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Hats Off to Our Member-Owners!
On Saturday, March 16, the Old Creamery Co-op will host the year's first Member-Owner Appreciation Day. This is one way for us to thank our 591 member-owners for their support, and we'll do so by creating a festive atmosphere and offering specials and an across-the-board discount on purchases made that day.
For the entire day, member-owners of Old Creamery Co-op will receive a 10% discount on everything they buy, excluding alcohol, newspapers, and cigarettes. In addition, we'll have fabulous door prizes and other giveaways, and a variety of food and product samples throughout the store! Some of the door prizes already lined up include a home-cooked meal by Alice; a couple hours of Mac computer support from The Mac Man; fifty dollars' worth of organic, pastured pork or beef from Manda Farm; and a selection of gardening books from Storey Publishing!
 There will also be some live music, and Co-op board and staff members will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.
Door-prize winners on March 16 will be determined throughout the day by random drawings of member-owner numbers. All member-owners will have an equal chance to win great prizes. But you need to be a member-owner to win these prizes and receive the 10% discount that day. Want to become one? Now's a great time to sign up! Click here for information, or sign up at the store that very day and you will be entered into the drawings and receive a 10% discount on your purchases all day!
By the way, we're looking for community members who may have door prizes to donate. This could be anything from a rafting trip to a handmade mug to an offer to help clean out someone's garage. If you have something to offer or know of someone who might, please send an email to info@oldcreamery.coop with "Door Prize Idea" in the subject line, or call us at the Co-op at 413-634-5560.
Remember, this celebration of YOU happens four times per year, so if you miss this one there will be another in three months. We look forward to seeing you on Member-Owner Appreciation Day!
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Creamery's Expansion #1 to Be Unveiled Next Week!
In our west-side bump-out, the walls are up and insulated and the space was painted by volunteers over the past weekend. The flooring was installed on Wednesday this week, and the lighting and trim are being installed in the next few days. And, breaking news, our contractors have figured out how and where to remotely install the produce refrigeration compressor so there will be no source of unwanted heat in the produce and bulk sections. Jeffrey Keeney, our refrigeration contractor, is getting things prepared for that move this coming week. This will be very helpful in maintaining freshness and reducing spoilage in both of these product areas. We may even be able to stop prepackaging much of the produce!
Getting the produce cooler into place will require another wave of strong volunteers. This coming Wednesday evening, March 13, we will need to empty and move several sets of shelving; empty the produce cooler, move it to its new location, and get it hooked up; and empty, move, and restock the drink coolers to where the produce was. (Does anybody have a J-bar for moving this heavy equipment?) If you are available to help for three to four hours on Wednesday evening starting around 5:00 p.m., please send an email to michael@oldcreamery.coop (Shirley, our volunteer coordinator, is away, so Michael is handling this call for helpers). We will sign up the first four or five folks we hear from, and we will let others know when we have the full complement needed.
Next Thursday morning we will reinstall the produce compressor in its remote location, so the produce cooler, in its bright new surroundings, should be fully restocked by mid-morning. Come to the store and check it out!
And, please, ask us for anything you cannot find as so much has ended up in new and different locations. Thanks to all who have assisted us with moves so far, thanks for continuing to shop, and thanks for your patience during this period of necessary turmoil.
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Alice's Recipe: Mushroom Barley Soup
I wake up in the morning thinking of the billowing steam from maple sap boiling. I love going to sugar houses to see the dramatic plumes of steam rising, to smell the sweet maple aroma, to taste the first of the season's delicate, delicious syrup...to experience the promise of spring again. My seasonal rhythms are tied to sugarin'; it marks the final gasps of winter and the arrival of daffodils and forsythia and fruit tree blossoms and spring greens and warmth and sunshine.
But this year winter isn't quite letting go. This morning it's 20 degrees, the flakes are flying furiously, and spring feels a long way off. So when I think of what's for supper, my desires still lean toward hearty, winter foods. Tonight we'll have Mushroom Barley Soup. We still have some oyster mushrooms from the grow-your-own kit that we got at the Creamery! I'll bake a loaf of rye bread, roast some delicata squash, and cook some of our frozen shell beans with our garlic and fresh rosemary from our indoor plant. Amy will make a salad from just-picked fresh and crisp mixed greens from a friend's hoop house (thanks, Penny!), with the last of our stored carrots and Jerusalem artichokes and red cabbage, and we'll be reminded that we'll soon be eating more and more nourishing local foods. And after a meal like that we'll be fortified to go shovel some more snow...again!
(Click here for a link to the recipe.)
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Cheese of the Week!
Come in this Saturday to sample our special cheese of the week, Raclette Berghoff from Valais, Switzerland. Raclette is a traditional raw cow's milk cheese whose name comes from the French  racler, "to scrape." This describes the way the cheese is traditionally prepared and eaten. The cut surface of a whole Raclette is melted in front of a fire or a raclette grill, and the melted cheese is scraped off (raclé) onto boiled potatoes. Raclette makes a wonderful winter party meal served with baked or boiled potatoes in their skins, small gherkins, small sweet onions marinated in wine or balsamic vinegar, charcuterie, and salad.
The rind is beige to brown with dark ivory to yellow pastes. The texture of Raclette is very smooth and it seems to melt in the mouth even without being heated. The aroma is strongly reminiscent of the farmyard, with fruit and wine, and the taste is usually similar with rich wine-like notes and a tangy accent. This Berghoff variety is from smaller producers, typically made using uncooked milk from cows that have eaten from the pastures during the warmer months. These cheeses have a flavor that is notably deeper than their more common counterparts.
Come in this Saturday and have a taste. Remember, we'll take 10% off the regular price all day! Hope to see you this weekend!
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Genetic Roulette to Be Screened Friday in Ashfield
The documentary film Genetic Roulette will be presented Friday evening, March 8, at 7 p.m. in St. John's Episcopal Church at Main and South Streets in Ashfield (note: this is a change of venue). Produced by the Institute for Responsible Technology, the film "unveils a world most of us have never seen. It raises alarming questions about GMOs [genetically modified organisms], and we deserve answers. For all that you love, hear this message and act now" (Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and EcoMind). To learn more about the film, click here.
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Groups Team Up for Organic Food, GMO Labeling
Speaking of GMOs, Environmental Working Group and Organic Voices this week announced that the two nonprofits will "collaborate to highlight the benefits of organic food and advance the fight for labeling food that contains genetically engineered ingredients." To read more about this collaboration, click here.
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Community Resiliency Summit Coming Up in Cummington
A reminder: The first Community Resiliency Summit will be held Saturday, March 23, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cummington Community House (33 Main Street). The summit is a citizen initiative, free and open to all, to bring together a wide spectrum of individuals to talk about issues critical to our collective future. To learn more about the summit and view a proposed schedule for the event, visit http://communitysummit.wordpress.com. A final planning meeting for the summit will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 12, at the Parish House in West Cummington.
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Has the Gray Lady Axed Green to Gain Green?
What's going on with the environmental beat at the New York Times? For some background on the elimination of its environment desk and its Green blog, check out Grist's article on the subject here.
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Earthdance Ecology Sunday
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 listing for Ecological Sustainability Sunday at Earthdance in Plainfield.
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Stay in Touch! We Love to Hear from You!
For questions about Co-op membership, product requests, or suggestions or other feedback, please send a note to info@oldcreamery.coop. We'll make sure your note is sent to the appropriate person and that you get a prompt response.
If you'd like to contact the Co-op's Board of Directors, simply send your email to board@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by the board.
To reach Karen Doherty, the Co-op's general manager, send an email to gm@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by Karen.
If you're thinking of becoming a valued volunteer of the Co-op, you can reach Shirley Todd, volunteer coordinator, at volunteer@oldcreamery.coop. There are many opportunities for volunteers. Emails sent to this address go directly to Shirley.
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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 (for best results, use the "Forward email" link in the white space at the bottom of this page). 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. We work hard to find bargains on many different items, including staple groceries, treats like chocolate, juices, refrigerated items, personal care products, and supplements. The shelf tags indicate when the sale price expires. Some sale items are one-time opportunities that remain on sale until sold out. Many are purchasing opportunities that can be replenished over several weeks at great prices. Enjoy the savings!
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Your continued patronage supports the ongoing success of our 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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