Guide to Sustainable and Ethical Food Shopping in Zurich during Corona Social Distancing
Where can I source my food safely and sustainably at the moment?
This is a question I am getting lot these days and it is something I have also been asking myself. So I decided to pull together a guide to help anyone in Zurich or Switzerland work out how to get food that is not only safe but also sustainably and ethically produced while we bunker down.
The unusual situation we now find ourselves in is really hard on a lot of people. Including those working tirelessly to keep us all fed as we stay at home. Farmers and farm workers who continue to go to the fields, retail workers who keep stocking the shelves, restaurant owners who scramble to offer solutions to feed us and keep some of their staff in jobs. And all of those in the food system who cannot work and lose the income they desperately rely on to feed their own families.
I believe we always need to be considerate about how we source our food, but now more than ever. Because so many people’s livelihoods depend on it.
For those of you living in Zurich, here is a little list to help you out. Ethical and sustainable suppliers, some of whom have pivoted their business within a couple of days to be able to deliver and supply food to us. Take a moment to see if you can support them in some way, if it is possible for you. Rather than relying only on supermarkets let’s see if we can share the love and support local producers who face a challenging time right now.
A side note - there are certainly many more organisations that could be listed here and that is where you can help! I would love for this to be a living document - if you have ideas to add to the list please just drop them in the comments at the end of the post or send me an email. Thanks!
Groceries and Produce:
General Food Supplies – Bachsermärt is open as per usual at all 5 locations (Seefeld, Kalkbreite, Eglisau, Bachs, Albisrieden). They sell products from local and international producers selected on the basis of sustainability criteria and values.
General Supplies - Chornlade (in Kreis 3 and Kreis 5) remains open, with a range of food and non-food products from small producers and cooperatives.
Groceries Delivered – Grassrooted are collaborating with Foifi to deliver a range of basic groceries to your home. You can select what you need from their product list and for 10 CHF it will be delivered to your house.
Food Supplies and Meals – POT is a concept to connect urban food consumers with producers to build an ethical, regenerative and sustainable local food system. The POT at Triemli is still open for members at all times. They also offer take away meals and deliver meals to your home. For more info download the flyer here and contact Patrick Honauer on +41 79 648 03 22 to become a member.
Potatoes – Alpine potatoes from the Albulatal delivered to your door from Sabina, Marcel Heinrich and Freddy Christandl via the Potato Taxi!
Direct from Farm - If you eat meat then this is the best way to source it, direct from a farm that has high ethical and sustainability standards. You can order from Biohof Dusch directly on their website. They also offer "Berglinsen" (lentils), Emmer-Wheat (flour & grains), Canola Oil and Camellia.
Zero Waste – Zero waste / bulk buy stores Foifi and Chez Mamie remain open and have different collaborations with producers to also offer fresh produce
Rescued Vegetable Delivery Box – Gebana and Grassrooted deliver a vegetable box to your door including vegetables that otherwise would have gone to waste as they do not conform to retail standards.
Fresh Produce – Gebana continue to offer a range of ethically traded imported food products (avocados, oranges, mangoes, bananas, dried fruit, nuts etc.) as well as food boxes sourced thorough their producer direct value chains.
Online Farmers Market – I guess I do not need to add Farmy to this list, everyone has been using them so intensively that the next available delivery slot is mid-April! But I have added them here as it is a great platform and they are probably working out how to scale to the new demand as you read this.
Specialty Products from Sicily - Crowd Container offers a range of products ordered in advance from producers in different regions through a “more than fair trade” approach. Currently they are working with farmers in Sicily to offer pasta, beans, lemons, pomegranate juice, olive oil etc.
Vegetable Boxes – There continue to be many options to get vegetables delivered to your door directly from farmers or through an intermediary. This is a good option for those who used to go to the farmers markets that are now closed. Here are a few you can check out: Bio Mio - The Tor14 Cooperative - Ugly Fruits
Direct from Farm - In case you can travel safely to a farm outside the city, here are a couple that you may be interested to support directly: Portulac (where I usually buy my vegetables at the farmers market) and Gut Rheinau (where I have the pleasure to run a Summer School each year with ETH Zurich, it is wonderful place!)
Specialty Food Products:
Diverse Food Products – The young and innovative producers at Bio-Jungrind and Biohof Taratsch have products available for delivery from the shop of the wonderful Rebecca Clopath.
Mixed Product Foodbox – A food box containing delicious products from innovative small producers in and around Zurich, coordinated through Miyuko.
Fermented Foods – These are your friends right now for healthy gut bacteria and for products with a long shelf life. Pure Taste is delivering all of their fermented food products from Basel. They work with local farmers to source misshapen produce that would go to waste.
Nuts - For all your nut supplies check out Pakka, a leader in setting up ethical nut value chains. They have a webshop with free delivery over 50CHF - why not coordinate an order with your neighbours on whatsapp?
Spices – Soul Spice has a wonderful range of sustainably sourced spices in gorgeous packaging and you can order online and have delivered to your home. They have some wonderful spice blends to experiment with!
Sweet Treats:
Here are some producers making sweet treats and delivering them. I like to think of all of these products as a luxury to be enjoyed in moderation and really savoured. For me that makes the higher prices to source sustainably worthwhile.
Kuerzi Kakao – bean to bar chocolate made by hand in Zurich by the wonderful Britta from cocoa sourced from the KocoaKamili cooperative in Tanzania that also ferments centrally, improving the quality and income for farmers. They just launched at the end of last year, you can show them some love and order their chocolate to be delivered to your door. I love that Britta really appreciates that chocolate should be a luxury that is savoured, not a mass produced, cheap product. She also offers free online chocolate tasting at the moment to help you learn more!
Choba Choba - chocolate made through a new approach they call the “chocolate revolution”. This includes the farmers being owners of the company and sharing in the profits, rather than simply being considered raw material suppliers.
Grainglow - Laura and Matty are now delivering their hand made vegan treats all over Switzerland.
Meal Delivery:
Many restaurants and caterers are offering delivery services now. Here are a couple I know of:
Zum Guten Heinrich – they call themselves the “most sustainable caterer in Switzerland” and now deliver 4 or 5 day meal packages to your home, by bike!
Simply Soup – Assem and her team do a great job at creating simple and seasonal meals and you can still pick up takeaway soups and meals at their stores. They also deliver soups to your home.
Kle – A relatively new plant-based seasonal restaurant in Zurich that now offers home delivery
Eat by Alex – Alex delivers healthy meal packages including 2-4 meals and snacks that are all thoughtfully produced using seasonal and plant-focussed ingredients. You can have the packages delivered at home.
TooGoodToGo - This great app against food waste is still working and they have added a new feature called WeCare which allows you to purchase meals for pick up from restaurants that they work with, helping them make it through these difficult times.
Supporting Food Producers:
As in many parts of the world, a lot of the harvest in Switzerland relies on foreign workers. Due to the current situation, it is possible that we will face a shortage of farm workers, especially in fruit and vegetable production, as the spring harvest ramps up. “Landwirtschaft mit Zukunft” is currently creating a solidarity network, where farmers can register the support they need and healthy, not at risk citizens can help fill the gaps. This is all being done in full compliance with the recommendations of the government in terms of hygiene and social distancing. Keep your eyes on this website for opportunities to help which should start being posted soon:
https://www.landwirtschaftmitzukunft.ch/landwirtschaftssolinetz
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It is super easy to just take things day to day at the moment, and for some it is necessary to survive. If you have a little bit of space to breathe right now, I think it is a great time to start reflecting on how you source your food and how you could use it as an opportunity to support a more sustainable future.
Wishing you happy and sustainable eating!
Love, Michelle xo
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