A little over two years ago, the City of Fayetteville passed an ordinance that allowed folks to keep up to four hens in their backyards inside the city limits. Now, thanks to Ozark Natural Foods, those hens can eat a little healthier.
ONF last week announced the opening of Ozark Natural Feeds, an organic chicken feed store located at the lower loading dock on the north side of the co-op. The store, open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is the first of its kind in Arkansas.
“The process started when one of our owners, and also a local farmer, told us about Thayer Feed in Southeastern Kansas,” said ONF produce manager Pauline Thiessen. “Thayer mills, sells and distributes organic feeds of all types. We visited their operation, and the staff were so incredibly helpful that we were able to devise a simple, low-tech way to begin selling feed out of our basement.”
Theissen said that since the city passed the ordinance to allow hens in the city limits, a lot of their customers have been looking for organic feeds.
“We realized, from talking to many of our owners, that our community had a real need for access to organic feed. With time and effort, Ozark Natural Foods was able to address that need,” said Thiessen.
The store will carry four types of feed: Starter, Grower, Layer and Scratch, priced between 35 and 47 cents per pound.
The feed is delivered in one-ton quantities with no packaging. Folks who wish to purchase some will need to bring their own containers to the loading dock. ONF staff will then weigh the feed, load it into your vehicle, and provide a ticket with the amount and type of feed. After that, just pay inside the store.
Correction: The above post referred to the new ONF feed store as the first of its kind in the state. Thanks to Festerville for pointing out that a company called Organic Essentials: Total Farm Solutions LLC may have also operated an organic chicken feed store in Arkansas.
