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Co-op Progress on Several Fronts
Your Co-op board, with support from several volunteers and some paid advisors, has been hard at work on myriad details required before the Co-op can purchase the Creamery business. Here's a quick update on work in progress:
The applications for approval of the transfer of the liquor license, alteration of premises, and pledge of the license are scheduled to be submitted to the Town of Cummington at the Board of Selectmen's meeting July 5. Once the board reviews the application, a public hearing will be scheduled. After the public hearing is complete, the board, acting as the local licensing authority, will take action on the application. If the license is approved at the local level, the application will then be submitted to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) in Boston for approval. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this process will go as smoothly and swiftly as possible.
Just this week the board received formal pricing proposals from several area contractors for the proposed renovations to the building and expansion of parking areas. As is typical of most construction projects, the bids came in higher than previous estimates. The board has taken all bids under advisement. We have a strong commitment to working with local contractors and will continue to work with our architect (who has volunteered all services) and engineers to finalize the scope and to select a firm that will complete the planned renovation work within the project budget. . . . (to continue reading, click here)
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Drugs in Meat--Just Say No!
On April 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released three documents establishing a new voluntary scheme that it claims will reduce the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Although this is a step in protecting the public from the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the completely voluntary program with little or no transparency will not adequately address this threat, according to the nonprofit Center for Food Safety. While one of these three new FDA documents is final, the other two are currently open for public comment, but the deadline for public comment ends next week, on July 12. You can take action and contact the FDA with your concern over this weak approach to public health. Click here to sign a petition and leave your comments.
In human medicine, antibiotic use is generally confined to treatment of illness. Yet on many industrial livestock farms in the United States, antibiotics and other antimicrobials are routinely administered to healthy animals. In fact, 80 percent of all antibiotics produced in this country are given to animals, not humans. One result of this unregulated overuse has been a significant increase in antibiotic-resistant "superbugs," which can dangerously jeopardize the use and effectiveness of medically important antibiotics for people.
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What's New at the Creamery: Win a Folding Bike! You can win a fold-away bike, compliments of Honest Tea, by filling out an entry form from the big display sign near the Creamery's registers and putting it into the slot on the sign (deadline to enter is July 31). This little bicycle folds so you can throw it in the car trunk and break it out when you get to town. No purchase is necessary to enter, but consider picking up some Honest Tea while you're at the store.
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Alice's Recipe: Polenta, Soft and Firm
The season of plenty has arrived early this year. Every day, our garden is offering us many choices. I love having some standard recipes as foundations for a variety of toppings. Pasta is the easy choice for many of us. But I also love polenta this time of year. I can serve it immediately after it has been prepared, in the soft stage, and put a garden-fresh, saucy, stew-like concoction in the center of it. The ingredients can vary to match what's ready in the garden. A shaving of parmigiano reggiano adds the finishing touch to catapult the dish to excellence.
If I haven't used up all the polenta, the next day I've got firm polenta to play with. Grilled or pan-fried is an excellent choice. I like a topping of melted cheese and pesto. One of my favorite combinations is cilantro-cashew-pesto with fresh mozzarella, but the possibilities are endless. Our dinners for the next couple of months tend to be symphonies, with many just-picked garden side dishes all playing their part in creating a beautiful and delicious, fantastic, fanciful feast. Enjoy the bounty!
(Click here for a link to the recipe.) |
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Help Us Deliver
The Creamery buys fresh produce from the farm stand on Bridge Road in Northampton and could use some help getting this bounty to Cummington. If anyone routinely drives by the farm stand on Saturdays or Sundays between noon and 4 p.m. and then returns to the Hilltowns, please talk to Alice. The Creamery would trade a delivery for some fresh corn or berries (and other trades are possible!). Thank you!
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Help Wanted!
The Creamery is seeking a Grocery/Produce Staffer for three days a week, eight to ten hours per day. Click here for a detailed job description.
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Following is one of a series of weekly articles in recognition of the United Nations' International Year of Cooperatives.
Co-ops Bring Better Nutrition to the Underserved
Food nutrition scholar Marion Nestle says the co-op model is better equipped to bring good food to underserved communities. At June's Consumer Cooperative Management Association conference in Philadelphia, Nestle said that co-ops supply cheaper healthy foods, support local farmers, and find systems that make food more accessible to everyone.
"Everything about food really has to do with social problems and that's why co-ops are so important. They are an alternative to the industrial food system," said Nestle, a New York University Paulette Goddard professor and the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, among other books and publications.
To read more about Nestle's remarks at the conference, click here. To find out more about her books and to read her blog, click here.
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It's YOUR Community Calendar, Email, and Website
The Old Creamery's Community Calendar is your place to post, and check for, happenings in the Hilltowns. For instance, click here to see the expanded listing for a July 12 talk in Buckland about "The Search for the Mysterious Stone Builders of New England." The Community Calendar can be found on the Old Creamery's website under "News & Events." You can click on any event in the calendar to pop up an expanded information box.
We'd also love to hear from you with any suggestions, compliments, gripes, or other comments about the Old Creamery Co-op's weekly email and website. You can email them to info@oldcreamery.coop. Thank you for your help!
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Help us spread the word! Consider encouraging your friends to sign on to receive the Creamery's weekly email newsletter. Better yet, encourage them to become member owners of the co-op. You can forward this email to your friends and relatives, and rest assured, we won't clog their inboxes and we will respect their privacy. We will not disclose your or their email addresses to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time. Thank you for your interest, commitment, and support.
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Many items are on sale every week at the Creamery. Look for the brightly colored shelf tags. These items are 15%-45% off regular prices. Click here for a list of all the items that have recently gone on sale. In addition to the items on the list, there are always many dozens of additional items on sale.
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Your continued patronage supports the Creamery's transition to a community-owned, values-based cooperative. Thank you for supporting the Old Creamery Co-op as a member-owner, as a shopper, as a friend. We value every contribution to the success of the Old Creamery Co-op.
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Kimberly, Hattie, Michael, Susi, Sylvia, Patty, & Deborah, your Old Creamery Co-op Board of Directors; and Alice & Amy, proprietors |
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445 Berkshire Trail
Cummington, Massachusetts 01026
413.634.5560
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