Sales, Samples, Discounts, and More this Saturday, March 16, During Our Member-Owner Appreciation Day!

The year's first Member-Owner Appreciation Day is almost here! This is one way for us to thank our member-owners for their support, and we'll do so by creating a festive atmosphere and offering specials and a storewide discount on purchases made that day.

For the entire day, Saturday, March 16, member-owners of Old Creamery Co-op will receive a 10% discount on everything they buy (excluding alcohol, newspapers, cigarettes, and gift certificates). In addition, we'll have fabulous door prizes and other giveaways, and a variety of food and product samples throughout the store! The door prizes lined up include a home-cooked meal by Amy and Alice; Mac/Apple tech support from The Mac Man; organic, pastured pork or beef from Manda Farm; a selection of gardening books from Storey Publishing; a tutorial on buying and selling on eBay or intro to PowerPoint by Ken Graf; four classes at Prakasa Yoga Studio by Lynne Paterson; an African basket from the Old Creamery Co-op; an autographed children's book by Susan Pearson; a colorful hand-knit hat by Susi Westwood; grass-fed and finished ground beef from Kinne Brook Farm; and pints of ice cream from Maple Valley Farm.  

And that's not all! Many products will be on sale to everyone! Member-owners can add their 10% discount to the prices on the sale items for even bigger savings! Check out these products, on sale to all: 

• Organic peanut butter, smooth and crunchy. Regular price $8.79. Sale price $6.99. With 10% off that's just $6.29!
• Savory organic vegetable broth and free-range organic low-sodium chicken broth. Regular price $3.69. Sale price $2.49. On Saturday, member-owners pay just $2.24!
• Knudsen assorted spritzers! Choose from black cherry, ginger ale, mango fandango, grape, or red raspberry. Four-packs on sale for $3.99, regularly priced at $5.79. Member-owners pay just $3.59.
• Great deals on cereal! Field Day whole-grain honey nut O's or whole-grain raisin bran organic cereals. Regularly priced at $4.99, on sale this week for just $3.99. Saturday's member-only sale price is $3.59!
• Florida crystals brand organic powdered sugar. Regularly priced at $4.99, on sale now for $4.29. Member-owners pay just $3.86 on Saturday.
• Wholesome-brand organic dark brown, light brown, and Sucanat sugars also on sale!
• Other items on sale: Good Health sweet potato chips, Off The Cob sweet corn tortilla chips, Once Again organic sunflower seed butter, Ohsawa organic gluten-free tamari, and Twinings-brand Earl Grey tea.   

Also, we are happy to be introducing Pierce Brothers Fogbuster coffee and three other roasts.

There will also be some live music by Josh Wachtel, 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!

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! C'mon in and get appreciated!! 

Room for the Staples to Stretch and the Beets to Breathe

If you are in the store for Member-Owner Appreciation Day, we invite you to go up to the deli-ordering counter and look over your shoulder. You will see a new (temporary) aisle where the old chimney was and a wider aisle for the coolers and drinks. Walk down either one of these and check out the (almost) completed produce and bulk sections. Feel the extra space in these aisles, as this is the feel we are striving for when all the renovations are completed.

As has been the case right along, this overnight magic was performed by skilled workers and wonderful volunteers. Wednesday evening, starting at five, we had nine of you who fit these categories, and four volunteers worked right through till 11:00 p.m. Thank you to our many able and willing helpers. Our refrigeration contractor returned early Thursday morning to start up the produce cooler. By mid-morning we were back in business and all the fresh veggies were very happy. Note: The compressor for this cooler is now remotely installed so we have no heat generation or noise in this new area. YEAH!

And thank you to all of our shoppers for your continued patience when you are trying to locate what you are looking for. Ask any staff member and we will be most happy to give you a hand.

Give me a lever long enough, and I'll move the ... produce case!

Corey and the produce cooler in its new home!

Cheeses of the Week!

No, you're not seeing double this weekend (we hope!)--we're sampling two lovely cheeses this Saturday: Lady in Blue and O My Heart, both from Lazy Lady Farm in Westfield, Vermont. Lady in Blue is a raw cow's milk cheese, aged 60 days into a classic blue. It's inoculated with Roquefort mold and boasts a creamy mild flavor. O My Heart is a seasonal, bloomy rind, organic cow's milk cheese that is enriched with organic cow cream. It's buttery, creamy, and sweet!

These are but two of the numerous seasonal varieties produced by cheese-maker Laini Fondiller

from the goats and cows that live on her small farm in the northeast kingdom of Vermont. They milk 40 registered Alpine goats on a seasonal basis. They make the cheese in small 50-gallon batches five days a week. The cheese is ripened in two small geothermal caves located near the cheese plant (photo at right shows Laini entering a cheese cave). They are l5 feet underground and maintain temps between 40 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees in the summer. The farm is totally off the grid. They make their power with 14 solar panels and a small windmill. Along with the goats, they raise grass-fed beef, whey-fed pork, and pasture-raised chickens. Laini and her farm were featured in the New York Times Magazine in 2009; click here for the article.

Lazy Lady sets the standard for Vermont farmstead cheese: sweet, clean, lovely, and consistently flavorful.

Come in this Saturday and taste these two special cheeses. Remember, we'll take 10% off the regular price all day! Hope to see you this weekend!

WANTED: Tables and Inventory Volunteers 

The Creamery Co-op is in need of two, four-foot tables or one, eight-foot table for the bookkeeper's office upstairs. If you have a table or two you're not using and would like to share, please send an email to gm@oldcreamery.coop or call 413-634-5560 and ask for Karen. Thanks!  

And we need a few volunteers to help with inventory Monday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. Most of the volunteer duties will be in the bulk department, weighing items and recording on paper the amount and retail price. If you'd like to help, please contact Shirley, our volunteer coordinator, at volunteer@oldcreamery.coop or call the store (634-5560) and ask for Karen. 

GMO-Labeling Legislation in Massachusetts, and an Eat-In

Our elected officials on Beacon Hill have introduced five--that's right, five!--pieces of legislation related to the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food. The Right to Know organization has a great website that tracks these legislative bills and provides ways to show your support by contacting the bills' sponsors (click here). The website is also a great place to learn more about why GMO-containing foods should be labeled as such, providing us all with information to help us choose what stuff we want to put in our bodies.

And if you want to put your body where your mouth is, how about enjoying a really big bowl of soup with hundreds, maybe thousands, of others at an Eat-In at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in Maryland on Monday, April 8! The purpose of the FDA is to "protect and promote" the health of Americans. Instead, Americans are being kept in the dark about the origin of the foods they are eating. Is our food derived from Monsanto's patents? What are the long-term health effects of genetically engineered (GMO) foods? In 2012, over a million people signed the Just Label It petition for GMO labeling and over six million Californians voted for honest labels, but the FDA has failed to act. There have been two petitions on President Barack Obama's "We The People" petition website that have surpassed the signature threshold required for a response. But instead of answering the sincere concerns of the American people, there has been only silence.

So, to borrow Mr. Kesey's phrase, you're either on the bus or off the bus! Yes, buses will depart western Massachusetts and the Boston area Sunday evening, April 7, to make the trip to the Eat-In. To learn how to be on the bus and show your support for the honest labeling of our foods, check out Right to Know's web page by clicking here.

Help Get Antibiotics Off Your Organic Apples and Pears

Thought antibiotics weren't allowed in certified organic foods? That's mostly true, with one important exception: organic farmers are allowed to spray apple and pear trees with antibiotics, in order to prevent a bacterial disease called fire blight. But in 2011, concerned about the impact on human health associated with the overuse of antibiotics, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) informed organic apple and pear growers that antibiotics would no longer be allowed to be used after October 21, 2014. Now, due to pressure from the organic apple and pear industry, the NOSB is considering pushing back that date until 2016.

To learn more about this health issue and to sign a petition urging that the industry stick to the agreed-upon 2014 elimination of this spraying, click here.

Your Land, Your Plan!

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 a two-part informational series, starting Wednesday, March 20, entitled "Your Land, Your Estate Plan," sponsored by the Franklin Land Trust. 

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.

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.  

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.

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

445 Berkshire Trail

Cummington, Massachusetts 01026

413.634.5560