Eden Foods

Eden began in Ann Arbor in the late 1960s with friends sourcing natural food. Young folks motivated by their study of a worldwide phenomenon centered upon macrobiotics; whole grains, plant based nourishment, and local food grown and made without toxic chemicals, and not nutrient depleted.

Natural foods were simply not available at the time, so they started the Eden food co-op to source and bring them in. Their initial $200 orders to Erewhon in Boston and Chico-san in California were well received and caused a local stir. Co-op members traveled rural roads knocking on doors, looking for farms to grow food using organic methods.

The Eden Co-op grew into a natural food store offering whole grains, beans, soyfoods, sea vegetables, miso, cereals, vegetable oils, seed and nut butters, and the like. It expanded adding a cafeteria, bakery, and books. Known at the time as the Eden Deli, it was one of very few places in the USA where one could get natural, organic, and macrobiotic food.

People came from near and far. Health food stores began calling, asking for help in getting the foods we carried in our store. The EDEN brand began to take shape.

In 1972 Eden opened its first warehouse and established relations with artisan Japanese traditional food makers. Importation of sea vegetables, teas, miso, shoyu, umeboshi plums, kuzu root starch, rice vinegar, rice bran pickles, mirin, etc., followed, and this solidified Eden as an important natural food source for the United States and Canada.