03 · Sourcing
If a tag says Ottawa County, the apples came from Ottawa County.
Every crate of fresh produce at our Eastern Market counter in Detroit carries a card with the county it grew in, the kind of farm and the week it arrived. This page is where those cards come from.
The card on every crate
How an origin tag gets written
The tag is written when the crate comes off the truck, not when it goes on display. Whoever unloads it writes the county, the farm type and the date on a card and clips it to the crate. If the delivery note doesn't say where the food grew, the crate doesn't get a card, and a crate without a card doesn't go on the counter.
We write the county rather than a farm's name on the public tag. Ask at the counter and we will tell you which farm; the tag is kept short so you can read it from a step away.
The week matters as much as the place. Greens are cut the day before delivery. Tomatoes come in on Tuesday and Friday. A tag that says Friday on a Monday tells you something, and we would rather you know it.
- Kent County, heirloom tomatoes
- Ottawa County, orchard apples
- Macomb County, greens and roots
- Washtenaw County, greens and roots
- Lapeer County, pastured eggs
- Detroit, sourdough
Where we buy
Five Michigan counties and one Detroit bakery
A short list, and it stays short. Fewer growers means we know what each one sends and when it stops. Seasonal vegetables for Detroit, mostly within a couple of hours' drive.
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Kent County
Heirloom tomatoes · Jul to Sep
Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and Green Zebra. When the Kent tomatoes stop, our tomatoes stop. We don't fill the gap with a greenhouse crate from somewhere else.
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Ottawa County
Orchard apples · autumn
Northern Spy, Honeycrisp and Jonagold from the orchard country near the lake. Spy is the one for pies.
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Macomb County
Greens and roots
Kale, chard, carrots and beets from vegetable farms just north of the city, cut the day before they reach us.
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Washtenaw County
Greens and roots
The second source for greens, so one wet week on one farm doesn't empty the bunch crate. The tag tells you which of the two it was.
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Lapeer County
Pastured eggs
One flock on pasture. Mixed brown shells, ungraded. Farm cooler to our cooler at 40°F.
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Detroit
Sourdough · baked overnight
One bakery, Michigan-milled wheat, loaves of about 900 g that arrive the morning of pickup.
Full spec cards per itemProducePantry & bakery
House rules
What we won't stock, and what we won't do
These aren't slogans. Each one has cost us a sale at some point.
Anything called local that we can't trace to a county
A supplier who can't say where it grew doesn't get a tag, and without a tag nothing reaches the counter. The most common version of this is a mixed crate from a reseller. We turn it down.
Shipping perishables
Eggs, greens, tomatoes and bread go from the farm or the bakery to our cooler to your bag. A courier van in July is how a good tomato turns to sauce before it arrives.
Holding produce past the agreed day
Call before the day and we move your pickup. Without a call, the order goes back on sale while it is still worth eating.
Quoting a fixed total before the weighing
The price on the board is the week's price. We confirm the weight at the counter, then you pay. A half-bushel of Northern Spy is about 21 pounds, and about is the honest word.
Who runs this
A counter shop on Russell Street
Eastern Market Provisions is a small fresh-produce and farm-goods shop run by Easternmarket, trading at easternmarket.us. It is based at 2934 RUSSELL STREET, DETROIT, MI 48207, United States, in the Eastern Market district, and it serves households in Detroit who collect their orders in person.
This website belongs to the shop and is operated by it. It is a catalogue: it shows what is in, where it grew and how it is priced. It does not sell anything by itself.
How the counter runs
Farm produce pickup in Detroit, arranged by a person
We buy seasonal vegetables and fruit, eggs, sourdough bread, honey, preserves and a few dry staples from the growers and the bakery named above, and sell them in household amounts: a single loaf, six eggs, a pound of beets, a half-bushel of tomatoes for a canning weekend.
Orders come in through the request form, the chat or the phone. Nobody books a slot with a robot. Someone at the counter reads the request, calls or emails you back to confirm what is available, the weight and a pickup day, and sets your order aside labelled with your name.
You collect at the counter and pay there. The site takes no payment and holds no card details, and every price shown online is a price basis confirmed at pickup, never a binding quote.
- RequestForm, chat or (313) 833-9300. Say what and how much.
- ConfirmWe call or email back with the weight and the day.
- Set asideYour order waits, labelled with your name, cold where it needs to be.
- Collect and payAt 2934 Russell Street, at the week's board price.
Reach a person
Ask us which farm grew it
Calls are answered by whoever is on the counter. If the counter is busy, leave a message or send an email and the same person replies once the queue is clear. Email is the better route for anything longer than a quick question, including requests about your data.
Phone
Counter
2934 RUSSELL STREET, DETROIT, MI 48207, United States
Opening hours are not posted online. Call or send a request and we confirm a pickup window.