Old Creamery Co-op

 

It's Fair Time in Cummington!

Two Cummington institutions founded in the nineteenth century to promote and improve the Hilltowns' agricultural enterprises, the Cummington Cattle Show and Fair and the Cummington Cooperative Creamery Association, continue to do so in the twenty-first century. The annual Cummington Fair, which kicks off next week on Thursday, showcases Hilltown agriculture's present and past. The Old Creamery, which is about to come full circle and once again become a cooperative, supports scores of local farmers and producers, just as it once supported the region's dairy farmers.

 

This year's 144th Cummington Fair, of course, features much more than agriculture. Click here for a complete schedule, and don't forget to stop by the Creamery for a delicious meal on your way to and from, and during, the fair.

Fair
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Support Broadband for the Hilltowns

WiredWest Communications Cooperative Corporation celebrated its first anniversary Monday amid key efforts to bring a broadband network to underserved communities in western Massachusetts. WiredWest is a municipal cooperative of towns working with state and local organizations to build a financially sustainable, state-of-the-art fiber-optic network of superior yet affordable high-speed Internet, phone, video, and more to serve everyone, a network that will drive regional economic development, create jobs, improve education and health care, and provide a sustainable future for our communities.

 

Please show your support for WiredWest by visiting WiredWest.net and completing the online support form or by picking up a card at the Cummington Community House and mailing it.
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Cheese of the Week!

In 1982, Josef Spielhofer purchased the Comoret cheese factory and cooperative and transformed it into what is now known as Fromages Spielhofer SA. Located in the small town of St. Imier in the Bernese Jura region of Switzerland, the co-op collects milk from sixty local dairies and uses it to make fourteen varieties of cheese. Montagne is one of them, and it's this week's sampling cheese at the Creamery.

 

Made in an Alpine style, akin to the famous Swiss Gruyere and Appenzeller, Montagne du Jura Montagne du Jura has a beautiful straw-colored rind, with a thin band of dark and then a dense, chewy paste. There is the occasional pleasing crunch of a small protein crystal. The cheese offers both sweet and savory flavor profiles. Fresh pasture grasses, wild herbs, and wild onions are the first flavors to hit your palate, followed quickly by hearty notes of cooked cream, grilled meats, and earthy root vegetables. The finish is sweet and nutty. Complex and vibrant, this cheese is one of the most intriguing of the family of cheeses made in Switzerland.

 

Come by the Creamery this Saturday and have a taste! You won't be disappointed! Remember, we'll take 10% off all day!

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Alice's Recipe: Italian Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Fresh Bread Crumbs

We're harvesting the most tender, delicious green beans this summer. We grow many different types of beans. The long, thin, tender French filet beans are our favorites. We lightly cook them and then saut� them with butter, salt, and pepper for the simplest garden great. We grow many "regular" beans to transform into one of our favorite winter treats, Dilly Beans. We preserve as many jars as possible, because it seems to be the favorite gift among family and friends.

 

We freeze edamame soybeans right in their pods and snack on them all winter (a great homegrown protein source). One of our very favorite garden treats is frozen shell beans. We pick the pods, bursting with fully developed seeds, shell them, blanch them, and eat them all winter. Sometimes we cook them in vegetable stock (or water) with olive oil, garlic cloves, and salt until tender. Other times we cook them with frozen garden corn, butter, salt, and pepper with a little cream added at the last minute. Italian borlotti beans and tongue-of-fire are our two favorite varieties. Lastly we grow several varieties of dry beans such as black turtle, kidney, and jacob's cattle. After the pods have dried on the plants we harvest them and shell them over the next couple of months, after the busy harvesting and preserving time. Such a variety of culinary uses!

 

Here I offer you a recipe for Italian Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Fresh Bread Crumbs. I'm going to savor these last weeks of summer and all that the garden offers us these precious August days!

(Click here for a link to the recipe.)
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Help Wanted!

The Old Creamery Co-op is seeking a General Manager. For information and job description, click here.

 

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.


Three part-time job positions at the Creamery will open up at the end of the summer. It's your chance to be part of the stellar Creamery team and earn some money. If interested, call the Creamery at 413-634-5560.

 

Part-time Cashier: Must be able to work hard and have fun; must be good with people and numbers. Talk with Alice or Amy for more information.

 

Part-time Deli Staff: Must be able to work hard and have fun; must be good with people and food. Talk with Alice or Carly for more information.

 

Part-time Cleaner/Stocker: One to three days a week, 3 to 8 p.m. or so. Talk with Alice or Amy for more information.
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Following is one of a series of weekly articles in recognition of the United Nations' International Year of Cooperatives

  IYOC logo

Shop at the Co-op and Keep Dollars in the Community

What's to love about food co-ops? So much! Co-ops have a cool way of doing things differently. They're people working together for better food, stronger communities, and a healthier world. And cooperative grocers are making a big impact. A new study, "Healthy Foods Healthy Communities: The Social and Economic Impacts of Food Co-ops," quantifies the impact food co-ops have as compared to conventional grocery stores. The study's compelling results demonstrate the many ways that food co-ops do well while doing good.

 

Unlike their conventional counterparts, co-ops are owned and governed by member-shoppers and rooted in principles such as community, voluntary and open membership, economic participation, and cooperation. Because of these principles and practices, food co-ops inherently serve and benefit the communities where they are located. For example, the study finds that for every dollar spent at a food co-op, 38 cents is reinvested in the local economy compared to 24 cents at conventional grocers (to read more, click here).
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Time to Check the Calendar 

The Old Creamery's Community Calendar is your place to post, and check for, happenings in the Hilltowns. 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. For instance, click here to see the expanded listing for the August 18 annual LBS Fair in Plainfield put on by the Ladies Benevolent Society of the Plainfield Congregational Church.  

     

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 [email protected]. 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 dozens of additional items on sale. Enjoy the savings!
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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.

 


Kimberly, Hattie, Michael, Susi, Sylvia, Patty, & Deborah,     

your Old Creamery Co-op Board of Directors;

and

Alice & Amy, proprietors   

 

Please pass this message on to your friends  

and encourage them to join our mailing list

 

Click here if you would like to become a Member-Owner 

    Quick Links

Creamery Specials and Sales                    Bulk Purchase Program  

445 Berkshire Trail

Cummington, Massachusetts 01026

413.634.5560