Bella Mushroom Farms
Contrary to popular belief, the Mushroom Capital of the World isn’t some far-off kingdom that’s home to a pair of overall-clad Italian brothers. It’s right here in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where about 50% of America’s mushrooms are grown. Bella Mushroom Farms, where Buona Foods produces more than three million pounds of mushrooms each year, also calls this area home.
The Ferrantos have grown mushrooms on Bella Farms for generations, and Buona Foods was born here when Rosemarie Ferranto became a mushroom supplier to local grocers and restaurateurs. Today, the farm has 16 long buildings layered with mushroom beds stacked floor-to-ceiling and filled with pasteurized compost, the key to growing delicious mushrooms. Each crop is then tended to and, eventually, harvested by hand to keep the delicate mushrooms undamaged.
Some folks might think putting this much care and deliberation into delivering the most perfect mushrooms possible to our retail and foodservice partners isn’t necessary, but we know that anything less would be downright cremini.