Some health food store may carry them raw, you could boil your own. Just a suggestion.
BTW, yes I'm from the Great Cold North (Seattle). I understand about Southern cuisine. There's only one place I know of in the Seattle area that knows how to make decent biscuits and gravy, and it's quite far from my home. And don't even think about trying to find grits around here. When it finally warms up, and my craving for sweet tea hits (I have spent enough time in the South to appreciate that a lot), I have to make my own.