is founding director of both the White Earth Land Recovery Program and Honor the Earth, a national Native American foundation. Winona ran as the vice presidential candidate for the Green Party in the United States presidential elections in l996 and 2000.

Michel Nischan
As a Renowned Chef and Best-selling Author, Michel Nischan is credited with creating a cuisine of well-being, focused on a respect for pure ingredients and intense flavors - without the use of cream, butter, processed starches or processed sugars. The inspiration to explore full-flavored cooking without such indulgences came in 1994 from his son Chris who, at age five, was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes.

Michel Nischan debuted his revolutionary cuisine at Heartbeat Restaurant at the W Hotel in 1997, and was immediately propelled to the forefront of New York's culinary scene. Since then he has continued to raise the bar for delicious and healthful cooking and is continually lauded for his dedication to Well-Being, Organics & Sustainability, and Cultural Food Preservation. He has been nominated for a 2004 James Beard Award for his first cookbook, TASTE, Pure and Simple (Chronicle Books, 2003), a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller.

As president of Sources and Resources, Michel brings all of his passion and expertise to a variety of companies and organizations in pursuit of healthful, culturally significant and socially responsible food solutions. Michel's current clients and projects include work with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Food and Society Conference, the Ross School, The French Culinary Institute, Song Airways where Michel is the executive consulting chef for the first all-class airline to offer organic responsible food choices and flies 30,000 people daily, and Taj Luxury Hotels Group, in India, where he is developing restaurant concepts based on well-being.

Eric Schlosser
Eric Schlosser, author of the best selling Fast Food Nation, has been investigating the fast food industry for years. In 1998, his two-part article on the subject in Rolling Stone generated more mail than any other item the magazine had run in years. In addition to writing for Rolling Stone, Schlosser has contributed to The New Yorker and has been a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly since 1996. He won a National Magazine Award for "Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana and the Law" and has received a Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for Reporting. His work has been nominated for several other National Magazine Awards and for the Loeb Award for business journalism. In the words of Eric: "It's time to reclaim American agriculture from the fast food chains, pesticide makers, factory farms and genetic engineers. Our heritage foods are not only healthier and sustainable, but they taste a hell of a lot better. Supporting this revolution is easy: buy the right food from the right folks."

Alice Waters
Alice Waters is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California. Over the last three decades, Chez Panisse has cultivated a network of local farmers who share the restaurant's commitment to sustainable agriculture. In 2001, Chez Panisse was named best restaurant in the United States by Gourmet Magazine. Alice Waters initiated the Edible Schoolyard project in 1995, which incorporates her ideas about food and culture into the public school curriculum. She is author of eight books, the most recent of which is Chez Panisse Fruit (HarperCollins, 2002). Alice is also the International Vice President of Slow Food International and sits on the Board of Directors of Slow Food USA.

back to top