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Sourcing Philosophy & Farms

Local. Natural. Simple. Food. These four sourcing principles keep Radius focused on our mission to celebrate and spread local, seasonal home cooking.

Local

Eating local is better for our health, small farmers, the community fabric, and the environment. And most important of all, local ingredients taste the best. Radius will source all perishables from Texas, and select high-quality non-perishables from outside Texas. Cook with local pastured meat, organic produce, heirloom grains, small-batch eggs and dairy, and wild-caught Gulf seafood plus Italian heirloom grain pasta, Sri Lankan spices, and Danish vinegars. 

Natural 

The plants and animals we eat should have an evolutionarily appropriate and regionally adaptive lifestyle, and the farms and ranches that raise them strive towards regenerative practices. Plants should grow in a polyculture, cows should graze on grass, fish should swim freely in the ocean. Animals should eat from the land, fertilizer should come from animals, water should be conserved and recycled, soil microbiomes should be protected and nurtured. 

Simple

Food should be grown and cooked, not manufactured. Food should be selected for nutrition and taste, not transportability, growth rate, aesthetics, or size. When deciding between two options of the same product, we choose the simpler one. The spice blend that only has spices rather than the blend that has spices plus anti-caking agents. The beef provider whose cows eat grass rather than feed with a blend of grains and mineral additives. The cooking oil that is pressed or rendered rather than degummed, bleached, and deodorized.

Food

Radius sells food. Radius is not an everything store. No towering center aisles of processed packaged goods and paper products, no endless options in every subcategory, no 30,000 square foot warehouse to navigate. Just the most delicious and nutritious local food plus a selection of spices, sauces, and non-perishables to make home cooking easier. If you can’t eat it or cook with it, you won’t find it at Radius.

Farms and Purveyors 

Guidelines are great, but examples are better. Here are local farms that align with our sourcing philosophy.

Peeler Farms

  • Grass-fed and finished wagyu beef
  • Rotationally grazed on pasture with seasonal planted grasses  
  • No hormones or antibiotics
  • On-site processor to reduce stress on the animal

Behind the Oaks

  • Color Yield heirloom, slow growth chickens
  • Pasture-raised, access to outdoors and natural forage, rotated regularly
  • Intentional about feed - organic non-GMO, low PUFA, grown and milled by the same producer  
  • Nearby processor to reduce stress on the animal

Trosi Farm

  • Texas-acclimated fruit and vegetable varieties 
  • Polyculture seasonal plantings 
  • Korean natural farming, an organic agricultural method that uses microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa) to produce rich soil and high yields without chemicals
  • Natural animal-based fertilizers (manure, blood, bones)

Mill-King Dairy 

  • Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Jersey cows
  • No hormones or antibiotics
  • Grass-fed and pasture-raised with supplemental forage-based feed like hay and alfalfa
  • Low-temp pasteurized, non-homogenized to preserve good bacteria

Organico Bello Canned Tomatoes

  • Made with organic tomatoes from Southern Italy
  • No preservatives or added sugar, water, sodium, or citric acid
  • Citric acid doesn’t sound so bad — just lemon juice right? But today 99% of  citric acid is industrially produced with fermentation. Black mold converts sugars, usually from corn, into citric acid. The citric acid is then extracted from the culture by adding lime (calcium hydroxide) to form calcium citrate, which is filtered out and treated with sulfuric acid to release citric acid. Finally, it is purified, crystallized, and dried for commercial use. Delicious! We’ll stick with just tomatoes please. 

Frequently Asked Questions

These sourcing principles are a starting point. We will learn a ton as we build relationships with farmers, ranchers, and purveyors, and we will adjust as we learn. Here are our current answers to common sourcing questions.

Why sell non-perishable products from outside of Texas?

Two reasons: 

    • Non-perishable goods are literally designed to be stored and shipped; perishable goods are not. Canned tomatoes don't lose nutrients or flavor if they are stored for a year. Broccoli wouldn't last a month.
    • Pragmatism. We want to make it easier to cook meals with local, seasonal ingredients as the centerpiece. If we don’t provide complementary products like spices, sauces, and pasta, then it will be too hard for most folks to cook with local ingredients. We are good with a world where non-perishable peppercorns and pasta are shipped across the world, while perishable apples and beef are grown and eaten locally.

What is the guideline for sourcing products outside of Texas?

A product can come from outside Texas if it is shelf stable for over three months and there is not an excellent Texas equivalent. A few examples:

Allowed from outside of Texas:

  • Canned tomatoes: 3mo+ of shelf stability and no Texas canned tomatoes
  • Almond butter: 3mo+ of shelf stability and no Texas almond producers
  • Spices: 3mo+ of shelf stability and no Texas producers for most spices
  • Pasta: 3mo+ of shelf stability. There are Texas pasta makers, but they use wheat from outside the state.

Not allowed from outside of Texas:

  • Broccoli: Less than 3mo of shelf stability.
  • Avocados: Less than 3mo of shelf stability, and there are Texas-grown options. They have a short season, but much more special!
  • Wine: More than 3mo of shelf stability, but many good Texas producers.

Cellar vegetables like potatoes, onions, and garlic are an interesting gray area. These items have over 3 months of shelf stability, and there aren't good year-round Texas equivalents, so they match our guideline for out of state sourcing. For now, we will have these items at Radius from non-Texas farms. Our goal is to build up demand so that we can partner with local growers to store these items for us and have access to local options for the full year.

What about lemons?

Lemons have become a staple ingredient in American cooking, but Texas lemons will only be available for about a month. What do we do about lemons, and other perishables that are common ingredients in home cooking? We understand the need for limited non-Texas perishables that meet two qualifications:

    • More accompaniments or spices than centerpieces. For these items, we will 1) clearly label them as non-Texas and 2) display them alongside a Texas alternative. So in the lemon bin we will also have vinegars as local alternatives for acidity.  
    • Can be easily shipped and preserve their flavor. Items like lemons, onions, and garlic are naturally more shelf stable and thus easier to ship than broccoli and berries.