Non-GMO Hand Pies Are Hitting Whole Foods In Time For Thanksgiving

Willamette Valley Pie Co. might not be a household name like Marie Callender's, but that could very well change. Not only does the company hand-craft big, 40-ounce fruit pies as well as cobblers and turnovers, it uses ingredients that are mostly sourced locally. It's also Food Alliance Certified, which means it's environmentally conscious and employs certain sustainability practices. Now, this piemaker is launching a new type of product and bringing its natural philosophy along with it.

The founders of WV Pie Co. have spent "three generations" cultivating berries in Oregon's Willamette Valley, but only began making and selling pies in 2001, and didn't open its "country store" until 2009. Now, these berry farmers have created another new company to sell a new fruity creation, and this one can be found at Whole Foods.

The name of the new operation by the people behind Willamette Valley Pie Co. is "BerryFields," and it makes frozen sandwiches. Though that might sound unremarkable, the "Simple All-Natural Ingredients" the company claims to use might just bring a new twist to these old favorites.

You may think you've never bought a frozen sandwich before, but there's an item on most supermarket shelves called Uncrustables. Sound familiar? Fans of these frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made by Smucker's seem to be the exact market that the BerryFields brand hopes to capture. Looking at a comparison between the ingredients of Uncrustables and BerryFields grape sandwiches, the difference is clear.

Even though the Uncrustables lineup just got upgraded, the ingredients show that with a name like Smucker's, you're sure to get a lot of enriched unbleached flour, along with some additional Diglycerides, as well as DATEM and the like. On the other hand, BerryFields has "wheat flour" as the first ingredient, followed by things like cane sugar and water. Plus, with BerryFields, you're putting almond butter in your pantry rather than the standard peanut variety.

BerryFields likewise says that real butter is used in the making of its products, which have 4 grams of protein in each serving. Add that to the "farm-fresh fruit" and the report from Food Business News that the company is non-GMO, and these sound like a healthier (and hopefully tastier) choice. If these aren't on the shelves of your local Whole Foods now, they should be by Thanksgiving.