Co-op Community

Transcription

Co-op Community

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A monthly publication with your good health in mind
Co-op Community
NEWS
November 2010
FOOD CO OP
In This Issue
Alternatives to Fructose—Page 5
Water Stewards—Page 9
Co-op on the Road to Good Health
Jim Ashby, Co-op General Manager
Many of you have been very solicitous of the Co-op’s health during the
past 18 months or so as we’ve worked
to overcome our financial troubles.
We really appreciate your concern and
support, without which we wouldn’t be
where we are today. I don’t know about
you but I’m always afraid of jinxing
myself by saying that things are going
well. But we do think it’s safe to say
that we’ve pretty much dug ourselves
out of the hole and are back on the
right track, close to where we need to
be as we come up on the second anniversary of our Cordata store.
What is going well?
The Cordata store is starting to build
momentum. Sales so far this year are
up just over 18 percent compared
to last year. Since the Cordata store
opened, the number of customers shopping per day has increased by almost
30 percent, just under 200 more people
each day. And the Cordata customers
are filling their baskets a little fuller
than our downtown shoppers, buying
on the average $2 more each time they
shop.
There is good news at the downtown
store, too. After absorbing about a 15
percent drop in sales in 2009 as current
members shifted their shopping to the
Cordata store, sales are growing and
customer counts are increasing again.
The biggest drain on the Co-op’s
resources during the crisis of 2009
and the source of most of the financial
problems were out-of-control labor
costs. Beginning in late 2009, the management team, led by Interim General
Manager Jon Edholm, and the department managers at both stores really
Jim Ashby talks with Assistant Front End Manager Nate Wright at the Cordata service desk.
Photos by Joanne Plucy
grappled with that problem and made
great progress bringing it under control. To do that they had to take some
pretty draconian measures; a number
of people were laid off, many staff had
their hours cut, staff wages were frozen, pension matching and profit sharing were suspended, and the management team took a pay cut. After those
measures had stopped the bleeding,
we were able to institute and maintain
sound labor management systems, and
in late March we lifted the wage freeze
and restored most of the other cuts.
At the end of July we had made so
much improvement that we were able
to reinstitute our gainshare and share
the benefits of good labor management
between the Co-op and the staff.
Improved sales and generally improved financial performance have
enabled us to rebuild our cash reserves
to the point where we’re considering
beginning to accelerate payments on
some of the debt we took on to build
the Cordata store. Last year at this time
we were confident that things would
get better, but none of us were envisioning the kind of turnaround we’ve
had. There is still a long way to go before we’re as strong financially as we
were before our crisis but we’re feeling
pretty sure that the worst is behind us
and the lessons we learned will help us
avoid a similar crisis in the future.
What went wrong?
Opening a new store is always a
high-risk wager. After all, every potential new shopper is already buying their
groceries somewhere, why should they
change? The long-term part of the wager is betting that the number of customers will match the size of the store
and be sufficient to operate the store
efficiently. But there is a shorter-term
wager with a number of elements that
involve accepting short-term losses to
build long-term business. One is hiring
and training the right number of store
staff to provide great customer service.
Another is filling up the the produce
and other perishable departments because people are known to respond
positively to a feeling of abundance.
A third is investing in advertising and
outreach, and offering discounts or
other incentives for people to come
into the store.
One key to gambling successfully is
identifying when to change the bet or
when to get out of the game. And that’s
primarily where things went wrong for
the Co-op. We stuck with our bet that
we could build sales to overcome the
losses from overstaffing, high waste in
perishables, and high spending on buying incentives longer than we should
have.
Of course, the coincidence of the
economy going into the tank shortly before we opened the Cordata store can’t
be discounted as a contributing factor
to our problems. We’ll never know
the extent to which worries about the
economy kept people from trying out
the new store, but we do know for sure
that co-ops all across the country saw
severe sales declines. So, the economy
certainly could have triggered the initial
problem and reduced the margin for
error as we opened the store. It magnified the effect of not reacting quickly
enough to lower-than-expected sales.
How did we turn it around?
As with any problem, the first step
to resolving the Co-op’s financial
crisis was identifying the causes of
the problem. One very helpful part
of that process was contracting with
the National Cooperative Grocers
Association Development Cooperative (NCGADC). It’s not uncommon in the throes of a crisis to get
stuck doing things over and over that
aren’t working. Bringing in the NCGADC helped break that pattern and
provided a catalyst for the Co-op’s
managers to figure out more effective
ways to address the crisis. And when
they’d identified what they needed to
do, the interim management team and
department managers moved quickly
to implement the solutions.
There is no way to overstate the
contribution of everyone at every
level of the Co-op pulling together
to effect a successful resolution of
the crisis. Identifying what needed to
be done was, in many ways, the easy
part—actually doing it took commitment and sacrifice from everyone.
It’s with great relief (and my fingers crossed) that I say you can stop
worrying that the Co-op is wheezing
and tottering along. It wasn’t easy
and it wasn’t any fun, but with your
support, we’ve weathered this crisis
and we’re looking to the future.
1220 N. Forest St., Bellingham WA • 315 Westerly Rd., Bellingham WA • 360-734-8158 • www.communityfood.coop
Co-op Community News
is published every
month by the
Community Food Co-op
1220 N Forest St.
Bellingham, WA 98226
315 Westerly Rd.
Bellingham WA 98225
360-734-8158
(for both locations)
is published as a service
for members. Letters from
members are welcome
(see guidelines below).
The deadline for submissions of letters is 8 pm on
the 5th of the month
preceding publication.
Editor:
Diana Campbell
Design/Production:
Joanne Plucy
Opinions expressed in
the Co-op Community
News are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the
Co-op Board, management, staff or members.
Nutrition and health information is provided for
informational purposes
only and is not meant as a
substitute for a consultation with a licensed health
or dietary practitioner.
Acceptance of advertising
does not indicate endorsement by the Co-op of the
product or service offered.
Letters to the Editor
Guidelines
Letters must include your
name, address, and a
daytime phone number.
Please respect a maximum
of 150 words. Due to
space considerations, we
regret that we may not be
able to publish all letters.
Please send your letters to:
Newsletter Editor
1220 N Forest St.
Bellingham WA 98225
dianac@communityfood.coop
New
Member
Tour
New to the
Co-op?
We offer new
member tours
tailored to your
individual needs and
interests. To set up
your tour, contact
Laura Steiger—call
360-734-8158
or email lauras@
communityfood.
coop.
2
October 13, 2010
Board of Directors Meeting Summary
Jean Rogers, Board Administrator
The Board has had several discussions
about the merits of conducting an audit now
that the Co-op is a two-store operation. The
primary reason for an audit is to more thoroughly review our transactions and systems.
The Co-op has had an internal review and
is not required to have an audit. Still, it is a
good practice and we would be prepared in
the event that an audit was requested by a
bank. The Board approved the proposal to
hire Larson Gross to conduct an audit for
the 2010 fiscal year. The next time we will
consider having an outside observation of
inventory will be in 2012 for the fiscal year
ending in 2012 so we would have the option
of a three-year audit cycle.
The Board approved a slate of 12 groups
and one alternate for the Co-op’s 2011
Community Shopping Day program. The
group noted that there has been an increase
in applicants and funding needs, and discussed ways to connect applicants with additional funding opportunities.
Next the Board heard a presentation by
Kate Clark from Transition Whatcom, highlighting the group’s history and activities
in Whatcom County. The Board reviewed a
list of areas where the Co-op’s work could
be relevant to the Transition movement,
including continued support of local farms,
providing a local and regional product mix,
consumer education, careful and innovative
energy use, and preparing for energy-related
shifts in the economy.
The meeting concluded with a review of
the feedback from the annual Board Advisory Lunch. The Board appreciated the opportunity to network with community leaders. The group noted the importance of continuing to increase the Co-op’s visibility in
the community; address perceptions about
price, membership, and product selection;
and develop partnerships to improve local
access to healthy food and products.
Complete minutes for this and all Board
meetings and a complete copy of the governing policies are available at the service
desk. You can also find complete minutes of
the latest Board meeting posted on the Coop website at www.communityfood.coop.
The first 10 minutes of every Board meeting are reserved for member input. Our next
meeting will be held on November 10, 7 pm,
in the Local Roots Room at the Cordata store,
315 Westerly Way. Hope to see you there.
A Green Solution to Voting
The Co-op Board of Directors
Meetings are on the
second Wednesday of every month.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, November 10, at 7 pm
Roots Room at the Cordata Co-op
315 Westerly Rd. at Cordata Pkwy.
Members are welcome to attend.
If there is something you want to discuss
at the meeting, contact Jim Ashby,
General Manager (360-734-8158) or
Jo Ann McNerthney, Chair (360-650-9065)
by the first Monday of the month so your item
can be included on the agenda.
Jim Ashby
Board of Directors:
Jo Ann McNerthney, Chair
360-650-9065
Steven Harper, Vice-Chair
360-441-2728
Brent Harrison
360-398-7509
Chuck Robinson
360-734-7567
Brooks Dimmick
360-758-7610
Matt McBeath
360-510-6908
Deborah Craig
360-738-9015
Megan Westgate
360-592-5325
Michael Elkins
360-305-4952
Matt McBeath, Co-op Board Director
After much deliberation, the Board voted
in September to implement a new option of
electronic member voting for future elections, member input, and bylaw changes.
We are doing this for several reasons. It is
simply a more environmentally friendly
way to vote, since an electronic vote uses
no paper unless a member chooses to create a paper trail. In addition, we expect that
we will get more participation in future
elections if we allow our members to conveniently vote at home or at a designated
voting kiosk at each store. Also, this change
may significantly cut down the staff time it
takes to tally votes.
We interviewed one national company
and one local company who offer electronic
voting systems to compare features, costs,
and benefits. We chose to partner with a
local company called Net Solutions North
America. You will learn more about how this
electronic voting system works in upcoming
newsletter articles and a postcard mailing before our next election in March, 2011.
Just so there’s no confusion, you will not
have to vote electronically. We will offer
this as an option and paper ballots will still
be available. If you have questions, feel free
to stop by the service desk at either store for
more details.
Swan Café & Deli hours:
Cordata—7 am to 8 pm
Downtown—7 am to 9 pm
Visit us on the Web at
www.communityfood.coop
Cooperative
Principles
• Voluntary and open
• Democratic member control
• Member economic
participation
• Autonomy and independence
• Education, training, and
information
other bulk products. This step was taken to
respect the needs of our shoppers who are
gluten sensitive. While this change does
not make our bulk department gluten free,
we hope that separating these products will
benefit everyone.
Shop Bulk—it saves money, time, and
packaging!
Third Thursday Local Music Series
Quinton Rundell
Thursday, November 18, 6–8 pm
Downtown Co-op Swan Café
Quinton Rundell may be just 14 years old, but his haunting vocals and
skillful guitar playing are well beyond his years. He is an emerging artist at an early age, and you won’t want to miss his performance at the
Swan Cafe. Quinton says, “The main thing about me is my music. I’ve
been playing guitar for the past 10 years, and singing for the past five.
I would describe my style of music as acoustic/independent. The biggest musical influences in my life are Ben Folds, Yellowcard, and The
Beatles. Listening to them has definitely inspired me to play music
and to do what I do today. I’m stoked to head down the road to being a
successful musician from Bellingham.”
Co-op Community News, November 2010
Store hours:
Open 7 days a week
Cordata—7 am to 9 pm
Downtown—7 am to 10 pm
membership
Cordata Bulk
Department Reorganized
With an eye toward making product selections in our bulk department easier for all
our customers, the Cordata Co-op has reorganized its bulk department.
We moved the candy, nuts, and granola to
the main bulk aisle to make it easier to find
and locate all of our bulk items in one area.
The coffee and tea have been moved to the
adjacent aisle, making those products more
easily accessible.
The other significant change was to move
the wheat, barley, and rye grains and flours
to a separate area at the end of the adjacent
aisle. These products are now isolated in
one area and designated with signs to significantly reduce cross contamination with
General Manager:
360-734-8158
Photo courtesy of Quinton Rundell
• Cooperation among
cooperatives
• Concern for the community
Scrambled Eggs: Report on Organic Egg Production
An independent report has been
released that focuses on widespread
abuses in organic egg production,
primarily by large industrial agribusinesses. The study profiles the exemplary management practices employed
by many family-scale organic farmers engaged in egg production, while
spotlighting abuses at so-called factory
farms, some confining hundreds of
thousands of chickens in industrial facilities, and representing these eggs to
consumers as “organic.”
The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group,
developed the report, Scrambled Eggs:
Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture, following nearly two years of
research into organic egg production.
The report was formally presented to
the USDA at the October meeting of
the National Organic Standards Board
(NOSB) in Madison, Wisconsin. The
report also contains a scorecard rating
various egg brands on how their eggs
are produced in accordance with federal organic standards and consumer
expectations.
“After visiting more than 15 percent
of the certified egg farms in the U.S.,
and surveying all name-brand and
private-label industry marketers, it’s
obvious that a high percentage of the
eggs on the market should be labeled
‘produced with organic feed’ rather
than bearing the USDA-certified organic logo,” said Mark A. Kastel, the
Cornucopia Institute’s co-director and
senior farm policy analyst.
According to the United Egg Producers (UEP), the industry lobby group,
80 percent of all organic eggs are
produced by just a handful of its largest members. Most of these operations
own hundreds of thousands, or even
millions of birds, and have diversified
into “specialty eggs,” which include
organic. At least one UEP member,
Hillandale Farms, has been implicated
in the recent nationwide salmonella
outbreak affecting conventional eggs.
Cornucopia’s report focuses not on
the size of some of these mammoth
agribusinesses but rather on their
organic livestock management practices. It says that most of these giant
henhouses, some holding 85,000 birds
or more, provide no legitimate access
to the outdoors, as required in the federal organic regulations.
The new report comes at a critical
juncture for the organic poultry industry. The NOSB, the expert citizen advisory panel set up by Congress to advise
the USDA on organic policy, has been
debating a set of proposed new regulations for poultry and other livestock
that would establish housing-density
standards and a clearer understanding
of what the requirement for “outdoor
access” truly means. The industry’s
largest operators, along with their lobbyists, have been loudly voicing their
opposition to requirements for outdoor
space.
“Many of these operators are gaming
the system by providing minute enclosed porches with roofs and concrete
or wood flooring, and calling these
structures ‘the outdoors,’ ” stated Charlotte Vallaeys, a farm policy analyst
with Cornucopia and lead author of the
report. “Many of the porches represent
just 3 to 5 percent of the square footage of the main building housing the
birds. That means 95 percent or more
of the birds have absolutely no access
whatsoever.”
“If one animal has the legal right to
be outdoors, then all animals have the
same right, whether they choose to take
turns or if they all choose to be outside
at the same time,” said Jim Riddle,
organic outreach coordinator with the
University of Minnesota and former
chairman of the NOSB.
At previous meetings of the NOSB,
United Egg Producers represented
industrial-scale producers and publicly
opposed proposals to strengthen regulations requiring outdoor access.
“We are strongly opposed to any
requirement for hens to have access to
the soil,” said Kurt Kreher of Kreher’s
Sunrise Farms in Clarence, N.Y. And
Bart Slaugh, director of quality assurance at Eggland’s Best, a marketer of
both conventional and organic eggs
based in Jeffersonville, Pa., noted that,
“The push for continually expanding
outdoor access … needs to stop.”
Family-scale organic egg farmers
and their allies challenged corporate
Final Stages of Important Legislation
Advocates for sustainable food and
farming, the Washington State Food
& Farming Network (WSFFN), recently sent out this recap on the status of two important pieces of pending federal legislation: the Child Nutrition Reauthorization and the Food
Safety Modernization Act. Executive
Director Ellen Gray noted that Congress adjourned in late September
without taking action on either piece
of legislation. When Congress returns for the “lame duck” session on
November 15, they will have just a
few weeks to complete several pieces
of important must-pass legislation.
Below are their recaps and action
recommendations.
tion. The Senate-passed bill, which
provides $4.5 billion in new investments but is partially paid for by cutting food stamp benefits, was seen by
some House members as unacceptable. Yet the House could not identify
funding for its own $8 billion version
of the bill, which passed out of the
Education and Labor Committee in
July.
WSFFN recommends: Send thanks
to House members for being willing
to work for a better bill that doesn’t
cut food assistance dollars to pay
for better child nutrition and farmto-school programs—these are important priorities and we should not
have to choose between them.
Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Update
When the existing child nutrition
legislation expired at the end of September, Congress passed a temporary
measure that allows the programs to
continue operating. The extension
funds the programs at current levels
through December 3, 2010, buying
Congress some additional time to
pass a full child nutrition reauthoriza-
Federal Food Safety Modernization
Act and the Tester Amendment
The Federal Food Safety Modernization Act got mired down in a
multitude of issues and no action was
taken before Congress adjourned.
Without the Tester Amendment, the
proposed legislation would be very
difficult for small, direct market
farms to comply with. Of course we
all want safe food but requiring the
Volunteer Thanks
We want to express our gratitude
to our volunteers. These folks
helped out with various tasks
in the stores, newsletter distribution, and participated in the
Member Affairs Committee. We
appreciate you!
Adam Garman
Carol Waugh
Carolyn Miklavic
Carrie Rolfe
agribusiness lobbyists and made their
voices heard at the October 25 meeting
of the NOSB.
After visiting scores of egg producers in nine states, the authors of the
Cornucopia report also conclude that
the vast majority of family-scale producers are complying with the organic
regulations and meeting consumer
expectations. “This is the good news
in this report,” explained Kastel. “Now
the USDA needs to step up and protect
ethical organic farmers from unfair and
illegal competition.”
“Our job, and the basis of this research and report, is protecting the
livelihoods of family-scale organic
farmers who are being placed at a
distinct competitive disadvantage by
corporations that are more than willing
to ignore the rules and cut corners in
pursuit of profit,” added the Cornucopia’s Kastel.
Colleen Berg
Cynthia Ripke-Kustagoitz
Eleanore Ross
Edith Dahl
Elizabeth Thielicke
Ellen Murphy
Erika Jett
Erin Thompson
Gabriella Andrews
Ginger Oppenheimer
John Lawler
Kate Birr
Katie Chugg
Linda Blake
The full report and the organic egg
brand scorecard can be viewed at
www.cornucopia.org. For more information about the USDA National
Organic Program see www.ams.usda.
gov/nop. The Cornucopia Institute,
a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm
policy research group, is dedicated to
the fight for economic justice for the
family-scale farming community. Their
Organic Integrity Project acts as a
corporate and governmental watchdog
assuring that no compromises to the
credibility of organic farming methods
and the food it produces are made in
the pursuit of profit.
same regulations for farmers that sell
directly to consumers as for farmers that sell their products into more
complex industrial food chains is not
fair. Direct market sales are inherently transparent, accountable, and
easily traceable so we do not need the
same type of regulations. Plus, there
are long-standing and effective state
and local health and sanitation laws
in place that provide oversight for the
small processors and local farmers
market vendors.
Linda Joy DeLong
Lynn Marek
Marrianne Heydron
Nancy Steele
Nathan Chapman
Sharon Souders
Shirley Jacobson
WSFFN recommends: Continue to
ask your senators to support the Tester amendment during the lame duck
session.
For more information about
WSFFN, see www.wsffn.org or
call 360-336-9694.
Federal—Senators
Maria Cantwell, Toll Free 1-888-648-7328, DC Office 202-224-3441
Patty Murray, Toll Free 1-866-481-9186, DC Office 202-224-2621
Federal—Representatives
Name
District
Jay Inslee
Rick Larsen
Brian Baird
Doc Hastings
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Norm Dicks
Jim McDermott
Dave Reichert
Adam Smith
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Phone
800-422-5521
800-562-1385
202-225-3536
202-225-5816
202-225-2006
800-947-NORM
202-225-3106
toll free 877-920-9208
toll free 888-Smith09
3
November 2010 Community Shopping Day Organization
The Arthritis Foundation
Robin Elwood, CCN Staff
If you have arthritis or know someone who does,
you probably know all about it. For anyone else,
here’s the basic information you need—arthritis
comes in many types but most prevalent are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and juvenile arthritis.
Osteoarthritis, the most common, involves the breaking down of joint cartilage, resulting in painful boneon-bone contact inside joints. Rheumatoid arthritis,
on the other hand, causes chronic inflammation of
the joints’ lining, causing long-term damage and
pain. Both can result in loss of movement, pain,
and disability. Juvenile arthritis is any form of the
disease when it affects young persons.
The North Puget Sound Branch
(NPSB) of the Arthritis Foundation
serves Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan,
and Island Counties. Branch Director
Barbara Osen spoke with me about
upcoming events, and the connections between arthritis treatment and
the Community Food Co-op.
The Arthritis Foundation’s major
fund- and consciousness-raiser is
their annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk.
The organization describes it as a fun
and festive way to kick off the holidays by helping others. This year’s
theme is “Be there with bells on!”
and participants are encouraged to
wear a holiday-themed costume and
tie jingle bells to their shoelaces.
Team members will run four miles
or walk two miles and celebrate the
season by giving and raising awareness. More than 3,000 people, 300
dogs, and a few ponies participated
in last year’s events in Bellingham
and Mount Vernon.
This year’s Jingle Bell Run/Walk
will hold the distinction of being a
zero-waste event. As more non-profits make connections with society’s
problems, more
groups are working
to ameliorate their
chosen issues without creating or supporting other negative side effects, and
the Arthritis Foundation has stepped
up to that challenge.
Instead of plasticwrapped cases of
disposable water bottles, participants who raise
$1,000 will receive beautiful, stainless steel bottles. A Culligan water
station will be at the event. Other
changes include such simple things
as making the racer numbers from
paper instead of Tyvek. Barbara
sounded enthusiastic about the zerowaste concept.
“Bellingham really responds to
zero waste,” Barbara told me. “It’s
a great opportunity to broaden our
connections with other groups. We’re
working with Sustainable Connections on the zero-waste aspects, and
with an event of this size, it really
makes a difference!”
Another major
centerpiece in the
Arthritis Foundation’s annual
accomplishments
is the Kids and
Teens’ Families
Investing Support and Hope
(KAT FISH)
Camp, a threeday event held at
Warm Beach in
Stanwood. Serving families from
Children with arthritis get to enjoy activities at
Washington and
Warm Beach in Stanwood.
What are Community Shopping Days?
Each year the Co-op invites organizations to apply for a Community
Shopping Day (CSD). This year
organizations were selected for
their service to our community in
the following areas: Community
Health and Social Justice, Ecological Issues, Education, Food &
Sustainable Agriculture, Health and
4
Well-Being, and Peace and Human
Rights. The Co-op’s Member Affairs Committee (MAC) reviews
and recommends 12 organizations,
and the Board of Directors gives final approval. For more information,
contact Laura Steiger at 360-7348158, lauras@communityfood.coop.
Photos courtesy of The Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation’s annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk fills
the air with the sound of bells as every participant wears two
on their shoes (above). Walker/runners get into the spirit of
the event (left).
led to significant improvements in
Alaska, the camp
pain, fatigue, and managing arthritis
brings more than
at eight weeks and maintained those
280 participants to
improvements at six months. The
meet, learn about juArthritis Foundation trains leaders
venile arthritis, and
for programs such as Tai Chi and
have fun in a supland and aquatic exercise. In fact,
portive setting. Simthe funds raised by the Community
ply put, at the camp
Shopping Day will go toward trainkids with juvenile
ing and certification for one of the
arthritis can just enTai Chi instructors.
joy being kids.
A healthy diet is another facet of
Arthritis is a dismanaging arthritis, and Barbara said
ease few associate
that the Foundation recommends the
with children, but it’s actually about
Co-op as a source of quality
twice as common as
food. According to an Arjuvenile diabetes,
thritis Foundation factsheet
Arthritis is
affecting more than
citing multiple studies, eat300,000 children uning healthy food, losing a
der the age of 18 in
the #1 cause
small amount of weight, and
the U.S. alone. Barbeing physically active can
bara noted that the
of disability
cut the chances of developnumbers stay fairly
osteoarthritis, and can
consistent, despite
in the United ing
mitigate existing symptoms.
improvements in the
As Barbara reminded me,
tools for early diagStates.
the Arthritis Foundation’s
nosis. Early treatshopping day happens to fall
ment before joints
right before Thanksgiving,
are damaged can
and a major shopping trip on
delay many sympSaturday, November 20 could be just
toms, letting children live pain-free
what the doctor ordered.
longer than in the past. Arthritis has
long been an intractable illness; it
can be debilitating, with no single,
Upcoming Arthritis
permanent effective treatment.
Foundation Events
Although there have been promising improvements in treatments for
3rd Annual Skagit Jingle Bell
rheumatoid arthritis, the potential
Run/Walk
side effects are quite serious, and
Saturday, December 4, 8:30 am
some studies have shown decreasMoose Lodge, Main Street (Riverfront)
ing effectiveness after a few years.
Mount Vernon
“Not all pain medicine comes in
a bottle,” Barbara told me. With
23rd Annual Bellingham Jingle
most forms of arthritis, exercise,
Bell Run/Walk
diet, and other holistic lifestyle
Saturday,
December 11, 8:30 am
choices are an important part of
Bellingham
High
School, Bellingham
living with the disease. A recent
study showed that mild exercise
2010 Community Shopping Day Schedule
January 16
February 20
March 20
April 17
May 15
June 19
July 17
August 21
September 18
October 16
November 20
December 18
everybodyBIKE
Bellingham Washington Reading Corps
Veterans for Peace, Corporal Jonathan Santos Memorial Chapter 111
Maple Alley Inn/Opportunity Council
Interfaith Community Health Center
Sterling Meadows
Pickford Film Center
Friends of the Bellingham Public Library
The Center for Local Self-Reliance
Ferndale Community Meal
The Arthritis Foundation
Parent to Parent of Whatcom County
Alternatives to Fructose
Janis Walworth, Co-op Member and Nutrition Consultant
Living in 21st-century America,
we are confronted with a myriad of
sweet concoctions: candy, cakes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, breakfast foods,
sauces, puddings, flavored yogurts, and
ice cream beckon us at every turn. Sugars are not necessary components of
our diets, but our taste for sweet foods,
spurred by advertising, tempts us to
consume these sweetened products.
For most people, sugars provide unneeded calories. Sweetened foods are
typically low in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other important elements, and
they displace more nutritious foods in
our diet. Sugars contribute to poor nutrition generally, cause dental cavities,
and have been implicated in a host of
diseases. Some sugars, especially those
containing fructose, are more harmful
than others.
In the few months since my article,
“Concerns about Fructose,” appeared
in the July/August Co-op newsletter,
the release of new information has only
deepened those concerns. In addition
to the likely role that fructose plays in
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high
blood pressure, and more, new research
shows that cancer cells may use fructose to enhance their proliferation.
Unlike healthy tissue from the same
organs, cells of brain, breast, colon,
liver, lung, pancreatic, testicular and
uterine tumors have receptors that allow them to take up fructose and use
it for their growth. Research has yet to
show whether a diet high in fructose
affects survival time in people with
these types of tumors.
What’s a health-conscious person to
do? Avoiding sugars altogether, except
those in whole fruits and vegetables,
is probably the healthiest course of
action, but it’s not practical for many
people, especially with the holidays
approaching. What are some compromises that allow people to have an occasional sweet treat without endangering their health?
Fructose-free sugars can be used to
create desserts and treats that satisfy a
sweet tooth without adding unnecessary fructose to our diets. I’ve adapted
a couple of recipes for holiday pies to
get you started using these fructosefree sweeteners. All the ingredients can
be found at the Co-op.
Other alternatives to fructose-containing sweeteners are stevia and the
sugar alcohols, including xylitol and
erythritol. We’ll discuss these in an upcoming article.
Fructose-free sugars
Glucose is a single sugar unit (monosaccharide) used by all body tissues as
their primary energy source. Glucose
is found naturally in fruits and other
sweet foods, and it is a component of
other sugars including sucrose (ordinary sugar), lactose (milk sugar), and
maltose.
Starches, such as those in grains and
potatoes, consist of long chains of glucose molecules. When we eat starchy
foods, a combination of mechanical
forces, enzymes, and acid breaks these
chains into shorter pieces and finally
into glucose, which is absorbed from
the intestine.
Sweeteners can be manufactured
from starchy foods using a combination of mechanical forces, enzymes
and acids, similar to our own digestion
process. The result is glucose (also
called dextrose), corn syrup, rice syrup,
and other grain sweeteners. In malted
sweeteners, the grain is sprouted, producing its own enzymes that digest the
starch.
Dextrose, corn syrup, rice syrup, and
barley malt can be used in recipes in
place of ordinary sugar, honey, molasses, and maple syrup (which all contain
fructose). They provide the same number of calories as ordinary sugar, but
are a little less sweet.
Like starches in the diet, fructosefree sugars do raise the blood glucose
level, especially if eaten on an empty
stomach. These sweeteners require
insulin for their metabolism, so people
with diabetes should use them with
caution.
Consumers who are sensitive to
gluten or sulfites should select their
fructose-free sugars carefully. Barley
malt syrup contains a small amount of
gluten. Sulfites are found in some grain
sweeteners; the labels are required by
law to disclose the presence of sulfite if
levels exceed 10 ppm.
Fructose-free sugar sweeteners
available at the Co-op are: Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Light Corn
Sweetener
Syrup (a sulfite-free
syrup made in Austria
from non-GMO corn),
Lundberg Sweet Dreams
Organic Brown Rice
Syrup, and Eden Organic Barley Malt syrup
(a dark, molasses-like
sweetener).
References: “Cancer
cells slurp up fructose,
US Study Finds,” August 2, 2010, www.reuters.com/article/idAFN02108
30520100802. V. Douard & R.P. Ferraris, “Regulation of the fructose transporter GLUT5 in health and disease,”
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2008
Aug; 295(2):E227-37. Epub 2008 Apr
8. ajpendo.physiology.org/cgi/content/
short/90245.2008v1.
Photos courtesy of Janis Walworth
Janis Walworth has worked as a nutrition consultant and written abstracts
of nutrition articles for health care
professionals. She has a BA in Biology
from Antioch College and been a member of the Co-op since 2003 when she
moved to Bellingham.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Pecan Pie Filling
• 2 cups cooked pumpkin or one
15-ounce can of pumpkin (not pie
filling)
• 3/4 c. evaporated milk (not
sweetened condensed milk)*
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 c. corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. mace or nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
I adapted my mother’s pecan pie
recipe, which calls for dark Karo
syrup and a lot of sugar, resulting in
a pie that’s insanely sweet. Brown
rice syrup is less sweet, making this
version a reasonably sweet, still
delicious pie. The barley malt syrup
adds a rich molasses flavor. (If you
want an insanely sweet pie, add up
to 1 cup of dextrose or xylitol to the
brown rice syrup and heat it until the
crystals are dissolved. Let it cool before adding the other ingredients.)
Mix all ingredients in a food
processor (I do mine in two batches
because my food processor isn’t
that big). Pour into your favorite
pie crust and bake at 350° for an
hour or until a knife stuck in the
center comes out clean.
*You can make an organic substitute for evaporated milk by mixing
organic milk powder with an equal
amount of water. To make this pie
filling dairy free, use light coconut
milk instead of evaporated milk.
Characteristics
Best Uses
• 1 c. brown rice syrup*
• 2 tsp. barley malt syrup*
• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. pecan halves and pieces
Mix all ingredients except pecans
in a bowl or food processor. Add pecans and pour into your favorite pie
crust. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
*Tip: Oil your measuring utensils
before using them for syrups.
Product Name
Corn syrup
Thin syrup; versatile flavor
Use instead of any kind of syrup
Wholesome Sweeteners Corn Syrup
Rice syrup
Thick like honey but less sweet
Use instead of honey
Lundberg Brown Rice Syrup
Barley malt syrup Deep, rich flavor; contains gluten Substitute for molasses
Eden Barley Malt Syrup
Dextrose
Not available at the Co-op
Looks and tastes like sugar
Use in place of sugar
Volunteer Opportunities
Members who volunteer for
Co-op activities or events receive
one $5 coupon each time they volunteer for 1/2 hour or longer. We
don’t have openings for ongoing
volunteer jobs at the present time,
but sign up for volunteer e-mail
alerts, look for volunteer sign-up
sheets for special events, or stop
by the service desk to fill out a
volunteer application
Get on Our Volunteer Email List
If you’re not already on the volunteer email list, please send your
preferred email address to lauras@
communityfood.coop. Once you’re
on the list, you’ll get an occasional
update on volunteer activities with
the Co-op. It’s a great way to get
involved with your Co-op and meet
other members.
Healthy Connections Cooking
Class Assistant
Position varies from class to class,
but generally involves food prep,
serving food to class participants,
and cleanup during and after class.
Cooking class assistants attend class
for free and receive a coupon for
store credit. Interested?
Contact Kevin Murphy at
360-734-8158, ext. 220 or email
kevinm@communityfood.coop.
Newsletter Distribution
Help us distribute the Co-op
Community News to locations in
Bellingham and beyond. We have
people helping with all routes, but
still need backup on all our routes.
To sign up for a distribution route or
to suggest possible distribution sites,
please contact Laura.
Join the MAC
The Member Affairs Committee
(MAC) meets every month, usually
on the last Wednesday from 5:15–
7:15 pm, to consider questions raised
by our members and to work on
board and community-based activities. If you are interested in joining
the MAC, please call Jean Rogers at
360-734-8158.
Volunteer in the Community
Co-op members who volunteer
with the Bellingham Food Bank,
Small Potatoes Gleaning Project,
Whatcom Land Trust, Nooksack
Salmon Enhancement Association, or The Food Bank Farm are
eligible for a $5 Co-op coupon.
These organizations determine
how to distribute the set amount
of coupons they receive each
month. Check with the organization you’re interested in before
volunteering.
Contact Laura Steiger at
360-734-8158, ext. 129 or
lauras@communityfood.coop.
5
We’ve Got Your Holiday Foods Covered
Whether you’re setting the table for two or 20, we have everything
you’ll need to complement your holiday meal. You can even sample and
pre-order our delicious holiday offerings at a special tasting. Come on in
and taste the Co-op difference—fresh, organic, local, and delicious!
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Cordata Co-op: Tuesday,
November 9, 4 to 6 pm
Holiday Dinners
Deli items available for pre-order
include a complete Dinner for Two
(vegan and gluten-free options available), and on the a la carte menu
we’ll offer herb-roasted turkey,
lentil loaf, wild rice stuffing, cranberry pecan stuffing, chicken or
herbed-mushroom gravy, dinner
rolls (whole wheat or gluten free),
smashed potatoes, baked yams
with cranberries and chevre,
green bean almondine, maple-glazed
squash, and cranberry sauce.
Desserts
Bakery items for pre-order include pumpkin cheesecake, white
chocolate cheesecake with raspberry
topping, perfect chocolate cake,
apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie,
chocolate cream pie, and a holiday
party tray.
Turkeys
And don’t forget we also have the
best turkeys in town. Starting the
week before Thanksgiving, we’ll be
stocked up with your favorite Shelton turkeys—fresh, all natural, freerange, and organic turkeys from 12
to 30 pounds.
s
Haizhen, Two Hills Tea’s purchaser,
visiting a maze-like tea cave in
south China.
Downtown Swan Café Serves
Matcha Tea and Latte
immediate supply of
For tea drinkers
the tea’s nutritious
interested in a high
ingredients. Matcha
quality organic tea,
is rich in antioxiSwan Café Manager
dants such as polyAlice O’Donnell rephenols and vitamin
cently announced
C, making it very
the launch of a new
beneficial for people
product at our Downwith health issues
town cafe—Matcha
or those undergoing
Tea and Matcha
cancer treatment.
Latte. Matcha is a
The supplier, Two
fine classical greenHills Tea, makes a
tea powder used in
concerted effort to
China since at least
select tea from and
the Song Dynasty
work with certified
(960–1234 A. D.).
organic co-op tea
Matcha provides
farms in Sri Lanka
100 percent of the
Some of Two Hill’s tea plantations
are not accessible by road. There are and China. These tea
health benefits of
paths through bamboo woods
farms are respected
green tea because you only
on the way to this wild tea field.
for their work in
consume whole leaves
maintaining a fair
instead of drinking an
working environment and sustaining
infusion of tea. A half teaspoon of
the organic growing of tea products.
Matcha in hot water gives you an
Two Hills Tea believes in fair trade
and purchases fair-traded tea or
directly from tea farms and pay
the farmers fair prices.
Stop by the Downtown Swan
Café for a taste treat that is nutritious and healthy. For more information, see www.twohillstea.
com.
Photos courtesy of Two Hills
6
The natural way of roasting tea is still
the only way used in this ancient tea
factory. The fragrance of the burning
pine resin fills the air. Two Hills’ Wuyi
Oolong Tea and Lapsong Souchong
teas are grown and produced in this
factory.
Photos by Becky Brower-Winter
Co-op Products Now at WWU
The Community Food Co-op has
been working with Western Washington University to bring more
local products and healthier alternatives to students, faculty, and
staff. WWU student Alyson Simeone, in her role as Sustainability
Coordinator, previously contacted
the Co-op to get healthier products on campus and, at one point,
students even considered opening
their own co-op on campus.
Last spring WWU contacted the
Co-op about carrying products at
a small store on Red Square, on
the first floor of Haggard Hall.
Student Emmett Codd, the current Sustainability Coordinator
on campus, spearheaded WWU’s
quest for local and healthier alternatives. After identifying products he was interested in, Emmett
worked with Sodexo, the dining
services provider at WWU, to
make the purchases.
Right now the Haggard Hideaway snack and juice bar is experimenting with different products—
the store currently carries Belly
Timber Bars, Bulk Trail Mix, Coop Swan Deli Hummus, and Swan
Bakery baked goods. At last report
the Swan Bakery Squirrel Bars and
Raspberry Pound Cake were flying
off the shelves.
The Co-op is pleased to serve
the students and employees at
WWU by providing local products
on campus. Working with Emmett,
the Co-op plans to expand the
product offerings by adding our
Nori rolls, wraps, and local dairy
products. The Co-op will also
provide additional signage to help
WWU tell the story of these local
vendors.
Wine Notes
Think Sparkling for Fall
Vic Hubbard, Downtown Co-op Wine Buyer
When it comes to versatility in wine, nothing is more versatile than sparkling wine. Whether it’s
French champagne, Spanish cava, Italian prosecco, or bubbly from California or any other wine region,
no wine is easier to pair with food, use as an aperitif, an after dinner wine, or on its own. Not contemplative or introspective wines, sparkling wines are meant to be shared, easy to enjoy, relatively low in alco-
hol, and are especially suitable for holiday gatherings, not to mention, a festive way to brighten up the
long hours of darkness as the year reaches its end.
It is in this vein that we have selected the following sparklers from our shelves to feature for Novem-
ber. Keep in mind, while these wines may be good recommendations for your Thanksgiving table, they
represent only a small sampling of the variety of sparkling wines on our shelves.
Valdo Prosecco Brut, Italy,
$11.95
Prosecco, the classic Italian sparkler, is made from
the prosecco grape in the
Prosecco region of Northeastern Italy. This area is
sandwiched between the
Dolomite Mountains in
the north and the moderate climate of the Adriatic Sea in the south.
Prosecco is made by the
Charmat method—secondary fermentation
(when the bubbles form)
takes place in large stainless steel tanks. This is a simpler,
less-expensive way to derive bubbles,
unlike champagnes and other fine
sparklers where secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. Technically, the bubbles in Prosecco may be
less fine than in bottle-fermented sparklers (although most of us probably
wouldn’t notice much difference), but
still much finer than cheap sparklers
injected with carbon dioxide as is
done with soda pop.
The beauty of this wine is its exceptionally clean and zesty quality,
bone dry, yet balanced and refreshing.
Produced from hand-harvested and
-selected grapes, classic fruity aromas
of golden delicious apples and white
fruits lead to citrusy flavors and a dry
finish. Excellent as a starter wine, it
is especially good with seafood and
other delicately flavored dishes.
Roederer Estate Anderson
Valley Brut, California,
$19.95
Coming from the 200-year
tradition of Champagne
Louis Roederer, the famous
French champagne house,
this wine is one of the best
champagne-quality sparklers made domestically.
Roederer’s California facilities are located among
redwood trees in cool,
coastal Mendocino County 125 miles north of San
Francisco. Roederer uses
only 100 percent estategrown fruit. Oak-aged
wines are blended from their cellars
to make a multi-vintage cuvée in Roederer’s “house style” and blended
from the traditional varietals—chardonnay and pinot noir.
In contrast to the Prosecco, this
wine has a darker more golden color
and tiny bubbles make the wine
seem alive. Bone dry, it is bracing
and refreshing with woody elements,
crisp green apple and pear, hazelnut
and spice components. Not what you
would call clean flavored, or easy
drinking, but a satisfying and complex sipper that warrants slow imbibing. This is a wine to carry through
a whole holiday dinner if desired,
from aperitif to dessert. It’s especially good with poultry, Asian foods,
anything with spice, cheeses mild to
strong, fruits, and flavorful desserts.
Scharffenberger Brut Rosé,
California, $19.95
Like Roederer, Scharffenberger, founded in 1981, is
also located in Mendocino’s
Anderson Valley. This is a
favored location for these
wines as the morning fog
has a cooling influence,
and the range of temperature throughout the day
helps to develop acidity
in the grapes—important
in sparkling wine production. Scharffenberger is
100 percent champagne
method, bottle fermented
and aged in the French
style. Although it may not
have the history of French champagne behind it quality wise, it is
not far behind and considerably less
expensive.
The more fruit-driven flavors of
pinot noir predominate in this elegant
and zesty rosé-style sparkler. Brief
skin contact during fermentation with
the red-skinned pinot noir gives it a
beautiful pale salmon color and adds
some fruitiness to the wine. Look for
notes of fresh raspberries and strawberries.
Something about the color adds
dimension and more festive quality
to the wine. And, while there may be
more fruit components, it still finishes bone dry with lingering dried fruit
and mineral notes.
Try this wine with appetizers or
on its own. It is a good match with
salmon, pasta with cream sauce, soft
cheeses and fruits.
Wine Questions?
Co-op Wine Buyers Vic Hubbard
and Tim Johnson invite your
questions or comments. Send email
to vich@communityfood.coop or
timj@communityfood.coop.
Wine Tasting at the Co-op
As the two Co-op wine departments grow in popularity, we have started offering in-store
wine tastings. At each Co-op location, regular tastings are now available in the wine department every Friday in November from 4–6 pm (except the Friday after Thanksgiving).
Three or four diverse wines will be sampled at each tasting. Tasters must be over 21 (IDs are
checked) and can taste up to 4 oz. of wine.
Wine at the Downtown Co-op
Downtown Co-op Wine Manager Vic Hubbard has scheduled two local wine personalities to host two of the November tastings.
Future tastings may feature other wine specialists, importers, or producers.
Friday, November 5, 4–6 pm
Meet Bellingham-based Spanish wine importer Basillio (Basi)
Rodriguez Grueso of Casa Ventura
Imports, specializing in “small
production, family-owned wines,
using non-aggressive agricultural
and viticultural methods.” Here’s
an opportunity to taste several of
Basi’s popular wines, ask questions, and connect with one of the
Co-op’s preferred suppliers.
Friday, November 12, 4–6 pm
Join Chris Zimmerman of Vias Imports, our favorite Italian wine specialist, and longtime supplier of Italian
wine to the Co-op through distributor
Unique Wines. He has given seminars
on Italian wines at many national and
international venues, and is considered
one of the foremost experts on Italian
wines in the Northwest, specializing in
wines of Northern Italy. Here’s a chance
to meet him “one-on-one” and try several of his top-quality wines.
Wine at the Cordata Co-op
Cordata Co-op Wine
Manager Tim Johnson
will host and pour in-store every Friday in November from
4–6 pm (except the Friday after
Thanksgiving).
Tastings will include samples
of three or four wines along with
crackers and cheese. A special
focus for Friday, November 19
will feature wines to pair with
Thanksgiving meals. Future tastings may feature invited wine
specialists.
7
Healthy Connections
Cooking, health, and well-being classes
offered by the Community Food Co-op
All classes (unless noted) are held at either the Downtown Co-op’s Connection Building (on the south side of the parking lot on Forest Street) or the Local Roots Room, which is upstairs at the Cordata Co-op. Registration requires payment in full. Some classes are
co-sponsored with Whatcom Community College. To register for these classes, call 360-383-3200 or go online to www.
whatcomcommunityed.com For all other classes stop by the service desk at either store location, or call
360-734-8158 (credit card payment only). See each class listing for location and registration. For any other class
information, contact Kevin Murphy at 360-734-8158 or email kevinm@communityfood.coop.
An Introduction to
“The Work” of Byron Katie
with Kathryn Lyons, LMHC, CDP
Monday, November 1, 6:30–8 pm
Downtown Co-op/register at Co-op
$5 members, $6 non-members
The Work, developed by Byron
Katie, author of Loving What Is: Four
Questions That Can Change Your Life,
is a deceptively simple yet powerful
process of inquiry. It teaches you to
identify and question thoughts that
cause suffering and to address your
problems with clarity. People who do
The Work as an ongoing practice report
life-changing results. You will leave
with a tool you can put to use immediately. Professional two contact-hour
certificates will be available.
breastfeeding with specific information
about what the Bellingham community
has to offer. Class 1 deals with choices
for childbirth education, midwifery,
doulas, prenatal yoga, and massage.
Class 2 is devoted to information about
breastfeeding, and Class 3 covers infant massage, mom and baby yoga,
cloth diapering, baby wearing options,
and making your own baby food.
Mind Play for
Personal Empowerment with Paul Mulholland
Monday, November 8, 6:30–8 pm
Impressive things happen when we
learn new ways to utilize our natural
mind power to enrich our own lives
and relationships. As a counselor for 25
The Art of
years and now as a fitness and Tai Chi
Wine and Food Pairing
instructor, Paul will be sharing new
with Laurent Martel
Tuesday, November 2, 7–8:30 pm
ways people can empower themselves
Cordata Co-op/register at WCC
personally and professionally utilizing
(360-383-3200)
easy and proven mental techniques.
$35 members and non-members
We’ll explore psychological constructs,
Wine educator Laurent
NLP (neuro-linguistic programMartel shows how pairing
ming), language patterning, sports
food with just the right wine
performance techniques, supplecan turn an ordinary dinner
ments, and more. You’ll experiinto a transcendent hedonistic
ence short practice sessions to betexperience. Tune into your
ter understand these simple techown taste preferences and
Laurent Martel niques. Participants will receive
aversions, and learn how to
a booklet and bibliography for
construct the perfect dinner
further exploration and reference.
party. Must be 21 years old to register;
picture ID required at class.
The Two-hour Turkey
Transition Whatcom
with David Marshak
Wednesday, November 3, 6:30–8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/register at Co-op
Free Event, Registration Requested
David will explore the issues and
concerns underlying the worldwide
Transition movement—Peak Oil, global warming, and economic instability—
and describe what Transition Whatcom
has done so far. Learn how you can get
involved in Transition Whatcom now.
Holiday Gifts from Your Kitchen
Holiday Menu
with Robert Fong
Tuesday, November 9, 6:30–9 pm
Downtown Co-op/register at WCC
(360-383-3200)
$39 members and non-members, $8
for wine option
Perfectly roasted turkey in less than
two hours! Chestnut and mushroom
stuffing, fresh cranberry dressing,
mashed potatoes, and a baked autumn
squash stuffed with nuts, vegetables,
and herbs fill out the menu. Chef Fong
promises a feast. Optional $8 wine fee
is payable at class.
with Cindy McKinney
Saturday, November 6, 11 am–1:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/register at WCC
(360-383-3200)
Have fun and save
money creating these
delectable and easyto-make gifts. Cindy
McKinney demonstrates
the creation of a wide
array of gifts from the
Cindy McKinney
kitchen including: pear
butter, cranberry chutney, bean/pasta/veggie soup mixes, caramel (or butterscotch)
popcorn balls, caramel and chocolatecovered apples, fudge “foggies” (halfway
between fudge and cookies), cashew clusters, limoncello (Italian lemon-flavored
liqueur), and more.
with Carolyn Hallett
Wednesday, November 10, 7–9 pm
Sliding scale $5–15
Become empowered to relieve the
suffering caused by a stomach virus,
influenza, injuries, headache, and other
acute and first aid problems—heal the
whole family. Learn time-tested treatments for flu, earaches, and stomach
virus; first aid for acute emotional
states (shock, grief, and panic); and
safe, effective treatment for acute sinusitis, injuries, and more. Attendees
will learn enough to go home and get
started. All levels of experience are
welcome. There will be time for questions about individual health concerns.
Birthing in Bellingham
Roots of the Season
with Deborah Craig
and Mary Burgess
Saturdays, November 6, December 4
and January 15, 1–4 pm
$10 per class members and nonmembers or $25 for all three
Learn about choices and services related to pregnancy, birth, baby care, and
8
Homeopathy at Home
with Melissa Laws
Thursday, November 11, 6:30–8:30 pm
Just in time for the holidays, Melissa
Laws presents healthful and comforting autumn vegetable recipes that are
both original and easy to make. She’ll
create baked sweet potato fries with
a hint of cinnamon; butternut squash
with candied pecans, gorgonzola, and
red onion; and pesto spaghetti squash
with sundried tomatoes. As an added
treat, she’ll finish with cinnamon and
raisin mochi stuffed with chevre.
Take Control of
Your Hormonal Health
with Jim Ehmke, CN
Thursday, November 11, 6:30–8:30 pm
The third in a series of six classes,
this session is designed to give you the
knowledge you need to take control of
your hormonal health. Learn all about
the body’s endocrine system. Topics
include thyroid health, the hypothalamus, the pineal gland, the pancreas,
adrenals, and the pituitary gland. Jim
will discuss how hormones interact,
hormonal therapies, fertility options,
PMS, and much more. Certified Nutritionist Jim Ehmke has been a practitioner of diverse alternative therapies
since 1976.
Stretching to Prevent Injury
with Chris Lockwood, DC
Monday, November 15, 7–8:30 pm
Our bodies are made to move. How
we move and take care of our bodies
will ultimately keep us vital or age us.
Stretching can play an active role in
keeping the body limber and preventing injuries. Stretching needs to have
dimension to activate and engage muscles. Dr. Lockwood will discuss the
principals of three dimensional movement and lead participants through a
series of stretches that will complement
your active lifestyle and help prevent
injuries.
Gluten-free Baking for
the Holidays
Robert Fong
on canard á l’orange (French roast
duck with orange sauce); bouillabaisse
with Alaskan prawns, clams, mussels,
squid, fish, spices, and olive oil; and
potato croquettes. If you’re yearning
for a first-rate French culinary adventure, this class is for you.
Making Herbal Gifts
with Sajah Popham
Tuesday, November 30, 6:30–8:30 pm
$19 members/$22 non-members
Join herbalist Sajah Popham in a fun
and practical class. Sajah demonstrates
how to make wholesome herbal salves,
lip balms, bath salts, tinctures, teas and
vinegars. Everybody knows the gifts
you make yourself are the best—especially when they promote immunity,
stress reduction, relaxation, deep
dreaming, and general good health.
Sajah is a Bastyr University graduate
and is the owner of Organic Unity. For
more information, see www.organicunity.com.
Breathing Techniques
for the Holidays
with Kim Haustedt, DC
Wednesday, December 1, 7–8 pm
with Ali Segersten
Tuesday, November 16, 6–8:30 pm
The holidays are a wonderful time
but they can also trigger feelings of
Need to bake gluten-free for yourself
stress and burn-out. This workshop
or for a loved one this holiday season?
explores how your body, brain and
Alissa Segersten of Whole
nervous system are affected by
Life Nutrition will demonstress and focuses on breathing
strate a few healthy glutentechniques you can practice to be
free desserts and baked
more mindful, relaxed, open, and
goods that everyone can
engaged during the holidays and
enjoy and eat safely. The
beyond. Dr. Kim Haustedt will
menu includes a Fig Tart
teach participants how to use their
with Hazelnut Crust (grain
breath as a tool to create energy,
Ali Segersten
free, egg free, and refined
ease stress, and feel more centered.
sugar free), Braided Currant Orange Bread, Pear Gingerbread
Make Your Own
Upside Down Cake, Herb Crackers
Moisturizing Cream
with Elly Morrison, PhD
with Cashew Roasted Red Pepper dip,
Monday, December 6, 6:30–8 pm
and Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies. Most
recipes are also free of xanthan gum,
starchy flours, dairy, and eggs. Come
Learn how to make a non-toxic rich
enjoy pure, delicious, and good-for-you
moisturizing cream using organic inholiday treats.
gredients that will protect your skin
from the winter chill outside and the
Festive French
dry heat inside. Dr. Elly Morrison,
with Robert Fong
founder of Simply Pure Skin Care,
Thursday, November 18, 6:30–9 pm
believes the products we put on our
Downtown Co-op/register at WCC
(360-383-3200)
skin should be as pure and non-toxic as
the food we eat. Dr. Morrison will also
$8 wine option payable at class
discuss ingredients to be avoided when
Enjoy iconic French specialties that
purchasing commercial body care
you can re-create for your holiday
products. For more information, see
menus. Robert Fong presents his take
www.skin-care-lotion.com.
Funding for Fresh Food in Schools
The Washington Sustainable Food
& Farming Network (WSFFN)
recently received notice from the
Washington State Department of
Agriculture (WSDA) that it will be
awarded $172,000 to help implement
its three-year Fresh Food in Schools
project. The project will build public
awareness and support to increase
school district purchasing of Washington’s fruits and vegetables specialty crops.
“We are delighted to be able to
work across Washington State to support our farmers feeding our kids!
Our Fresh Food in Schools program
will help farmers enter the school
market and help our kids get better
access to Washington grown fruits
and vegetables,” said Executive Director of WSFFN Ellen Gray. Partners supporting the project include:
the Washington State PTA, the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, PCC Natural Markets,
the Child Obesity Prevention Coalition, and WSDA’s Farm-to-School
program.
“Building relationships among
farmers, parents and schools, and
encouraging schools to purchase
more fresh fruits and vegetables from
local farmers will lead to greater
stability in our rural communities
and strengthen our state’s economic
base,” stated Trudy Bialic, Director of Public Affairs at PCC Natural
Markets.
Twenty schools will be targeted
and invited to participate in the
three-year project. Bill Williams,
Executive Director of the Washington State PTA stated, “It has been
determined that on average, school
children receive one-third of their
calories at school. Washington State
PTA is very supportive of improving
the quality of our school food and
helping improve the nutrition for our
schoolchildren.”
“The Fresh Food in Schools project will provide important support to
our School Districts in their efforts to
improve the nutritional value of their
meals,” said Victor Colman with the
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, a partner on this project. “Fresh
Food in Schools is a win-win for our
farmers, our kids, our schools and
our local communities,” said Paul
Benz, Executive Director of the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State.
Funding for this program is provided by private donations and the
WSDA, through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant. For more
information about the Fresh Food
in Schools project, contact Ellen
Gray at egray@wsffn.org or 360336-9694.
Free Parenting
and Child
Development
Classes
Loving Space Programs is a Bellingham non-profit whose mission is to enhance lives, infuse joy, and inspire children and their parents through support,
education, and special children’s programs in art, science, music, movement,
sports, and drama. They offer classes related to parenting and child development to empower families of Whatcom County and to make the process of
parenting more healthy and positive.
Upcoming classes include Supporting Early Readers at Home with Jen
Mallett on Wednesday, November, 10, 2010; and Healing Trauma through
Integrated Movement Therapy with Sandra Bowman, MA LMFT on Tuesday,
December 7, 2010.
Classes are offered from 7–9 pm at St. Luke’s Educational Center, 3333
Squalicum Pkwy. No registration is required and there is no cost to attend,
but donations are appreciated. For more information and their monthly class
schedule, see www.lovingspaceschool.com/non-profit, or call 360-752-5782.
Co-op Holiday Hours—
The Community Food Co-op wishes you the best for
the holiday season.
Thanksgiving Day Closed
Christmas Eve
Close at 6 pm
New Year’s Eve
Close at 8 pm
Christmas Day
New Year’s Day
Closed
Open at 10 am
Don’t forget Daylight Saving Time ends November 7 at 2 am.
Water Stewards in the Flow
Elizabeth Kerwin
In retrospect it seems that it took
me a long time to realize that water is
something for which I have been less
than an optimal steward, taking it for
granted, not recognizing
the many ways in which
I might more deeply
respect its literally essential place in life
itself. How many times
did I brush my teeth
and let the water run?
When did I opt for yet
another plastic bottle of
water? For quite a while
now I have been carrying around my own
refillable water bottle,
and also purchased a
UV purifying steripen for traveling
where drinking from plastic bottles
had seemed the only safe option. Still,
living in the Northwest, having a well,
and thus no water bill, and having the
illusion of infinite supply, I have lived
indulgently in relation to water.
A group of women, initially inspired
to attend an international caucus focused on world issues, much like the
one in Beijing years ago, morphed
into an activist group, with a spiritual
underpinning. The intention shifted to
bringing more awareness to our local
community on how we might collec-
tively become more attuned to being
(www.foodandwaterwatch.org) where
We can each make a difference by
good stewards for water. All of this
there is much to absorb. For instance, 40
carrying our own water bottles, ideally
flowed (pardon the pun) from a ritual
percent of so-called bottled water comes
stainless steel or aluminum, and by
in which we participated, each bringfrom the tap, and then perhaps has had
encouraging the people in our families,
ing water from a favorite
some minerals added. The bottles often
workplaces, and circles of friends to
natural source, purified and
contain a chemical called phthalate that
avoid purchasing bottled water. I am
intermingled into a great
has been linked to reproductive probalways heartened to be able to make
bowl from which we sipped
lems, liver damage, and increased cancer
my small contributions that flow into
this sacred elixir. This seed
risk. Environmentally, 47 million gallons
the wave of change that is needed in
of inspiration took us to this
of oil are used each year in America to
our world, and hope you will be inmoment, and our efforts to
create plastic water bottles, approxispired to ride this one with me.
find practical approaches to
mately 86 percent of which are not even
inviting people into more
recycled. Eliminating these bottles would
Elizabeth lives gratefully by the
reflection on conscious
be the equivalent of taking 100,000 cars
Nooksack River in Deming with her
water use in our time and
off the road, and one billion pounds of
partner Jillian and the numerous creain our community. We call
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
tures that also inhabit the space. In her
ourselves Whatcom Water
Moreover, repeated studies have shown
spare time she teaches yoga and is a
on Tap. We assisted with
that bottled water is not even as safe
psychotherapist (www.elizabethkerwin.
Bellingham’s World Water
as tap water! The Natural Resources
com). Elizabeth is a member of WhatDay this past spring, and are currently
Defense Council conducted an extencom Water on Tap along with Paula
working to encourage the creation of
sive battery of tests on more than 1,000
Brown, Jill Clark, Jillian Froebe, Krisa city ordinance modeled after other
bottles of various brands of bottled wata Hunter, Dana Mattson, and Shirley
cities throughout the country, securing
ter, only to discover that one in five had
Osterhaus. For more information about
the local government’s commitment
more bacteria than that allowed by many
their group, contact whatcomwateronto utilize tap rather than bottled water
official purity guidelines established in
tap@gmail.com.
for all city-related activities. We have
government and industry.
been focusing in general on
ways to discourage people in
Some additional resources for learning more about water:
our county from purchasing
Websites: www.foodandwaterwatch.org, www.waterfootprint.org, www.storyofstuff.com/
bottled water.
bottledwater
To learn more about the
Films: Flow, For Love of Water, Blue Gold
true impact of using bottled
Books: Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte;
water, check out the Food
Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water by Maude Barlow.
and Water Watch website
9
Gluten Intolerance Basics and Beyond
Diana Campbell, CCN Editor
As a recently self-identified gluten
intolerant, I’ve started following blogs,
reading cookbooks, and researching internet sources for information that will
help clarify and explain this newfound
food issue in my life. I quickly learned
that gluten is a mixture of proteins
found in grains such as wheat, barley,
and rye. I had heard about the Bellingham Gluten Intolerance Group (BGIG)
annual Community Awareness Event
for several years, so this year I decided to attend. After only a couple of
speakers on a Friday morning in early
October, my head was spinning with
fascinating new information.
For instance, from BGIG team
leader Kelle Rankin-Sunter I learned
about the difference between a wheat
allergy and gluten intolerance. When
people with a wheat allergy ingest it,
their bodies have an allergic reaction,
producing familiar histamine-causing
symptoms that typically occur quickly
after contact, such as throat constriction, mucus production/runny nose or
itchy skin or hives. Reliable tests are
available to identify allergic reaction,
and many allergy symptoms can be
treated with an antihistamine. Common
food allergies include nuts, shellfish,
fish, milk, eggs, wheat, and soybeans.
Kelle further explained, in contrast
to wheat allergies, when gluten sensitive people eat gluten, their immune
system sees gluten as a toxin and
produces antibodies in an attempt to
destroy it. This reaction produces inflammation and malabsorption of nutrients in the small intestine. Resulting
damage to the structures of the small
intestine cause all sorts of issues such
as poor enzyme production, bacteria,
yeast overgrowth, and the “symptoms”
we have come to recognize as intolerance. Antibody response can be difficult to identify, and it often takes much
longer for symptoms to arise, making
it hard to link to the cause. I was surprised to hear Kelle say that it can take
as long as 90 days for antibodies to
gluten to clear from your system. She
further noted something I had already
figured out: it doesn’t pay to “cheat.”
If you are gluten intolerant, ingesting
even fractionally small amounts—with
or without apparent symptoms—will
cause damage to your body.
She explained that as long as a person is still eating gluten, specific types
of blood tests can identify the level of
antibodies produced, which can help
determine whether someone is sensitive to gluten. After you’ve stopped
ingesting gluten, the blood tests are
not effective. It is generally believed
that between 10 and 30 percent of the
general population is gluten intolerant.
However, only one percent is typically diagnosed with celiac disease—a
condition that presents more specific
and identifiable symptoms, can be diagnosed with quantifiable blood test results, and by definition, includes damage to the lining of the small intestine.
Messages in the press and even from
the medical field can lead us to believe
there are only two ways wheat can
make you sick: a diagnosis of celiac
disease or an allergy to wheat. For ex-
ample, a recent article in the The
Wall Street Journal said, “Fewer
than one percent of Americans
have celiac disease, and a similar amount suffer from wheat
allergies. Despite these modest
numbers, gluten-free foods have
become quite the rage—60 million Americans bought at least
one such item last year.”
These misleading statements
overlook the other potentially 29
percent of the population who are
gluten intolerant, whose bodies
produce antibodies from ingesting gluten, and who may experience a wide variety of symptoms. Studies identify as many as 300 different
symptoms that can arise from ingesting
gluten—some more serious than others, such as fatigue, gastrointestinal
distress (gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, reflux), headaches
(including migraines), inability to concentrate, moodiness/depression, bone/
joint/muscle pain, even infertility and
more. People with gluten intolerance—
identified by testing or self-identified
with an elimination diet—typically feel
better when they eliminate gluten entirely from their diet.
That was the case for me—after
reading about gluten intolerance for
several months and hearing the experiences of friends and co-workers, I
decided to try eliminating foods with
gluten. After only a few days I was
amazed that I experienced relief from
gastrointestinal symptoms so quickly.
I was hooked and promptly started a
journey of discovery to learn more,
read labels, and share stories to understand this condition. I came away from
the BGIG event this year realizing how
much there is to learn about this condition (a good reason to join BGIG).
I’m pleased to have uncovered more
resources that help me explore and
gather information to guide my food
choices.
BGIG provides support for people,
and their caregivers, who have any
reaction to gluten, including wheat allergies, or have been diagnosed with
celiac disease. This annual conference
brings information from medical practitioners, food manufacturers, cooks,
and local retailers. Anyone is welcome
to attend BGIG monthly meetings at
St. Luke’s Health Ed Center.
For more information, see their website at www.glutenfreeway.info. For
information on the national level, see
www.gluten.net.
Food Label Lies: How to Sort Truth From Hype
By Lisa Gosselin
I live in Vermont. I have cows and
goats as neighbors. I buy chickens from
the farm a mile down my road. I’m the
editor of EatingWell Magazine, for pete’s
sake, which champions wholesome, local
food and healthy eating. So you would
think I’d know what terms like “all natural” mean. Especially when “All Natural”
appears on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream, which is made exactly 10.3 miles
away from my house.
Well, apparently I don’t. Nor do many
people. Because somehow factory-made
ingredients like “fake vanilla, alkalized
cocoa, corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil” have found their
way into 48 of Ben & Jerry’s 53 “All
Natural” flavors, according to the Center
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI),
a Washington, D.C.-based nutrition and
health advocacy group.
Recently that nonprofit watchdog
group sent a letter to Ben & Jerry’s parent
company, Unilever, requesting that it stop
using the term and Unilever agreed to
take the term off the label. Also recently,
Vermont congressman Peter Welch sent a
letter to the makers of Log Cabin Syrup,
asking them to remove “Natural” from
their label, since the syrup contains an
artificial caramel coloring. (Log Cabin is
removing the coloring.)
But what about all the other “natural,”
“local” or “organic” claims companies
make on their labels—which ones should
we believe and which ones are just hype?
What Exactly Is “Natural?”
Who can use it: Anyone can put the
term “natural” (or “all natural”) on most
foods, since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no formal definition of
10
the term and doesn’t regulate it or really
police it. So far, according to the agency,
it has “not objected to the use of the term
if the food does not contain added color,
artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.”
The one exception is meats and poultry,
which are regulated by a different organization, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
What it means: According to the
USDA, meat and poultry that has “no
artificial ingredient or added color and is
only minimally processed may be labeled
natural.” The term “naturally raised” is a
voluntary (read: unregulated) label that
means livestock have been raised without
antibiotics and growth hormones and
have not been fed animal by-products.
The benefits: Foods labeled “natural”
should not contain synthetic food dyes.
Recent studies have linked synthetic food
dyes with hyperactivity in children and
even with cancer—enough to recently
cause CSPI to call for a ban on synthetic
dyes (ones that appear with a number after them, such as Blue 1 and 2 or Yellow
5 and 6). This doesn’t mean all our food
will become duller—plenty of natural
colorants abound.
What it doesn’t mean: Since there is
little policing on the term “natural” it’s
best to read the label to see what is really
in your food. For instance, the Tostito’s
claim “All Natural” is true—Tostito’s
Natural Corn Chips are made with only
organic (non-GM) corn, corn oil, and salt.
However “natural” in no way implies any
product is organic, local, or humanelyraised.
What Does “Organic” Really Mean?
Who can use it: “Certified organic” is
one label that is strictly regulated. To be
“certified organic” a farm must have been
pesticide- and herbicide-free for at least
three years. Livestock producers have
even more stringent requirements regarding the feed and care of their animals.
Certification is an expensive and timeconsuming process, which means many
very small farms that may be following
organic practices don’t bother getting
certified.
What it means: The product was made
without using pesticides or herbicides,
antibiotics, hormones, irradiation, or
bio-engineering (i.e. GMO). It means the
farm has been inspected, farm animals
given a chance to range in the open air,
and that sustainable agricultural practices
are in place. For farmed fish, it means that
less than 25 percent of their feed comes
from other fish and did not come from
forage fish that have been depleted in the
wild. Wild fish are not labeled organic.
The benefits: Organic produce has
fewer trace residues of pesticides and
more nutrients, some studies claim. Organic farming—both for produce and
meats—means fewer pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics impact the groundwater and that environmentally sensitive
practices are in use. Last, organic farms
are regularly inspected and organic meats
are more easily traced back to their farm,
so if a food-safety issue occurs, it’s easier
to find out where the food comes from.
What it doesn’t mean: An organic
label indicates that 95 percent of the product is organic (there is also a “100-percent
organic” label). And a food with at least
70 percent organic ingredients can be
labeled “made with organic ingredients.”
Organic also does not guarantee that it
was produced on a small farm, is healthy,
or that animals were treated humanely.
How Local Is “Local?”
Who can use it: Anyone can say their
food is “local” and there are no regulations on the term. But local to where? The
country? The state? The town? Federal
regulations require “country of origin
labeling” (COOL) for meats, fish, fresh
and frozen produce, peanuts, pecans,
and macadamia nuts. Congress has also
passed an act that defines the “local” label
as “the locality or region in which the
final product is marketed, so that the total
distance that the product is transported is
less than 400 miles from the origin of the
product; or the state in which the product
is produced.”
What it means: Unless you visit the
farm, it’s truly hard to know what “local”
really is. In Vermont, the term is regulated
to mean “local” to Vermont or made
within 30 miles of where the product is
sold. Some states certify farmers’ markets
to make sure that you are buying directly
from a local farmer. California, for instance, requires that the farmer actually
grows the produce he or she is selling at a
California Certified Farmers’ Market (as
opposed to selling through a packager)
(continued on page 11)
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resources/newsletter.htm.
I Didn’t Know That Was Compostable
Libuse Binder
Whether you are managing your own compost bin, or you live
in a town or city that
composts for you,
composting is one
of the most efficient
ways to help keep
millions of tons of
biodegradable trash
out of the landfill.
Many compostable
items are probably
those you are already
familiar with like veggie
trimmings, coffee and tea
grounds, and yard and plant
clippings, but these items are just the
start of what can go in your bin.
Bread and Crackers
There are many potential contributors to the compost in the kitchen.
Stale starches such as bread, crackers, pretzels and even cooked pasta
and cooked rice can all be composted. These drier items will help offset the wetter kitchen waste such as
veggie trimmings.
Compostable Condiments
Herbs, spices, jams and preserves
all have a limited shelf life, and once
they are too old to use, they can be
added to the pile as well.
Eggscetera—shells and dairy
Egg shells are compostable, although they should be rinsed or even
heated for ten minutes in the oven in
order to kill bacteria. Leftover dairy
products like melted ice cream and
moldy cheese can also be composted.
Zero-waste wine
Wine is a zero-waste drink thanks
to your compost pile; put the bottle
in the recycling bin and the cork in
the compost, and the wine itself can
even help encourage the composting
process. If you make your own beer
or wine, all of the waste from these
processes is a beneficial addition to
the pile.
Packaging
Plastic, which is a common packaging material, is not compostable
and does not biodegrade. Thanks
to continuing
education about
this fact and
consumer demand, some
cities, towns,
and businesses
have begun to
eliminate plastic
packaging such
as polystyrene
containers. These
efforts have been furthered by the development and distribution of
compostable to-go containers. Many
stores now use compostable containers for everything from salad to coffee beans.
Paper products
Almost all forms of clean, nontreated paper can be composted as
long as they are shredded or broken
into smaller pieces. Paper is another
material that acts as drier material to
help keep the proper ratio of “green”
to “brown” materials in your pile.
You can compost most paper including bills (once you have paid them,
of course!), junk mail, paper towels,
paper napkins, paper plates, toilet
paper rolls, paper cartons from eggs
and berries, and even the grease-free
part of your pizza boxes.
Hair it is
There are many items in the bathroom that can be rerouted to the
compost pile. Hair from your hairbrush or fur from your pet are full of
useful nitrogen and can be thrown
in the compost pile. Nail trimmings
can be composted too as long as
they have no polish on them. Cotton
is also fodder for the bin, so cotton
balls, cotton swabs (as long as the
handle is made of paper), lint from
the dryer, and even old shredded cotton and wool clothing need never see
the trash pile.
Lint and other unwelcome guests
Even the waste from your cleaning
adventures can go in the pile. When
you are done vacuuming, empty
Food Label Lies
(continued from page 10)
and that the produce is grown in state—
but that too could be 400 miles away.
The benefits: Buying local supports
a local economy and helps ensure that
open land will remain in agriculture. It
can also be better for your health, since
local fruits and vegetables are often
allowed to ripen longer and thus often
taste better and carry more nutrients.
And it could benefit the environment:
one study by the Leopold Center for
Sustainable Agriculture shows that
if Iowans purchased only 10 percent
of their food from their home state, it
would reduce carbon emissions by 7.9
million pounds a year.
What it doesn’t mean: Just because
it says “local” doesn’t mean that the
your bag into the bin, and when
you sweep out the fireplace, add the
ashes as well. Trimmings from your
indoor plants can go along with any
used soil, and you can even compost
the crumbs you sweep off the floor.
Party in the bin
One of the most difficult decisions
to make during the holidays is what
to do with the waste generated after
a big celebration. With a bit of planning, it is easy to ensure that most of
your party favors are compost binfriendly. Both Christmas trees and
jack-o-lanterns are compostable, as
are wreaths made from natural materials like tree trimmings and flowers.
food wasn’t produced on a factory
farm, or that it is organic, sustainable or
even… ahem… “natural.”
So what do I choose? Whenever possible, organic, local, and natural. Better
yet, I grow or make my own food when
I can.
Lisa Gosselin is the editorial director
of EatingWell Media Group, publisher
of the award-winning EatingWell
Magazine, books such as EatingWell
500-Calorie Dinners and EatingWell
in Season: The Farmers’ Market Cookbook, EatingWell.com and EatingWell
Custom Publishing. She lives in Vermont, near EatingWell’s headquarters
and Test Kitchen.
Making the mix
The most successful compost bins
and piles are those that have the right
mix of materials needed for the composting process to take place properly. Many cities now offer compost
pick-up, so check with your municipality about availability of this service and which items are considered
compostable.
Adapted from http://earth911.com/
news, August 9, 2010 issue. Follow
Libuse Binder at her Weekly Way
blog http://www.weeklyway.blogspot.
com.
11
Enjoying Fall’s Bounty
Kate Ferry, Co-op Member and Blogger
More than any other season, the
onset of fall lends itself to a clear transition that unfolds into chilly, fog-blanketed mornings, fiery-hued hillsides,
and crisp sunny days that lack the
warmth of summer. Fall has a smell all
its own and a deepness that creeps into
your bones and welcomes the holidays.
It is time for children to parade in their
creative regalia and celebrate All Hallows Eve. And, it wraps up with a day
for families and friends to settle down
for a slow-cooked meal and give grace
and thanks for the blessings in life.
The farewell to summer’s abundant
splendor says hello to the glorious
myriad that is autumn—apples, pumpkins, and squash. This is the perfect
time of year to embrace this goodness,
gather bushels aplenty, and work some
magic with old-time favorite recipes.
All in all, fall is the ideal season to
achieve our family’s ultimate goal of
harvesting, utilizing, and appreciating the bounty as it comes to fruition,
whether in our backyard or another’s.
Apples are a wonderfully diverse
fruit. You can start your day off with
buttermilk pancakes and fresh apple
syrup and finish with a dish of roasted
potatoes, apples, pine nuts, and dried
currants. Apples are perfect when eaten
fresh, preserved, or
cooked—the options
really are endless.
Photo by Kate Ferry
Two for one: One bushel makes
Apple Jelly and Applesauce
I recently fell in love with this twofor-one recipe that starts with a gallon of
apples and after a little time on the stove
and some sorting ends up with both
homemade applesauce and apple jelly.
Start with one-gallon of cored and
chopped, sweet apples—think varieties such as Honey Crisp, Gala, or Fuji.
Toss the chunks, peels and all, into
a saucepot, add 4 cups of water and
cook over medium-high heat until they
start to boil. Keep your eye on the pot
and stir occasionally with a mashing
here or there to break up the chunks
and collect juice in the pot. When the
apples are tender, separate the bigger
chunks with a slotted spoon to a different bowl. Strain the remaining liquid
through cheesecloth. You should now
have two collections: a mash of sweet
natural, softened apple chunks and a
pitcher of cleaned juice.
Proceed with your apple juice using
a jelly recipe that you are comfortable
with. You should have about four cups
of juice that will eventually give you
about four half-pints of jelly. If you are
trying to abstain from added sugar and
overly sweetened preserves, check out
Pomona’s Universal Pectin sold at the
Co-op. To add a bit of pizzazz to the
jelly, sprinkle in some cinnamon and
nutmeg to taste, and can as instructed
by your recipe.
Your apple pulp will produce some
good applesauce for your freezer or
pantry. Run the pulp through a food
mill to separate the skins and other
bits. Don’t try a food processor—it
won’t work. Don’t bother with a blender—it’s not worth it. If you were thinking ahead and peeled the apples, skip
the food mill step altogether. Preserve
your ready-made applesauce using a
friendly canning or freezing recipe.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling
Pumpkins are technically members
of the gourd family, but hold a very
special place in my heart and so find
themselves with a section all their
own. Our vegetable garden is housed
in a single corner of our backyard and
measures approximately 25 feet by
30 feet, but the pumpkin patches have
become an integral part of our landscape. The “Jack Be Littles” fill one
bed in the backyard and the monstrous
“Prizewinners” are overtaking a patch
near our deck. The leggy “Luminas”
and “Howdens” are stretching themselves from one end of the front yard
to the other. The sweet orange darlings
are primarily decorations, but their
delicious flavor cannot be overlooked
or underappreciated during this time of
year.
Yes, pumpkin pie can be snatched
from the grocer’s shelves or filled with
a can of the puree, but if you are up for
an even bigger (and messier!) adventure—do it yourself, the old-fashioned
way. It’s really quite easy and worth
doing at least once. Realistically speaking though, you won’t find me elbow
deep, scraping away at a cooked pumpkin shell the day before Thanksgiving.
Get your hands on a sugar pie
pumpkin—the small ones that run
about eight pounds and are available
at most every grocery store, farm
stand, my backyard AND front yard,
etc. Cut the pumpkin in half and enlist
the help of your kids to pick out the
seeds.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place
the pumpkin halves cut side down in
a large deep casserole dish. Add water
to about 1/2-inch deep. Cover the pan
with foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until pumpkin flesh is scoopable and soft.
Allow the pumpkin to cool adequately. Wait until you can handle
it with your bare hands because this
already messy project will take a turn
for the worse if you attempt the next
steps while wearing hockey-glove-like
oven mitts. Scrape the inside flesh of
the pumpkin out and move all of the
cleaned pumpkin meat to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. If your puree seems wet, strain it through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.
Stand back and admire your homemade pumpkin puree. But, remember
you are not done—now it’s time to
make the pie. Use a pie recipe that suits
your tastes and enjoy that homemade
pumpkin pie.
Fall brings in amazingly stunning
colors and scrumptiously delicious
produce. It’s the much-needed break
between the cheeriness of summer and
the cold darkness of winter. The meal
possibilities are endless and will take
you from breakfast to dessert. Enjoy
a harvest festival, take a hayride, and
bring home a bushel of something
good—welcome fall with open arms.
Visit Kate’s blog at www.sacredbee.
net to follow the Ferry family’s effort
to buy organic and local, reduce their
waste, and eliminate artificial and
harmful products from their home.
Far-out, man—the ’70s rocked
Thanks to our
grooviest members
for celebrating 40
years of Co-op history with us on Saturday, October 9 at the
Downtown store. We
hope you enjoyed
your flashback to
the 1970s with some
fine era-appropriate
music spun by DJ
Layne Southcott,
interesting trivia
factoids and vibrant
flower-power flowers festooning
the store, yummy
food demos, and
lots of freebies.
Deli staff member
Additional
Kristin Edwards
frivolity was
decked out in
provided by a
70s garb.
photo op with
you starring as
fresh-picked broccoli, corn, or a potato. This clever cutout was painted
by local artist Ellen Clark of
Magic Draw and will be making appearances at many Coop events in the future.
Many folks also went home
with a colorful addition to
their wardrobe after a visit
to the tie-dye room. Co-op
tie-dye expert extraordinaire
Chantel Murray assisted folks
in crafting their wearable
masterpieces. Share your tie-
dye creations by uploading a photo to
our Facebook page. We’d love to see
what you created.
Lastly, we put out the call for folks
to join us for a group history photo
shoot and gathered quite a few Co-op
founders and longtime members for a
trip down memory lane.
Slated for Saturday, October 23, the
Cordata Co-op party will happen after
we go to press, so watch for photos and
updates on that event in the December
newsletter. To see photos from both the
downtown and Cordata
parties, visit our Facebook page.
Samples of
tasty wine and
tender pork
chops.
Volunteers hand
out Swan Bakery
goodies.
Volunteer Thanks
Co-op shoppers
pose as produce.
Tie-dying—
messy but fun!
Group photo (In alphabetical order,
above): Makela Alem, Sara Allen, Jacqueline Anderson, Jim Ashby, Denise Black, Pat
Clarke, Barbara Davidson, Linda Joy De
Long, Kristin Edwards, Robin Elwood, Albert
Fields, Suzanne Goodell, Jamie Jedinak,
Marlene Maskornick, Carolyn Miklavic,
Kevin Murphy, Alice O’Donnell,
Jean Rogers, Elsa Sigler, Layne Southcott,
Kate Sovell, Rosey Sovell, Laura Steiger,
Ann Suloway, Jonathan Waggoner, Kathie
Wilson, Steve Wilson
Member Appreciation means
great freebies
and prizes.
Thanks to the dedicated volunteers
who helped set up and keep the fun
rolling at the Back to the ’70s Party
at the downtown store on
Saturday, October 9:
Kate Sovell
Carol Waugh
Meredith
Carolyn
Stevenson
Miklavic
Rosey Sovell
Elsa Sigler
Sara Charette
Fred Daugert
Steven Bratticus
Judy Prestella
Photos by Joanne Plucy

Co-op Community

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