FALL 2015
NEWSLETTER
COOPERATIVELY OWNED
COMMUNITY FOCUSED
Visiting Hosta Hill: Food with Culture A behind-the-scenes look at a local fermented food favorite. By Matt Novik, Communications Manager
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f you haven’t heard of Hosta Hill, then you’re not paying attention to our region’s local food movement. This little company with the tagline “food with culture” has won over local fans of fermented foods in recent years with their lacto-fermented vegetables and small-batch tempeh. I am one of those fans. And I decided to take some time to visit with Hosta Hill’s Maddie Elling and Abe Hunrichs, the couple behind the kraut, who live and work on the Housatonic/West Stockbridge border just north of Great Barrington. As soon as I got out of my car, I could smell the ferment. For those of us who love sauerkraut and consider kimchi a grocery staple, it’s a comforting smell—one that helps you feel grounded and warm. When I mentioned it to Abe, he gave me a weird look. He couldn’t smell it at all. And when I followed him inside the kitchen, I understood why. The whole room was engulfed in the fantastic smell of fermented food. Abe has spent a lot of time in there, and the slight waft in the yard was nothing to him. It was kimchi bottling day, and the whole production table was filled up with jars of my favorite fermented food. I couldn’t think of a better setting for our conversation. In the Beginning Maddie is a local girl. In fact, she grew up within view of the commercial kitchen where Hosta Hill produces their products. Abe hails from California and came to the Berkshires for reasons other than the food business.
A freshly jarred batch of Hosta Hill kimchi ready for caps and labels.
“I moved here because of Maddie,” he says with a smile. “I was here to meet my brother’s new baby, we met, and the rest is history.” It is a rare treat HOSTA HILL continued on page 8
Heyo, It’s El Niño What the effects of El Niño mean around the world and at the Co-op.
42 Bridge Street Great Barrington, MA 01230 413.528.9697 www.berkshire.coop Open Every Day 8 am - 8 pm
By Cian Dalzell, Special Projects Coordinator
I Inside This Issue Notes from HQ Page 2 Catching Up with the Board Page 2 Watching Your Co-op Grow Up Page 4 Q&A with The Piggery Page 5 A Case for Dry Beans Page 6 What’s Behind Seedless Watermelon Page 7 Minecraft Comes to Life Page 10 Seasonal Eating Recipes Page 11 Departmental Reports Page 12
n case it hasn’t been mentioned enough by media outlets, this year is an El Niño year. It’s a weather event (or weather phenomenon) that happens every three to six years and is characterized by unusually warm temperatures in the Pacific, particularly around the equator. You and I know it as the cause of cooler, wetter summers every few years. The worst El Niño in recent memory was in 2009-2010. The cold and wet conditions in the northeast US lead to a particularly virulent spread of some plant diseases. While the weather didn’t cause the start of the epidemic, wet weather definitely assisted in the spread. This year has been a milder one, although both late blight and downy mildew are on the minds of our farmers since they have been spotted within our 100-mile local radius. In other areas of the planet, when we’re complaining about how its never going to be beach weather, there are different changes in climate condition during El Niño years. The Pacific Northwest This part of the world is warmer and drier than other years, often leading to wildfires. This region produces the most apples and pears internationally. EL NIÑO continued on page 6
Berkshire Co-op Market • 42 Bridge Street • Great Barrington, MA 01230 • 413.528.9697 • www.berkshire.coop
Recent Notes from HQ A summary of Co-op happenings. By Matt Novik, Communications Manager
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n past newsletters, many of you became accustomed to reports from our former General Manager, Art Ames. Art would combine his personal pizzazz with a general report about what was happening at the Co-op. With the change in management comes a change in format. In this issue, the General Manager statement comes in the form of an entirely separate article. Please make sure to read “Watching Your Co-op Grow Up” by Zack Sheppard on page 4. This space will continue to report on the general happenings around the store, but with less pizzazz…. Financial Update As many of you know, it’s been a little bit of a rocky year. We finished the last fiscal year with a loss, and this year has been a challenge. The challenges have ranged from the Main Street construction to increased competition in conventional stores—this has resulted in a downward sales trend. That said, there’s lots of good news, too. Tight fiscal management and adjusted budgets have allowed us to start posting profits again, even with lowerthan-expected sales. The current quarter is looking pretty great, and we expect that trend to continue while we address sales and bring them back. Construction on Main Street Yes, the Main Street project has hurt our sales. Fixing Main Street was an important task for the town and, so far, the work looks to be a great improvement. There’s really no easy way to do a project like this, and, no matter how well it was run or necessary it was, downtown businesses felt the pinch. We want to remind you, now that traffic has loosened up significantly, to shop in downtown Great Barrington. If you are reading this, then you are probably somebody who cares about buying local. Well, now is the time to show it by coming back to Main Street and helping these businesses thrive this fall. If we all concentrate on shopping local at the stores that need us the most, then we can offset the negative effect of the construction and make this experience a positive one. Project Facelift Our store needs a facelift—and we are working on getting it one. We have been in this building for eleven years without much change. And the wear is starting to show in our aesthetics and on our equipment. You’ve already
seen some new signs in the parking lot, and many of you have mentioned how much you love the new shopping carts. And did you notice that we removed the bamboo wall coverings on the outside walls? Soon you will see new aisle signs in the grocery department, food/department graphics on the upper walls, new signage and graphics on the outside of the store, and a few other cool improvements. It’s all going to be a lot of fun, and it will update our store in a positive way. Co+Efficient The National Cooperative Grocers (NCG) have offered us access to a program that will help our organization measure our community and environmental bottom lines with metrics similar to the ones we use to manage our finances. With Co+Efficient, we receive several benefits. This includes an easy-touse system that saves time, increases efficiency, supplies comparative data, and offers easy-to-understand reports that can be shared with staff, owners, and customers. With the data we collect, we will be able to identify a development strategy for our sustainability programs and then measure the results. Currently, we are in the process of providing historical data to the database. In October, we start collecting for real. By this time next year, you should expect to see the results of our first study. Staffing Changes A few familiar faces have left the Co-op since our last newsletter. You already know about Art’s departure, but we also saw folks like Jack, Ephrem and Sam leave in the last few months. They all have moved on to new adventures and we wish them well. On the other side of that coin, we are thrilled to announce that Allison Floyd has been hired as the Co-op’s new Customer Service Manager. Allison has held several roles at the Co-op, most recently as a front end shift leader. She will now use that varied experience to lead the front end cashiers and the customer service desk. Of course, there’s always more going on than we can include here. If any of you have any questions, comments, or criticism, please don’t hesitate to be in touch at community@berkshire.coop or see page 3 for everyone’s individual contact information.
Update from the Board
The latest information on our search for a General Manager, the expansion/relocation and more. By Daniel Seitz, Board President GM Search The board of directors is moving steadily ahead with the search for a new General Manager. We received 23 applications for the position from people both locally and around the country. The search committee initially interviewed seven individuals with qualifications appropriate for the GM position, and the board will soon schedule follow-up interviews with a few of these individuals. We anticipate hiring a permanent GM by the end of October. In the meantime, interim GM Zack Sheppard, the Co-op’s management team and staff are doing a great job running the Co-op. You may have noticed some improvements at the store such as new, more convenient shopping carts and better parking signage. Other changes are in the works. Our goal is to create as pleasant a shopping experience as we can and, of course, continue to provide excellent product options, including local, organic, sustainable, fairtrade and GMO-free products. Expansion/Relocation The board has assembled a group of expert advisors to identify and analyze options for building a larger store—whether at the 100 Bridge Street site or somewhere else. Zack and the board are working together with our advisors to decide on a specific plan. Our goal is straightforward: to find an affordable and convenient location where we can build a larger store that better meets the needs of the Co-op’s owners and other patrons. GMO Labeling in Massachusetts As many of you know, there is a strong initiative underway in Massachusetts to pass legislation (MA House Bill 3242) that would require labeling of GMOadulterated food in Massachusetts. As always, there are powerful corporate forces at work to defeat our basic right to know what is contained in the food we eat. There will be a public hearing on this bill on September 22 at the State House in Boston starting a 1 p.m., with a special pre-hearing event at noon. The more people who can speak in support of required GMO labeling and full transparency, the better. Also, it’s helpful to contact your state senator and representative to voice support for the legislation. More information on the hearing—and on GMO issues, in general—is available from MA Right to Know GMOs (www.marighttoknow.com).
New Board Members At its August meeting, the board appointed two new members, Jen Salinetti and Sam Handel to fill open seats. Please read a little more about them on page five. We are delighted to have Jen and Sam as our newest board members. Board Election Coming Soon It's that time of year again. We are currently seeking candidates to run for the board this fall. Serving as a board director is a great way to get more involved in your Co-op at a very exciting and important time in our development. If you are interested helping your community, supporting the local economy and promoting clean food and cooperation, please contact us at bod@berkshire.coop.
GET ON
Board
If you are interested in running to be a Board Director, email us at
BOD@BERKSHIRE.COOP. Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
Page 2
Board of Directors
BOD@BERKSHIRE.COOP
Daniel Seitz
Erica Spizz
Matthew Syrett
Leslie Davidson
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Betsy Andrus
Bryan Ayers
Molly de St André
Jen Salinetti
Sam Handel
Executive Management Team Zack Sheppard Interim General Manager zsheppard@berkshire.coop
Ted Moy Retail Manager
Matt Novik Communications Manager
tmoy@berkshire.coop
mnovik@berkshire.coop
Leadership Team Austin Banach Meat, Seafood, and Cheese Manager abanach@berkshire.coop
Amie Decker Grocery Manager
Allison Floyd Customer Service Manager
Jake Levin Produce Manager
adecker@berkshire.coop
afloyd@berkshire.coop
jlevin@berkshire.coop
Lynn Pino Prepared Foods Manager
Jeff Schilling Floor Manager
Brenna St. Pierre Wellness Manager
lpino@berkshire.coop
jschilling@berkshire.coop
bstpierre@berkshire.coop
DATES of INTEREST SATURDAY, 9/26: KIDS WORKSHOP DIY Reusable Napkins - 2:30
WEDNESDAY, 9/30: BOD MEETING
Berkshire Co-op Board of Directors Meeting - 6:00
WEDNESDAY, 10/15: OWNER APPRECIATION DAY 10% Off for Co-op Owners All Day - All About Apples
SATURDAY, 10/24: KIDS WORKSHOP Pumpkin Decorating - 3:30
WEDNESDAY 10/28: BOD MEETING
Berkshire Co-op Board of Directors Meeting - 6:00
SATURDAY, 10/31: KIDS WORKSHOP Spooky Halloween Treats - 10:30
SATURDAY, 11/14: KIDS WORKSHOP
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
Thanksgiving Garlands
SATURDAY, 11/21: KIDS WORKSHOP
Pumpkin Oat Bread and Vanilla Pumpkin Smoothies
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
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
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Watching Your Co-op Grow Up A discussion of the many stages of growth your co-op goes through. By Zack Sheppard, Interim General Manager
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t’s hard to be passionate about regular grocery stores. We have positive and negative feelings about them, but there’s just not a lot to get really worked up about. They’re just that place you go to buy food. But people are passionate about their co-op. Both positive and negative feelings are amplified because we actually care about what’s happening there. Why do we care so much? This is something I’ve thought over quite a bit. Why are co-ops so much more engaging on an emotional level than a regular grocery store?
The most succinct way I’ve come to understand it is this: we care about the Coop because the Co-op cares about us. It’s not just a place to buy food. It’s a community hub where we see people we care about. It advocates for us to take care of ourselves and eat healthy, good foods. It has principles and ends that care about sustainability, the environment, and the betterment of our community. We care about the Coop because the Co-op cares about us, and watching something we care about change and grow can be difficult. For years I’ve been fascinated with “the old store” on Rossiter Street. I’ve only lived in the Berkshires for three years and have little more than photos and stories in reference to this time in our history. So I actively seek out conversations with employees and owners who were around for this time. Most often, these conversations quickly turn to how they “miss the old Co-op.” They are always such heartfelt and passionate conversations—again, that passion that most regular grocery stores don’t evoke—with people tearing up as they reminisce. During one of these conversations, I was struck by how similar the passion and nostalgia expressed was to that of someone talking about childhood, either their child’s or their own. Indeed, the store on Rossiter Street was the childhood of Berkshire Co-op Market. It was small, it was cute, it got messy sometimes, it was innocent, it drew on the walls, and it was a kid.
With the rise in popularity of organics over the past decade, co-ops were on the cutting edge of this movement. This allowed Berkshire Co-op to grow up quickly from its roots on Rossiter Street to the strong business we have become on Bridge Street. This was our Co-op’s adolescence, when we did most of our growing. And we did what teenagers do—tried a lot of things, made good decisions, made bad decisions, and did our best to learn from them all. Most recently, we’ve been searching for who we are going to be during the biggest time of change in the grocery industry. The direction we take over the next couple of years is going to help decide if the cooperative business model has a place of relevance in modern society, or if the third wave will crash just like the second. Our Co-op is in a unique position of a thriving, young business on the brink of adulthood. With a lot of our learning behind us, we can help guide this third wave of co-ops and lead this movement to a place it has never been before. Looking forward, our Co-op has a difficult road to navigate over the next few years. Both in our Co-op, and in co-ops nationwide, we are starting to see the arc of sales growth top out and decline. This is a direct result of the supermarkets’ focus on our areas of strength: organic, specialty, and local. For three years, supermarkets have been watching us, learning from us, and they are now getting really good at emulating us—sometimes even doing better than us. They want our market, and they have more resources to take it than we do to defend it. This forces the issue of who Berkshire Co-op is going to be in its adulthood to the forefront; we need to move more quickly to identify and secure our place in the grocery world. We don’t know yet what that place is, and we are working hard to identify it. But we know for sure that it’s a different place from where we are right now, and this means change. The core of who we are stays consistent. We are a cooperative, and we operate under the seven cooperative principles: 1) Voluntary and Open Membership; 2) Democratic Member Control; 3) Members’ Economic Participation; 4) Autonomy and Independence; 5) Education, Training, and Information; 6) Cooperation among Cooperatives; 7) Concern for Community. These are things that cannot and will not change. Though the challenges before us are daunting, and change is always a little scary, I can honestly say I have nothing but excitement and high expectations for where we are going. We are a coop industry leader in store operations and business knowledge, we have an incredibly hardworking and talented staff, we have an engaged and highfunctioning Board, and we have the one competitive edge that no conventional supermarket can match: you. Our invested ownership and customers care about the Co-op in a way that conventional business cannot fathom.
The landscape of the grocery world has changed immensely over the past ten years since we moved from Rossiter Street. And our little Co-op has adapted right along with the changing times, growing into a strong young business. About co-ops: Though the cooperative business model has roots that go back to the 19th century, we are most familiar with the second wave of co-ops that started in the 1970s. Nearly 10,000 co-ops were established during that time, and only a handful have survived through to today. The ones that survived were those with the strongest community support and the strongest business practices. Berkshire Co-op is one of these veteran co-ops that weathered the 1980s and 1990s. We are currently in the middle of the third wave of co-ops, with a boom of new co-ops opening over the past five years. These new co-ops have a very different intention than those of the 1970s. They have a focus on being relevant to the counterculture and a desire to bring this better way of doing business to rival the mainstream. Though we are faced with new challenges, we also have the knowledge gained from the successes and failures of the second wave. About grocery stores: We started with town grocery stores, which gave way to supermarkets. Supermarkets thrived after the Great Depression, with their “Every Day Low Price” emphasis, and stayed the dominant business model until the early 1990s. With the introduction of the hypermarkets (e.g. WalMart), closely followed by the popularity of warehouse clubs (e.g. Sam’s Club) in the mid-2000s, everything changed for the grocery world. During the 1990s and 2000s, these big-box stores captured the supermarkets’ competitive edge of always having the best price. This forced the supermarkets’ model to change. Supermarkets started breaking into and absorbing as many specialty markets as they could in an effort to stay relevant and offset the new big-box model. Within the past three years, supermarkets set a laser focus on organic, non-GMO, gluten free, and even local.
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead Berkshire Co-op isn’t just going to adapt to a changing market. We are going to innovate, thrive, and transform into something new and something better than we can imagine right now. So I encourage you: DO miss the old Co-op. It was a beautiful time in the Co-op’s life, something to be remembered and cherished. I also encourage you to feel pride when thinking of how the Coop has grown. Know that it was the care and nurturing you gave it that allowed it to flourish and become the strong business it is. Know that as we continue to transform (no matter how the Co-op presents itself, what clothes it wears, or how it cuts its hair), that in its heart and core is that little messy store on Rossiter Street. And the values instilled in it there are why it succeeds in the way it does. We care about the Co-op because the Co-op cares about us. This is cyclical. The Co-op cares about us because we care about the Co-op. Keep caring, keep critiquing, keep guiding, and keep believing in the Co-op. Then it will always be yours. Yours in cooperation, Zack
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Two New Board Directors Appointed
The two open seats were created with the resignations of Michael Guthrie last year and Daniel Esko this summer.
Sam Handel
Jennifer Salinetti
Sam has worn many hats within Sarcastic Girl, Inc., an entertainment company he has run with his wife for 15 years. In addition to business management, he likes to get busy on the creative side. Sam is a filmmaker, specializing in narrative comedies set and shot in and around Great Barrington. He is the writer, director, editor, and producer of The River and I’m Coming Over, both of which enjoyed screenings at over fifty film festivals worldwide.
Jen has been a proud owner of Berkshire Co-op Market since she moved here in 2000. She began her work at the Co-op at the end of 2000 as parttime kitchen staff. She soon moved on to front end services and helped the Co-op transition into its current location. When her time as a Co-op employee came to an end in 2015, she immediately made herself available as a board candidate.
Sam is also an editorial photographer whose work has appeared in Time, Venice, Elle, The Source, Redbook, People, Surface, Time Out London, Fade-In, Paper, Playbill, and PDN, among others. Advertising clients include Everlast, The Julliard School, Royal National Theater, the Roundabout Theater Group, and, of course, Berkshire Co-op Market. While he is at it, Sam may as well mention his upbringing in Needham, MA, and he has a bachelor’s of arts in economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He has also worked in advertising at DoubleClick, Inc. and Saatchi & Saatchi in Los Angeles.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1999 with a bachelor’s of science in Sustainable Farming. For the past fifteen years, she has been actively involved as a vegetable grower and educator in the Berkshires. She and her husband own and operate Woven Roots Farm, a vegetable CSA that focuses on bio-intensive growing using no-till and environmentally sound farming practices. Jen has taught classes throughout New England and is currently developing an educational center at their homestead in Tyringham. In addition to serving on the Co-op board and working at her farm, Jen serves as the garden coordinator at the Montessori School of the Berkshires; curriculum developer for Project Sprout, a gardening program at Monument Mountain Regional High School; and she is on the advisory board for Greenagers, a local organization for young adults to learn about environmental conservation, sustainable farming, and natural resource management.
Catching Up With The Piggery Heather Sandford answers some questions about one of our favorite vendors. By Austin Banach, Meat, Seafood, and Cheese Manager
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n our strategy meetings lately, we have been talking a lot about the specific vendors who are dear to us, and how they help us create a dynamic department that our customers love to visit. These are the producers with whom we seek to build meaningful relationships that mutually benefit both entities and allow us to support and learn from each other. Isn’t that what co-ops do? Isn’t that what we ALL should do? It didn’t take long to identify a clear candidate in the Meat department. I’ve been talking up The Piggery for a long time now. The small butcher with big values, located in Ithaca, NY, is owned by husband-and-wife team Heather Sandford and Brad Marshall. They have created an amazing line of products from their non-GMO, pasture-raised pork, which is expertly prepared, beautifully packaged, and is just darn right tasty! I had the pleasure of chatting with Heather over the phone the other day. Instead of our usual check-in, I thought it would be great to ask her some extra questions and print the interview here. Austin: What is The Piggery to you, and how did you guys start? Heather: My husband, Brad, and I started The Piggery about twelve years ago. Our focus then, which still remains, was to raise heritage breed hogs on pastures with no sprays, chemicals, or GMO feed. We work with two other small farms, and they commit to the same standards that we do on our farm. In addition to the farms, we also have a certified processing plant where we make a whole range of fresh and cured pork and turkey products. A: How did you get into pigs? Why not the chickery or lambery? H: Honestly, the piggery was a little bit of an accident [laugh]. At the time, we were really just interested in homesteading, reconnecting, and teaching ourselves how to grow food for ourselves and our family. We got three pigs from a neighbor of ours. We had cows for milk and yogurt. We had chickens. We had sheep and grew a ton of vegetables. Again, we were learning and willing just to try a lot of different things. Out of all the animals we had,
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
we really connected and enjoyed working with the pigs. They were just pleasant and, in the end, very versatile to work with as well as yielding a lot of interesting and unique products. We now have three farms with a few hundred pigs. A: What breeds of pigs do you like to work with? H: We are a little different, I think. Some farmers focus on one or two breeds like Berkshire. We practice something called “nicking.” This means that you work with various breeds and crossbreed them to combine desirable traits in the animal and, essentially, the meat. The base of our breed is one called a mulefoot hog. We worked with a livestock conservancy to help bring back the breed into this area, and we got breeding stock from South Dakota. Basically, the mulefoot is an old, traditional, lard breed. They’re really good at foraging, and they just love being outside and social. We mixed that with a lot of traditional breeds to get, what we feel, are great pigs that love being outside and have superior taste and quality of meat. Much of the pork industry has used barns to raise the pigs. We feel those pigs have lost a lot of their wild instincts and the desire to just live healthy, get out there, and be strong on the land. A: Here at the Co-op, a lot of customers absolutely love the pork chops and often refer to them as being the best they have ever tasted. They are just so juicy and tender! Can you reveal any secrets as to why? H: There are no secrets! If we can create more good pork in the world that doesn’t come from factory farms, then we are beyond happy. Brad and I always share what we do openly with our consumers, as well as other farmers. We try to inspire and educate them. To get back to your question, we create our juicy and tender pork chops through our breeding program. The pork you see at your typical supermarket have been bred for characteristics that rarely include taste. They are bred to have huge litters, long pork loins to supply the bacon market, and the ability to reach market weight for slaughter in a very short time. Also, one PIGGERY continued on page 9
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Bulking Up On Dried Beans Making a case for adding more dry beans to your diet. By Deirdre Blair, Bulk Lead
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ecently, we have been working to expand the selection of beans in the Bulk department. I know a lot of folks may not think of beans as an exciting food category. But I’d like to make a case for them as not only a nutritious and affordable option, but also one with vast variety and countless possibilities.
true with beans. Sure, we offer lower-sodium options of canned beans. But, dry beans are sodium-free, from the start.
First off: Beans are REALLY good for you. They’re jam-packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. They’re low in fat, high in fiber, and a great source of complex carbohydrates. In addition to macronutrients, beans contain several types of phytochemicals. They are rich in lignans, which may play a role in preventing osteoporosis, heart disease, and certain cancers. The flavonoids in beans may help reduce heart disease and cancer risk. Plus, the plant stanol esters, or phytosterols, contained in dry beans may help reduce blood cholesterol levels.
4) They’re lighter on your wallet. Dried beans are much cheaper than canned. Canned beans may be more convenient, but you pay for every minute saved. On average, dry beans cost about half as much as canned. In some cases, the difference is up to four times more for canned.
With nutritional benefits like that, you would think that people would eat a lot of beans. But, recent studies show that the average American consumes about 6.5 pounds of dry beans a year, which is a little more than a quarter of the amount recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. It’s pretty obvious that beans are good for you and that most of us aren’t eating enough of them. But what about the old debate between dry beans that need to be soaked before cooking or canned beans that are ready to go when you need them? Dry versus Canned In the Bulk section, we exclusively carry dried beans. Many people choose canned beans over dry ones because they are so convenient. And, if you’re looking for speed, canned is probably a better choice. But, for those of you who don’t mind the extra time, dried beans are the way to go. Here are my top five reasons why you should choose dried beans instead of canned: 1) They offer more choices for the chef. If you are looking for control when you cook, then dry beans are for you. When you open a can of beans and they are a little too mushy for your taste, there’s not too much you can do about it. With dry beans, the cook can control exactly how firm or soft the beans will be. Flavor control is also an important factor for the serious chef. When cooked, dry beans take on the flavor of the food around them. Precooked beans are, essentially, flavorsealed. 2) They’re lower in sodium. It’s pretty much a rule that when food is cooked, processed, and canned, it has a higher sodium content than foods cooked at home. This is definitely EL NIÑO Continued from page 1 Asia Much of India and southern China (as well as Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia) are hotter and drier than other years. Droughts are more common and more severe, negatively affecting yields for staple crops and those grown for export. This decreases availability and increases costs. These instabilities have spiked costs of rice as much as 45 % in previous El Niño years, and have necessitated aid to some areas of Southern Asia. Many Asian countries rely heavily on hydropower. So electricity is less available and often more expensive due to droughts. South America Different sections of the continent have dramatic shifts in weather. Parts of Brazil are often drier or warmer than normal (but not usually both at the same time). Uruguay and Argentina are likely to see wetter weather. Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are often warmer and wetter than average. These isolated changes shift the market a lot—especially for produce, as there is a lot of organic crops in South America. It often leads to limited availability of apples, pears, berries, asparagus, and other items that are seasonally available from South America. El Niño can also have a dramatic effect on coffee and chocolate regions. These regions are concentrated in the northwestern part of South America,
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
3) They’re better for the environment. Dried beans require less energy to produce and package. There is minimal waste in the process and no need to recycle a can or the paper label.
5) There is a greater variety. Did you know that there are heirloom bean varieties? Most of us are familiar with heirloom tomatoes—each variety has its own unique look and subtle differences in flavor. The same is true with beans. Each variety has its own unique characteristics, imparting a singular texture, color, and flavor to dishes. We are now carrying several heirloom bean varieties at the Co-op. Here are my favorites: Orca These small, black-and-white beauties are tasty. Also known as calypso beans, Orca beans are terrific in salads, soups, and side dishes. Unlike many varieties, Orcas keep their markings after cooking, making them a lovely addition to your dishes. Piquant seasonings—such as chili, red pepper, and cumin—complement their mild flavor and creamy texture. Jacob’s Cattle Legend has it that these beans, also known as Trout Beans, came to New England from Germany during colonial times. Other stories say they were a gift from Maine’s Passamaquoddy Indians to Joseph Clark, the first white child born in Lubec, Maine. Wherever they originated, these beans have a striking color of maroon and ivory. Their smooth, creamy texture and mild flavor make them ideal for soups and stews. Cranberry Beans Traditionally used in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese cuisine, Cranberry beans are plump and pale pink with maroon markings. They have a sweet and mild flavor comparable to nuts (particularly chestnuts) and are a hearty addition to soup, salads, pasta dishes, and casseroles. Christmas Lima Beans The burgundy-speckled, chestnut-flavored Christmas Lima is a part of Peru’s heirloom bean lineage. They’re great as a side dish, a snack, or as a main course. They’re wonderful with bitter garlic and fresh herbs. They are also perfect for winter stews and full-bodied sauces.
where it is wetter and warmer than usual. These are ideal growing conditions for fungal diseases such as Coffee Rust, which has already been reducing yields in recent years (even those with less rain). For at least the next few months, we have no reason to believe we’ll have any problems getting our favorite foods in the door. Many of the companies we work with and buy from take extra care to keep prices balanced, even as the international markets are a bit more volatile. That’s one of the amazing benefits of Fair Trade purchasing, as well as purchasing more directly from co-ops of growers. They are able to work together to increase yield and mitigate losses. And Equal Exchange brokers in advance to create stability as well as making sure the growers have access to technical assistance for disease concerns. Thankfully, an El Niño only lasts one year. And, although it will by no means reverse the drought, it is likely that California will get some rain this autumn and winter. That may mean more lettuce available in January, and (perhaps most importantly) the lettuce may not require as much irrigation to grow. On a personal a personal note, I want to apologize for being the person who brings you news of damaging weather events, such as the California drought and El Niño. I hope to bring you blissful photos of baby animals and agricultural bounty in a future edition to balance out your view of me.
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Schumacher Center Celebrates 35TH Year of Lecture Series Holistic grasslands management pioneer Allan Savory and 3-D Ocean Farmer Bren Smith to speak in Churchtown, NY. By Alice Maggio, Local Currency Program Director and Annual Lectures Coordinator, Schumacher Center for a New Economics
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n the face of increasingly depleted water resources, accelerating soil erosion, and continued population growth, the debate over how we feed the world is intensifying. GMO crops and labeling, pesticides, seed patents, fossil-fuel-based fertilizers, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and inhumane slaughterhouses are just some of the contentious issues in recent years. Each of these has implications for resource management, land-use planning, human and environmental health, and geo-politics. But where are the solutions?
Allan Savory
On Saturday, October 24, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics will host the 35th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures, entitled Cattle & Kelp: Agriculture in a New Economy. The lectures will be delivered by agricultural innovators Allan Savory and Bren Smith. Both Savory and Smith have developed agricultural models based on natural systems, offering methods for farming with the potential to fix carbon, clean our waters, and produce food more abundantly. Savory has developed a “holistic management” model to reverse desertification throughout the world’s vital grasslands. Smith cultivates kelp and shellfish using a model that he refers to as “3-D ocean farming.” The 35th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures will be held in the extraordinary round barn of the Churchtown Dairy in Churchtown, NY. The lecture program will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude by 3 p.m. Tours of the buildings, conducted by architect Rick Anderson, will begin at 9 a.m. Tickets include lunch and cost $100 each. Pre-registration is required. Tickets and more extensive biographies for each speaker are available on the Schumacher Center’s website: www.centerforneweconomics.org. Tickets may also be reserved by sending a check to the Schumacher Center for a New Economics at 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
Bren Smith
Many of the past Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures can be read for free on the Schumacher Center’s website, listened to on archive.org, or viewed on YouTube. The lectures are also available for purchase as pamphlets and in eBook format on Kobo or Kindle. The price of the ticket includes lunch. For more information and to register, call 413-528-1737 or visit centerforneweconomics.org.
What’s Behind the Seedless Watermelon How farmers cultivate a popular and convenient treat. By Cian Dalzell, Special Projects Coordinator
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atermelon is one of the most anticipated of summer fruits. But its appearance is also one of the first signs that autumn is around the corner since our local growing-season is so short. Watermelon is something that you will see in all grocery stores and many roadside stands. For most folks, there are two kinds of watermelons: seeded and seedless. Seeded watermelons used to be ubiquitous during the summer, but they seem to selling less nationwide each year. And, perhaps related to this shift, I seem to hear more questions about seedless watermelon every year. The top question I’m asked about seedless watermelons is how they were bred. Normal melons have two sets of chromosomes (like you and me). Inbreeding a population of melons can produce tetrapoloid melons (four sets of chromosomes). Then, the twochromosomed parent and the four-chromosomed parent each share half of their DNA with the assistance of a bee or other pollinator. This leads to a child with three sets of chromosomes. And, like mules before them, they are sterile. The vines grow normally, and they flower and fruit normally. But the seeds inside of those fruit never develop (those occasional white pips are actually lonely seed coatings, never to be paired with a seed). They were originally bred in the mid-20th century, before bioengineering existed as we know it today. Scientists purposefully started breeding mutations to see if something palatable and popular would develop.
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
There is another way of triggering melons to mutate into tetrapoloid melons (four sets of chromosomes). It involves “shocking” the plant with colchicine, a chemical that is also used medically to treat gout. This triggers a mutation, creating tetrapoloid melons (four sets). After that parent is developed, it is crossed with a regular diploid (two sets), just like with the other breeding method. So the seedless melons themselves are the children of the “shocked” parent. While melons produced this way won’t be found at the Co-op, they are available at many conventional markets. As with anything else, I’m a fan of getting to decide for yourself what you put in your body. With that information in mind, I can say that our familiar Cavendish bananas are a sterile cross of two closely related species—a naturally mutated “mule” that graces many shopping carts. While plant breeders had no part in their origin (though I’m sure they wish they did), cross pollination has led to strange, delicious, and seedless fruit before. Seedless watermelons are, understandably, a bit more finicky and particular to grow. This makes variety scarce and cost a little higher than the seeded varieties. However, most of our local growers will still keep to seedless varieties for the coming years since they are convenient and can give a delicious watermelon flavor. But if you don’t mind the seeds, there are dozens and dozens of good, old-fashioned, seeded options from Seed Savers Exchange, High Mowing Seeds, Fedco Seeds, and Baker Creek Seed Company.
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Catching Up with Maddie and Abe from Hosta Hill HOSTA HILL continued from page 1 to meet young professionals who not only know what they want to do, but have the energy, wherewithal, and chutzpah to do it successfully—all in a loving and respectful partnership.
Maddie and Abe also don’t pasteurize their tempeh, which is a marked difference commonly found in tempeh. That’s why you’ll find their product in the freezer instead of the fridge.
“From the start, we knew we wanted to be involved in agriculture,” Abe tells me as we walk up the hill behind the house. He feeds some grain to their goat, Eadie (named because she loves to eat). “We tried a little of everything,” he continues. “We farmed vegetables and grains, we raised animals, and we canned, cooked, and fermented.”
“Pasteurization increases shelf life,” explains Abe . But it has an effect on flavor and quality. We prefer to thaw what we need and eat a high-quality, delicious food.”
It was all in an attempt to find a way to be involved in local food, support themselves, and create a comfortable home. “We were sort of heading in the direction of homesteading,” he explains. “Then we realized that there was this opportunity to build a business and share this wonderful food with our neighbors.” Hosta Hill got its beginnings when Maddie and Abe were working for another noted local fermented food company. “We were working with Ira at Berkshire Blue Cheese, and he got invited to a market in Norfolk, CT,” says Maddie. “He didn’t want to do a market every weekend, and we were hot to trot to try anything. So we started buying the cheese from him and reselling it.”
The energy to grow the business and create efficiency continues. For their next project, Abe and his brother, Ben Norrichs, are building a multiair-aspirator that will be used to separate the hulls from the beans through a dry process. Currently, they float the hulls through water, which takes longer and can only be done in smaller batches. The Product Line Expands As I write this piece, Aime, our grocery manager, is at the store raving about Hosta Hill’s newest addition to their line: veggie juices. They are made from pure, fermented vegetable juice with no added water. “If you’re not eating ferments every day like you should,” says Maddie with a grin, “then the juices are a hassle-free way to get all the same nutritional benefits in one delicious shot.” Quality Is Still Key If the concentration on growth makes you wonder if Hosta Hill will ever get too big, then you need not worry. “We don’t want to be huge,” Maddie says. “We just want to live a comfortable life and support ourselves.”
After a few weeks of this, they noticed that nobody was selling fermented foods at the market. “We were already making them for ourselves,” says Maddie. “So we started making more, and people loved them. Soon we expanded to another market in Northampton and then West Stockbridge, and the enthusiasm just kept growing.”
In fact, Maddie and Abe are so focused on local food, that the idea of selling outside the region just doesn’t make sense. “We get calls from places out west all the time asking where they can get our products out there,” says Maddie. “I just tell them that we are a local northeast company and recommend fermenters in their area who I know and trust.”
The success at market proved to Maddie and Abe that there was some potential in the fermentation part of their agricultural adventures. They soon settled on the idea of a fermented vegetable business. They named it Hosta Hill after the name Maddie’s parents coined for her childhood home, and they began selling at local markets.
No matter how much they grow, one thing will remain the same at Hosta Hill: They grow their own crops and source other ingredients from local farms as much as possible. “It’s an off-the-top-of-my-head estimate,” says Abe, “but I’d say about 70% of total ingredients are sourced locally. And when we can’t get it locally, our ingredients are always certified organic.”
The Hill Gets Bigger Two years ago, the business had gotten so successful that it was time to invest in more growth. “We had been using several different commercial kitchen spaces to produce the product, and it was getting old,” says Abe. They had grown tired of the extra time it took to change locations and the uncertainty of not knowing where their next batch would be produced. They needed a commercial kitchen of their own.
This year, they are doubling down on growing their own ingredients. They’ve started working a field a couple of miles down the road to grow cabbage, carrots, garlic, radishes, onions, and peppers. In another location nearby, they are working with fellow farmer Sean Stanton to grow grain and soybeans.
To help raise money, they posted a campaign on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. They raised over $14,000 with that campaign. While that was far from the whole budget, it did help them motivate to get the project done. “The community support was amazing and energizing,” says Maddie. “Without that motivation, we couldn’t be where we are now.” It’s the determination they showed with the kitchen campaign that really caught my eye. With that expansion, they went from a small business at a farmers market to one that sells large quantities to the local food leader we see today. Today’s Hosta Hill sells literally thousands of pounds of product. They produce several types of kimchi and sauerkraut, along with some seasonal specials that are incredibly popular. And Then There’s the Tempeh Last year, the Co-op was thrilled to add Hosta Hill’s locally produced tempeh to the mix. “Our process for making tempeh is a little different than most store-bought brands,” says Abe. “For one thing, we use a spore called R. oryzae. We prefer it because it ferments slower and more steadily, and it makes a delicious, nutty tempeh. The other brands use R. oligosporus, which can be used on an array of beans and grains. But it ferments quicker and can lend a quickly ripe, pungent odor and flavor.”
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
“The land has been used primarily for hay over the years, and Sean wanted to do something to replenish the soil,” says Abe. “By growing crops that will feed the soil and help us produce our products, everybody wins. Currently, there are no local sources for the soybeans we need to make tempeh. This project could be the beginning of fulfilling that opportunity.” Berkshire Fermentation Festival What’s the point of doing all this work if you can’t have a little fun? On October 17, Maddie and Abe intend on doing just that as they will be co-hosting the Berkshire Fermentation Festival at the Great Barrington Fairgrounds. The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be cultured food vendors offering samples and selling their products, workshops, DIY demos, lectures, music, and more! This is a free, family-friendly event, and we hope that people will spend the day tasting, learning, and supporting local businesses. “People don’t really think of all the different kinds of fermented foods there are,” says Maddie excitedly. “We’ll have beer, cheese, and all sorts of other cultured goodies. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” No matter how much they grow or how hard they work, Maddie and Abe are still having a lot of fun making their food. And I hope they know that we are all having a lot of fun eating it.
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Q & A: Heather from The Piggery PIGGERY continued from page 5 Cottage bacon is a method of utilizing the shoulder meat of the pig and treating it similarly to the belly bacon in the curing and smoking. Cottage bacon is a way to provide enough of a bacon product that is really tasty, and it helps us efficiently balance and utilize the animal. Cook it up just like you would bacon but, again, it cooks faster—so be careful not to overcook it!
has to be concerned about the injected preservatives or water [that is injected] back into the product to make it look appealing and last longer on the shelf. I relate this similarly to how we have access in our supermarkets to tomatoes in January. It looks like a tomato, and we sort of convince ourselves that it tastes like a tomato. But it really is drier and mealy with a lack of flavor. We care more about the development and maturity of the meat. We slaughter our animals a little later in their lives—not just to get that fat ratio, but also to have the animals develop an intramuscular marbling that happens over the course of them working their muscles outside and eating small grains and wild forage. They are eating grass, grubs, acorns, and burdock roots. People always assume that you can feed a pig whatever, and they will be happy with it and eat it. But what you feed a pig, or any animal for that matter, affects its health. This translates to the quality of the meat for consumption. In the end, by not feeding them oily soybeans or corn and giving them access to natural small grains and forage, they develop that rich, healthy, and flavorful fat.
A: Yum…. H: [laughs] A: You mentioned you were a vegetarian for a while. Any comment on why you went back to eating meat?
Heather and Brad at the Ithaca Farmers Market
A: What are you working on for the future of The Piggery? H: Well, non-GMO labeling is definitely up there. We currently comply with the USDA standard for non-GMO usage and are just getting the necessary stuff in order to roll that out for our labels. We are also working hard to be animal-welfare certified. Although we articulate this with our customers and they trust us, it is something we would like to have, for sure.
A: No! I would never ask that! H: [Laughs] Well, I will tell vegetarians nothing. Of course, it is everyone’s own personal choice, and I say that’s awesome to think about your diet, your place in the world, and what is important to you. I hope they will also show me the same respect!
As far as product offerings, we are currently excited to be sharing a space on our land for a farmer raising turkeys and, most recently, incorporating a turkey line to our brand. I’ll send you some samples!
A: In terms of your passion to educate, do you inspire to lead more lectures or classes? Will there ever be a book about your adventures with getting The Piggery started?
A: I will never say no to samples. Or demos! You have been so great with your demos here at the Co-op.
H: [long sigh] Well, we are still learning, but we have definitely learned a lot over the last twelveplus years that we can share. It is a goal of ours, for sure. We have been recently vetted to do a NOFA [Northeast Organic Farming Association] farm day on our farm, and they [NOFA] are super tough! We are also planning to do an open house and tours on our farm for our customers. We are also trying to get together workshops to teach others what we do!
H: Aww, that’s awesome! I definitely love making the trip down there, seeing you guys, and seeing how our product is doing. A: Is there a product that you are particularly proud of, other than the pork chops that you’d like to talk about? H: Well, you are making me do the “choose your favorite kid” game. I LOVE our fresh sausages. I was a vegetarian for about 17 years, and I’m still not a big meat eater. I love cooking with sausage, in the sense that it’s great to use as versatile, pastureraised protein. A little goes a long way. We developed a fresh chorizo in a market that has few fresh chorizo options. I like to brown that in a pan and put in over cabbage or another seasonal salad. Another product that I love is our cottage bacon, which is our version of shoulder bacon. As a butcher for about eight years now, I love the fact that this bacon is meatier than the streaky bacon and cooks a lot faster. A: The term “cottage bacon” is not something we often see. Do you mind explaining? H: [laughs] This product is really reflective of who we are and why we make it. We are for real. There is only so much belly bacon on an animal, and we do not buy in pork parts from other sources to meet the average consumer’s bacon needs. We raise the animals naturally, and we have to work cohesively through the animal, utilizing as much as we can, and, in return, market as much of it as we can.
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
H: Sure! I started being a vegetarian when I was twelve by copying my older sister. She was super cool. Naturally, as I started to get older, my reason shifted to responsibility and the disagreement of factory farming and animal welfare. As time went on, I realized this way of eating didn’t work for me, and I developed a few health issues. So I reexamined my decision to bring animal protein back into my life. And, viola! That’s how this business started out. I wanted to find the healthiest option, and, for me, it was a lot of research and work to raise the food on our own. Sometimes in interviews, people ask me, “Well, what do you want to say to vegetarians?”
My husband is always trying to write a book, and I am trying to get him into blogging as a faster and, possibly, more effective way to get information out there. He is also working on a digital feed calculator based on what a particular farmer has access to for feeding the pigs, which is also cost effective. But, of course, since we are always working on the farm, there is always something to fix that consumes our time. Baby steps! A: Well, thanks so much, Heather, for taking your valuable time to chat! H: When are you bringing a crew of staff or customers to The Piggery for a visit? A: How about NOW? H: [Laughs] A: That will definitely be a must.
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Crafting the Landscape Kids bring Minecraft to life with a new cooperative program. By Jenny Schwartz, Education and Outreach Coordinator
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The second week focused on resources. In Minecraft, kids can chop down trees all day long without really knowing what goes into chopping down a real tree and what it takes to mill it. Will Conklin, Greenagers Director and Arborist, met with the kids to teach them more about the environment around them— specifically the trees, which included a tree-felling demonstration. He then milled the wood from the tree. The planks were then saved and used to make the chicken coops.
his summer rewarded us with plenty of sunshine and warmth. I like to think of it as Mother Nature’s way of making it up to us after a long, dark, cold, and snowy winter. Sure, it was fun to get out and ski and do wintry activities. But, in January, it felt like May would never come. I had been talking and thinking awhile about the video game Minecraft, as it comes up with students who I work with and friends of children engrossed in their respective worlds. I had this idea for a fun kids’ camp that would bring the skills of Minecraft to life. And this required that I sit down and learn the video game—a perfect activity for the long winter months. I was approached by Greenager’s AmeriCorps intern, Mathieu Boudreau, who was interested in collaborating on youth projects with Berkshire Co-op Market. I told him about my Minecraft idea, and he was intrigued. We bought the game, created a world, and the rest was history. As we were playing, it was fuzzy as to how we would translate the game into real life, until Matt and I had an online scuffle. I will say this to anyone who is new to the game: It will suck away your time. One night, I spent a long time (to put it delicately) on a mine to excavate precious materials used to craft tools and more valuable supplies. The next time I signed on, it had been finished and all the good stuff had been mined. I remained diplomatic and calmly suggested that part of the structure of the camp could revolve around creating roles. So we organized roles: Miner, Crafter, Engineer, Farmer, and Explorer. Each role had a specific purpose in how the group worked together. From there, we plugged in ideas, concepts, and field trips that would accommodate the core structure of the camp.
Ben Schmolze of Schmolze Woodworks teaches the art carpentry.
At the end of resources week, we began the day doing some community service at the Riverwalk In Great Barrington. Kids picked up trash and assisted with compost turning. Afterwards, we took them canoeing down the Housatonic and pulled the canoes out at the covered bridge in Sheffield After lunch, we headed over to Sheffield Pottery where we received a tour of the facilities and learned how clay was extracted from the ground. Adventures in Research The third week focused on agriculture. We visited several farms that worked with produce and livestock. We got some good reference pictures of existing chicken coops and learned more specifically about produce farming. We even helped Elizabeth Keene of Indian Line Farm, harvest some delicious carrots. We also worked towards getting the kids outside and swimming. We visited several local swimming holes in the area so that they could see free places that exist around them to enjoy. Our adventure day for the week began at Hosta Hill Farm where we helped owners, Maddie and Abe, work in their fields. The kids cooled off in the Green River next door. Afterwards, we traveled to Lake Garfield in Monterey for a couple hours of beachy fun.
Proud campers delivering the Muddy Brook Chicken Coop. A Camp Is Born Once the plan was finalized, Crafting the Landscape was presented to The fourth week was our nutrition and wellness week. This week was the Project Connection Staff of Berkshire Hills Regional School District. I devoted to teaching kids how to better take care of themselves. Nutritionist am happy to say that the camp was well received by the group, and the Deb Phillips led an informative discussion about healthy food. And Mike wheels were in motion for working together to obtain funding, finessing Schroth, former chef of Café Adam, taught the students how to make some the curriculum, and creating a game plan for the summer. The focus of amazing recipes using local and seasonal ingredients. Some of the dishes the camp was to create a program that would help engage the disengaged they cooked up were quick pickles, Asian coleslaw, and sautéed peaches through game-play and real-life collaboration. Through play, we attempted and cream. While the kids created a store in the game, we took them to the to open their minds to broader topics and their role in the environment Co-op to learn about the layout of the store, what products are sold, etc. The around them. The game is rich in subjects such as math, science, forestry, kids came prepared with team recipes, and they were given a budget of $20 sustainability, and health and wellness. What I learned from the mining with which they needed to shop for ingredients to make a balanced meal. Both groups chose to make homemade pizza and a smoothie. This week, our mishap is that it is also rich in interpersonal development. adventure day consisted of a trip to Green Meads Farm in Richmond, MA, Crafting the Landscape was designed to bring Minecraft to life with a bigger where my friends, Jen and Jeff, led an awesome tour of their horse farm. Jen picture of teaching kids how to work together, incorporate the idea of service also gave an informative herbalism lesson. Afterwards, we headed to Onota learning, and collaborate on a project that they could build and give back Lake in Pittsfield and had a good swim before ending the day. to the community. We decided the final project would be for the teams to design a chicken coop. Each week of the camp focused on a theme and a The Kid-Made Coop particular aspect of the project. Cooking was part of the daily curriculum, Our final week of Crafting the Landscape was a big one. All the work we and students were invited to bring in recipes that we could make for the had done leading up to building the chicken coops was finally here. In the week. When possible, we would make snacks to bring on our adventure prior weeks, the kids worked in their teams to design their coop, research days. a family or organization in need to donate it to, build a scale model of the coop, and, lastly, build it to completion. Words cannot express the gratitude We wanted student feedback to assist in the development of the camp. In and wood-working expertise of Ben Schmolze of Schmolze Woodworks March, we began meeting with a middle school focus group to get ideas and and Will Conklin from Greenagers. Because of their knowledge and stellar input in terms of what they would like to see. Even though not all of them teaching skills, these coops were 98% kid-made. The defining moment of the would be attending, their enthusiasm was sincere. It was apparent they entire summer was seeing the kids drop off one coop to a CHP family and appreciated the invitation to be involved. We also had students at the high wheel the other coop across the street to Muddy Brook Elementary School, school design a logo for the program. Crafting the Landscape was slowly where it will be used for educational purposes. The students handed over coming into fruition. the coops, complete with a written manual on how to care for the chickens and some recipes they could use with the eggs produced. After that, the kids Full Speed Ahead chose to celebrate the end of camp at Bousquet with some water slide fun Suddenly, it was spring, and structure, planning, and details were coming and a pizza party. together. Before we knew it, July 6 was here—the first day of camp. Our first week focused on architecture and design. We invited architect, Chris Vlcek, This program would not be possible without our amazing community to come in and talk with the kids about architecture. Then they got to work, partners and presenters. The Co-op sends a big shout out to Mathieu learning how to design and how to use specific tools. This first week also Boudreau, Ben Doren, Tom Kelly, Jack Cowles, Will Conklin, Ben Schmolze, focused on team-building activities to get the group communicating with the Tech Department at Monument Valley Middle School, Brian Rembisz, one another. The week concluded with a fun trip to Ramblewild, a forest Mike Schroth, Chris Vlcek, Luke Pryjma, Rachel Fletcher, Housatonic River adventure park in Lanesborough. Association, Sheffield Pottery, Indian Line Farm, Et Cetera Farm, Hosta Hill, Green Meads Farm, Deb Phillips, and Elia DelMolino.
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
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L A E N ATIN O S A Squash
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BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PEAR SAUTÉ Total Time: 30 Minutes, 25 Minutes Active • Serves 6
Ingredients 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large yellow onion, diced 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes 1⁄3 cup chicken stock 1/4 cup white wine 2 Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 cups) 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped pecans 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Preparation In an extra-large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for a few minutes until soft. Add squash and chicken stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes until the squash is just tender. Add pears, white wine, nutmeg and sage, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the pears are just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Season well with salt and pepper, and garnish with pecans and goat cheese.
Serving Suggestion This sweet and savory dish is a lovely accompaniment for pork or poultry. Add leftover turkey or chorizo to make a hash for breakfast or a quick and tasty supper. Per Serving: Calories: 283, Fat: 17 g, Cholesterol: 20 mg, Sodium: 86 mg, Carbohydrate: 25 g, Dietary Fiber: 5 g, Protein: 8 g
SQUASH, BACON AND APPLE HASH Total Time: 45 Minutes, 25 Minutes Active • Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4 cups diced butternut squash (about a 3-pound squash) 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1/2 pound bacon 1 cup diced yellow onion 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced into 1-inch cubes 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage Salt Ground black pepper
Preparation Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel, seed and dice the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes. In a bowl, toss the squash with the vegetable oil and a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Place the squash on a baking tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the squash is tender. Remove from the oven and set aside. While the squash bakes, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, turning occasionally. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on paper towels. Carefully drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan. Add the onion to the pan and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then add the apple and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crumble or chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Add the cooked butternut squash, bacon, and sage back into the pan and let the hash cook, without stirring, for several minutes to build up a nice brown crust on the bottom. Sprinkle in a pinch each of salt and black pepper, and continue to cook another few minutes until the hash is adequately brown and crisp.
Serving Suggestion This hash makes a unique side dish for your Thanksgiving turkey, or try it topped with an egg for breakfast. Use a sweet, crisp apple such as a Honeycrisp, Rome Beauty, or Empire. Per Serving: 334 calories, 17 g. fat, 36 mg. cholesterol, 817 mg. sodium, 33 g. carbohydrate, 6 g. fiber, 15 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 • Fall Newsletter
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DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Grocery
From Amie Decker
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e have been bringing in all sorts of new and exciting products these days. If you subscribe to our weekly email, Notes from the Co-op, then you have probably noticed that we are highlighting a new item every week. But if you haven’t seen those emails, then here are some of my favorites: Vertical Water is a 100% pure maple water created with a mission to preserve the world’s forestland and rethink the way we use our natural resources. Maple Water, the raw material for making maple syrup (also known as sap), can only be harvested from healthy maple trees. By making a healthy tree an investment, buying maple water helps turn our forests into a productive resource instead of an obstacle to cut down in favor of something else. Organic Fuel comes to us from the Organic Valley Cooperative. It’s a nutritionally balanced, organic, milk protein recovery shake designed to benefit both endurance and strength athletes. Each bottle has 26 grams of protein and 800 milligrams of calcium, and it is made from USDA-certified organic milk produced by northeast family farmers. WTRMLN WTR That’s right! This watermelon water is sweeping the nation, and now it’s here at your co-op! This delicious, coldpressed juice is made from watermelon flesh and rind, along with a little lemon juice. It’s a great source of potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin A. As the website says: It’s like “summer in your mouth.” Ronnybrook Farm Garlic Butter is a European-style butter that’s rich and creamy with 84%-86% butterfat content. In addition to the salted and unsalted, we now carry garlic. Ronnybrook churns their butter in 40-gallon batches, which produces a higher butter fat content and allows for very little moisture. That means it doesn’t burn as quickly when cooking, and the added garlic flavor makes this a perfect fit for the home chef. Blue Plate Fudge Sauce comes to us from the Blue Plate Restaurant in Chatham, NY. The sauce was a family tradition when Judy Grunberg took over the Blue Plate in 1997, and it quickly became a customer favorite. Now she is making it for wholesale customers. The chewy, fudgy sauce puts most other chocolate toppings to shame. Judy recommends heating it up a bit and drizzling it on any dessert you like. One 12-ounce jar can satisfy eight to ten hungry sundae lovers!
Meat, Seafood, and Cheese From Austin Banach
R
ecently, our leadership team has been talking about what makes the Coop stand out from other grocery stores. More specifically, what’s the best stuff we do, and how can we highlight it so that you know about it? Here are my thoughts about these signature items in our department. For Seafood, it has always been, without a doubt, BerkShore. The owner, Wes Malzone operates his business with a high level of quality, integrity, and honesty. This has led to an incredible vendor relationship and what I think is the best seafood department in the area. Not only does Wes source fish only a day out of the water, but he really is flexible with pricing to meet our customers’ needs and help everyone cook more fish. For Cheese, our signature is undeniably the selection of locally made cheeses. A word I use a lot when describing a simple, local cheese is “farmstead.” A farmstead cheese is made from milk produced on a specific farm by that farm’s animals. Sure, some may think a farmstead cow cheese from Massachusetts may be similar to a farmstead cow cheese from Vermont—but they are surprisingly different! Additionally, every local cheesemaker has a certain quirk with either their animals, the naming of their cheese, or their production methods. And those quirks make the food even more enjoyable and provide stories to go with your cheese plates. At the Meat counter, as you may have guessed by the interview on page 5 of this newsletter, that The Piggery takes the prize. Ithaca-based butchers Heather Sandford and Brad Marshall are two of the sweetest, hard-working, and caring people I have ever met, and the products are great as well. Rather than go on about The Piggery and use up valuable page space, I suggest you read the article and come in to try the pork. You won’t be sorry. Of course, there are a lot of other items that could be on this list. Next time you are in the store, I suggest you think about what other signatures the Coop has that you just can’t find anywhere else and then tell me about it.
Berkshire Co-op Market • Fall Newsletter
Prepared Foods
From Lynn Pino
E
ven though the calendar proves that the four seasons are all of equal lengths, it seems that every summer begins and ends in the blink of an eye. We are seeing our business shift as kids head back to school and parents shop around their schedule. The temperatures are cooling down and autumn is coming, whether we are ready or not. But the end of summer doesn’t mean the end of local food. We are now in the midst of our local harvest season, and our farmers have been supplying us with an abundance of their delicious and beautiful bounty. From Woven Roots Farm, Et Cetera Farm, Equinox Farm, and Farm Girl Farm, we are receiving a plethora of items including curly green kale, rainbow chard, scallions, summer squash, tomatoes, mesclun mix, baby spinach, parsley, eggplant, and cucumbers. This is what we wait for all winter and spring— the promise of the most delicious food you will ever taste in abundance. And nothing tastes better than produce that has been grown by our neighbors The onset of summer found our business at a disadvantage due to the humungous undertaking of the Main Street reconstruction project. We persevered, however, as did all the other businesses in downtown Great Barrington. During the heaviest work weeks, we decided to run “hard hat” deals in all of our major departments. In Prepared Foods, our “buy a sandwich in the café and receive a small soup at a discounted price” was a huge hit. Before we knew it, the construction crews had moved north of the Bridge Street intersection, allowing our customers easier access to the store. It is already evident that, once completed, Main Street will be beautiful. As is normal with any business, we had some staff turnover this summer. This time we said goodbye to some long-term, highly valuable employees. We will miss Jack, Ephrem, and Sam sorely, but we wish them good luck in their new careers. In the meantime, we are looking to fill their spots. We appreciate how the remaining staff members are working harder than ever. They are a dedicated individuals who love their jobs—and what makes Berkshire Co-op such a vibrant, exciting place to shop.
Wellness
From Brenna St. Pierre
A
s summer draws to a close, we look forward to the cozy New England autumn season. We have some wonderful new products to introduce and time-honored favorites for the chilly days to come. Klean Kanteen Co. has a great offering of new stainless steel bottles. They have released a new line of vacuum-insulated, classic-style bottles with a loop top. They’re great for keeping liquids hot or cold, including a wine-friendly, 32-ounce size. New for kids is the 12-ounce vacuum-insulated Kid Kanteens—a great addition to the selection. The food canisters are a good option for school or work lunches and bulk buying. The 8-ounce and 16-ounce sizes are single wall or vacuum-insulated. Many bottle styles are available in stunning new colors like Neptune blue, dragon fruit, wild grape, and puffin’s bill. Find your favorite color and style for the season ahead. We’re ready for the cold and flu season with a variety of remedies available. Boiron’s homeopathic formulas take center stage with Coldcalm, Sinusalia, Chestal, and Oscillococcinum. Gaia Herbs and Herb Pharm provide wonderful herbal preparations with Echinacea, Black Elderberry, Goldenseal, and Astragalus. Urban Moonshine’s Herbal First Aid line is a great regional option, with Clear Chest syrup for bronchial support, Immune Zoom at onset formula, and Sage and Spilanthes Throat Spray. Look for these great options and more in our Immune section. We have a new facial care line from EO that combines essential nutrients with revolutionary blends formulated to replenish, renew, and revitalize all skin types. Look for the new Ageless line with Coconut Cleansing Milk, Moroccan Lava Clay Scrub, Snow Algae and Tsubaki Moisturizer, and Transformative Night Serum with Rose. Try them out today!
Produce
O
From Jake Levin
dd weather is becoming normal around here. And this year has been no exception. First, it was too dry. Then it rained too much. Early on, the cold was an issue. By mid-summer, excessive heat was a problem. This trend has presented various challenges for our amazing local farmers. And, in turn, their challenges became our challenges in the Produce department. But all of us worked together, and we have made it so far and done so well. Despite the weather, it has been a season with extremely high-quality produce. I can’t remember the last time the tomatoes had so much flavor, the stone fruit was this juicy, and the cucumbers were so sweet. Have you tried David’s Melons? Wow, is all I can say! One of the reasons things have gone as well as they have in Produce this season is because of the incredible team we have developed. At the beginning of the season, we hired Rachel Moriarty and Kathryn Fisher. They have proved to be invaluable, bringing with them passion, knowledge, and hard work. I couldn’t be more pleased to have them on our team, alongside Jordan and Guy. Another thing that has been fun is getting to work with some new (to the Co-op) farms. One in particular is Queen’s Greens in Amherst, MA. The farm is owned and operated by Danya and Matt, and, luckily for us, they specialize in one of the things we’ve been looking for: winter greens! This winter, we plan to receive spinach grown in their naturally heated greenhouses. Right now, we carry their beautiful romaine heads and arugula, as well as slicing and heirloom tomatoes. They also provide us with the tomatoes we use in our pico de gallo, which is made with mostly local ingredients now! As we look ahead, we get excited about the fall crops: sweet kale from Kitchen Garden, Farm Girl Farm, and Woven Roots; amazing apples from Samascott, Thompson-Finch, Windy Hill, and Scott Farm; winter squash from Farm Girl Farm, and High Meadows; and potatoes from MX Morningstar, who also have a huge crop of sweet potatoes in the ground for us!
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