About Good Groceries

Good Groceries LLC (GG) is a certified Oregon B Company based in Wallowa County that delivers local meat, produce, and household goods from human-scale farmers, ranchers, fishers, and micro-manufacturers from the Pacific Northwest to homes and workplaces.

GG was founded in 2020 as Genuine Wallowa County Provisions with an advisory panel consisting of Theresa Stangel of Stangel Bison Ranch, Mary Hawkins of Hawkins Sisters Ranch, and Beth Gibans of Backyard Gardens (pictured below); check out the Community Partners section for more information and love bombs. GWC Provisions was part of Genuine Wallowa County LLC, an online gift shop showcasing the work of local and Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) artists and craftspeople.

In 2021, GWC Provisions was selected to participate in the USDA RFSP-funded planning project: “Embedding Oregon Food Sector Development in Racial Equity, Climate Change Resilience, Fair Labor Practices, and Strategic Collaboration,” managed by OSU Extension Community Food Systems. GWC Provisions rebranded to Good Groceries in early 2024.

Geographic/Cultural History

The area now known as Wallowa County, Oregon, is the ancestral home of the Joseph Band of Nimiipuu (Nez Perce), known as the wal̓wá·ma. They spent summers in the Wallowa Valley, and winters in the low canyons of the Imnaha River and Joseph Creek. Well-known leaders include Tıwi·teqıs (Chief Joseph the elder) and his sons Hinmató·wyalahtq'it (Chief Joseph the younger), and Ollikut (Little Frog). In the late 1800s, European-American settlers began ranching, logging, mining, and farming the lush valley. They violently ejected the Nimiipuu who, after enduring a series of human rights violations and indignities, now predominantly reside in Colville, Washington, or Lapwai, Idaho.

Supporting the Community

GG makes annual donations to the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, which works to welcome Nimiipuu back to their native land. $1 of every sale is donated to Community Connection of Northeast Oregon to support regional food pantries. GG welcomes shoppers using Oregon Trail SNAP EBT cards and Farm Direct Nutrition Program vouchers.

Protecting the Environment

GG mitigates its environmental impact by using recycled and repurposed packaging, plant-based adhesives, and Geami Greenwrap for fragile items that are shipped, participating in HP’s Planet Partners ink cartridge recycling program, and enrolling in the Pacific Power Blue Sky renewable energy program. We pay more for our delivery bags so they can meet the following guidelines:

Good Groceries/GWC Provisions Press

Farm Fed Fit (video) August 2024

Wallowa County Chieftain March 2024

Wallowa County Chieftain and La Grande Observer March 2022

Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce "Support Local" video November 2021

Wallowa County Chieftain September 2021

The Capital Press July 2020

Wallowa County Chieftain June 2020

Founder Kristy Athens

Kristy has an M.S. in Food Systems and Society from Marylhurst University and is the author of Get Your Pitchfork On!: The Real Dirt on Country Living. She has worked in rural/”minority” economic development for decades, currently connecting Eastern Oregon farmers and school districts as the procurement liaison for Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network, and serving for a number of years on the Wallowa County Farmers Market board. Kristy moved to Wallowa County in 2013, and before that lived in western Oregon/Washington and the upper Midwest. In her spare time (ha ha!) she manages Pitchfork Garden with her spouse, makes collage art, and plays songs on fiddle and electric bass.

Portrait by Linda Athens

linda mary kristy jim james athens midlo kathy

Where does the name come from?

Kristy’s father-in-law, Jim Midlo (green shirt), built a successful business as a food broker in Minneapolis, starting from scratch in the late 1970s with a folding table and a telephone in his basement and growing to the successful JJ Midlo & Co. Kristy could have learned a lot from Jim, but unfortunately at the time she was interested in literature and writing. Oh how she wishes she could talk business with him now! Jim had terrific aphorisms including “Family, Friends, Health, Time, Money, in that order. And take time to have some fun." And, when the family was gathered over a meal, Jim would beam across the table and say: “Gooooooood groceries!”