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1220 N. Forest St., Bellingham WA 98225 315 Westerly Rd. Bellingham WA 98226
www.communityfood.coop ˇ 360-734-8158 Find us on Facebook
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An e-publication with your good health in mind | May 2012 |
Gardeners: Co-op Garden Center Specials
We've been getting new veggie starts into the Co-op the last few weeks and have some special deals scheduled for all you eager-to-get-started home gardeners.
We currently have veggie starts from Joe's Garden, the following week we'll feature Sunseed Farm veggie starts, followed by herb starts from Cascade Cut, and more to come...including tomato starts.
How fair does your garden grow? Pick up your healthy locally produced starts at the Co-op Garden Center--both stores.
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 for shoppers and Co-op owners
on our website or in-store |
Healthy Connections Classes
Check our website and print newsletter for a complete detailed listing of classes.
Slow Food and Nourishing Traditions
with Gigi Berardi, PhD
Tuesday, May 1
Downtown Co-op
Super Ramen
with Robert Fong
Wednesday, May 2
Downtown Co-op
Mexican Kitchen:
Cinco de Mayo!
with Ana Jackson
Thursday, May 3
Cordata Co-op
Ethiopian Vegetarian Cuisine
with Mulu Belay
Monday, May 7
Cordata Co-op
Polenta Primavera
with Gavin Rappé
Tuesday, May 8
Cordata Co-op
Take Control of Your Intestinal Health
with Jim Ehmke, CN
Wednesday, May 9
Downtown Co-op
Healthy Aging Strategies on Digestion
with Richard Tran, DC
Thursday, May 10
Cordata Co-op
Your Sexual Health
with Mystique Grobe, ND
Monday, May 14
Downtown Co-op
After the "NO"
with Jim Macartney
Tuesday, May 15
Downtown Co-op
Chinese-Style
Home Cooking
with Robert Fong
Wednesday, May 16
Downtown Co-op
Best of Bacon
with Mary Ellen Carter
Thursday, May 17
Cordata Co-op
Nourishing Tones
With Annie Reynolds, Marilyn Rinn and Jeni Miller
Saturday, May 19
Downtown Co-op
Wild Seaweed Cuisine
with Jennifer Hahn
Monday, May 21
Cordata Co-op
Springtime in Paris
with Karina Davidson
Wednesday, May 23
Cordata Co-op
Take Control of your Immune System Health
with Jim Ehmke
Wednesday, May 23
Downtown Co-op
Healthy Aging Strategies on Stress
with Richard Tran, DC
Thursday, May 24
Downtown Co-op
Take Control of Your Hormonal Health
with Jim Ehmke
Wednesday, May 30
Downtown Co-op
Personal Sustainability
With Deb Zucker, ND
Thursday, May 31
Downtown Co-op
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It Pays to be
a Co-op Owner Owner benefits include: - Periodic discounts and special offers - Special order pricing on bulk purchases - Owner discounts with local business partners - Owner pricing for classes - Opportunity to participate in governance |
Pick up Your Monthly Newsletter in the Store
or read it on our website
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Community Shopping Day Update
Thanks to everyone who shopped on Saturday, March 17. Because of you we donated $1,701.33 to Whatcom Family & Community Network.. |
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Food Events Coming Up
Tuesday, May 15, 7 pm: Final REEL Food Film 
Fest, North Fork Public Library
Join us for a free showing of "Good Food." Refreshments and discussion with local food activists follows movie.
Thursday, May 17, 7 pm, David and Michael Hanson, Village Books
Breaking Through Concrete: Building an Urban Farm Revival
Co-sponsored by the Community Food Co-op, Sustainable Connections, and Transition Whatcom. For details, see Village Books.
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A Farm Bill Primer
A new website--www.farmbillprimer.org--features four interactive Congressional Agriculture Committee maps, and a "Who Cares" page listing organizations with an interest in the farm bill. The site also includes links to key books, videos, and the Farm Bill Budget Visualizer. Don't miss the Oxfam America video titled Food Games.
This site is produced by Web Developer and Farm Bill Advocate Marjorie Roswell. Daniel Bowman Simon collaborated on developing maps that offer detailed information for each committee member/district. They welcome feedback and suggestions for proposed content. See the Contact page on their website. |
Foo d Product Dating
"Sell by Feb 14" is a type of information you might find on a meat or poultry product. Have you wondered: are dates required on all food products? Does it mean the product will be unsafe to use after that date? What types of dates or codes are used on products?
There is no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating in the U.S. Although dating of some foods is required by more than 20 states, there are areas of the country where much of the food supply has some type of open date and other areas where almost no food is dated.
To answer your questions and learn more about food dating, see the USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service website.
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 Support the Authentic Fair Trade Movement Equal Exchange is actively reaffirming their commitment to the authentic Fair Trade movement they have collectively built for 25 years in which small farmer co-operatives play a central and vital role. The corporate, plantation model put forth by TransFair/Fair Trade USA is not Fair Trade. You can sign the Equal Exchange public statement at the Equal Exchange website. Learn about the issues that affect small farmers and why it's important to support Authentic Fair Trade by reading the resources listed on their campaign page. Equal Exchange encourages you to educate others and ask them to support small-farmer-centered Fair Trade. |
The Folly of Big Agriculture: Why Nature Always Wins Yale Environment 360-An op-ed feature from the Yale School of Forestry
In its short, shameless history, big agriculture has had only one big idea: uniformity. The obvious example is corn. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that American farmers-big farmers-will plant 94 million acres of corn this year. That's the equivalent of planting corn on every inch of Montana... A reasonable agriculture would do its best to emulate nature. Rather than change the earth to suit a crop - which is what we do with corn and soybeans and a handful of other agricultural commodities-it would diversify its crops to suit the earth.
This is not going to happen in big agriculture, because big agriculture is irrational. It's where we expose-at unimaginable expense-our failure to grasp how nature works. It's where uniformity is always defeated eventually by diversity and where big agriculture's ideas of diversity are revealed to be as uniform as ever.
For the full story, see the Yale Environment 360 website.
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Meat Eaters Guide
The Environmental Working Group's Meat Eater's guide can help you green your diet. It provides useful information about the climate, environmental, and health impact of your protein choices. It may also inspire you to advocate for public policies that will make our food system healthier for our bodies and the planet, since improving our personal food choices is just one part of the solution.
To get your copy, see the EWG website.
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Before Agro-chemicals, Farming WAS Organic
GoodFood World
Before the development of "agro-chemicals" as an off-shoot of chemicals used in both World Wars, farming methods were naturally "organic." The staff at GoodFood World selected five books from their library, spanning a critical period in American agriculture--the 1880s through the early 1940s.
These books, while considered somewhat dated today, are our grandfathers and great-grandfathers teaching us how to care for the land and animals. Pull a chair up to the fire, have a hot cup of tea, and read away these chilly, rainy spring days.
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 Sustainable Connections: Cascade Cuts Plant Sale Saturday, May 19, 9 am-4 pm 632 Montgomery Road (King Mountain neighborhood) Flower-lovers will find the walkways and greenhouses at Cascade Cuts packed with annuals and perennials familiar and unusual, in every size, color, and shape. Plant sale shoppers will support local farms when they buy plants; this is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Sustainable Connections' Food & Farming Program. This fundraiser supports the projects that connect people to local farms and Whatcom agriculture, such as the Whatcom Food & Farm Finder, the annual Whatcom County Farm Tour, and events that celebrate local farms and food. Parking for the plant sale is limited--carpooling or alternative transportation is encouraged. For more information, see www.sustainableconnections.org or call 360-647-7093. |
Upcoming Events
Board of Directors monthly meeting Wednesday, May 9, 7 pm, Cordata Co-op Roots Room
3rd Thursday Local Music Series: Charlie Baker Thursday, May 17, 6-8 pm, Downtown Co-op
Bike to Work and School Day (stop by the Cordata Co-op celebration station) Friday, May 18, 6:30-9:30 am
Community Shopping Day: Grizzly Bear Outreach Project
Saturday, May 19, all day at both stores
Member Affairs Committee monthly meeting
Wednesday, May 30, 5:15 pm, Cordata Co-op Roots Room Co-op Summer Celebration -- MARK YOUR CALENDAR Sunday, July 29, Boulevard Park |
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Forward suggestions to Diana Campbell, Publications Coordinator
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