34 Cypress Street, Keene, NH

Mon- Sat, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sun 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

(603) 355-8008

Co-op E-News: May 2016

Co-op Updates

We Want To Hear Your Voice

Thank you if you have already filled out the survey from the link in the email you received on Tuesday. Your feedback helps us measure our progress over the last two years, identify and work on our current weaknesses, and keep your priorities in mind during our five-year planning process.

Please continue fill out Customer Comment cards for specific requests, but this survey is a tool that lets us weigh everyone's voice equally while we form our overall priorities. The results of our 2014 survey prompted us to reduce center store pricing and offer the Co-op Basics program, offer both recycling and nutrition resources, and make changes in some of our fresh departments. If you haven't yet filled out the survey, please CLICK HERE to do so before this Saturday, May 6th.

Truckload Sale Reminder

May 13 & 14, 2016 is our Spring Truckload Sale! Find deep discounts on cases of our most popular products, so you can stock your pantry with significant savings. Orders for our May Truckload Sale are due May 9th at 9pm -- don't miss out on these great deals.

Earth Day Festival Thank You

Thanks to everyone who made the 2016 Monadnock Region Earth Festival so successful. We had a diverse array of nearly eighty vendors -- filling the space from Railroad Square, all the way back to the Co-op. Thanks to all the community members who shared their Saturday with us learning about local non-profits and businesses, buying goods from artisans and farmers, dancing to live music and making crafts. A special thanks to all those involved in helping coordinate the day. See you next year for Earth Festival 2017!

Cooperatively,
Michael Faber
General Manager, Monadnock Food Co-op

Considering Co-op Board Membership?

By Lisa Mahar, Co-op Board of Directors

Our Co-op is strengthened by active participation of our Member-Owners. Service to the Co-op through membership on the Board of Directors is a great way to contribute to our success and growth. I can guarantee that you will learn a great deal, be actively supported by a circle of expertise, and feel the satisfaction that comes from contributing to an inspiring initiative. Read on to find out more about the process.

Farewell Mary!

By Emerald Levick, Marketing and Membership Manager

Mary Veerkamp, our Co-op Outreach & Education Coordinator is moving on, so will no longer be writing her monthly blog for Monadnock Food Co-op. If you are either completely heartbroken, or don't know what you have missed, I urge you to read her first post, here.

Mary has been a dedicated part of this co-op as both a volunteer and staff for over 3 years, and I wholeheartedly thank her for her enthusiasm, spirit, endless knowledge of the natural and organic food industry, fantastic organizational skills, copy-editing-wizardry and daily Sass (notice the uncorrected capitalization there?). Mary has received our esteemed Beet Award, taught our Natural Foods and Membership classes and helped many a customer looking for allergy-specific foods or healthy eating inspiration. While we will miss Mary working at the Co-op greatly, we feel assured in the knowledge that she will still be shopping here at least once or twice a day.

Megan's Got the Beet!

Congratulations to Megan Straughen, who wears many hats at the Co-op. Megan is our Sustainability Coordinator, Administrator to the Board of Directors, and handles our Accounts Payable - WHEW! She is our tenth employee to receive the Monadnock Food Co-op's "Beet Award."

CONGRATS MEGAN!

Upcoming Events

Farmers' Market of Keene Opening Day Kick-Off

May 7, 9:00am - 1:00pm at Gilbo Avenue, across from Lindy's Diner, Keene
The market offers a great selection of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, eggs, preserves, wines, and maple products. Bakers are also present selling breads, cookies, granola, and other tempting treats. And don't forget to check out the local crafters selling furniture, soaps, and jewelry. View events details.

New Hampshire Bees 101

May 11, 6:00 - 8:00pm at Stonewall Farm, Keene
Bees and other pollinators are vitally important to our local community, and all across the country these pollinators are in danger. Join us at Stonewall Farm to learn about New Hampshire's native bees and what you can do to help our pollinators thrive. At this workshop, Joan Milam, Adjunct Researcher at UMass Amherst, will be speaking about the diversity of NH's native bees, and you'll be able to see some of the bees species that live right here in Cheshire County. You'll also have the chance to learn about what Stonewall Farm is doing to protect our native pollinators. Cost: Free. View event details.

Kombucha & Fermented Foods

May 12, 4:30 - 6:00pm at Cheshire Medical Center, Keene
Ever wondered what the heck Kombucha is, and why is it good for you? Come learn from Erica Frank about the power of fermented foods, and learn to make your own Kombucha, yogurt, and other fermented delights in this series of cooking classes. Cost: Free. Registration required. View event details.

Truckload Sale

May 13 & 14, 10:00am - 7:00pm at the Co-op
Find deep discounts on cases of our most popular products, so you can stock your pantry with significant savings. Pre-orders accepted through 9:00pm on Monday, May 9th either at the co-op's cash registers or online. Otherwise shop while supplies last on May 13 & 14. View event details.

Tastings at the Co-op

May 6, 11:00am - 2:00pm: Tasting of Mountain Home Farm Dairy Products
May 6, 4:00 - 6:00pm: Wine Tasting with Poocham Hill Winery
May 7, 11:00am - 2:00pm: Tasting with Crowley Cheese
May 7, 4:00 - 6:00pm: Wine Tasting with Centeur Imports

Browse more Co-op and Community Events

What's On Sale?

Community Corner

Invitation to Support Dean Eaton

We're sad to learn that one of our neighboring retail storefronts is closing its doors at the end of this month. We want to thank Dean Eaton, the owner of Your Kitchen Store, for all the support he gave to the Co-op over the years -- offering us a place to leave informational brochures years before we had a store for people to visit.

We invite you to support Dean, during this challenging time of transition, by donating to his Go Fund Me page: Community Give-Back to Your Kitchen Store. And again, a big thank you to Dean and his staff for giving so much to our community during Your Kitchen Store's 24 years in business. The Co-op wishes them all the best.

Co-op Corner

Re-Member-ing The Cooperative Way

Originally Posted at Institute for Local Self Reliance

Decades after cities lit the first electric lamps in the 1880s, most of the rural places of America were still dark. Urban utilities didn't care for the expense of wiring farms, and it wasn't until communities organized that electricity expanded to rural areas. Farmers in southwest Idaho, for example, formed a nonprofit in 1920 to build 256 miles of power lines to transfer power from a federal hydroelectric dam.1 In 1923, farmers near Granite Falls, Minn., made a cooperative to buy power from a nearby municipal utility. By 1930, there were 46 cooperatives in 13 states, but many still faced natural and economic obstacles, as well as opposition from investor-owned power companies.