Nature’s Remedies Found At Local Market
By Jennifer Silverstein
According to Genesis 1:11-12, “And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: And it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”“We began a co-op with four ladies in 1986 because I wanted to get my health food at cost,” said Ann Souther, who owns Souther’s Natural Foods with her husband, Jack. “Pretty soon we had a whole garage full of ladies. I never meant to start a business.” People have come from Lakeland, Zephyrhills, Temple Terrace and even Pinellas County to Souther’s.The 1,800-sq.-ft. eco-friendly business offers vitamins, supplements and herbs, organic produce and meats. “We have four local organic farmers that we’re buying from,” Jack said.The Souther’s third child- born in 1976- had ear infections and respiratory problems for the first two years of his life. She went to go see a homeopathic doctor in Brandon who told the couple to feed their toddler mostly fruits and vegetables, to purchase three different types of tea and use cotton balls to put in his ears and not to give him milk as it causes mucus in the body. His fever and congestion was gone in one day.“It started out of need for our family,” said Ann. Their son, John, is now 33 years old and is a practicing chiropractor in Plant City. Ann says he has only been on antibiotics once in 30 years. Ann also gives personal consultations which are available by calling in advance to make an appointment with her. There is also what is called “The Compass” in the store which customers can place their hand on the cradle and get a reading on what nutritional products your body needs.Ann also teaches classes on a monthly basis, saying, “I love to educate people because if you teach them, they’ll make wise decisions.”As a part of Souther’s hometown feel, the couple grows their own produce and they have free literature available on natural and herbal remedies for ailments. The most common ailments people come into Souther’s for include blood pressure, blood sugar, arthritis, fungus and memory. Jack said he would like people to know, “We’re here to help them.” Souther’s is located at 14750 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Dover. For more information, please call 659-0349 or stop by the store, which is open Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 – 6 p.m.
