Nl spring 2015 web

SPRING 2015

NEWSLETTER

COOPERATIVELY OWNED

COMMUNITY FOCUSED

It's All About the Food at The Kitchen Garden

By Matthew Novik, Communications Manager

W

hen you hear the words “kitchen garden,” your thoughts might turn to a small backyard with plenty of sun and just enough vegetables and culinary herbs to supply a home chef for the summer. For Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox, the words mean something a little different. That’s because they are the owners and operators of The Kitchen Garden in Sunderland, MA, a 25-acre certified organic vegetable farm and one of the Co-op’s favorite local suppliers.

Growing and Growing Like many local farms, The Kitchen Garden is made up of a patchwork of fields that are a mix of owned and leased land. They own the original field, which accounts for 13 acres. They then leased another 12 acres next door that they had to build a bridge to access. This season, they are opening up a new 5-acre plot in the neighboring town of Whately, which is a short drive from the home farm.

“Even though we’re now on 30 acres, we still grow hundreds of varieties and our fields are still a patchwork of fun specialty items, just like a small kitchen garden,” says Caroline as we walked through one of their greenhouses. “We can’t let go of some of the specialty items we grow. In fact, that’s become our brand.”

Obviously, Caroline and Tim aren’t about to start resting on their success.

And that brand is growing along with the farm itself. In the beginning, there was a limited market for their unusual produce since they sold mostly to local chefs and food enthusiasts. But as their reach has grown and people’s attitudes about unique foods have become more sophisticated, Caroline and Tim have seen great success.

“It’s really exciting for us,” explains Caroline. “We started our farm to grow food that people couldn’t find, and now we can really make a business doing that and more.”

“You have to be willing to invest, and you have to willing to work really hard,” says Tim as he showed off the new Whately plot and gazed out at the surrounding acres that they hope to someday access and farm.

And that’s the issue facing farms like The Kitchen Garden in the Pioneer Valley. It’s not that there isn’t land to farm—it’s gaining access to it that is the challenge. When standing on their new plot, look in almost every direction and you will see land that is being used to grow commodity crops (mostly potatoes) for large scale food production.

“The majority of the good land in our area is being used for commodities that don’t really impact local economics,” says Caroline. “We pick up

little scraps that are too little for the big guys to bother with. And we’ll keep doing that until we get access to more land.”

True to form, that’s exactly what they are doing in Whately. “We’ve got our toe in,” says Tim. “We’re playing the long game.”

KITCHEN Continued on Page 9

Doubling SNAP at the Farmer's Market GB joins a movement to incentivise government support.

413.528.9697 www.berkshire.coop Open Every Day 8 am - 8 pm

42 Bridge Street Great Barrington, MA 01230

By Matthew Novik, Communications Manager

Inside This Issue Notes from HQ Page 2 Our Ends Page 3 Cooking with Spring Greens Page 4 Education & Outreach Update Page 5 Your Right to Know: TPP Update Page 8 Staff Picks Page 10 Seasonal Eating Recipes Page 11 Departmental Reports Page 12

T

he Great Barrington Farmers’ Market opened its twenty-fifth anniversary season by returning to downtown with a move to its new Church Street location, just around the corner from the Co-op. But that’s not the only exciting change at the market this summer. With financial assistance from the Co-op, the Great Barrington Farmers’ Market also announced a new program that will match Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases up to $20.

SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) is the government’s primary food assistance program for families with economic challenges. Users can buy all sorts of things with their SNAP debit SNAP Continued on Page 6 cards. They’re accepted at grocery

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

Notes from HQ: The GM Report

By Zack Sheppard, Interim General Manager

S

ome pretty major changes are happening right now at the Co-op. I know what you’re thinking: “Who are you, and why are you talking to me?” I’m Zack, and I’ve been appointed by your Board of Directors to fill in as General Manager while they search for someone to fill Art’s shoes. Many of you may remember me from my time as the Co-op’s Grocery Manager. About a year ago, I was made Operations Manager and, even though I have been involved with the Co-op more than ever, I am a little less visible on the sales floor.

Before I came to the Berkshires, I was General Manager at MOON Co-op in my hometown of Oxford, OH. But enough about me. Let’s get back to where I started—major changes.

Changes in Leadership Most notable is our current change of leadership. Art has decided to move on. We can’t understate the role Art has played in making this cooperative the organization that it is today. When he first came to this store thirteen years ago, annual sales were under $2 million. The business was unstable and in danger of failing. Art changed all that and has turned this place into a successful $8.5-million business and an important community resource I can assure you that he is leaving behind a store that is in the best operational shape it has ever been. We are poised to create the best results we have ever seen. Though he will be missed, Art chose the most appropriate time to step back from the Co-op. The staff is at its strongest, which should make this a smooth transition.

The board and I have worked closely with Art as we take the reins of the expansion project. We are hoping to capitalize on all of Art’s hard work and move the project forward in the near future. Though it may take until a permanent General Manager is hired, this project will still be happening.

And it will be something truly exciting and fantastic. As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

Another notable change is the departure of our Business Manager, Bob Crowle, who decided to leave in March. Again, thanks to a strong support staff, I have taken on his responsibilities, too. As you may know, we had been creating new roles with the expectation that we would be in a larger store by now. But, as you certainly know, that change is still in the works. As a result, we have been consolidating those roles under current staff instead of hiring new employees. This process will most likely continue until we have a firm idea of when exactly we will be moving into a larger location.

Summer Is Coming I know you don’t need to be reminded, but the summer season is nearly upon us. That’s our busy season around here, and it’s when the cozy confines of the Co-op get a bit more crowded. Last year, we leased an additional chunk of parking in the lot adjacent to our existing lot. You will soon see some new signs pointing out the additional parking. But, for now, we remind you that the two rows closest to the store are now Co-op parking.

Single-Stream Recycling We have contracted with a new refuse company! They are a local company that uses a single-stream system for recycling. This is a new recycling process, which allows the user to put all recycling in the same bin. That means you can throw paper, plastic, and glass into the same container. So the separating normally done on our end now takes place at the collection and sorting facility.

You may have already noticed that the line of blue containers in the back lot that once held our plastic and glass recyclables have been replaced with a new dumpster. Soon, you will notice a change to our in-store trash system that will reflect this change.

Main Street Construction If you haven’t been affected by Great Barrington’s Main Street Reconstruction Project, then you haven’t been in downtown Great Barrington for a while.

The project has been going on since April, and it, undoubtedly, has negatively affected our business. But things have gotten better since the road was paved, and the intersection at the top of Bridge Street is functioning properly again. However, the project isn’t over yet. The work in the downtown section will be happening in July and August, and there may still be traffic and obstructions.

When the project started, we sent out a message to our email list that asked people to face the delays and shop downtown Great Barrington, even if it takes a little longer. We are still asking you to do that today. If we saw poor numbers during this period, then imagine what the Main Street businesses are facing? The fact remains: If you are a shopper who believes in supporting local businesses, then Main Street needs you now more than ever. And a few extra minutes in the car shouldn’t keep you away.

Overall, this cooperative is headed into an exciting time of change and growth. I am grateful for my front-row seat and can’t wait to see what’s next!

See you all at the Co-op!

Zack

Thank You, Art Ames Appreciating our outgoing General Manager and an update on the search for a new one.

By Daniel Seitz, Board President

O

n behalf of the Berkshire Co-op Market community, the Board of Directors extends a heartfelt “thank you!” to Art Ames, who stepped down as the Co-op’s General Manager at the end of May. We deeply appreciate Art’s leadership during the nearly fourteen years he served as General Manager—a time during which the Co-op grew significantly in size and impact on our community. From its days at the old site on Rosseter Street when Art first arrived, the Co-op has doubled the sale of local products to a level once considered out of reach, instituted a living-wage structure, and become a national leader in the fight against the sale of GMO-contaminated food. During Art’s tenure, the Co-op also has loaned local farmers thousands of dollars interest-free to expand their farms, offered educational programs in local schools, and supported the wider cooperative movement by mentoring many co-ops around the country. We thank Art for these and other innovations and contributions, and wish him much future success.

The Board has initiated a national search and hopes to have a permanent General Manager in place by the end of the year or sooner. To facilitate the process, we have appointed a search committee composed of board and staff members. We would also like to include one owner on the search committee. If you are interested, please send an email and short bio to bod@ berkshire.coop.

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that we have appointed Co-op Operations Manager Zack Sheppard to be interim General Manager effective June 1. Zack came to us more than two years ago from MOON Coop, a start-up store in Oxford, OH, where he was General Manager. Once he arrived in Great Barrington, he quickly assumed the position of Grocery Manager and was promoted to Operations Manager shortly thereafter. He

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

will be working closely with the other two members of the store’s executive management team—Retail Manager Ted Moy and Communications Manager Matt Novik. Supporting this capable leadership team are the knowledgeable and hardworking Co-op staff members who contribute every day to the organization’s ongoing well-being and success.

We invite you to send any comments or questions to the Board of Directors by emailing bod@berkshire.coop or by attending one of our board meetings, usually held the fourth Wednesday of every month at 6 pm at the Co-op’s business office (located at 307 Main Street in Great Barrington).

Our thanks to all of you, our Co-op owners and patrons, for your ongoing support of the Co-op during this time of transition.

YOUR CO-OP SEEKS A

GENERAL MANAGER FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A COMPLETE JOB DESCRIPTION, VISIT

WWW.BERKSHIRE.COOP/EMPLOYMENT 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

Daniel Esko

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

DEPARTMENT MANAGERS Austin Banach Meat, Seafood, and Cheese Manager abanach@berkshire.coop

Amie Decker Grocery Manager

Jake Levin Produce Manager

Lynn Pino Prepared Foods Manager

adecker@berkshire.coop

jlevin@berkshire.coop

lpino@berkshire.coop

Jeff Schilling Floor Manager

Kira Smith Owner Services Manager

Brenna St. Pierre Wellness Manager

jschilling@berkshire.coop

ksmith@berkshire.coop

bstpierre@berkshire.coop

DATES of INTEREST

OUR ENDS (Developed by the Board of Directors)

SATURDAY, JUNE 6: KIDS WORKSHOP DIY Newspaper Kites

SUNDAY, JUNE 14: FARM TOUR Markristo Farm, Hillsdale, NY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17: BOD MEETING Berkshire Co-op Board of Directors Meeting

THURSDAY, JULY 16: OWNER APPRECIATION DAY 10% OFF FOR CO-OP OWNERS

SUNDAY, JULY 14: KIDS WORKSHOP Homemade Ice Cream in a Homemade Ice Cream Maker

SUNDAY, JULY 26: FARM TOUR The Berry Patch, Stephentown, NY

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22: BOD MEETING

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

Berkshire Co-op Board of Directors Meeting

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

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Page 3

Cooking with Spring Greens

By Jake Levin, Produce Manager

N

ew England winters are long and hard. By March, my wife and I (check out our food blog at blog. thebutcherandthebaker.com) start to crave spring greens. We wait impatiently until the first crop of fiddlehead ferns, ramps and asparagus come to market and in our backyard. As the first signs of the season start to sprout up slowly around us, we report to each other—first with sightings of silvery alliums bordering swamps in the neighborhood, then with little fern coils pushing their way out of the soil alongside the road on our evening walk, and then with the thin purple and green stalks bursting out of the dirt in our garden.

Slowly our garden wakes up. The chives appear first, and then the sorrel start to leaf up. It’s the most exciting time of the year.

To celebrate these early greens and the beginning of warm weather, we like to make a true pasta primavera.

All too often, primavera is associated with mediocre Italian restaurants that serve soggy noodles covered with a heap of chopped vegetables (like bell peppers, zucchini, and summer squash) found on the bottom shelf of a walk-in refrigerator. The problem is that these vegetables are neither the first of the season (prima) nor are they green (vera). We like this dish because pasta is the perfect food to highlight the subtle and delicious flavors of these early greens. With just a little drizzle of olive oil, some salt, and a nice grating of cheese, nothing quite says spring like an authentic pasta primavera.

Another great way to celebrate spring greens is a simple spring garden soup. We like to use sorrel, nettles, green garlic, asparagus, and chives. But this soup can be easily adapted to any of the other wonderful spring greens: garlic scapes, spring onions, pea shoots, dandelion greens, baby spinach, or arugula. This simple, puréed soup pretty much comes together on its own. It’s cooling, light, quick and very, very green—perfect for a light lunch, the kickoff to a casual dinner party, or a community potluck.

Pasta Primavera

Spring Garden Soup

Serves 4

Serves 8 as a first course

Ingredients

Ingredients

1 pound linguine 1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed off and cut into 1-inch lengths 5 ounces arugula 1 bunch of garlic scapes ¼ cup bread crumbs (optional) 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus ¼ cup 1/3 cup grated pecorino Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil 2 pounds asparagus, tips removed and stalks chopped into 1-inch pieces 1/4 pound green garlic, cut into ¼-inch rounds, green and white parts separated (if you can’t get any, use an onion instead) 8 cups rich, homemade chicken stock (or veggie broth) 1/4 pound fresh sorrel leaves, sliced into slivers 1/4 pound stinging nettle leaves (if you can’t get any, make up for it with more asparagus or sorrel) 1/2 cup chives, minced 1 cup heavy cream

Preparation 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium pan and turn to mediumhigh heat.

3. When the olive oil is shimmering and just about to smoke, add the scapes.

4. After a couple of minutes, throw in the arugula and asparagus.

5. Boil linguine according to the directions on the package.

6. When pasta is done, drain and add to a bowl with the remaining greens, breadcrumbs, and pecorino. Toss thoroughly and finish with a little more olive oil and salt. Serve immediately.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Preparation 1. Sauté the white part of the green garlic with some oil in a pot.

2. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer the chopped asparagus stalks in it for 10 minutes, or until tender.

3. Meanwhile, roast the asparagus tips and the green part of the green garlic in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

4. Once the asparagus stalks are tender, put the sorrel and stinging nettles into the stock.

5. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then add the cream and bring the soup to just short of a boil.

6. In a blender, or with an immersion blender, purée the soup and then let it cool.

7. Serve in small bowls with a few chives, roasted asparagus tips, green garlic, and a spoonful of goat’s milk yogurt over the top.

Page 4

Education & Outreach Update

By Jenny Schwartz, Education & Outreach Coordinator

S

ince September, our education program has broadened its horizons by working with concentrated adult populations. We first connected with Gould Farm, a residential therapeutic community in Monterey, MA, and began work with their guests who were transitioning from the program back into the community.

The focus of the program was to teach the group about the Co-op, how to shop on a budget, and, most importantly, how to make healthy, seasonal recipes that would be translatable and doable at home. Keeping the groups small, it was possible to focus on specific dietary needs of the group and adapt recipes and meals that they could taste—instead of read on a piece of paper to keep in mind for the future. We used the kitchen at the Roadside Store and Café, a business owned by the farm and used as part of their work programs. At the conclusion of the six weeks, the group met at the Co-op where they received an in-depth tour of the store and a discussion on how to shop affordably. Thanks to the amazing staff at the Roadside, Shannon Hughes, and Fiona de Ris for making this program possible.

With the success of the Gould Farm program to build on, I decided to look into additional adult populations that could benefit from this program.

About a year or so ago, there was an article in the Berkshire Eagle, about a step-down program for parolees that focused on helping them learn how to take care of themselves. Intrigued by this, I began to think more about how the work that is done in the community through the Co-op could help this population.

In February, I began a six-week series of classes at the Phoenix House in Pittsfield, MA, which is a day-program where all participants have a history of drug/alcohol abuse and are either on probation or on parole and are mandated to be there. The structure that we used at Gould Farm was utilized at the Phoenix House, too. Since there is an education component at the center, the group focused on researching and inventing their own recipes that they could make at home within a budget. It was impressive to see these recipes come into fruition. Many of the participants came in that day preoccupied with their court cases or feeling down, and then they suddenly became energized and incredibly engaged. Food was a great medium for them to connect with and make into their own creation.

There is no better compliment to a program than to hear participants say that they come in feeling unmotivated and down and, in turn, leave feeling energized and happier. I don’t know about the pasts of anyone I worked with.

It’s up to them if they want to tell me. What I do know about them is what they present to me in the moment. They bring knowledge and past experience that contributes to the enrichment of the program, and I appreciate and value their contributions. It also give them a role and function separate from how they are currently being viewed, as either patient or criminal. In my opinion, for them to know that is possible can help their reintegration and, hopefully, enable them to make better choices. If a couple of those choices can be eating healthier, then understanding the importance of shopping local and knowing how to grow their own food would be A-O.K. with me.

One of the original recipes made by program participants. Fruit salad with cheese and sautéed vegetables with rice and eggs

As the growing season is beginning, cooking lessons at the Phoenix House have transitioned into gardening lessons. Participants are learning how to start seeds, make raised beds and container gardens, and better understand soil nutrition. Since February, we have integrated vermicomposting into the program and recently utilized the composted material into the soil.

While initially disgusted, the participants now take pleasure in feeding the worms. A young woman has been there to see the whole process and was in complete amazement that worms had the ability to do such a thing. She was involved in the planting process and got to see how everything was done.

She has also learned that there are, indeed, vegetables she will eat when prepared the correct way. I am looking forward to continuing my work with this group throughout the summer, where we will be able to harvest what they are growing and make some great summer recipes.

These exciting new developments are a wonderful addition to our continuing programs for kids. It has been a pleasure to have the time to work with additional populations in our community and see our youth programs thrive. Our Food Adventures program, a collaboration with The Nutrition Center, continues to work with students from across the county. Our in-store workshops at the Co-op are seeing great turnouts. And, every Saturday from May 23 to September 5, we will be at the Great Barrington Farmers’ Market conducting hands-on cooking lessons for kids. We’ll be using ingredients from the market that day. Stop by and say hello!

The brand new raised bed garden at Pheonix House

Visit the Co-op at The Farmer's Market Starting in May, our Kids Can Cook workshops will be held at the Great Barrington Farmer's Market! Our Food Adventures program, in collaboration with The Nutrition Center of the Berkshires, will be using ingredients that can be found right at the market. Come learn how to make healthy snacks with the freshest produce around!

WHEN: Saturday, May 30 to Saturday, September 5 TIME: 9 am – 1pm WHERE: 18 Church Street – Great Barrington, MA

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Page 5

SNAP Incentive Programs Gain Momentum Continued from Page 1

A full house at the Downtown Pittsfield Farmer's Market stores (yes, the Co-op takes them), convenience stores, and, more often these days, farmers’ markets like the one held in Great Barrington every Saturday.

The program at the Great Barrington Farmers Market is part of a greater national trend to incentivize the purchasing of local fresh produce with SNAP benefits. The idea has seen success in parts of eastern Massachusetts and urban regions in Michigan. The success of those programs, and others like it, led legislators to add $100 million to the recently passed Farm Bill in order to boost SNAP dollars. That money is reliant on matching dollars from private organizations, which should result in $200 million over the next five years.

SNAP at the Market: From the Beginning The movement to add SNAP benefits to the payment options at farmers’ markets got its start in the early 2000s. Food stamps had been transitioning into the SNAP/EBT debit card system, which has been used since the mid1990s. By 2004, it was universal and had opened up the ability for SNAP benefits to be accepted at more locations by simplifying the redemption process and standardizing the payment methods.

This coincided with the national rise of the local food movement and the return of the farmers’ market to national recognition. These markets were looking to take their impact deeper into their communities, and accepting SNAP cards was seen as a great way to both sell more locally grown food and offer fresh, nutritious produce to low-income families.

By the late part of the decade, accepting SNAP at farmers’ markets was becoming a very popular thing to do. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the total value of SNAP use at farmers’ markets doubled from $2 million in 2008 to over $4 million in 2009. And, by 2013, use had increased to $16.6 million.

While the increase over that time period is quite impressive, many advocates see it as the tip of the iceberg. According to Farmers Market Coalition’s website, “$16.6 million is a number to be proud of, but to put it in perspective: $74 billion in total SNAP benefits were redeemed last year. [Farmers’] markets are only seeing .02% of SNAP money.”

The “Too Expensive” Conflict Even though SNAP was seeing more and more use at farmers’ markets, it still represents less than 1 percent of the national total. That’s a fact than many market advocates have found hard to swallow. Those advocates often refer to what they see as a misguided notion that fresh produce is prohibitively more expensive than more processed, shelf-stable food options.

They contend that locally grown foods, while slightly pricier in some cases, are fresher, more nutritious and last longer than their conventional counterparts. Markets do all sorts of things to get that message across, but they still do limited SNAP sales and list the cost conflict as a primary

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

reason SNAP shoppers steer clear of their local farmers’ market—even when they live close by and can use their benefits there.

In spite of all their efforts, growth was still a problem that had few solutions. Farmers’ markets needed to demonstrate the true value of their product to people who didn’t believe it was valuable at all. In the face of this concept, some market managers came up with the idea of subsidizing SNAP purchases. If the buyer didn’t see the inherent value of the product, then they figured they would increase the financial value and make it that much harder to say no to local produce.

One of the first examples of this strategy took place in 2006, when the management at Crossroads Farmers Market in Takoma Park, MD, began giving out matching funds up to $15 in the form of tokens to SNAP customers. What made that program work was the financial support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation, two private foundations that were looking to support low-income families. As it turned out, they were eager to participate. It was a triple-win because they could, with one donation, help ease poverty, improve health, and support the local agricultural economy.

With the success at Crossroads, healthy food incentive programs began sprouting up all over the country—including the Green Market in New York City and markets in Boston, San Diego, and Holyoke, MA. Many of these early efforts were led by a nonprofit called Wholesome Wave. Founded

by Gus Schumacher, a collaborator at Crossroads, and renowned chef Michel Nischan, Wholesome Wave piloted the model at twelve markets in three states in 2008. Those pilots have led to programs at over 500 farmers’ markets to date.

The Michigan Model Wholesome Wave proved that incentivizing SNAP could be successful in many different markets.

But the question still remained if a single program could create scale by creating stock systems that could be repeated in multiple places.

In 2009, food activist Oran Hesterman wanted to prove that increased scale in SNAP incentives was possible. He started Fair Food Network (FFN) in Detroit, a place in great need of support in food access and financial assistance. FFN began to set up its Double Up Food Bucks at five farmers’ markets in the Detroit area. They were attempting to create a statewide initiative, seeking to increase scale by providing uniform design, centralized coordination, and local implementation.

Five years later, the Double Up program is active in more than 150 sites across Michigan and Northwest Ohio and is becoming a model for organizations nationwide. According to their 2013 progress report, Double Up Food Bucks has over 1,000 farmer participants, earned $5 million for those farmers, and served over 200,000 customers.

National Attention It is the success of organizations like Wholesome Wave and FFN that led to the national funding in the Farm Bill. In fact, this past April, the USDA announced its first round of grants, with FFN receiving $5.1 million and Wholesome Wave getting $3.77 million.

Both of these USDA grants are part of the 2015 list of award winners that total $31 million in new funding for SNAP incentive programs. Other multiyear, large-scale projects (more than $500,000 over four years) include AARP in Washington, DC ($3.3 million), organic growers in California ($1.9 million), and the Washington State Department of Health ($5.8 million).

Closer to home, the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance received $3.4 million, which will be used to transition their Healthy Incentives Pilot into a Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). This will enable a dollar-to-dollar incentive to SNAP users at farmers’ markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and Community Supported Agriculture farms statewide.

Here at Home The Great Barrington Farmers’ Market is not the only group already offering SNAP Incentives.

Markets in Pittsfield and Williamstown have already begun programs and have seen some success. Now, with federal funds coming to the region from HIP, we can expect to see their efforts strengthened and more vendors participating.

“Every member of our community should have fresh fruits and vegetables on their table every day,” says Howard Lefenfield, manager of the Great Barrington Farmer's Market. “This program helps make this possible.”

Our local farm support organization, Berkshire Grown, is already involved in the action. They are signed on to provide outreach and logistical support for program participants, and the work has just begun. In mid-April, they held a meeting of Berkshire farmers market managers to talk about using the grant money to start, grow, and sustain SNAP incentives at Berkshire markets.

“I’m excited by the response from local farmers markets,” says Barbara Zheutlin, Executive Director of Berkshire Grown. “Market managers in the region are eager to expand the amount of locally produced food available, which will be made possible by doubling SNAP.” With great organizations providing on-the-ground support, a growing number of local farmers with food to sell, a strong network of communityminded markets, and considerable government funding, it seems that SNAP incentives are primed to be a success in the Berkshires. And, with that success, our home towns could be better, healthier, and stronger places to live.

Page 6

Thoughts on Adversity and How We Talk About It

By Matthew Novik, Communications Manager

I

have this crazy idea. I want you to bear with me for minute while I tell you. It’s a little radical, and it requires some setup. But if there is a readership out there that can take a radical idea with some history, it’s this one.

This idea started to germinate when the Main Street construction project began in Great Barrington. For readers that haven’t seen it, our little town has been torn to bits lately. We’re getting new sidewalks, a new road, new crosswalks, new trees … the list goes on and on. I fully believe that the project had to happen and, that sometimes, you have to go through some destruction in order to improve.

But the negative effect on business has been a problem.

Now that the road is paved and traffic is flowing again, things are looking up.

But the Co-op was down 8%-10% during the worst of it. We can only imagine what those numbers look like for the businesses directly on Main Street that typically rely on walk-in customers.

This must have hurt.

As I worried about our numbers and struggled through the dust and debris, I started to remember when this project was announced. The decision to go forward with the work was a knockdown, drag-out fight between citizens who were afraid of the effects on business and the town officials, who knew the infrastructure work was sorely needed.

During that debate, I had more than a few conversations that went the same way. I heard phrases like, “So-and-so thinks their business won’t make it through the project.” And, “This project will be a disaster for the town.” The whole while I asked people for positivity. Yes, it was going to be hard. But the project seemed not only necessary, but inevitable. Now, after the road was reduced to a dust bowl and the sidewalks to gravel, I look back at that debate and wonder how it could have gone differently.

The problem I have with the story is this. When you spend a year telling people about an event that will bring on disaster, then you have succeeded in making people believe that the disaster is unavoidable. By choosing this strategy to protect the people from the problem, you have actually made the problem into a guarantee. You could feel it in the air. The second the first shovel hit the dirt, people around town said, “Oh, boy! Here we go!” The mood was sullen. It was as if this great tragic thing has finally arrived and there was no getting around it.

Some local merchants made attempts to change the conversation. Will and Robin at Fuel Coffee Shop took the dirt roads as an excuse to have an “Old West Day,” complete with cows out front and horse-drawn hay rides. Tom at

Tom’s Toys made construction-yellow “I dig GB” shopping bags and pens to help shoppers show their support. The Chamber of Commerce, a consistent voice of positivity, organized a “No Sidewalk Sale” on a particularly dusty weekend.

This is where my crazy idea comes in. What if, at times of adversity, all of us acted a little more like those business owners? And what if we did that from the very beginning? The debate didn’t have to be negative. Instead of prognosticating tragedy, what if the debate was both an objection to the idea and a plan for a more positive and cooperative approach if the project happened anyway? I know. Crazy, right?

In the case of the Main Street project, I can’t help but wonder how the consumer base would have reacted if they hadn’t heard a message of doom and gloom from so many voices. What would the collective dialog have been if the message was positive? What would it have been like if the first hole in the ground was seen as the beginning of a unifying effort to get through a tough situation and get stronger in the end? What if that was the story we were told?

For now, we can only wonder. But, this idea doesn’t apply just to public works projects. Adversity hits our lives in a number of ways at a number of times.

The next time adversity strikes in your life, think about how you talk about it. Maybe you can try to tell a different kind of story. And maybe, just maybe, we will all be better off in the end.

Take Your Owner Advantage Did you know?

The Co-op offers a different deal to owners every week with the Owner Coupon Program. Every Friday, the weekly Co-op Notes email contains a coupon that can be used to save between 15% and 25% on specified purchases.

These coupons can be printed out, photographed or saved to a mobile device. All owners have to do is shop according to the coupon instructions and show the coupon to a cashier to get the savings. You can use it every day if you like, we only ask that you keep it to one use per day.

If you are interested in getting the coupons via email, go to berkshire.coop and sign up for the weekly email in the bottom right corner of the home page.

Any questions? Just ask at the front desk or call us at 413.528.9697.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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Your Right to Know How fast tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership affects family farms and the food on your table.

By Vivian Orlowski, Great Barrington Agricultural Commission

M

unicipalities across the country are taking a stand against fast tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Even here in Great Barrington, the town’s Agricultural Commission has summarized key concerns:

According to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, about 110 farm and food groups across the nation are opposing fast track as a bad deal for farmers and our food system. Leaked documents indicate that the secretly negotiated TPP will prohibit labels letting consumers know the GMO content of their food or its country of origin. U.S. food safety rules on pesticides, labeling, or additives that are higher than international standards would be subject to challenge as “illegal trade barriers.”

The United States could be required to eliminate these rules and allow in the unsafe food under threat of trade sanctions.

By Neil Ballantyne

“The draft TPP would allow foreign corporations to demand U.S. tax-payer funded compensation when our domestic laws limit their profits in this country— thus giving foreign corporations unwarranted influence and greater rights than American firms.

Unless changed, the TPP seems likely to undermine the viability of developing a strong and sustainable local economy with a healthy agricultural sector in our region.”

A protest of the TPP in Wellington, New Zealand.

Fast track legislation (just passed by the Senate on May 22) will allow the TPP and other trade treaties to go through Congress over the next six years with no changes, no thorough debate, and no amendments. Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey (along with most senators from the northeast) already voted in bi-partisan opposition, but they failed to stop fast track by only a few votes.

by Gobierno de Chileber

In early June, fast track legislation is likely to be voted by the House of Representatives. Currently, at least 151 House Democrats and more than 50 House Republicans are against fast track. Some are still undecided. All need to hear from their constituents.

A broad coalition of more than 2,000 organizations (including environmental, union, small business, consumer, faith, family farm, civil rights, seniors, and L.G.B.T. groups) is opposing fast track and the TPP. Here are three brief excerpts: Organic Consumers Association: “Don’t Let Congress ‘Fast-Track’ Dangerous Trade Deals” “Corporations like Monsanto are pressing the President and Congress to fast-track international trade deals—deals that would allow corporations to sue entire countries in order to get what they want. If these deals are rammed through Congress, without scrutiny or debate, countries could lose their right to, among other things, regulate factory farms and [GMOs].”

Sierra Club: “A Fast Track to Disaster” “The TPP could sabotage the ability of the U.S. (and other nations) to respond to the climate crisis.… Multinational corporations—including some of the planet’s biggest polluters—could use the TPP to sue governments, in private trade tribunals, over laws and policies that they claimed would reduce their profits. The implications of this are profound: Corporate profits are more important than protections for clean air, clean water, climate stability, workers’ rights, and more.

This isn’t a hypothetical threat … Increasingly, corporations are using these perverse rules to challenge energy and climate policies, including a moratorium on fracking in Quebec; a nuclear energy phaseout and coalfired power plant standards in Germany; and a pollution cleanup in Peru.

TransCanada has even intimated that it would use similar rules in the North American Free Trade Agreement to challenge a U.S. decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.”

Public Citizen: “Top Reasons to Oppose Fast Tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership” “Only five of the TPP’s 29 chapters focus on traditional trade issues.” [Instead, the treaty]: • Incentivizes offshoring of American jobs and drives down wages • Exposes American consumers to unsafe food and products • Increases the cost of medicines here and in TPP partner nations • Sneaks in SOPA-like [Stop Online Piracy Act] threats to Internet freedom • Empowers corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards in extrajudicial tribunals • Doesn’t address currency manipulation, so the deck is stacked against America • Includes countries cited for human rights violations, human trafficking and child labor • Bans “Buy American,” “Buy Local” policies.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

Leaders of TPP member states.

To Learn More and Take Action: SOME EDUCATIONAL SITES • “TPP = NAFTA on Steroids” is a quick video by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich: http://front.moveon.org/ tpp-nafta-on-steroids/#.VMwTK53F9ed • “Fast Track and the TPP” is a short video by Food & Water Watch: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ global/global-trade/fast-track-and-tpp/

Make a brief phone call to: Representative Richard Neal: 202.225.5601 or 413.442.0946 Thank Rep. Neal for voting against fast track in the House Ways and Means Committee. Urge him not to agree to any deals to pass fast track when the whole House votes in June.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: 202.225.4965 NO to fast track. NO to any deals to pass fast track.

Sierra Club connection for all representatives: 888.454.0483

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Visiting The Kitchen Garden Continued from Page 1

Caroline and Tim at their new Whately field.

Happy and well-fed workers hard at work.

Chilifest At the end of each summer for the last three years, things have gotten spicy at The Kitchen Garden’s Chilifest celebration. With a name like that, you might think that the event is about chili, the spicy stew. But, while there is a chili contest included, the event itself is all about chilies, the peppers.

Until last year, many of us had never heard of a locally made version of this smoky, spicy sauce. Most popular brands are made overseas or in California.

Then, The Kitchen Garden started wholesaling their version. Previously, they had only made it for friends and for Chilifest. Last year, they upped the ante and production.

Chili peppers are a specialty from The Kitchen Garden. In fact, you may remember that the Co-op featured more varieties of local chili peppers last season than ever before, primarily due to our relationship with Caroline and Tim. This year, they will be planting 25,000 chili plants, and a good many of those will be consumed in the two-day festival of all things spicy.

“We went from 400 bottles two years ago to 4,000 last year,” says Caroline.

“And we sold that out before spring.”

“In so many different cuisines, hot peppers are fundamental to the experience,” says Caroline. “The festival is a celebration of all the ways that chilies make food better.”

There’s more to come as well. They are working on going wholesale with another of their small-batch foods, Kitchen Garden Salsa! We can expect their roasted chili and tomatillo salsas to be available wholesale soon.

The festival includes cooking demos, live music, recipe contests for chili and hot sauce, food vendors featuring local tacos, previous chili contest winners, and a local farm food truck.

In the End, It’s All About the Food The Kitchen Garden is about food, cooking, community, and food again. In other words, everything they do is about the food. Food brought Caroline and Tim together. (They first met at the Union Avenue Green Market in New York.) Food informed both of their life experiences since they both spent time in Italy and France learning about the culinary cultures there. And food is their life blood—the farm is their primary business and helps them raise their two children. Even their staff meals for the eight people they employ, depending on the season, are farm grown and made with care.

“It’s a different kind of farm festival,” explains Caroline. “It’s a little younger, a little hipper, really food driven, and so much fun.”

Chilifest will be held at Mike’s Maze in Sunderland on September 12 and 13.

Wholesale Diversification Some of those 25,000 chili plants will be used in another one of Caroline and Tim’s innovative ventures—locally made sriracha! Sriracha is an Asian chili sauce that has taken the food world by storm in recent years. It is most recognizable as the red sauce with a rooster on the bottle. But it comes in many other forms as well.

This year, they will be increasing their production four-fold, and you should start seeing those red bottles on the Co-op shelves this fall.

We’ll be seeing more from the Kitchen Garden soon. And it’s their concentration on food, quality, and community that makes their presence at the Co-op so exciting.

FEATURED FARM TOURS: 2015 MARKRISTO FARM - Hillsdale, NY - Sunday, June 14 @ 11:00 am Markristo Farm is a certified organic, family-owned market garden. Since 1988, Martin and Christa Stosiek have grown from a couple of acres to over 20, producing a diverse crop of vegetables, cut flowers, and bedding plants.

THE BERRY PATCH - Stephentown, NY - Sunday, July 26 @ 10:00 am The mission of The Berry Patch is to provide products and services that improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of their customers, their community, their employees, and their family. They sell primarily berries, but also all sorts of veggies and culinary delights.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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Staff Picks for the summer season

Locally Grown Cut Flowers

Jordan Archey - Assistant Produce Manager Now that the weather has warmed, we are carrying cut flowers from some really amazing local growers. Their flowers are sustainably raised and their arrangements are absolutely breathtaking. Check out our floral displays throughout the store, and support a local farmer the next time you buy a bouquet!

Woodstock Organic BBQ Sauce Samantha Zepeda - Customer Service Lead

The best thing about summer is cookouts! And cookouts are at their best when you have a great barbecue sauce. We just started carrying Woodstock BBQ Sauce. My favorite flavor is the original, but you might like the chipotle or hickory!

Berkshire Mountain Bakery Pizza Matt Novik - Communications Manager

Sometimes, after a long hard day, I just want to make the easiest dinner possible and relax. I've never been one for frozen foods, but these locally made pizzas have changed my mind. They're just like any other frozen pizza except they taste good and they're made of real food!

Rawson Brook Monterey Chevre Allison Floyd - Front End Shift Leader

I LOVE this stuff. It's a local legend, it's easily portable, and it's good with absolutely anything! Try it with carrots, tortilla chips, on a salad, in eggs, or just eat it straight from the tub with your finger. It's always good.

Co-op Fresh Pico de Gallo Ted Moy - Retail Manager

There's nothing like a fresh-cut salsa. I make my own in the summer two or three times a week. But, as a devoted salsa lover and pretty busy guy, sometimes I just don't have time. That's when I buy the pico made by our Produce Department. It's just as good as homemade, without the work!

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

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E S

L A E N ATIN O S A Spring Crops

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CHICKEN and ASPARAGUS ROULADE An elegant and tasty take on a chicken dinner combines asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheeses for a delicious flavor.

Ingredients 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced 3/4 cup shredded Italian cheese (mozzarella, Asiago, or Parmesan, or a blend) 4 ounces soft chevre Salt and black pepper 10 to 12 asparagus spears 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Oil a rimmed sheet pan.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the sun-dried tomatoes, cheeses and a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Trim off the woody ends of the asparagus, then split each spear in half lengthwise. Set aside.

3. To butterfly the chicken breasts, lay them smooth side down on a cutting board and remove any tenderloin. Holding a knife parallel to the cutting board, start at the thickest side of each breast and carefully slice in half widthwise almost to the other edge. Keep the thin edge intact and open the breasts along the “fold,” like a book. Starting with the thickest part, gently pound each breast between two pieces of plastic wrap until it is consistently thin (1/4 to 1/2-inch-thick) without any holes. Season each breast with salt and black pepper on both sides.

4. Place 1/4 of the tomato and cheese mixture near the edge of each breast and top with a few asparagus spears, laying them lengthwise with the breast. Lift the edge of the breast up and slightly over the filling and firmly roll it up like a jelly roll (the asparagus tips may peek out the ends). Place the roll, seam side down, on the sheet pan. Repeat with each breast. Secure the rolls with toothpicks before baking if needed. Bake the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice each roll crosswise into 6 pieces and put 4 pieces on each plate to serve.

Total Time: 45 minutes • Servings: 6 Nutritional Information Per Serving: 235 calories, 6 g. fat, 82 mg. cholesterol, 282 mg. sodium, 5 g. carbohydrate, 6 g. fiber, 31 g. protein

Serving Suggestion Delicious with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, couscous, risotto, or a baby greens salad.

If serving the chicken breasts whole, brush lightly with oil and sprinkle them with shredded cheese and paprika (or other herbs and spices of your choice) before baking. Substitute ricotta cheese for the chevre if desired.

SPINACH and STRAWBERRY SALAD with GOAT CHEESE This salad is a love poem to the strawberry, whose succulent sweetness is set off by the savory and tangy greens and vinegar, and complemented by creamy goat cheese. It's great with an all-fruit jam, adding strawberry flavor and sweetness with no refined sugar.

Ingredients 4 cups strawberries, reserve 2, slice remaining 1 small shallot, peeled 2 tablespoons strawberry jam 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 4 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 ounces spinach, pre-washed 2 medium scallions, slivered 2 medium scallions, slivered 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted Preparation 1. In a food processor or blender, process 2 strawberries with the shallot until well minced. Add the jam and vinegar and process to mix, then drizzle in the olive oil gradually with the machine running.

Mix in the salt. Transfer to a cruet or cup.

2. Combine the spinach, berries, and scallion in a serving bowl and top with chèvre.

3. Drizzle with the dressing and top with almonds. Serve immediately.

Serving Suggestion Delicious with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, couscous, risotto or a baby greens salad.

If serving the chicken breasts whole, brush lightly with oil and sprinkle them with shredded cheese and paprika (or other herbs and spices of your choice) before baking. Substitute ricotta cheese for the chevre if desired.

Total Time: 15 minutes • Servings: 4 Nutritional Information Per Serving: 317 calories, 19 g. fat, 10 mg. cholesterol, 457 mg. sodium, 19 g. carbohydrate, 11 g. fiber, 8 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 Wellness

From Brenna St. Pierre

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ur beloved Berkshire Mountains are sunny and green once again! Get comfortable outside with our selection of natural sunscreen and insect repellents.

Goddess Garden offers an incredible line of sunscreens designed to fit any lifestyle. Every product is SPF 30 and has a water-resistance rating of 40 minutes or more. Their Everyday line is great for daily sun protection.

It’s also easy to apply and smells great! The Sport varieties stand up to water and sweat without melting off, no matter how active you are. The Kids sunscreens are unscented for sensitive skin, and the Baby and Facial products are formulated only with zinc oxide as the active ingredient. This is best for the most sensitive skin and for wearing under cosmetics. Goddess Garden products are non-GMO, non-nano, biodegradable, and reef safe.

They’re also made without chemicals or synthetic ingredients.

W.S. Badger Co. has rereleased their Damascus Rose Facial Sunscreen! We missed this product last summer, and we’re happy to have it back in the store. A staff favorite, this fast-absorbing, lightweight sunscreen lotion now comes in original and sheer tint varieties. It is hypo-allergenic, designed not to clog pores, and can be used with or without cosmetics. By combining Damascus rose, chamomile, and lavender, Badger has created a soothing, refreshing, and revitalizing facial sunscreen for delicate skin. They’ve also included sea buckthorn and rosehip for their potent antioxidants and healing nutrients for sun damage. These products contain 95% organic ingredients with uncoated, non-nano mineral zinc oxide, which provides broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection. Badger sunscreens are cruelty-free, reef safe, biodegradable, and use recycled packaging.

We offer a variety of sprays, balms, candles, and incense with insect-repellant properties. New to the store this year are the NeemAura citronella incense sticks. Perfect for camping and enjoying the outdoors, this incense is made with essential oils, sawdust, and a natural vanilla scent. The BUG OUT! line from Way Out Wax offers three scent varieties of candles and bug sprays. If you’re looking for a great alternative to citronella based products, then try the Woodland Mint products with their fresh cedar and wintergreen scent.

Come explore our selection to find your favorite products for sun and bug protection this summer. Enjoy yourself, be well, and get outdoors!

Grocery

Prepared Foods

From Lynn Pino

L

ooking back to last year’s spring newsletter entry, it seems that I had commented on how long and difficult the winter of 2013-2014 had been.

At the risk of repeating myself, I feel compelled to mention how thrilled I am that spring is here after having suffered through another incredibly cold and snowy winter—a winter that had some people believing the season would never end. Last winter did, of course, finally end, and we now have much to look forward to in regard to the offerings of our local farmers.

As this article is being written, we have just enjoyed a week-long stretch of unseasonably warm weather, with above-average temperatures for mid-May. Not many people I know complained about the near-record heat because of the winter that we had just endured, however. And all of this warm weather has allowed flowers to bloom, leaves on the trees to pop open, and local produce to begin coming into season once again. As a matter of fact, we just received our first delivery of mesclun from Et Cetera Farms yesterday, which signifies the beginning of things to come. Soon, all of our local farmers, both new and those with whom we have enjoyed a relationship for years, will be offering us the fruits of their labors.

As is the case with every other business in the downtown sector of Great Barrington, we are definitely feeling the adverse effects of the Main Street reconstruction project. Instead of wringing our hands over situations that are beyond our control, we are facing these adversities with renewed vigor. We are involved in the “hard-hat specials” by offering a small soup at half price with the purchase of a café sandwich. We will also be offering prepackaged salads in the grab ’n go case, and we will be reintroducing favorites such as our classic coleslaw and our ever-popular sesame snap peas. We hope that by offering deals, introducing new items to the rotation, and bringing back popular seasonal items, our customers will brave the traffic delays caused by the project. I, for one, cannot wait to see the final result. I’m sure it will be beautiful!

Produce

From Jake Levin

A

fter such a long, cold winter, it is hard to believe spring is here and the local growing season has begun. But, it is here, and it is glorious!

The season began with cultivated ramps and rhubarb from Three Maples Market Garden in West Stockbridge, MA.

From Amie Decker

H

ello from the Grocery aisles! It’s spring, and we’re stocking some great new products for the warm-weather months.

Lesser Evil Foods Buddha Bowls In 2004, Lesser Evil Foods started out to make innovative and tasty snack foods with healthier ingredients. Now it has become their mission to be a snack food company in the chip aisle to offer a product that’s actually good for you.

You can judge for yourself now that we are carrying two varieties of their Buddha Bowl popcorn. They’re made with organic coconut oil, pink Himalayan salt and organic popcorn.

Quench Your Thirst We have brought in a bunch of new drink options to wet your whistle. We just introduced Dry Sodas, a lightly sweet soda option as an alternative to the common soft drink. Flavors include vanilla, cucumber, apple, blood orange, and rhubarb. We also introduced Pure Maple Water from Drink Maple, cold brew tea and coffee coconut water infusions from Harmless Harvest, and home-style lemonade with Meyer lemons from Califia.

Operation Tiny Milk We are thrilled to now be carrying Leahey Farm’s deliciously rich Creamline whole milk in smaller quart sizes. We love Phil and Jen and their products. So it is always a pleasure to add to the selection.

Local Products Returning Soon Real Pickles Dill and Garlic Dill varieties, usually available in the lacto-fermented section, are still not available yet. Word is that they’re waiting on this season’s local cucumbers to come in later this summer. To fill the void, we’ve reintroduced their Pickled Beets, and, as recompense, we’ve arranged to have their other pickled and fermented goodies be a Local Deal next month in June.

Also on hiatus is the Kitchen Garden Sriracha. They had such a successful wholesale introduction that they sold out months ahead of schedule! They are ramping up production this year and will send more bottles to us in the fall. You can read more about this exciting supplier in the story on page one.

Berkshire Co-op Market • Spring Newsletter

That was quickly followed by asparagus from Wolfe Springs Farm in Sheffield, MA, and from Plainville Farm in Hadley, MA. We also received fiddlehead ferns from Cjazkowski Farm in Hadley, MA. All of this creates the makings for a perfect pasta primavera.

We are starting to get mesclun, baby spinach, baby bok choy, radishes, and bunched herbs from Et Cetera Farm in Hillsdale, NY. Soon, it will all start to pour in. We can expect to see head lettuces, carrots, hakurei turnips, and different varieties of radishes from Et Cetera Farm, Woven Roots Farm, Kitchen Garden, Indian Line Farm, MX Morningstar and Farm Girl Farm.

In June, we should start to see bunched greens like rainbow lacinato and green kale, as well as scallions, summer squash, zucchini, and peas. Plus, everyone’s favorite, strawberries from Thompson Finch Farm and Warner Farm will be displayed front and center.

By July, everything should start to roll in including tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, stone fruit, blueberries, and more.

Meat, Seafood, & Cheese

From Austin Banach

F

irst and foremost, we’d like thank Nancy Olsen for her years of dedicated work in the Cheese department. She has moved on to new adventures, and we will miss her.

In Seafood, the big news is that Wes from BerkShore will no longer be selling seafood at the Great Barrington Farmers’ Market. He says he needs to spend time making his seafood more accessible in more permanent ways. While I’m sure he will be missed there, we want to make sure his customers know that they can get the same fresh seafood here at the Co-op! I’ve been working closely with Wes to come up with a plan so that we can offer what his market customers want to buy.

In other news … IT’S GRILLING SEASON! We have stocked up on all kinds of meat to grill. We’ll have a full stock of pork cuts from The Piggery in Ithaca,.NY. You’ll also find a diverse selection of 100% grass-fed steaks from Hardwick Meats and regionally raised steaks from Black River Meats. This year, we will be concentrating on affordable, alternative cuts like flank steaks and skirt steaks. We will also be adding some great house-marinated options for grilling soon—so get that grill ready!

At the cheese counter, we will be resetting the gourmet foods section on top of the case to include warm-weather products and a paella-themed display.

How do you cook paella? Check in with me, and I’ll tell you all about it!

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