|
Sharing the Season's Bounty
Sarah Hoyle-Katz, Education Coordinator
November is a great time of year - by now, it's gotten pretty cold and nasty outside, so we have plenty of excuses to stay inside and spend time with our friends and families. November weather is also a good excuse to cook and eat more "winter" foods - tasty items like baked squash (butternut with some brown sugar, anyone?), mashed potatoes with gravy, pies, meat or vegetable loafs, and so on. We're also on the tail end of the fresh produce season, so we'll still have apples, kale, etc.
All of this -friends, family, filling food- is epitomized in the largest holiday of the month: Thanksgiving. I personally can't wait to stuff myself with stuffing, buttered green beans, and my mother's delicious pumpkin pie. (I might participate in the Turkey Trot that morning to justify my gluttony.) We'll send out a special Thanksgiving newsletter later this month with some recipes, sales, and event descriptions as Common Ground gets into the harvest groove. However, Thanksgiving is not just about filling up on food, friends, family, and fun; it's also, and perhaps mostly, an opportunity to give thanks. All of us -no exaggeration- have things to be thankful for. However, the holiday season can still be a very hard time. As I'm sure you've heard, a lot of people in our community are hungry - and as you can probably imagine, being hungry when everyone else is celebrating with mounds of food is difficult, to say in the least. For a lot of people, part of giving thanks is giving back. If you don't already, I encourage you to consider giving back -however you define it- as part of your Thanksgiving celebrations. A lot of organizations have special volunteering and donation opportunities this time of year: as an Urbana High alumna, the UHS Thanksgiving Dinner comes to mind; the Eastern Illinois Foodbank has their annual Food for Families drive (which you can donate shelf-stable foods to at Common Ground); and a lot of food pantries and soup kitchens have special Thanksgiving foods or dinners for which they need extra volunteer help. Common Ground -Board, staff, customers- will be volunteering with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank on November 10th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at 2405 N Shore Drive, Urbana. Join us in giving back to the community. If you'd like to participate, drop me an email or come by the Co-op to sign up. Before I go, first let me thank all of you: without you, Common Ground couldn't do the great things it does. Thank you!
|
|
Common Ground Updates
Jacqueline Hannah, General Manager
All the growth Common Ground has been experiencing over the last three years has brought changes with it, and now it has brought changes to my monthly newsletter piece. Instead of the article format I've used throughout my first five years at Common Ground, I will now be focusing on giving you more fact-filled, punchy updates about current projects, news, and issues affecting Common Ground as a business and letting your co-op's Education Coordinator, Sarah Hoyle-Katz, take over the article writing responsibilities. She'll keep you filled in on big issues each month that relate to Common Ground's mission. Let me know what you think of the new format; I always love to hear from owners and shoppers! My email is jacqueline@commonground.coop.
Where Did the Cookout Go? Common Ground's 2010 Local Foods Cookout, like those in 2008 and 2009, was a huge success. However, it has become such a success that our small store and staff had a very hard time supporting the event, which had over 300 attendees last year. With all the work our marketing and education team has on their plate right now to get Common Ground ready for expansion, we made the tough decision that the cookout was more than we could handle this fall - but we are working on plans to bring it back in a new form in 2012! The annual cookout is a fundraiser for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank, an organization we have a very special relationship with. In addition to our Round Up for Good month for EIFB, and our annual WILL/EIFB on-air donation match drive, Common Ground made a $2500 donation on behalf of our owners to EIFB this fall, which is the amount that was raised for this amazing organization at last year's cookout. Thank you for all you do for our community, EIFB! MOOtastic This year's annual Meeting Of Owners (or MOO, as we affectionately call it) was held this past October at Prairie Fruits Farm in Urbana. The weather was excellent and over 75 Co-op owners shared a potluck meal and heard from their Board about Common Ground's future, listened to their Board election candidates talk about why they wanted to serve, and got to quiz me for a good 20 minutes about anything and everything Common Ground. Missed it? We'll announce the 2012 MOO dates in June next year; get it on your calendar early! A big thank you to Leslie and Wes at Prairie Fruits Farm for sharing their lovely farm with us for the meeting. Expansion There's a lot going on right now with your co-op's expansion; read my full update here at the Common Ground Expansion blog! In Cooperation, Jacqueline
|
From Your Board of Directors
Angie Isaacs, Board Member
This winter Common Ground Food Co-op will begin the expansion that will bring the vision the ownership developed in 2005 to fruition. The Board's job is to set the long-term vision for the Co-op, so for us this expansion is the close to a chapter that we opened back in 2005.
Great! So now what? It has been six years since that vision was set in place, and a lot has changed in our little co-op in that time. For starters, we're not all that little anymore. We've grown -in owners, in square footage, in local foods, in benefits to our employees, in cooperation with other co-ops, and many more ways- and we're getting ready to grow again. It's time to talk again with you, the owners, and find out what you want your co-op to look like in another six years.
On November 12th the Common Ground Board of Directors will host another visioning meeting. Our current group of 3300+ owners won't fit in a single room like it did in 2005, so we have invited thirty owners to join us as representatives of the Co-op. For the last few weeks I have been working with the staff at Common Ground to make sure that the owners we invite give us a good snapshot of our ownership. That means inviting both long-term owners and owners who have joined us since our move to Lincoln Square (like almost 75% of our current ownership). It means not leaving out the many owners who live outside of Champaign-Urbana. And it means including both the owners who practically live in the store and those that are still figuring out what we're all about. We want to hear from our owners - ALL our owners.
Didn't get an invite? Don't worry! We saved seats for owners who didn't get invited but still want to come. If you're interested, you should contact the General Manager, Jacqueline Hannah, at jacqueline@commonground.coop.
| Have any thoughts, questions, or comments about this article or for your Board of Directors? Email the Board at board@commonground.coop.
|
Local Food Recipe: Orange Roasted Carrots & Parsnips
Skeeter Riddle, Produce Manager
Root vegetable time! I'm lovin' them all. Parsnips, carrots, beets, and more. Do some parsnip gratin or carrot soup. Throw in some seasonal citrus, and I am starting to get pumped up!
1 pound carrots
1/2 pound parsnips
1 fennel bulb
4-5 mandarin oranges or 1 large orange
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Peel the carrots and parsnips, or just scrub them well, and halve lengthwise. If the parsnips are large, quarter them lengthwise, cut out the woody center, and, if necessary, continue to cut into thinner strips to match the size of the carrots.
Cut the fennel into wedges.
Slice the oranges, keeping the peel on or off according to preference. If using a large orange, halve or quarter the slices.
Toss the carrots, parsnips, fennel, and oranges with the olive oil and maple syrup and season with salt and pepper. Spread out evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Roast, turning occasionally, until tender and browned, between 20-30 minutes.
Remove from oven, season to taste, and serve. Serves 2-4.
|
|
|
click here for more details
| |
CGFC Volunteers!
Thursday, November 10, 5:30-7:30 pm Free, but pre-registration is required. Location: Eastern Illinois Foodbank, 2405 N Shore Drive, Urbana
2011 Owner Visioning Retreat
Led by your Board of Directors Saturday, November 12, 9am-12pm Location: Common Ground Food Co-op
Common Ground Story Time
Led by Staffer and Lover of Tales Ellen Wednesday, November 16, 10:30-11 am FREE! No registration required. Class Location: Common Ground Food Co-op
The Co-op's 37th Birthday!
Thursday, November 17, ALL DAY
Very Veggie Thanksgiving Sampling
Led by General Manager Jacqueline Hannah
Saturday, November 19, 10:30am until we run out!
FREE! No registration required.
Location: Common Ground Food Co-op
Thanksgiving at the Deli
Wednesday, November 23, from 10 am until the food runs out!
Location: Common Ground Deli
|
|
|
|
|
November Sales!
 |
| Check out our current sales here!
|
NOVEMBER ROUND UP FOR GOOD
 | | The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign
The Bike Project is a local organization that offers space, tools, and community to repair, share knowledge about, hold classes about, and advocate for bikes in CU. You can round up for the Bike Project at the registers any time in November.
|
| COMMON GROUND GIVES BACK
As part of our mission to BUILD COMMUNITY.....
COLLECTIVELY
WE HAVE
RAISED
OVER $490
FOR THE NON-GMO PROJECT!
Thanks to everyone who participated in our monthly Round Up for Good! |
|
MEET YOUR VEGGIE
 | | Silver Bell Squash
These squash were grown exclusively for Common Ground Food Co-op by the Moore Family Farm! They are of the Buttercup Maxima variety. The flavor is a bit subdued, but still sweeter than other squash in the same category, like Jarrahdale Blue and Burgess Buttercup. They are well suited for baking whole, but also are tasty in a pie. Like most long term storage squash, they convert their starches to sugars during storage, so they are often better after a bit of time. They are delicious now, but I bet that they will be marvelous come December!
|
Turkeys on Sale
 | | It's turkey time here at Common Ground! Once again we're selling Triple S's wonderful pasture raised turkeys.
You can choose from three weight ranges: 10-15 lbs, 15-20 lbs, and 20-30 lbs. We can't guarantee the weight of your turkey, but we'll do our best to match your preference!
Turkeys are $3.90/lb. Make a deposit at the register to reserve your turkey before November 15th; there are a limited number of turkeys available. (Deposits are non-refundable.)
Pick up your turkey on one of these days: Thursday the 10th, 4-6 pm; Sunday the 13th, 1-3 pm; or Wednesday the 16th, 4-6 pm.
If you have any questions, just ask a staff member!
|
|
|
