Nl 03 2016 web

SPRING 2016

NEWSLETTER

COOPERATIVELY OWNED

COMMUNITY FOCUSED

Touching Base with Farm to School An Update on Local Efforts from Principal Doren of Monument Valley Middle School

By Matthew Novik, Communications Manager Most of us know the story of the farm-to-table movement. It got its start in the 1960s, when the hippie movement made natural food trendy and more and more people were looking to support local farmers and start food co-ops. It continued through the 1970s, most notably when Alice Waters gained national attention for her farm-to-table cooking at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. And it really hit its stride in the mid-2000s with people like Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin, Wendell Barry, and others bringing it to widespread national attention. Today, many are looking for the next step of the farm-to-table movement. And a lot of them believe that answer lies in focusing on farm-to-school programs. Right here in the Southern Berkshires, efforts are well underway to bring local food into our local schools. We sat down with Ben Doren, principal at Monument Valley Middle School, to learn more about the farm-to-school efforts here in Great Barrington.

Monument Valley Middle School and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District have launched a farm-to-school effort that could radically change the schools’ teaching methods. “It all started with Project Connection,” says Doren. “We got a big grant to do after-school programming that focused on local landscape, farming, and food. We started to collaborate with organizations like Greenagers, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and Berkshire Co-op Market to develop programming for over two hundred students.”

Working to get more locally farmed food into school cafeteria meals.

The district had focused on these subjects before. In fact, Project Sprout, a food-farming club at the high school, had already gained national attention for its groundbreaking student-driven approach. But, according to Doren, this grant allowed for a level of future planning that had never been achieved before. “Part of the reason we’re talking about this today is because of the FARM TO SCHOOL Continued on page 8

Eat Well & Don’t Wreck the Planet: Choose Organic

42 Bridge Street Great Barrington, MA 01230 413.528.9697 www.berkshire.coop Open Every Day 8 am - 8 pm

Credit: Cindy Kalamajka/http://www.freeimages.com/photo/fast-food-kid-1531111

By Ellen Moyer, Ph.D., P.E.. Principal: Greenvironment, LLC

Inside This Issue Notes from HQ Page 2 A Co-op Presence in the National Scene Page 4 Education & Outreach Update Page 6 All About Oranges Page 7 Crop Harvest Guide Page 9 Recipe Resource Page 11 Department Reports Page 12

Would you give a child industrial-raised cow’s milk to drink if you knew it could contain as many as 20 drugs and hormones, including antibiotics, painkillers, steroid and sex hormones, and anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs?

Recent polling indicates that Americans are more worried about chemicals in food than they are about added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium.

Accordingly, food companies are removing some of the chemicals that consumers find objectionable, on health or environmental grounds. In another recent example of policy change in response to public sentiment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency voided its approval of the herbicide Enlist Duo, in response to a lawsuit by environmental organizations over concerns for endangered species.

Food is the basic way we fit into the web of life. We make choices about what to eat several times each day, day after day, over our lifetime. The impacts of those choices add up massively. By choosing organically grown food, we can take good care of ourselves and our environment. But when we opt for “conventionally,” or industrially, grown food, we can harm ourselves and our environment.

ORGANIC Continued on page 5

Berkshire Co-op Market • 42 Bridge Street • Great Barrington, MA 01230 • 413.528.9697 • www.berkshire.coop

Notes from HQ: The GM Report

By Daniel Esko, General Manager

Wow!! I can’t thank you enough for your warm and heartfelt welcome back to the store! I want you to know how much it means to me.

Reconnecting with all of you reminds me of why we are all participating in a communityowned cooperative enterprise. This co-op exists for the benefit and enrichment of our lives and of the lives of the greater community. And none of that happens without forging strong relationships through communication and connection on a daily basis. The relationships I built with many of you over the years help me better understand the history and culture of the organization, and that will serve us well as we chart the course for the future.

My return also reminded me of how much I truly enjoy and thrive in the act of service. The excitement and fulfillment I get from this work picks me up every day and propels me forward through great times and trying times alike. In leadership through action and with the help of the many Coop stakeholders, my goal is to help shape a very clearly defined culture of service—service to the Co-op’s employees, service to you the owners, and of course service to the community at large.

In the spirit of that idea I am inviting all stakeholders to a monthly community forum to be held in the Co-op café. The goal is to create a space where we can all come together to enjoy some refreshments and to discuss the past, present, and future of our co-op, all the while fostering greater multi-stakeholder communication, collaboration, and connection. Together we are stronger, and everyone’s voice truly matters. Again, thank you for making my transition back to the Co-op a very pleasant one and for always reminding of why we are here. So what’s next? So many things, of course, but I think starting with the people that make this organization run every day is appropriate.

Staff Some familiar faces have left the Co-op in recent months, some new faces have appeared, and a very familiar face has returned. While members of staff leave the Co-op for a variety of reasons, including pursuit of new opportunities, everyone who works here will always be a part of the fabric of the Co-op in one way or another. We truly value each and every person’s contributions, because they have made the Co-op what it is today.

I want to take a moment to thank Zack Sheppard for his capable leadership and sound stewardship of the organization during the general manager search. Some of you may not have known that Zack was the interim general manager, but I assure you he worked diligently day in and day out to balance the many priorities of the organization while ensuring the Co-op was the best it could be. Zack is returning to his former role as operations manager and he is also the lead in our expansion planning. Thanks again, Zack!

In December the Co-op’s wellness manager, Brenna St. Pierre, left to take a job with Badger, an industry leader in natural and organic body care products. We wish her the best and thank her for her many years of service to the Co-op. I am very excited to announce that Cian Dalzell has recently accepted the wellness manager position and we are excited to see the department grow and thrive under his leadership. Stop into the department to congratulate him when you get a chance. He would be more than happy to see you and talk with you, I’m sure.

In other staffing news, Austin Banach left his position as meat/seafood/cheese manager at the Co-op to focus solely on all things cheese at the Marketplace.

We also wish him the very best, and as he is still in the neighborhood, many of us have the pleasure of running into him in the community. I am also very happy to say that Jake Levin has accepted that position. Formally our produce manager, Jake brings to the department a wealth of knowledge and experience as a butcher and food expert. We can’t wait to see what he will do with this new opportunity. He has already brought back a fresh-cut meat program to the Co-op, something that was discontinued several years ago.

He is also working on a freshly marinated meat program, so stay tuned for more exciting changes in that department in the coming months. And when you are in the store please stop by the counter to check out the new products, say hi to Jake (and all the new staff for that matter, including Emily, Justin, and Lachlan), and of course take some wonderful cuts home with you!

We are planning our first (in a long time) meeting of all staff for April 20th.

I am excited to get everyone together to share food and conversation and to dig in to all things Berkshire Co-op Market. Though the Co-op has always been a leader in this area, the work we do in these meetings will help make the Co-op a model for employment in the community and beyond, and help us shape the culture of service that is the hallmark of a cooperative food store. Through regular connection we hope to better serve you and the community.

Store Conditions/Physical Plant It’s obvious that the store has depreciated over the years and that many necessary upgrades/repairs were deferred in favor of planning for a new store. The new store has not materialized as planned, so now some of those deferred investments are overdue. As such we are currently planning and budgeting for many improvements that should make the environment and overall experience in the store a more pleasant and inviting one.

First on the list are upgrades to our produce department equipment. You may have noticed the “orchard” bins already in the center of the department, and coming soon is a whole new system to merchandise our bulk salad greens and prepackaged salads. Produce is also “reclaiming” some of the space in the front of the department by moving the tofu and hummus to the back.

We feel these changes will give the produce department a more efficient way to serve your needs and will improve the customers’ overall experience in the store.

We will be repainting the store over the next several months, with the entryway, produce department, and café receiving the first few coats of new paint. We will be sprucing up the bathrooms a bit and plan to get the floors refinished in the whole store. In the café we have rolled out a new buildyour-own-sandwich menu to round out our classic offerings, plus we will be getting all new tables and chairs, upgrading the bussing area, and creating a cozier space in the corner, complete with a two-seater couch and a kids’ area. We are also planning an all-store deep clean for April, replacement of store signs and shelf tags, and a renewed focus on merchandising and product selection.

For the outside of the store we have a few things planned. As usual we will be making the necessary repairs to our parking lot in April. We will also be removing the cart shed from the front of the store and repaving its former location. We will use this space for outdoor merchandising of plants and compost in the summer and pumpkins and other seasonal items in the fall.

So where will the carts go? We will bring them back into the entryway or “foyer” and also install a cart corral in the parking lot so you won’t have to navigate incoming traffic and return carts to the store after you’re done shopping. We will also be cleaning the windows and landscaping some of the outside areas to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Finally, we will continue to make improvements wherever the need arises and the budget allows. While some investments are not cost effective in the context of a potential new store, we feel the ones we are making will be well worth it for everyone and the store. Stay tuned for updates on all things store improvement. We will be sure to give everyone plenty of notice before other work begins.

Expansion Although I wish I had more concrete plans to communicate with everyone, I can assure you all that we are working on finding a new home for the Co-op. While no agreements have been made yet, we have had productive discussions on several fronts and we're very optimistic that something will happen soon.. When there is more concrete information to give, we will surely let you know. In fact, we'll be shouting it from the rooftops! Until then, we will continue to offer the best food, service and products we can in the space we have. And we'll have fun doing it too!

National Co-op Movement In April I will be traveling as Berkshire Co-op’s designated representative to the annual meeting of the National Co+op Grocers (NCG), formerly the National Co-op Grocers Association (NCGA). We will elect the board of directors for the organization and discuss ways our co-ops can be more competitive in the marketplace. For those who are unfamiliar, NCG is a cooperative comprised of 140 member co-ops operating over 190 stores across the country with combined annual sales of almost two billion dollars.

NCG leverages our combined market influence to negotiate supply and purchasing agreements on members’ behalf and also provides an incredible amount of developmental support, education, and training to the member co-ops. NCG also advocates on behalf of all of its members for national GMO labeling and other regulatory or legislative initiatives either relevant or beneficial to its membership. Our biweekly Co-op deals flier is negotiated and planned by NCG and their work brings the Co-op’s shoppers some of the best deals around. In the spirit of the sixth principle of cooperatives, which states that there will be cooperation among cooperatives, we all come together to share, collaborate, and help each other, as well as foster the growth and development of new cooperative enterprises in our respective communities, across the country, and around the world. Again, together we are stronger, and in the age of “big box organics” taking more and more market share from co-ops, it is in our best interest to align ourselves with our fellow cooperators in order to help ensure our collective viability in the market for years to come.

In Other News After extensive research and preparation, we are in the process of working on a store rebrand. We are looking for a brand that conveys explicitly what the Co-op does (sells great food), and is actually about (strong community). In essence we need our brand to be in alignment with our identity and we can’t wait to introduce you all to the new brand when the time comes.

Also in the works is an affordability discount. We want the Co-op to be open and accessible to all. We feel that making healthy food affordable for all is key to this idea. Though not the only solution, an affordability discount will go a long way toward closing the healthy food access gap in our community.

And in alignment with the Co-op’s mission of a sustainable community, we are always striving to increase our investment in the community through our education and outreach efforts in collaboration and partnership with other local organizations. Jenny Schwartz, our education and outreach coordinator, wrote a report on one of our new programs that you should check out on page 6 of this newsletter.

GM Continued on page 7

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Page 2

Board of Directors

BOD@BERKSHIRE.COOP

Daniel Seitz

Erica Spizz

Sam Handel

Leslie Davidson

President

Vice President

Treasurer

Secretary

Betsy Andrus

Bryan Ayers

Michael Maguire

Molly de St André

Jen Salinetti

Executive Management Team Daniel Esko General Manager desko@berkshire.coop

Ted Moy Retail Manager

Matt Novik Communications Manager

Zack Sheppard Operations Manager

tmoy@berkshire.coop

mnovik@berkshire.coop

zsheppard@berkshire.coop

Jordan Archey Asst. Produce Manager

Amie Decker Grocery Manager

Allison Floyd Customer Service Manager

jarchey@berkshire.coop

adecker@berkshire.coop

afloyd@berkshire.coop

Jake Levin Produce Manager Meat, Sea, Cheese Manger (interim) jlevin@berkshire.coop

Lynn Pino Prepared Foods Manager

Cian Dalzell Wellness Manager

lpino@berkshire.coop

cdalzell@berkshire.coop

Leadership Team

OWNER APPRECIATION DAY

MAGE O H

TO FROMAGE

A CELEBRATION OF CHEESE LOCAL CHEESEMAKER DEMOS • CHEESY GIVEAWAYS & RAFFLES FREE GRILLED CHEESES & TOMATO SOUP SHOOTERS 10% OFF STOREWIDE FOR CO-OP OWNERS

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 - 8:00 to 8:00 Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

OUR ENDS (Developed by the Board of Directors)

The Berkshire Cooperative Association cultivates a sustainable local/regional economy and cooperatively builds a vibrant community.

To this end, the Berkshire Cooperative Association: E1. Operates a financially successful, community-oriented

natural food store that specializes in consciously select-

ed fresh food and meals, with reasonably priced options E2. Flourishes E3. Is a model of social and environmental stewardship E4. Is accessible, welcoming, inclusive, and innovative E5. Fosters the growth of local/regional food systems E6. Develops an informed and engaged community E7. Promotes healthful living E8. Supports a sustainable environment

OPERATIONAL VISION

• To be a transformative force in the community To serve as a model of a sustainable business • alternative • To nurture social and economic well-being in an

environmentally sensitive manner

Page 3

News from the Board of Directors Co-op Board President Appointed to the National Organic Standards Board A fellow Board Director interviews Daniel Seitz on his new role.

By Jennifer Salinetti, Co-op Board Director serving on the board of directors, I’m aware that people around the country often look to food co-ops to responsibly source local and organic food.

Reliable organic standards help ensure food quality to our customers.

JS: Are there any areas of interest that you are pursuing while on the NOSB? DS: As a brand new member, the one thing I have learned already is that the volume and complexity of the issues before the NOSB are staggering.

My goal for the first year is simply to become as familiar with the issues, policies and procedures as possible so that I can vote responsibly on the specific proposals that come before the NOSB. JS: What are the key issues facing NOSB at this time?

DS: One of the key issues is the process for effectively reviewing NOSBapproved materials and practices for renewed approval. Under a “sunset” rule, every five years the NOSB is required to review currently approved materials and practices that are not considered organic, but were considered necessary for organic farming at the time of adoption (for example, the use of certain drugs for treating sick livestock). Because so many of these materials Co-op Board President Dan Seitz was recently appointed to a five-year term and practices were approved in the year when the organic standard was first as a consumer/public interest member on the National Organic Standards introduced, the workload is at times exceedingly challenging.

Board (NOSB). The 15-member board within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises on and approves various aspects of USDA organic JS: From your perspective, what does the future of NOSB look like? certification, designated by the round USDA seal on organic products. In DS: My hope is that the NOSB’s work will contribute to organic standards addition to consumer members, the NOSB includes farmers/producers, that are strengthened over time, and that motivate and support a growing environmentalists, resource conservationists, handlers/processors, a number of farmers to switch to more organic and ecologically sustainable retailer, a scientist in a field such as toxicology, ecology, or biochemistry, practices. and a USDA-accredited certifying agent. Jen Salinetti, fellow Co-op board member and owner of Woven Roots Farm in Tyringham, interviewed Dan JS: How do you feel your involvement with NOSB will directly enhance your knowledge as a Co-op owner, board president and community member? about his appointment.

DS: I think I will gain a greater appreciation for the complexity of the issues associated with the organic movement. With billions of dollars at stake in JS: What moved you to apply to serve on the NOSB? DS: I’m concerned about the increasing contamination of major crops, such how organic production is regulated, there are naturally political pressures as corn and alfalfa, by GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Altering on everyone involved in developing and enforcing the organic standards. nature on such a fundamental level without any real understanding of the I hope to learn how the Co-op and our local community can best support long-term consequences is questionable to say the least, and may damage the organic movement and, more broadly, support a widespread adoption of essential food staples upon which millions of people rely—not to mention genuinely sustainable and regenerative farming practices. the land and water needed to grow them.

Standards matter, and an organic “seal of approval” matters a great deal.

It’s essential that the organic standards be solid and carefully enforced; otherwise, farmers who use the best organic practices may be disadvantaged financially, which in turn will likely have an adverse impact on consumers and the environment.

JS: How do you feel your participation is important?

DS: At the heart of the organic movement is the idea that you have to work with nature to produce healthy food in abundance, and that trying to coerce nature through certain practices such as genetic engineering and applying highly toxic pesticides and herbicides inevitably causes more harm than good because they are ecologically and financially unsustainable. While science and technology have improved life immeasurably, applying new technology uncritically to living systems is far more complex and unpredictable in its outcomes, and therefore I support the precautionary principle: namely, that a new type of biological technology should not be allowed unless there is reasonable assurance that no harm will result.

On a more local level, as a member of the Co-op and through my experience

Board of Directors Gets New Member The Co-op's Board of Directors has appointed Michael Maguire to fill a vacant seat on the board. .Michael is a long-time Co-op owner and has extensive experience in the business world including work with American cooperatives and alternative business models overseas.

Michael and his wife have owned a house in Great Barrington for thirteen years and moved here full time five years ago. He also has a forty-year passion for organic farming and alternative business models.

As an appointee, Michael will assume the remainder of the vacant term which ends next year. At that time, he can choose to run for a full three year term.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

GET ON

Board

If you are interested in running to be a Board Director, email us at

BOD@BERKSHIRE.COOP BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Meeting Schedule Meetings are generally scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of every month at 6:00. They take place at the Co-op's conference room located at 307 Main Street in Great Barrington on the second floor. All Co-op owners are welcome to attend and owner input time is scheduled for every meeting.

APRIL 27, MAY 25, JUNE 22, JULY 27 AUGUST 24, SEPTEMBER 28, OCTOBER 26 Page 4

Continued From Page One Industrial agriculture uses pesticides, inorganic fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and other manufactured inputs. Organic producers instead apply compost, cover crops such as winter rye, and other organic materials to keep soil—and the plants and animals that grow from the soil—healthy. They also use management techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting.

Unfortunately, organic growing methods minimize but do not completely eliminate pesticides, antibiotics, administered hormones, GMOs, and other problematic inputs from food. Amendments allowed on organic fields include manure from industrially raised animals and wood ash that contains radioactive cesium-137 released from nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors and taken up by trees. In addition, pesticides and GMO seeds and pollen from industrial fields may drift to organic fields. Still, eating organic goes a long way toward reducing contaminants in our food.

Organic Farming Is Conventional Farming Our ancestors practiced organic agriculture for 12,000 years before the advent of chemically intensive industrial agriculture of large monoculture crops, which developed in the decades following World War II. Negative effects of industrial agriculture have become increasingly apparent—among them, soil degradation, “superweeds” and “superbugs” that adapt to whatever pesticides we throw at them, and elevated greenhouse gas emissions. Truly, it is organic farming, not industrial farming, that should be considered conventional. Industrial agriculture deliberately uses synthetic poisons on our food and genetically engineers our food by mixing genes of different species together, practices that should seem pretty crazy to consumers. By these measures, industrial farming should even be considered reckless.

Pesticides for our salad - Credit: Jeff Vanuga/Photo Courtesy of USDA Natural Resources

How Eating Organic Benefits Us 1. Compared with industrial food, organic food is more nutritious and better tasting.

2. Organic food reduces our exposure to synthetic pesticides, which have been implicated in chronic diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, birth defects, reproductive disorders, respiratory diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, and autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematous and rheumatoid arthritis. Humans are genetically similar to other living things. Considering that we share half of our genes with fruit flies, it should be no surprise that pesticides harm people as well as pests. U.S industrial agricultural workers are especially at risk, suffering 10,000 to 20,000 physician-diagnosed pesticide poisonings each year.

3. It helps address the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for curing infections. Each year in the U.S., at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 of them die as a direct result of these infections.

Industrial agriculture not only routinely doses animals with antibiotics but also uses antibiotics on some vegetable and fruit crops.

4. It protects consumers from a host of other potentially dangerous unknowns that are not allowed in organic agriculture. These include GMOs, which are typically grown with heavy pesticide applications; administered hormones, which have been linked to cancer; and synthetic food additives such as “natural flavorings,” which may be harmful or untested. The sewage sludge spread to fertilize some industrial farm fields can contain harmful heavy metals and synthetic chemicals that find their way into foods.

5. Organic growing is the only way to feed the world sustainably, according to a United Nations report.

6. Buying organic food increases demand for it, which brings prices down so others who are less affluent can afford to eat cleaner food.

How Eating Organic Benefits Our Environment 1. Organic growing reduces plants’ and animals’ exposure to synthetic pesticides, which harm soil organisms, beneficial insects, plants, birds, frogs, and a host of other animals. This includes pollinators such as butterflies and bees, upon which we utterly depend for our food supply. It also reduces plants’ and animals’ exposure to GMOs,

antibiotics, and hormones.

2. It helps stabilize the climate. Organic farming generates only half the greenhouse gas emissions of industrial agriculture per unit of land area. Organic growing doesn’t use inorganic fertilizers and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which can require a lot of energy to manufacture. Organic growing methods also retain and store more carbon in the soil. In fact, organic farming can be done in such a way that it stores even more carbon in soil than it emits. Furthermore, organic farming can yield as much food per acre as industrial farming, a conclusion supported by a University of California at Berkeley meta-analysis of 115 studies.

3. It maintains soil health. Industrial agriculture often results in reduced agricultural productivity due to nutrient depletion, organic matter losses, erosion, and compaction. Because

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Bird-friendly shade-grown coffee in Guatemala - Credit: John Blake

organic farm fields are amended with more organic matter, the soil holds moisture better, requires less irrigation water, and is more drought resistant.

4. It keeps groundwater and surface water freer of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and other synthetic chemicals. A major problem with industrial fertilizers is that they create dead zones in the oceans at mouths of rivers where oxygen is depleted and higher life forms, such as seafood species, can’t survive. The dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River is the size of New Jersey.

5. Farm animals experience a markedly better life. Unlike in industrial operations, antibiotics can’t be administered to organically raised animals to compensate for overcrowded and filthy living conditions. Organic growing practices are better for wildlife species too, not only protecting them from synthetic chemicals but also preserving more natural habitats such as wetlands and fencerows.

6. It preserves genetic varieties. The U.S. has lost 93 percent of its agricultural genetic diversity over the last 80 years, as a handful of industrial agricultural corporations have taken increasing control of our seed supply. Organic producers strive to maintain food species diversity by planting different varieties, making our food system more resilient in the face of stresses such as climate change.

Why Not Eat Organic Food?

Organic food costs more in the short term. However, organic food may cost less in the long term by reducing lifetime health care costs. Coping with any of the illnesses linked to pesticides—such as cancer or Parkinson’s disease—costs money for medical services and time lost from work, not to mention potentially reduced quality and quantity of life. Many people don’t eat organic food simply because they don’t have access to it, particularly in “food deserts,” which are urban neighborhoods or rural towns without ready access to fresh food.

To be the best we can be, we should eat the best food we can—starting with cleaner ingredients that don’t wreck the planet on which our food is grown—or the people growing it.

Ellen Moyer, Ph.D., P.E., is an independent consultant dedicated to remediating environmental problems and promoting sustainable practices to prevent new problems. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Facebook or find more information or sign up for updates on her website.

Page 5

Crafting the Landscape Continues Using the computer game Minecraft to engage kids and get them outside

By Jenny Schwartz, Education & Outreach Coordinator After-school boredom may be a thing of the past, especially if you are enrolled in Crafting the Landscape, a new after-school program that works to bring the popular video game Minecraft to life. This program is a collaboration between Berkshire Co-op Market and Greenagers, a local nonprofit that works with youth to connect them with conservation, sustainability, and environmental leadership. Last summer, when the program was launched, it was obvious from the start that using Minecraft as a launching point would be an amazing tool to engage kids of all ages with the world around them, including their food, their friends, and their environment. Now, with some new funding and a whole lot of motivation, we are expanding the program to reach more kids at more locations.

Recently, Greenagers was awarded a two-year federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of $36,700 that will be used in the development of this project. In addition to the EPA grant, our program was awarded a $31,000 grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that focuses on service learning and socio-emotional health. Climate change and service learning: two topics that can make for a challenging yet memorable curriculum.

In September, I participated in my second Climate Ride. I was joined by community member Alan Wilken. Together we raised $6,000 for the program and then rode our bikes from Bar Harbor, ME, to Boston, MA. With the money raised and granted to us, we have started developing our program with middle-school students at Monument Valley Middle School and Mount Everett Middle School.

Students help roll a log to the portable mill to make boards.

Each school’s program meets two days a week from 3-5pm. It comes after a long school day, but we have important topics we are excited for them to focus on. To think about something as big as climate change, or to brainstorm project ideas about donating to someone outside of their social and family network can also present additional challenges. As 13-year-olds, what can they do to help with climate change? This is where Minecraft comes into play and works to make this serious and challenging topic fun.

For those that don’t know it, Minecraft is a wildly popular computer game that focuses on building a world with textured blocks (sort of like Legos) in a 3D world. Players also explore, collect resources, farm, cook, raise animals, and participate in all sorts of crafting. Minecraft’s current role in the program is to teach participants how to create community and begin to connect with nature within the game. They are starting from scratch and developing a relationship with what they are creating. The students are divided into two groups. From there they log in to a Minecraft world where they need to learn how to coexist. Each group develops a town, a trade, and a currency.

They form roadways and modes of transportation to get around. While they do this, they are keeping in mind what materials they use and how much. They are also taking into consideration the needs of the group in regards to food, supplies, etc.

Will Conklin, Greenagers Director, demonstrates the portable mill.

From what they have learned from the game, we extract pieces and focus on them. Here are some examples: In the game, you harvest building supplies from nature. These range from trees to stones to metals. This fall the Mount Everett kids learned how a portable mill was used to create planks of wood right on campus. They brought those boards back to our workshop and used them in building projects. They also took trips into the woods with Will Conklin, Greenagers’ director, to learn more about trees and the natural landscape. We also visited one of the original large lime kilns in the area and learned how it was used during its time.

In the game, you need to conserve resources and use energy productively. In our program, we took a trip to Pine Island Farm and learned how the Aragi family is converting manure into electricity to power their property as well as earn energy credits through National Grid that they can give to other organizations in the community.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is when players explore their world and see what there is to see. You can find great views, climb mountains, go swimming, and even pick and replant flowers. We embrace exploration in CTS and make it a goal to get the kids outdoors and having fun. We have taken them on many hikes, and even a canoe trip. Whenever we’re outdoors, we introduce different topics along the way. They also engage in a weekly outdoor journaling activity. The entries are geared towards focusing on four senses: sight, smell, touch, and hearing.

They use this directive to focus on their environment and help them to capture what they notice in drawing and writing.

A student gets comfortable while nature journaling.

Farming, cultivation, and cooking are a big part of the game. So, we have worked to make the program as hands-on as possible. This winter, after doing it in the game, we sprouted actual seeds and talked to the kids about the germination process of a seed. The sprouts were then used to make a delicious soup that everyone enjoyed. Later on in the semester, that hands-on experience was further illuminated when arborist Ron Yaple came to visit the school and spoke in detail about the germination of tree seeds. We went for a great hike at Fountain Pond during his lecture, which made it all the more fun. It was further improved because the kids had a previous visualization to compare to what he was discussing. We have found that making those hands-on associations are crucial to help relay the messages we are conveying to the kids.

When you create a multiuser realm in Minecraft, you essentially become a member of a community.

So, in addition to getting out into the community and learning about the resources and people near us, we also focus on how the kids can give back and help others in a way that is tangible and fulfilling to them. So far this year, kids have researched, designed, and built projects for Community Health Programs, the Sheffield Land Trust, Construct, and local farms and families in need. This part of our program would not be possible without our talented and patient woodworking mentors: Ben Schmolze of Schmolze Woodworks, and Matt Downing and Will Conklin from Greenagers.

Because of these mentorships, kids learn the skills they need to successfully translate their twodimensional design into a three-dimensional structure. From deciding on a project, to building, and then to delivery, this is where we see the majority of the kids shine. Special thanks go to Greenagers teachers Mathieu Boudreau and Elia Del Molino for their expertise and teaching at Monument Valley Middle School and Mount Everett Middle School over the past two semesters.

This spring and summer we plan to connect our program with the work that is being done with the farm-to-school grant that Berkshire Hills Regional School District received last year (see story on page one). We plan to have our students grow food that can be used to supplement food for Muddybrook’s summer program and to make healthy snacks for the Greenagers Appalachian Trail crew. In addition to growing at Project Sprout, we hope to connect with more local farmers this summer so kids can help with tasks around the farm in order to gain a better understanding of the process. If you have any questions about the program or would like to present, please contact Jenny Schwartz at jschwartz@berkshire.coop or call 413-528-9697 ext. 33.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Planning to build a bench for the Sheffield Land Trust

A lesson about Front Plain Forests at Bartholomews Cobble

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Food Feature: All About Oranges Everything you need to know about America's favorite citrus.

From Stronger Together - Find more recipes and information about your food and where it comes from at strongertogether.coop Did you know that oranges aren’t named for their color? “Orange” actually comes from the Sanskrit “naranga,” or “fragrant.”

Orange trees can be found as far north as Iceland, but the sweetest fruit is grown closest to the equator. Brazil is the world leader in orange (and total citrus) production, followed by the United States, Mexico, India, China, Spain, Italy, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan. Florida is second only to Brazil in orange production, growing three times more oranges than California.

Texas and Arizona are other U.S. orange-producing states.

The orange is a type of berry (hesperidia), an ancient hybrid, possibly between the pomelo and the tangerine. It grows on an evergreen with fragrant white flowers. While one evergreen can produce as many as 60,000 flowers, only one percent of them will turn into fruit.

in cosmetics, toiletries and as a tea flavoring. There are also some oriental citrus, such as Naruto, Kitchli and Nanshodaidai, that are considered bitter oranges.

Arguably, there may be no better way to eat an orange than out of hand, but there is no shortage of possibilities. When it comes to juicing, don’t stop at plain OJ, great as fresh-squeezed is. This Pumpkin Orange Smoothie, for example, blends navel oranges with pumpkin puree for a beautiful, cinnamony treat. (About 85 percent of all oranges produced are made into juice, by the way.)

Oranges add color and sweetness to jams, marmalades and salads. This stunning Cara Cara and Blood Orange Salad features colorful oranges drizzled with a flavorful dressing. And this Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Beets & Pomegranate partners the tang of oranges with roasted vegetables, sweet fruit and red quinoa. Another dazzling dish!

Oranges originated in ancient Asia, and from there they spread to India. The Moors, Italian traders and explorers, and the Portuguese introduced sweet oranges into Europe around the 15th century, while orange trees were grown in the Caribbean after Columbus brought seeds there. Spanish explorers brought oranges to Florida in the 16th century, and Spanish missionaries delivered them to California in the 18th century.

To add flavorful interest to your next Cranberry Relish—and why wait for Thanksgiving?—include mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple and Granny Smith apples.

Orange marmalade or relish provides a sweet topping for a savory dish, too, as in this Marmalade Chicken, which can be served as is or used for stir-fries, chicken satay or “chicken fingers.”

Oranges are renowned for their vitamin C content. In fact, just one orange supplies more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement.

Oranges are also a very good source of vitamin A, folate, potassium and manganese and a good source of dietary fiber, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, iron, phosphorus and copper. They also contain phytonutrients and flavanones.

There are more than 600 varieties of oranges, falling into two main types: one sweet, the other bitter. Predictably, the sweet is more popular. Sweet and bitter oranges come from two different species.

Sweet varieties include the Valencia, navel and blood orange. Thin-skinned and seedless, Valencia oranges are the world’s most important commercial variety. Navel oranges are seedless and oval, with thick, easy-to-remove peels and segments that separate easily. The name comes from the second fruit at the end of the orange; it looks like a belly button. Washingtons are the most prominent navel variety. Cara cara oranges are a honey sweet navel with rosy colored flesh.

The mandarin—a small orange with loose skin—is also considered a sweet orange. Clementines are a seedless mandarin.

Bitter orange varieties include the Seville, often used for marmalade, and the bergamot orange. Grown mostly for its essential oil, bergamot is used

In addition to including orange segments and orange juice in recipes, the zest is used in liqueurs such as Grand Marnier and Cointreau. To sweeten your next glass of grapefruit juice, try squeezing a little clementine juice into it.

The peak seasons for oranges in the U.S. depend on the variety, but you’ll generally find a good selection from November through April or May. Choose oranges that are firm and heavy for their size. These will have higher juice content than lighter, spongy oranges. Avoid soft spots and traces of mold. Keep in mind that oranges don’t have to be bright orange to be good.

Smaller oranges are usually juicier than larger ones, and those with thinner skins are usually juicier than thick-skinned.

Select navel oranges with small-sized navels; larger navels indicate the orange was overripe when harvested. When choosing Valencia oranges, keep in mind that the green tinge near the stem doesn’t mean the fruit is immature. Valencias turn a yellow-orange and then regain a touch of green from the chlorophyll returning to the peel.

If you’re going to eat your oranges in a day or two, you can store them at room temperature. Otherwise, they’ll keep in the refrigerator for a week or two. Don’t store them in plastic bags, which may encourage moisture and mold; just let them gently roll around the crisper drawer.

Content reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop. Find more recipes and information about your food and where it comes from at www.strongertogether.coop.

Report from the General Manager Continued from page 2 I think I will take this opportunity to leak some details about an upcoming event. In May the Co-op will be sponsoring the Michio Kushi Peace Prize award given by the Kushi Institute in Becket, MA. This year’s recipient is Dennis Kucinich, a former congressman from Ohio. The theme of the event, which we hope to have at Monument Mountain High School, will be health, peace, and sustainability. We are incredibly excited to be a part of this, so stay tuned for details and we hope to see you all there! Finally, I plan in the coming months to speak more to the Co-op’s community investment, but wanted it to be clear now that this is and will continue to be a priority for the Co-op; after all, the seventh principle of cooperatives is concern for community.

context of a sustainable growth strategy. Our cooperative business model will never change but our strategies will adapt to the changing landscape in an effort to meet more people’s needs. The growth of the Co-op will fuel our continued investment in the community, in local agriculture, in cooperative development, and of course equally, if not most importantly, continued investment in our store, which allows us to deliver great food at great prices. Your continued participation in this enterprise will allow for its sustainable evolution, and the Co-op will ultimately better meet your needs and hopefully meet the needs of more people in our community. We can only do this together. Thank you, and see you in the store!

I realize that this may seem like too much change to some and maybe not enough for others. Some say the Co-op is fine the way it is and others say the Co-op should be something completely different. For thosewho may be overwhelmed by all of this, I can say that the Co-op will always operate in accordance with its ends and ensure that the seven cooperative principles drive its mission. The Co-op of twenty or thirty years ago doesn’t necessarily meet everyone’s needs today, but the Co-op of yesterday will always define us, help guide us, and will inform our continued evolution. The ideas I am presenting are not changes for the sake of change, but rather change in the

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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The Ins & Outs of Farm to School Continued from Page One What has helped to lessen those frustrating times has been bringing in more team members and working with like-minded organizations to share the workload and collaborate on planning and ideas.

work Project Sprout did six or seven years ago. In a lot of ways, we are here because of them.”

But Project Sprout had some limitations. Part of the project involved requiring the school’s food service department to use the food that was produced by the students. However, that proved to be problematic; the food service department wasn’t really ready to use local food in their system. The result was resistance and not much progress in terms of a sustainable farm-to-school program. Once there was a working model that involved curriculum, collaborators, and the cooperation of all involved, farm-toschool really started to take off.

The first big collaboration was with the institute, when the team was given a mentor to advise them through the course of the project. They also met with the USDA farm-to-school representative who has been a great resource ever since. It was obvious from the retreat that collaboration was a key to success in farm-toschool, and that further relationships were sure to come.

Teaming up was already a part of the after-school programs. In fact, Berkshire Co-op Market’s education and outreach coordinator, Jenny Schwartz, had been a regular guest of those programs for a long time, teaching healthy snack cooking classes. “The Co-op and other organizations were guest teachers, but none of them were totally part of the team,” said Doren. “Once we started this initiative, we were able to bring more people to the table and enable wonderful participants that couldn’t attend the institute, like Jenny, in the process at the ground level.” From there, the list of collaborators continued to grow.

Take the Opportunity to Learn As Project Connection took off, the district applied for and received a grant to further professional development around farm-to-school. The program, called the Northeast Farm to School Institute, is described on the website as “a unique year-long professional learning opportunity that helps school teams take their Farm to School work to the next level.” The Institute is presented by Vermont FEED and includes a three-day summer retreat followed up by coaching on program development and networking opportunities throughout the year. “The institute was one of the top three professional learning experiences I’ve ever had,” said Doren. “It was like boot camp for farmto-school. We learned about curriculum building, working with food services departments, integrating staff, future planning, all while eating wonderful farm-fresh food and networking with eleven other schools.”

One of the biggest developments had to do with the land the district used to build the two new school buildings. Those lots and the land Students exploring in the fields during last summer's Project Connection Camp farmed by Project Sprout are owned by the Trustees, a nonprofit organization that also owns the nearby Monument Mountain Reservation. The Trustees’ mission is to “preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of Ben Doren and the team returned home armed with an action plan, tons exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts.” In the of new information, and an overwhelmingly positive view of where farmlast year though, more focus had been placed on outreach and creating to-school could go in their district. Everybody loved the action plan, and it educational ways to use those lands. didn’t take long for it to become a district-wide initiative.

“The institute retreat was just this past August,” said Doren. “And here we were going into the school year with a three-school initiative and massive momentum behind us.” It was a lot of work, and Doren gave us an idea of the progress they have achieved so far.

“We didn’t go looking for a collaboration with the Trustees,” Doren told us. “They came looking for us.” In fact, they had recently hired an education specialist for this region. And she was looking for potential programs on Trustees’ land that would include the schools.

Assumptions Create Obstacles Many of us think that the current system is so backwards that there can’t possibly be any good coming out of it. But, according to Doren, “It’s actually way more complex and interesting than that.” People in the food activist world tend to cringe when they see a Sysco truck delivering what they assume to be the worst that processed food has to offer. Until he got involved in farm-to-school, Principal Doren counted himself among those ranks. “It turns out that, even though Sysco is a corporate juggernaut, they actually have a sustainability program that concentrates on local food.”

Other collaborations blossomed, including one between the Co-op and Greenagers, a nonprofit working with youth to experience and work in the natural world, which you can read more about on page 6. Berkshire Botanical Garden, another local organization with a similar mission, was also at the table offering input and know-how to the project. The list goes on and on and also includes Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Museum, and the Flying Cloud Institute.

A meeting with the district’s Sysco sales representative revealed all sorts of opportunities to buy local. In fact, when items are in season, Sysco defaults to local within any given region. That means that when the school’s food services department orders cucumbers, they get locally grown product whenever it’s available. “I was blown away,” said Doren. “Remember that their local doesn’t mean all the things that we want. It’s not necessarily sustainably grown, for instance. It simply means that the food was sourced from within two hundred miles of their Albany hub. But it’s a start. And it’s one that was happening long before we ever started the farm-to-school effort.”

Another surprise opportunity that Doren discovered was the effort that the district food services manager, Kathy Sullivan, was already making. “The previous assumption was that food services would be an obstacle. In fact, I discovered that they were more devoted to fresh and healthy food than most schools in the region.” Sysco, in fact, was commending Berkshire Hills for purchasing the most fresh food out of all food services departments in a region that encompasses all of New England and eastern New York. “Where most institutions were buying highly processed, FDA subsidized canned and frozen foods, Kathy was using her budget wisely, managing a really tight ship, and purchasing more fresh food than anyone else.” And just like that, what was once seen as an obstacle became an asset.

Collaboration Is Key The enormity of this project can be overwhelming, and Principal Doren wasn’t shy about how many conflicting emotions have been involved. “Since we got back it’s been amazing and thoughtful and exhausting and too much and totally inspiring—it’s been everything.”

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

The collaboration continued when the team decided to join forces with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project, a group dedicated to increasing access to healthy, locally grown food in schools and other institutions. They provide support by facilitating sustainable purchasing relationships between institutions and farms, promoting local food and agriculture education for students, and supporting state, regional, and national networking of farmto-school practitioners.

What’s Happening Today After-School Programs Project Connection, the after-school program that got this all started, serves over 200 students during the school year and 120 in the summer. The curriculum continues to develop, improve, and expand across the many subjects that encompass farm-to-school. This year, the Co-op/Greenagers program, Crafting the Landscape, will expand to serve fifth and sixth graders as well as seventh and eighth. Other programming will include collaborations with the Berkshire Museum and Berkshire Botanical Garden and it will all be tuned toward exploring the natural world and learning how that can become a part of our daily lives.

On another note, Project Sprout is alive and well at the high school and is working with a group of students to supply more local food to the school and educate more students about farming and local food.

In the Cafeteria “We have a lot of work to do to bring local food into our cafeteria,” Doren said, “For now though, we can celebrate everything we’re doing.” That means talking about the local purchases made through current suppliers, including Sysco, along with Windy Hill Orchards, Equinox Farm, and other local farms.

FARM TO SCHOOL Continued on page 10

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Cooperative Conversations Offer a New Way to Engage with Your Co-op When our new General Manager, Daniel Esko, was hired, he talked about creating some open forums where we could connect co-op owners and customers with members of the leadership team, including him, and the Board of Directors.

Now that Daniel has been in the job for a few weeks, we are happy to announce the schedule. The goal of these Cooperative Conversations will be to get you together with co-op leaders, offer some delicious snacks and talk about what is going on in and out of the store while giving you an opportunity to share you ideas, concerns and inquiries.

Tuesday, April 19 • 6:00 to 8:00 Monday, May 16 • 6:00 to 8:00 Thursday, June 16 • 6:00 to 8:00

Local Growing Season is Coming Soon

By the time this newsletter is printed, we will already be seeing some early spring produce. Before the next one is printed, we will be well into our local growing season. The chart below should give you an idea of when you will see our local favorites show up and wen they will be at their most abundant.

It's been a warm season, so don't be surprised if everything comes up a bit earlier than we expect.

Crops

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Vegetables Artichokes Arugula Asian greens Asparagus Beets Bok choi Broccoli Broccoli rabe Brussel sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celeriac Celery Chili peppers Collards Corn Cucumbers Edible flowers Eggplant Fava beans Fiddleheads Green beans Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Lima beans Microgreens Mushrooms Mustard greens Nettles Okra Onions Parsnips Peas (shelling) Peppers Potatoes Pumpkins Radicchio Radishes Rhubarb Rutabagas Salad greens Scallions Shallots Spinach Summer squash Sweet potatoes Swiss chard Tat soi Tomatillos Tomatoes Tomatoes (cherry) Turnips Winter squash Zucchini

Fruit Apples Apricots Blackberries Blueberries Cherries Melons Nectarines Peaches Pears Plums Raspberries Strawberries Watermelons

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Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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Farm to School Continued from Page Eight Additionally, the food services department has embraced Massachusetts Farm to School’s Harvest of the Month Program, which promotes a different Massachusetts-produced food each month. The program provides recipes for the kitchen, curriculum ideas for teachers, and lots of information for families, all focused on the Harvest of the Month. They even script a morning announcement for the school’s PA system. Principal Doren got excited when he talked about this. “In February, the featured food was butternut squash. Food services sourced local squash and made a butternut squash soup. It was just awesome to see how much the kids enjoyed eating local food.”

All this is great. But there’s more to do. And, according to Doren, most of that work is starting with a lot of discussion. “Our focus right now is on figuring out where to go from here. We’re talking about how we go about purchasing more local and sustainable foods and how to get kids more involved in the process.”

In the Curriculum Farm-to-school is starting to show up in the school’s curriculum more and more now. Along with Project Sprout, students at the high school have started a school store to sell healthy and local snacks to students. Together, those two efforts are starting to show a path around business and agriculture in the school.

There’s also a strong Berkshire history curriculum being taught in the social studies department that helps develop a sense of place and includes information about the rich agricultural past in our region.

Recently, in a sign of things to come, seventh graders started reading the young readers’ version of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a book that many consider to be a foundational work of the local food movement.

“Curriculum represents the greatest area of opportunity for us,” Doren said. “There’s so much that can be done when you use food to connect the dots. We can create a transformation in the way we educate using sustainability and community as a foundation. We all eat food, which makes it very accessible. Issues like energy use, class issues, racism, and economics are very abstract. But, if we view it through the lens of food, it all can come together.”

What’s Next?

Once again, the enormity of this project can be overwhelming. How do you change the way an entire school teaches? How do you change education itself?

Principal Doren is not shy about the fact that he is a progressive educator, one who is unafraid of change even while constrained by an industry that is usually quite the opposite.

“Education has to turn the corner,” he said. “We have these things called standards. And we absolutely must teach them. But all of these conventional structures that many believe are sacrosanct are actually just symbols.” He says the problem stems from a sense of tradition that holds on to the way things were done before as the reason to keep doing them now. “There’s nothing that ties the standards to a location,” he added. “They can be taught in a classroom or on a farm; in a lab or a field; from a textbook or in a hands-on and experiential way. It’s up to us to make the changes that work best for our students.”

As he pictures what could come in the future of this project, Principal Doren shared one more story that served as a perfect example of what is to come.

Recognizing that most fifth graders didn’t need basic computer lessons anymore, the school limited those classes and added a design teacher. “She started a program called Future Cities that had a section on urban agriculture. Those seventh graders are now learning how to build vertical gardens and grow food indoor in tight spaces.” That project shows it all. It required the vision to adapt to the students’ present needs. It used food as a way to enter into subjects like design, construction, innovation, and the needs of the future world. And it engaged the students in a hands-on, accessible way. If that’s the future of farm-to-school, the future is looking very bright.

A Closer Look at Harvest of the Month In the month of April, Mass Farm to School will offer up Potatoes as its Harvest of the Month. We went to their website and took a look at what they have to offer to educators, students, and families on this versatile and delicious food group. Learn more at massfarmtoschool.org They offer interesting information and hints for how to share it.

They even offer recipes for food services departments.

What do you know about Potatoes?

There’s more to potatoes than fries and chips! Post these facts on your bulletin board or include them on your lunch menu (you can also find them on the back of the Potatoes Harvest of the Month Trading Cards).

History: The potato was first domesticated by the Incas in Peru between 8,000 and 5,000 BCE. It has since spread around the world and become the fourth largest food crop in the world.

Production: Potatoes are the leading vegetable crop in the US with a total production of 41.3 billion pounds. Each year, more than 1 million acres of potatoes are planted—that’s like filling 1/5th of the state of Massachusetts with potato plants.

Fun Fact: In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages.

Nutrition: Potatoes are among the top sources of potassium. In fact, potatoes have more potassium per serving than any other vegetable or fruit, including bananas, oranges, or mushrooms.

They text for morning announcements.

“Good morning, this is _____, with a Harvest of the Month soundbite. This month we are featuring fresh, healthy, LOCALLY GROWN POTATOES in the cafeteria. The potatoes we are eating were grown at local farms and harvested this fall. Potatoes are not only delicious, they’re packed with energy and nutrients. Look for POTATOES grown at Massachusetts farms (name the farm(s) you’re purchasing from, if you can) in school lunches this month. Can you taste the difference?”

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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E S R O E U P I RC C

E E R Quick • Easy • Healthy MEXICAN INSIDE OUT BURGERS Total Time: 30 Minutes, • Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro Pinch each of salt and black pepper 4 slices Monterey Jack cheese 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 slices pepper jack cheese

Preparation

In a bowl, mix the ground turkey with the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 8 patties. Crumble one slice of Monterey Jack into small pieces, then pile the cheese in the center of one patty. Place another burger patty on top and press gently but firmly around the edges to seal the cheese within the two patties, encasing the cheese completely.

Repeat the process three more times until 4 cheese-stuffed burgers are ready to cook.

Heat the oil in an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook 4 to 5 minutes on each side, flipping gently to keep the burgers intact and the cheese inside. After flipping, place a slice of pepper jack cheese on each burger for the last minute of cooking.

Serving Suggestion Serve on whole wheat buns with your favorite condiments. Sweet pickles and a dab of mayonnaise are a nice contrast to the spicy cheese inside these hearty burgers.

Per Serving: 410 calories, 29 g. fat, 130 mg. cholesterol, 560 mg. sodium, 1 g. carbohydrate, 0 g. fiber, 36 g. protein

FARMHOUSE BEAN SOUP W/ PARSNIPS & GREENS Total Time: 30 Minutes, 15 active • Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 1 large carrot, peeled and diced 3 parsnips, peeled and diced 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes 4 cups vegetable broth 3 to 4 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme 1 15-ounce can northern beans, rinsed and drained 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 5 cups fresh spinach, chopped Salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, parsnips and garlic and sauté 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth and herbs and bring to a boil. Add the beans, reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 to 30 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. - See more at: http://strongertogether.coop/ recipes/farmhouse-bean-soup-with-parsnips-and-greens/#sthash.HNXPsAGp.dpuf

Serving Suggestion Thanks to convenient and nutritious canned beans, this soup is a fast and tasty weeknight main dish. Just add a side salad and a plate of corn tortillas.

Per Serving: 300 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 200 mg. sodium, 49 g. carbohydrate, 18 g. fiber, 13 g. protein These recipes were reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop.

Find more recipes and information about your food and where it comes from at

www.strongertogether.coop.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Meat, Seafood, Cheese From Jake Levin

I

want to take this opportunity to (re)introduce myself. Most of you have come to know me over the last three years as the Co-op’s produce manager.

What you may not know is that my background and passion is in meat (whole animal butchery). So, when we found out that Austin was leaving the Coop, I was excited to step in and help with the meat, seafood, and cheese department. We will be addressing the long-term position soon. But, for the time being, I will be overseeing two departments. I will be concentrating on MSC and leaving the day-to-day operations of produce in the very capable hands of our assistant manager, Jordan Archey.

Over the next quarter you will see some changes in MSC. Some of you may have already noticed there is fresh, custom-cut, regionally sourced, pastured meat in the fish (now meat and fish!) case. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean we will be selling less fish; it just means we will be filling the case with more product. With that in mind, let me know what cuts you want to see in the case and I will see what I can do. Along those lines, I hope to expand our local meat selection. We have already brought in Jacuterie bacon and sausages from the Hudson Valley, and there’s more in the hopper. I also plan to expand our house-marinated meat selection. Let me know what marinades you want and what you want marinated.

As far as seafood goes, I don’t know a lot about it right now. But I love good fresh fish and feel very lucky that I have a vendor as passionate, knowledgeable, and values-based as Wes of BerkShore, with whom I look forward to working.

The cheese case is another place where I have an opportunity to learn.

I’m not an expert in cheese. But I know I love it. Over the years I have gotten to know many of our local cheese farmers and look forward to working more closely with and learning from them. Wes’ counterpart in the cheese department is Dondi at Provisions, and he has been a great guide so far. As always, if there are specific kinds of cheese you want, let me know and we’ll see what we can do.

Grocery

From Amie Decker

O

ver the last several months you have probably noticed some holes in the grocery aisles. You might even be missing some of those favorite items that are no longer on our shelves. The grocery department has been challenged with a staggering number of long-term out-of-stock and discontinued items lately. All of our distributors, especially United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), our primary source, have been cutting products at record rates since the summer. We are working hard to find replacement items, as well as to bring in new local and regional items. Please bear with us through this process and, as always, let us know what you would like to see on our shelves. Suggestions can be given to any grocery associate or placed in the box on the front desk. We will do our best to bring your suggestions in.

Some notable new local items include two granolas from the Sweetish Baker (Almond Ginger and the Cruncher); Moons Gold Apiary honey (located in the Hudson Valley and packaged in glass) in 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes; four varieties of spelt bread from Philmont Community Supported bakery located in Philmont, NY, and five varieties of elixirs from Goldthread Herbals.

The refrigerated department has brought in several new items from local producers, including new hot sauces and tonics from Hosta Hill, farm fresh eggs from Sparrowbush Farm in Hudson, NY, free-range duck eggs from Fox Hill Farm in Sandisfield, and a Greek-style sheep yogurt from Mohawk Drumlin Creamery located in St. Johnsville, NY. In the bulk department we have brought in new spices from Frontier, and are excited to be participating in a seasonal bulk program through Frontier.

This will highlight 12 items that tie into the seasons. Right now we have a display of dried herbs for wellness, and we can look forward to spices for grilling in the summer, pickling in the fall, and baking during the holidays.

Produce

From Jordan Archey

A

s always, winter presented its challenges in organic produce sourcing.

El Nino created some crazy weather out west, and that made things even more complicated than usual. We always try to offer you a sustainable food source that is the best we can offer at any given time. In the winter, that largely means offering certified organic produce when we source from national and international distributors. In fact, we ONLY source organic when we have to use those suppliers.

So, when organic supplies are challenged, our produce department is challenged as well. We don’t have the option of substituting conventional produce like most stores do. At the Co-op we have to get creative with our supply and help our customers to learn about seasonal eating and cooking with what’s available. I think our produce team has done a fantastic job of that this year under pretty severe circumstances. I hope you agree.

During those tough times, it still makes me happy to look at our shelves and see all the local produce. While it’s certainly only a fraction of what we have in the summer, I feel lucky to have local carrots, beets, radishes, and other root vegetables from Winter Moon Roots; shiitake and oyster mushrooms from Rock City Mushrooms; apples from Samascott Orchards, and fresh baby spinach from the Queen’s Greens. These tasty local veggies help us get through the cold winter and support our local farmers year round.

Growing season is on its way, and as always, we have a large variety of organic seeds from High Mowing Seeds from Vermont. Starting in mid to late April, we’ll have a growing selection of plant starts! We’re here to answer any gardening questions you may have.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Prepared Foods

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From Lynn Pino

e experienced an unseasonably warm, snow-free El Nino winter this year, and while there were many people who are not complaining about the mild weather, there are just as many who are sorely disappointed that we are not in the midst of a cold and snowy “old-fashioned” New England winter. This unusual weather has not adversely impacted business here at the Co-op, particularly not in the prepared foods department. What business we may have lost in ski oriented visitors we gained back in the utter lack of snowy roads and winter storm warnings.

One of the main reasons our sales are so good is because of the business we do in the cafe, and the wonderful employees who serve our customers there. While business in the cafe is bustling, we are always striving to do better, so at this time we are in the midst of a reset, and it is our plan to have the first phase in place by the time this newsletter is published. This first phase entails adding a make your own sandwich option to the menu in addition to our proven favorite sandwiches. We are very excited to add this program to our cafe. In the future we hope to reconfigure the dining area in the cafe to accommodate our customers better as well. We believe that these changes will prove very popular!

As many of you know, our kitchen prepares and serves the community supper at Berkshire South the first Monday of every month. It is wildly popular, with the total of meals served averaging 120. In the past, the menu planning, ordering, preparation and serving has been done by the prepared foods staff exclusively. Because it is our mission to serve our community it has been decided that managers of all departments will serve the supper on a rotating basis. That way we can all make ourselves known to the volunteers, as well as the guests that we serve. Our front end manager, Allison, served the February meal and enjoyed herself. The meal is free, although donations are appreciated, so if you are looking for a tasty meal please stop in the first Monday of each month.

We have many wonderful staff members in the prepared foods department who have worked here at the co-op for many years. That being said, it is normal for employees to leave to pursue other opportunities, and our department is no exception. Our long-time baker, Ann, left in November to begin a new career and while Deb and Marlene have filled the gaps in the bakery department, we have just hired a part-time baker to ease their burden. We plan to continue offering the delicious treats that you all love, in addition to some new ones! All of the employees of the prepared foods department look forward to make your shopping experience a delight.

Wellness

From Cian Dalzell & Hesty Morley

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reetings from Wellness! Over the past couple of months we’ve bid farewell to our longstanding manager and we are thrilled to announce that Cian Dalzell, a familiar Co-op face, has accepted the Wellness Manager position and, by the time you read this, he will be well on his way to taking over things in the Wellness Corner. During this time of transition, we welcomed some folks from other departments into Wellness on an adjunct basis. Our thanks to Jeffrey from the front end and Robbin from grocery for learning quickly and providing wonderful smiling faces for everyone.

Here at the Co-op, we talk about local foods a lot. We don’t always talk about local things that are not foods. I want to take a moment and recognize the number of local supplement companies we carry. These companies provide skilled manufacturing jobs in our area, and we appreciate them.

Megafood – Derry, NH New Chapter – Brattleboro, VT Pioneer – Shelburne Falls, MA Shire City Herbals – Pittsfield, MA Solgar – Leonia, NJ Vibrant Health – Canaan, CT Wise Ways Herbals – Worthington, MA We’ve also brought in a couple of new products recently that are excellent in function, sourcing, and company ethos.

Andalou Naturals — I’ll let them introduce themselves.

“As an organization we want to create products that are in accordance with who we are and so we set out to not only commit to but to CHAMPION our beliefs and, ultimately, lead the way for others to follow suit.”

“We CHAMPION: Cruelty Free, Eco-Friendly, Vegetarian and Vegan, FairTrade, Gluten-Free, Natural, Organic, and Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients.”

Sustain — This one’s just for adults.

Fair-trade certified condoms from a family-owned, 50% woman-owned, B-Corporation. Personal lubricant that’s aloe based, made with 95% organic ingredients, and naturally free of petroleum, glycerin, parabens, silicone, dyes, and harsh ingredients. Plus 10% of their profits are donated to organizations supporting women’s reproductive healthcare. Did I mention they’re regional? Yup,they’re based in Burlington, Vermont.

As they put it, “our goal is to get people to think about sustainability, justice, and equity every time they open a condom, even though they’re understandably distracted.”

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