Natural Enquirer October 2020

Y O U R

C O M M U N I T Y

THE

N A T U R A L

F O O D S

NATURAL

A Pu b l i cat i o n o f t h e S kag i t Va l l e y Fo o d Co - o p

M A R K E T

ENQUIRER

October - December 2020

The Co-op's new mural is fun, bright, and meant to spread joy. Painted by Co-op Graphic Artist, Emily Zimmerman (pictured).

Over $10,000 Donated to Fight Hunger Thank You! We start with gratitude because this

announcement would not be possible without the

amazing generosity of the Co-op’s member-owners.

At the outset of COVID-19, we received the same

question from several of our member-owners: “How

can we help?” In response, we made it even easier for Co-op member-owners to donate their annual patronage refunds to

the Skagit Food Distribution Center.

And wow, did you show up! We

were able to donate over $10,000 to support the Distribution Center’s

ongoing work to feed the hungry in

our community!

The Skagit Food Distribution Center (SFDC) is the centralized

in this issue

distribution center for all of the food banks in Skagit County. Each year, SFDC works tirelessly to provide 1.5 million pounds of food to 15 local food banks and four hot meal programs that serve 45,000 Skagit County residents. Beyond its role as the distribution hub, SFDC has worked to serve vulnerable populations by coordinating healthy food delivery to homebound seniors and weekend lunches for school children.

SFDC buys produce whose high demand is rarely matched by donation, including beets, cabbage, carrots, green beans, tomatillos, chilacayotes, etc. The

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General Manager Update ∙ pg 2

Food Distribution Center also makes opportunity purchases: when a farm has a buyer for produce, but the deal falls through, SFDC steps in as a buyer so farmers can cover their costs, while still allowing SFDC to obtain top quality produce at a discount for distribution. Because produce’s shelf life is much shorter than shelf-stable products, SFDC must store and deliver this produce quickly to ensure freshness. It is a joy to know that not only will our donation help relieve hunger, it will help provide food that is healthy and fresh while supporting local

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Unique Co-op Strength ∙ pg 5 Staff Appreciation ∙ pg 9 New in the Co-op ∙ pg 11 Changes in Produce ∙ pg 16

Victory Garden 2.0

Getting Back Up

Vendor Spotlight: Finnriver Cidery

from the board

Board Happenings Many of you are already aware of our most recent Board member selection, Britta Eschete. Thank you to all who voted. Britta will be a valuable asset to the Board. A few words from Britta: Serving on the board has been an aspiration for almost two decades, and now that it's happened, I'm learning the distinction between operations and focusing on ensuring that the Co-op meets our established bylaws and mission. What exactly does that mean? It might take a few more months for me to have a succinct answer!

When I am not contemplating any of the above, you'll find me working in the virtual Career Services Center at Western Washington University and redefining community engagement since many traditional volunteer activities remain on hold. However, what’s relatively unchanged is our agricultural landscape, and I'm in my eighteenth year participating in a CSA workshare at RiverSong Farm. I enjoy baking, swimming, reading, visiting co-op grocery stores, and am the parent to Noelle and grandparent to two future co-op shoppers. I've lived in Mount Vernon for the past twenty years, was born in Bremerton, and I look forward to a time when we can all come together in person.

Virtual Board Meetings during COVID-19:

The Board would like to remind owners that the Board meets via Zoom at the same time and day as our past in-person meetings. While not perfect, the business of our Co-op does get handled. We miss our occasional visitors though, and are hoping that at some point we will see some smiling faces tuning in to join us. Put it on your calendars: the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:45am. You can find the Zoom meeting link on the website (under Co-op Board) and in the weekly e-news prior to each month’s meeting.

An Update on the Member & Community Engagement Committee (MCEC):

The Member & Community Engagement Committee has been meeting to "relaunch" the committee in light of the difficulties presented by COVID-19. We have been reimagining what this committee could look like while in-person meetings are not an option. We have narrowed in on some exciting ideas that we feel will be meaningful for our members and help our Co-op to make stronger connections within our community.

The first of which is a Community Conversation (via Zoom, of course) with the Co-op’s General Manager and the Director of the Skagit Food Distribution Center. You’ll find event details below.

An Update from the General Manager Dear Skagit Valley Food Co-op Members & Shoppers,

I wanted to take some time to let you all know that even in the midst of this wild year, our Co-op is healthy and strong. We are fortunate to be a financially sound and stable organization able to withstand the many uncertainties businesses are facing during this pandemic. Although sales are down slightly from 2019, they remain steady. In fact, the majority of our sales decline is a result of temporarily closing Third Street Cafe and the reduction of Deli offerings in our store.

Thank you for the continued support you’ve shown toward your Co-op over these past few months. It has been a stressful, challenging time; we’re in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Many places are at least partially shut down, and others are struggling to reopen safely. We are located in an area where the virus is demonstrating its staying power and making us all wonder, “When is this going to end?” And the truth is, we don’t know.

I think the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus is the hardest thing to handle. With so much sensational COVID-19 news dominating the headlines, it is easy to live our lives fearful of what is around the corner. Living with this fear has brought a lot of tension to our daily routine. A simple trip to the grocery store may now be filled with worry, concern, and even confrontation.

On a daily basis, we are dealing with our own personal concerns as workers and shoppers. That on its own can be trying enough, however, we also encounter a steady number of confrontations throughout the week. Co-op members and staff have varied opinions and viewpoints that are sometimes in opposition. This has become especially clear in 2020. Our ability to appreciate and respect a viewpoint that is different than our own can be very difficult during this highly charged emotional time.

We are all tired of having to navigate the concerns and restrictions of the pandemic, and our tolerance is low. This collective fatigue has led to some heated exchanges when individuals encounter someone whose perspective differs from their own. The triggers vary: it could be opposing views on our mask policy, the temporary suspension of consuming food on our premises, or a dozen other issues. No matter the trigger, what is concerning to me is how we sometimes treat each other during these interactions. We can do better. As a Coop community, I believe we can, and should, find a way to treat each other with a higher level of compassion and decency when facing someone whose position is in direct opposition to our own. I know at times that this can be really hard to do.

As the pandemic drags on, I hope we can all pause when something triggers our emotions and try to be courteous, polite, and gracious to one another. Perhaps by demonstrating our best selves at our own Co-op when shopping or working, it will encourage more of the same in our community.

Community Conversation:

Okay, now for some COVID-19 and general updates about your Co-op:

Hosted by the SVFC Member & Community Engagement Committee

• C-SQUARE & Third Street Cafe were closed early in the year. We reopened Third Street Cafe for takeout in July and then for a new version of dine-in service in August. You can visit us online at www.thirdstreetcafe.coop or stop in for more information on current services. As for C-SQUARE, there are no immediate plans to reopen that part of our business. However, our baked goods, ice cream, and coffee are still available in the Co-op.

Skagit Food Distribution Center & Local Food Resiliency

Thursday, October 22, 2020 · 12pm - 1pm · Via Zoom Join your fellow co-op members and neighbors in a conversation about food insecurity and food system development in these times of change. We will hear from Cole Bitzenburg, the Food Manager of the Skagit Food Distribution Center, about how they are serving our community, and ways that people can help. Our General Manager, Tony White, will then share highlights about what the Co-op is doing now. You'll be invited to share your ideas about how to make our community more food resilient and how our Co-op can be a part of that.

As a result of COVID-19, so much has already changed, and the many questions and unknowns will certainly drive future changes as well. Here are some changes that have happened, or are on their way, due to COVID-19:

•

In the Co-op, we shut down the hot bar, salad bar, made-to-order sandwiches and the Mezzanine in March. Unfortunately, until restrictions are lifted on the number of shoppers allowed in our building, the Mezzanine will remain closed. We will continue to offer pre-made sandwiches as we have been doing for the last few months. We are currently making plans to reconfigure our Deli area so we can bring back hot food offerings. Sometime this fall, we hope to have a new full-service hot bar and soup station. Selfservice still won’t be an option. This is a big change from “how things used to be,” but we felt strongly that the safest option moving forward was to minimize self-service options as much as possible. We are anxious to have our Deli reset complete, so we can serve you hot food once again! Additionally, we’re planning to add a new refrigerated case to the Deli for our popular grab-n-go items, as well as some fresh, new options, too!

•

The Bulk Department: by the time you read this, the Bulk Department will have undergone a huge overhaul! Thanks for your patience as we make upgrades to improve the shopping experience. We replaced most of the scoop bins with pull handle gravity bins. Gravity bins eliminate hands and scoops from coming in contact with the product, which makes for a much safer bulk food experience. The change also made room for some new products customers have been requesting.

Please look for the Zoom link in the Co-op’s Weekly E-news and on our website and Facebook event pages.

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op Natural Enquirer is a quarterly publication of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and may not reflect Co-op policy. No articles are meant to be used for diagnosis or treatment of illness. The Co-op does not endorse the products or services of advertisers.

Editor: Nicole Vander Meulen | Layout & Design: Emily Zimmerman Staff Contributors: Contributors: nancylee bouscher, Ben Goe, Jenny Sandbo, Jay Williams, Leigha Staffenhagen, Renée Hall, & Tony White Board of Trustees: Brad Claypool, Kristen Ekstran, Britta Eschete, Casey Schoenberger, Rob Smith, Wayne Rushing, Tim Penninger & Tom Theisen Copyright 2020: Reprints with permission

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Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

•

We have been offering our Co-op Curbside online grocery ordering service for a few months now. We feel that this is an important service for our members during this time, and we’ve put a lot of energy into making this a viable service for member/shoppers needing an alternative to a traditional in-store shopping trip. We have thousands of our most popular items available online, and are adding hundreds more every week.

•

The Co-op has always prided itself on delivering safe food, as well as a sanitary and clean shopping experience. We’ve increased the frequency, as well as the scope, of our sanitation and cleanliness to help minimize risk associated with COVID-19.

•

We have been limiting the number of shoppers allowed in our store, and the maximum number will be adjusted as circumstances change and restrictions are eased. The goal of limiting the number of shoppers in the store is to allow for social distancing throughout the shopping experience. The reality is, we have a small store with narrow aisles and keeping a six-foot distance between shoppers and/or staff is challenging at best. In such a tight space, it is important for shoppers and staff to be aware of social distancing and to try to avoid extended periods of time where you may be standing next to another person. You will not be able to avoid passing other individuals, but if we all try to move on in a timely manner, and not linger in conversation with others, we can help lower the risk.

Non-COVID-19 updates: •

We’re excited to announce that our awesome Produce Department will be getting a much-needed upgrade in October. The refrigerated cases and tables will be replaced with all new equipment. Our new look will create a few days of pain as we switch things out, but the end result should be well worth the inconvenience.

•

We’re also replacing our cheese and frozen meat cases later this year to increase offerings and to make it easier to find the items you’re after.

•

In August, we filled the many cracks and potholes in the parking lot and had it re-striped. It looks great, and is safer, too!

•

In an effort to improve the aesthetics of the Co-op entrance, the trash and recycle receptacles have been relocated to the other side of the overpass. We also painted a mural on our neighbor’s building! We want to thank our neighbors, Ziply Fiber (formerly Frontier), for allowing us to use their building for cheery art! Kudos to our very own Graphic Artist Emily Zimmerman for her design and painting of the mural, much appreciated! Our new mural is a colorful, bright, and joyful addition to the Co-op space and is meant to lift your spirits.

•

This year, we offered our members the opportunity to donate their patronage refund to the Skagit Food Distribution Center. I was blown away by the response!

We’re so excited that we were able to contribute over $10,000 to the Center because of our members’ generosity! Thank you all so much!

•

Finally, I want to thank all of our staff. Their dedication and efforts to serve our Co-op community during this time has been nothing short of sensational. Faced with all the uncertainty and risk associated with being a front-line worker during a pandemic, they have all stepped up and delivered great customer service to our shoppers. There have certainly been obstacles, but they have navigated through them with a resiliency that should make us all proud. During one of your next visits to the store, I hope you can take a moment and personally thank our staff for all their great work.

•

On our end, we have shown appreciation to our staff on a regular basis through a number of different approaches. We have continued to provide non-salaried staff with an additional “hero pay” adjustment to their hourly rates. For several months we provided free lunches daily. We have had cookouts, root beer float days, free T-shirts, strawberry shortcake, a pizza day, and more. We plan to continue to explore and find ways to continually celebrate our staff, and I hope that you can all do the same.

Is Open Again!

Sign up for fall art classes. Options for everyone!

360 738 8379 · www.BellinghamART.com

In closing, it has been an eventful first nine months on the job. Much of it has been a blur. I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead this great community asset. I look forward to a more normalized time where I can see all of your smiles, have some conversations, and get to know you all in a much different way. Until then, please do reach out via phone or email to let me know of any issues, concerns, ideas… or just to say hello!

In Cooperation, Tony White General Manager

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

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Victory Garden 2.0

by Jay Williams

I expected 2020 would be way too interesting, anyway, but I didn’t see a pandemic on the menu, did you? Creeping dread in late winter gave way to a closing economy; that’s when I learned my job was essential and no, Jay, you don’t get to stay home. Face coverings became this year’s must-have fashion accessory, and now we all look like surgeons or outlaws when we’re in public. Empty roads on my drive to work, downtown Mount Vernon deserted...the stuff of a postapocalyptic science fiction movie, but with no cameras rolling and no plot, really, just that cameo appearance by Tom Hanks.

Sometimes work still scares me, but mostly I'm grateful: at least I have a job and OMG, it's at a grocery store so I can still bring home food, which helps my family stay alive and stuff as long as we don't get the 'rona. My anxiety peaked one Saturday in mid-March, though, when I was re-stocking seed potatoes. People saw a guy in an apron dumping tasty tubers into wooden crates... and I was swarmed. We weren't doing the 6-foot thing yet, almost no one was wearing a mask, myself included, and it took a lot to fight down that panic attack.

They were nice people, though. They just wanted to grow their own food this year, many for the first time. Some of the new kids had meant to start a garden for years and this seemed the right time for it, something useful and potentially fun to do during the coming months at home. I packed away my fear as I realized, not without some guilt, that my department was going to have a great year. I'd never seen such an opportunity to get more people hooked on gardening and enjoy its many benefits: a productive hobby that gets you out in the fresh air to get some vitamin D “on the hoof,” gets you off the couch to take a break from Netflix, and maybe stop a few more pounds from happening (what's MY excuse?), lifts your spirits, teaches you new skills, reconnects you to our good earth, and if all goes well, gives you tomatoes!

As predicted, it was our most frenzied spring ever. We sold a lot of pretty flowers because we also need beauty to lighten this lingering sadness, but really, it was all about the food, baby. Late winter to midsummer we offer a huge selection of beautiful, locally-grown organic vegetable starts, and it was a challenge to keep them in stock this year.

Fortunately, our primary grower, Nick Guilford at Sunseed Farm, saw what was coming and planted extra, supplying us into mid-August with fall and winter vegetables instead of his usual mid-July shutdown. There were occasional interruptions in the supply chain—the Great Jalapeño Shortage of 2020, when the starts became as scarce as toilet paper, will live in infamy—but most of you were able to get most of what you wanted.

Now, we’re in a far less crazy planting season, one that also balances food and flowers. I've written here before about planting garlic in the fall and spring-flowering bulbs, too. Because it’s cold and wet now, and most sensible people don’t want to muck around in their gardens anymore this year, I have to work the fall planting sales pitch pretty hard. But if you've ever cut your own tulip or daffodil bouquets in the spring or harvested your own gourmet garlic as summer begins, you'll be glad you did the work now, and I think the odds are pretty good you'll do it again. We should be well stocked with seed garlic, shallots, and flower bulbs by October, and if you can get your treasures buried

by Halloween or thereabouts, you can pretty much go back indoors for the next few months. Your soil will appreciate the rest, too.

Soon we’ll be shouting, “Happy New Year!!”...and the first rule of 2021 is: we do not talk about 2020. Except maybe about how great your garden was? Will you do it again? Food, flowers, both? More or less than last year? Will lightning strike twice and you'll run me out of jalapeños?

Are you stoked, hooked for life? Are you saying, “Never again!” but have a newfound respect bordering on reverence for farmers and how hard they work to put food on our tables and flowers in our vases?

Health permitting, experienced gardeners will get right back to it. If it was your first year, not very successful and/or you're working full-time again, it could go either way. Since it’s my job to persuade you to give it another go, I have a few suggestions that could make it easier next time.

1. SIMPLIFY. Maybe you were a kid in a candy store in front of our seed racks and bought more seeds than you would ever get around to sowing, or were overwhelmed by the insane quantities that sprouted then needed tending and probably thinning and of course weeding and protection from slugs and snails and deer and rabbits and squirrels and gosh knows what else. Maybe the darn things didn’t sprout at all.

Maybe try fewer seeds next year, except for root crops and other things that don’t transplant well? Try starts for most of the rest. The average family does not need 70+ heads of lettuce or 25+ tomato plants as you might get from a whole seed pack, right?

2. Use less space, better. Newbie zeal leads to overambitious land clearing which invites the weeds in, which you’ll presumably have even less time and energy to deal with next year. In a smaller space, plant what you really want that may not be common or cheap in your Co-op’s produce section. Browse the Google to see how big your plants will get 4

Jay's lasagna garden.

and space them as close as you can without crowding. Leave as little room for weeds as possible.

3. Explore the joys of no-till or no-dig gardening, which I tried this year for the first time. For years I thought it was lazy neo-hippie nonsense, but it’s the real thing, folks. Pictured, from August, is my first beautiful and crazy-abundant “lasagna garden”; behind it, one waiting to happen that I’ve probably planted with garlic by now. I plan to write a full article about no-dig gardening in an upcoming issue, but here are the basics: leave your soil undisturbed, don’t even weed it, but put a layer of cardboard on the space you want to plant, right on top of the weeds. Follow with layers of organic matter: wood chips, tree and shrub branches, leaves, straw, grass clippings, composted manure, regular compost, etc. Coarse layers (woody stuff) on the bottom. You’re basically laying down a thick, weed smothering natural mulch that breaks down and, months later, you can plant in it. Don’t wait for my article, Google/YouTube the livin’ heck out of it NOW if you’re at all intrigued because if you construct the beds now you can plant them in the spring. It’s less back pain, you get beautiful soil (no more complaining about clay soils!), new weeds are easy to pull, and the plants love it. It might even convince you to give this gardening thing another go.

Elbow bumps to you all for your support this year. Be well and keep planting stuff!

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

Unique Co-op Strength During the Pandemic

by Equal Exchange

Manduvira sugar co-op in Paraguay prepared and gave 950 plates of food to vulnerable families in the community.

Equal Exchange works with farmer co-ops in over 20 countries, and their model is to actively seek and partner with marginalized farming communities. These remote communities face significant challenges during the best of times. During a pandemic, the challenges become more acute. Equal Exchange intentionally works with farmers who have organized themselves into democratically-run cooperatives. They believe this structure helps change the balance of power long-term.

They’re seeing that during the pandemic, the co-op systems have provided lifelines to farmers, helping them in ways that would not have existed were it not for the existence of the co-op.

Co-op Structures During Covid: International Connections Equal Exchange has worked hard to create co-op supply chains as the core of their business. Unlike traditional trade of international goods, a large portion of their products move through a co-op supply chain: from farmer co-op at source to Equal Exchange (they are a worker-owned co-op) to about 200 food co-op stores in the U.S. (most of which are consumer-owned co-ops, with a few being hybrid models including workers and consumers).

First and foremost, Equal Exchange’s co-op-centric alternative food system has enabled delicious food to successfully get from farmer to eater. This alone has been an achievement during these times. The co-op supply chains are living examples of how trading based on respectful, long-term relationships and good environmental and social values are not just philosophically sound, but also create reliable and sound business.

As the organization in the middle of the co-op supply chain—between the farmer end and the U.S. co-op food store end—Equal Exchange has worked hard to facilitate farmers getting information, access to financing, and timely decisions from them surrounding purchases and contracts. For example, Equal Exchange’s long-term relationships and collaborative work on quality standards enabled them to quickly approve shipments of coffee to get containers of coffee on the water toward the U.S., bypassing some of the normal protocols, securing coffee shipments before some international ports closed. They switched to digital logistics, which enabled payments to happen more quickly. Due to investment over time in technology both at the source and at Equal Exchange, they were able to pretty seamlessly switch more of their international work to online instead of in-person right from the start of the travel bans. Some farmer groups also cited Equal Exchange as the most valuable early source of information regarding the coronavirus and the live-time learning that was happening about how to prevent its spread and how it was impacting workflow, transportation, and the shared supply chains. Farmer co-ops had systems and field staff to help spread practical information to their often geographically-isolated member families.

Co-op Structure Impact at the Farming Community Level Equal Exchange has seen many inspiring examples of how co-ops provided lifelines to their members. At the core, co-ops exist to meet the needs of their members which are not being met through more traditional systems. Over time, these co-ops have invested to build their muscles (continued on page 13)

The Very Least — and the Very Most — We Can Do

by Beverly Faxon

Four years ago this month, the Co-op used the term “Stronger Together” in a headline. A reader objected to our use of the Co-op newsletter to make a political statement. As the editor at the time, I was confused. “Stronger Together” has been the slogan of the National Cooperative movement for years. It has been on our flyers, our Deli table literature, even our Deli napkins, and takeout containers. Then I realized that “Stronger Together” was also a recently chosen slogan of one of the presidential candidates.

I am remembering that story this year, as National Co-op Month arrives along with election season. And I note two things: first, the unexpected trajectory of 2020 has emphasized that those of us who work at, shop at, and belong to co-ops are definitely stronger together.

Coming to the Co-op in the last few months has been a bright spot.

I am grateful for all those who cashier, stock the shelves, disinfect the

carts, hustle online orders out to the curb, provide ongoing customer service with smiling eyes, and do so much to keep our store clean, safe, well-stocked and welcoming right now. What we know of COVID-19 tells us that they do so at a risk greater than our own as occasional shoppers. In the early days of the pandemic, many of us were quick to acknowledge and thank front line workers. We can keep thanking them— with our patience, our smiles behind our masks, and our willingness to do everything we can to keep them as safe as possible.

And second, I acknowledge that there is indeed a connection between Co-op membership and participating in elections. Co-ops are, at their core, democratic institutions, and we have a role to play beyond that of a shopper. One household=one vote is a primary tenet that guides the Coop movement. Casting our ballots for the Board of Directors each spring gives us a hand on the Co-op’s tiller and is a way to show we care about our Co-op community, including its hard workers.

Once again, it is October–National Co-op Month, and it is election season. The responsibility and benefit of being a member of democratic institutions is imminently upon us. The very least—but also the very most—we can do is vote.

I never hear an argument against voting that makes much sense to me.

My vote doesn’t matter: Some people are sure that in such a big system, a single vote doesn’t matter. Yet, the facts don’t agree. Look at the recent local elections in Skagit County. More than one primary election to determine who made it to the general election was decided by less than 500 votes. (continued on page 14)

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

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from wellness

Getting Back Up

In my mind, I fell hard and fast—no time to even brace for the impact. I was vertical, and then I was horizontal. They all rushed to me immediately, to see if I was hurt, if they could help, and to see what I needed. by nancylee bouscher My dad grew up on a farm in Ohio and doles out advice with his cache Her name is Maple. It’s hard to tell exactly how many years she’s been of great one-liners. One of my favorites is: “Sometimes the best choice is to around. I couldn’t even tell you if she’s changed at all since I met her sixteen do nothing.” So that’s what I did—I took a minute. I just lay there to see what years ago. I’m expecting she’ll outlive me. Well, that’s my plan. Not that we hurt. I rolled onto my back and took a breath. I looked up into the canopy of get to plan how or when we leave, but if I have a say in it, I want to be sitting a birch. I stretched out my left leg and then my right. I took another breath. under Maple, looking up at her canopy of red and green leaves, tracing her I marveled that I wasn’t hurt, that my back wasn’t in a spasm of stabbing immense branches from craggy trunk to moss covered tips tickling the clouds. pain. I wasn’t bleeding. My husband offered a hand to pull me up, but I I think about when she was planted—maybe sometime in the late 1950s decided to get up on my own. I slowly got to my hands and knees, then when this house was built by the Jansen Family. I wonder if Mr. Jansen planted straightened my spine—curious if there would be an “ouch” at any point. I Maple and if his daughter ever climbed up into the branches like my boys stretched my arms up and breathed. I got knocked down, took a second, have. The invisible history of lives that share a space, decades apart, held in and got back up covered in tiny rocks, curled leaves, and small twigs. the roots of a majestic tree that I can spot from Little Mountain’s overlook.

When I look back at the last six months, it is clear that we all have had our moments of getting knocked down in hundreds of different ways, and we all have tiny bits of our fall still clinging to us.

As I write this, I’m not even sure if I am back up yet. Or if I’m still laying there thinking “what just happened?!” What got me started on this whole seemingly unrelated story about trees and dogs and falls, is that Nicole, the editor of this newsletter, encouraged me to write something about what’s going to get us through tough times, and for once I honestly didn’t have one thing to say about that. Odd for me; my super-annoying-super-power is finding a silver lining in every storm cloud. Optimism overdrive. So when I put myself into a timeout last night (because my heart feels heavy sometimes and not knowing what to write about was making me feel even worse), I just kept asking myself what gets me through tough times. Maple welcomed me, like she always does, and I sat in my hammock swing. She didn’t mind that I was sad and quiet. She just swayed me around for a bit just like someone did when you were maybe too young to remember, but you would remember if they could hold you again right now. Their embrace would warm up your whole world. We all have been Photo by nancylee bouscher tiny babes that were held in the arms of someone who loved Plants are my people, although I am not very skilled at cultivating them us and covered us in prayers of safety. They didn’t ask the world to make in any type of organized or productive way. I like them to grow wild. I like sure we were always right or that we had an easy life. They just tried to infuse nature’s chaos. Invasive is a word I use to talk about humans, not weeds. I feel our hearts with all the love they could, so that when we fell we would have a most at peace when I am surrounded by untamed wilderness– even if it is only reason to get up again.

That kind of love infusion never goes away. It might be buried under a lot of a small strip of it like the Story Time Trail near the Skagit Regional Airport. We walk there often, and I always go and visit Hawthorn, another friend of mine. hurt, but it is there. That is who you are. You are more than a masked face, more I admire her bright berries and her determination to keep growing, even than an essential worker, more than a vote, more than an American. You. Are. though it looks like she fell over many years back. She’s more horizontal these Love. And when I say you, I mean we. That’s what gets us through this and all the other ten thousand tragedies that have and will knock us off our feet. That’s days, but she is still growing, still sharing her medicine with people.

On a recent walk there, we noticed the tall stands of Teasel, some with what fuels us to plant a tree we may never live to see grow past the roof line.

What does that have to do with a grocery store? Plot twist: the Co-op small purple blooms still clinging onto bristle that fat bumbles climbed on. We tried to remember the name of the bush with snow white berries, isn’t a grocery store. Sure, you can buy your groceries here, and we know and we nibbled ripe blackberries. Even Clover, our beloved dog, ate a few you can buy them elsewhere so we thank you for your loyalty. However, with delight. While I get quieter as I stroll through the greenery, Clover your Co-op is actually a living testament to what a group of folks can gets more excited. Her nose literally froths at all the smells of rabbits and accomplish if they work together out of LOVE. In our case, it is love for coyotes and so many other dogs. She runs with abandon and managed to the abundance of food our planet and her people and her plants provide.

That’s why we are all here. So, I have to ask (yes, I am going to end this with run into me and completely knock me over onto the gravel trail.

My family says I fell in slow motion—my feet swept out from under me, my an Elton John song from a Disney movie) “Can you feel the love tonight?” head landing dangerously close to a chunk of cement. They watched open And you answer, “It is where we are.” Actually, I’ll end it with Redbone’s mouthed, arms reaching out, trying to bend time and space to save someone. 1974 hit “Come and Get Your Love.” Yeah, we have that in bulk.

Clean, Healthy, & Cozy

Fall is the time to settle in and embrace the transition into cooler weather. Take extra good care of yourself this season with a few of our favorite picks from Wellness & Mercantile:

Soap Distillery

Skagit Valley Food Co-op

Handmade in Chicago by a BlackWoman-owned business, this soap is palm oil free and smells so good that you’ll never want to leave the bath tub.

This formula combines 14 US and organically-grown mushrooms to maintain immune system support as well as help those in the midst of immune deficiency, chronic stress, and fatigue.

HONEY WHISKEY SOAP

6

MUSHROOM IMMUNE

Conscious Step

SOCKS THAT GIVE BACK

Turn the socks you wear every day into socks that give back. Each pair supports a special cause! Get cozy toes with socks that: plant trees, save dogs, build homes, and give water.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

Hydroflask & Hydrascape

REUSABLE BOTTLE WITH FLAIR

Water is life. Hydroflask and Hydrascape are the perfect pair to keep you hydrated: reusable water bottles adorned with rad stickers from a local, woman-owned company! (sold separately)

It'll Soon Be Turkey Time!

Autumn is officially here, and we’ll be taking your holiday turkey orders in no time.

We’re changing the way we do turkey orders this year (surprise!). But don’t worry, it’s simpler than ever. Here’s how it will work: Turkey orders start Sunday, Oct 18th. You can order your turkey in person at the Meat Department counter or by calling the Meat Department at 360.336.5087 x 128.

Third Street Cafe Open for Dine-In & Takeout

No Deposit Required. We’re doing away with the $5 deposit we’ve required in previous years.

Turkeys available for pick-up Thursday, Nov 19th – Wednesday, Nov 25th. You can pick your turkey up at the Meat Department or go through the checkout registers, and we’ll fetch it for you!

As always, our turkeys come from Diestel Family Farms in Sonora, CA. All Diestel turkeys are 100% vegetarian fed, raised without antibiotics or growth hormones and contain no preservatives, gluten or artificial ingredients.

Curbside Turkeys. Diestel Turkey order pick-ups will not be available through Co-op Curbside. However, we will have frozen organic turkeys, smoked turkeys, turkey breasts, and all the dinner fixings available online beginning Nov 1st.

Expanded Curbside Service. Curbside service will be open 11am-5pm every day from Tuesday, Nov 17th - Wednesday, Nov 25th.

Co-op Curbside

Order groceries online & pick them up at C·SQUARE! Visit skagitfoodcoop.com/ shop/order-online for more info.

360.542.5021 orders@skagitfoodcoop.com

If you didn’t already know, we reopened Third Street Cafe for takeout service in July, and opened up indoor seating in early September! We are following important health and safety guidelines and limiting table service to help make the experience good clean fun for everyone, so our current service looks a little different than it has in the past.

For those of you looking to dine-in, you can either order your meal online and take it into the dining room when you arrive –OR– you can place an order in-person at the front entrance, and we’ll bring it to your table when it’s ready. Takeout service can be ordered online and scheduled for pick-up when it’s convenient for you!

Whatever you decide, our team has worked diligently to craft a menu full of delicious, made-from-scratch meals using local and organic ingredients.

See our menu and current hours at www.thirdstreetcafe.coop.

Functional Nutrition for Immune Resilience

by Karl Mincin, Functional Nutritionist

The human immune system is designed to fight off illness and viruses. Is yours up to the task? From superfoods and herbs to specialty nutrients and natural antibiotics, here's a brief functional approach to fortify your personal immune defense.

Rainbow Immunity. It's no longer just about eating a lot of fruits and vegetables; it's about eating a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. If you haven't already taken seriously the advice to eat the rainbow, including at least nine servings of produce daily, now’s the time! Beyond functional phytonutrient density, there are several solid science reasons to do so. Eating at least 30 different plant foods each week has been shown to be one of the best ways to feed a healthy diversified microbiome. Since we tend to develop food sensitivities to the foods we eat the most, a diversified diet helps minimize the development of food allergies. This allows the immune system to focus on other defenses. Last but not least, a truly diversified diet is the best way to cover yourself nutritionally.

Color of Immune Superfoods. The red-orange-yellow end of the color spectrum includes a concentration of immune specific functional nutrients. Their anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, anti-microbial, anti-tumor, and related immune support properties are nothing short of impressive! Try adding more apples, orange peppers, and red potatoes to your diet this fall.

Herbs & Medicinal Mushrooms. Garlic is a popular pick for a good reason. It is one of the best all-purpose immune support herbs! It is anti-everything: anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. Echinacea and elderberry provide outstanding immune support, but it’s worth noting that Echinacea can sometimes overstimulate the immune system, especially for those with autoimmune conditions. Astragalus is one of my all-time favorite herbs, far beyond immunity, it also aids digestion. It synergizes especially well with medicinal mushrooms, which are some of the heaviest artillery for functional immune resilience.

Gut-Brain-Immune Axis. This axis is a bi-directional system of the central and enteric (gut) nervous system, which is mediated by a complex network of hormonal and metabolic pathways. Bottom line: the root of immunity, and mental health, is in our gut microbiome.

Targeted Microbiome Profiling. Because the colon is home to 500 different strains of healthy bacteria, a one size probiotic supplement does not fit all. Most products

contain mega CFU potencies but of less than 10 strains, and when it comes to probiotics, diversity trumps potency.

Our probiotic needs are as individual as our fingerprint.

A mismatched probiotic can do more harm than good.

PREbiotics are always a safe choice, either in conjunction with a targeted probiotic or as an alternative standalone.

The Antibiotic Gut Bomb. Recent research teaches us that a single round of antibiotics can disrupt the microbiome for 3 or more years! They should be avoided if possible.

There are usually equally effective natural antibiotics that will not only take care of the infection, but also bolster your immunity while doing so. As with conventional antibiotics, natural antibiotics can disrupt healthy bacteria, although usually to a lesser degree.

Zinc. Especially in the lozenge form, zinc is an effective virus shield. However, minerals are part of a delicate balancing act, and too much can backfire and weaken immunity. If you are not testing you are guessing. I don't recommend blindly supplementing for more than two or three months.

Quercetin. Another outstanding multi-purpose immune flavonoid, quercetin shuttles zinc into cells where it can exert its antiviral properties. Quercetin rich foods include onions, capers, fresh dill weed, ancho peppers, and buckwheat.

Karl Mincin is a functional medicine nutritionist in practice for 35 years. 360.336.2616 | Nutrition-Testing.com | Instagram @MincinNutritionist | Facebook @NutritionTesting1

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

7

Sharing a Bag

by Nicole Vander Meulen

On the mornings I’m feeling alive enough to do so, I rise early, put the kettle on until it sings just for me, then cozy up on the couch with a steaming cup of tea and my books. My stack leans heavy with natural science, biographies, and travel literature, and I like to have a book of poetry and another of short essays within reach. How much time I have left before I’m due at work, or more likely, how much tea is in my mug, dictates whether I venture into another chapter or take a quick jaunt into rhythm ‘n’ rhyme or a delightful short essay.

I love this practice. It’s a warm, gentle transition into the busy-ness of the day that is yet to come. One of the books I’ve fallen in love with over the past year is itself about a practice: The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. It’s a collection of short essays in which Gay sets off on a yearlong journey to write one essay every day, detailing something he found particularly delightful. Similar to recording daily gratitudes, the idea is that the more time Gay spends time thinking and writing about delight, the more attuned to delight he’ll be, and the more delight he will experience in his day-to-day simply by paying closer attention to little things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and unappreciated.

With essays like “Kombucha in a Mid-Century Glass”, “Pulling Carrots”, and “Joy is Such a Human Madness” (my personal favorite), Gay playfully walks readers through the difficulties of life as a human, and for him, life as a black man, while delighting in nature and small gestures of kindness between strangers.

On this particular morning, I read the essay “Sharing a Bag.” Gay describes how he adores witnessing two people sharing a bag: any two people sharing the responsibility of carrying some kind of bag full of any kind of thing – clothing, food, or otherwise. He delights in that it is a mostly unnecessary act: it would be far easier for an adult to carry a bag alone, rather than give the other handle to a small child, who makes the going a little slower, a little more cumbersome.

For Gay, it’s the tenderness, the togetherness that should be noticed. That a person would slow down or modify their step for another, so they move in unison, is a delightful form of everyday magic. “Everything that needs doing – getting groceries and or laundry home – would get done just fine without this meager collaboration. But the only thing that needs doing, without it, would not.”

This year has been strange and difficult, and we’ve been separated from each other in so many ways it’s almost unbearable. We’ve been surprised by our own behaviors – both good and bad. We are finding new ways to fend for ourselves and our families, struggling to make sense in a barrage of change. And we’re doing it, because we are resilient and capable.

We’re learning new ways to work together, too. But maybe, we’re not learning. Maybe we’re remembering, and truly digging in to what it means to cooperate – the turning back in time we’ve been yearning for. And by that I mean, going way back, to the beginning,

simply to remember the practice of moving forward, alongside each other. I’ll hold this handle, if you hold the other.

When I look around our Co-op community, I see plenty of everyday magic – someone shopping for an elderly neighbor; Co-op members donating their dividends to feed the hungry; a Human Resources department that understands we love pizza; and you, wearing that hot, stuffy mask for a stranger. Listening to co-workers and customers share their hardships, no matter how dire, they usually conclude with something like, “But it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one. It’s hard for everyone.” Or rather, I’m so glad I’m sharing this bag with someone else.

Like all practices, it’s easy to get distracted, to get disrupted from the rhythms that make us whole and keep us sane. Some mornings I opt for the snooze button. Ross Gay confesses to skipping many days of essays. And sometimes we forget that together really is better. Our desire to keep practicing, is what I find delightful.

(continued from page 1)

Over $10,000 Donated to Fight Hunger

farmers. Thank you for being an important part of this circle of community giving.

Skagit Food Distribution Center partners with the farms listed below to put fresh food on the table, many whose products you can find right here in the Co-op: Bay Baby Produce, Blue Heron Farm, Blanchard Mountain Farm, Cabrera Farm, Cascadian Farm, Foothills Flowers Farm, Forest Farmstead, G & D Wallace, Harts Farm and Homestead, Highland Farm West, Highwater Farm, Knutzen Farms, Lopez Brothers Farm, Mariposa Farm, Norm Nelson Potatoes, NW Green Farm, NW Wild Foods, Osprey Hill Farm, Pollen Folly Farm, Pure Nelida, Rocky Farm Foods, Samish Island Community Garden, Skagit Flats Farm, Sky Harvest Farm, Spring Time Farm, Treehouse Produce, Valley Pride, Waxwing Farm, and Well Fed Farms.

Food Banks and Meal Programs Served: Alger Food Bank, Anacortes 100 Food Bank, Salvation Army Food Bank (Anacortes), Tri-Parish Food Bank (Burlington), Community Covenant Food Bank (Clear Lake), Concrete Food Bank, Hamilton Community Food Bank, La Conner Sunrise Food Bank, Bread of Life Food Bank (Marblemount), Neighbors in Need Food Bank (Mount Vernon), Helping Hands Food Bank (Sedro Woolley), Stanwood-Camano Food Bank, His Pantry Food Bank (Camano), North Whidbey Help House (Oak Harbor), Friendship House Café (Mount Vernon), YMCA Oasis Teen Shelter (Mount Vernon), Open Door Community Kitchen (SW), and Skagit Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services (Mount Vernon).

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Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

Skagit Food Distribution Team.

Staff Appreciation

by Renée Hall, Human Resouces

At the Co-op, showing appreciation to one another is a natural part of how we do business.

With over 150 employees, it’s important that we work as a unified team to keep our operations running smoothly and efficiently. Equally important is showing appreciation to one another for the work that we do to contribute to our daily successes. Recognizing staff members’ success and special occasions is vital to creating an affirming and supportive work environment.

Some of the ways the Co-op does this on a regular basis is to offer competitive wages, excellent and Co-op employees enjoy our staff barbecue in June. affordable benefits, awesome perks (generous product discounts, monthly raffles, etc), having an open door policy, and providing a fun work environment.

During the last eight months, Co-op staff have been challenged in ways none of us could have been prepared for. They’ve dealt with panic buying, product shortages, fear of contracting COVID-19, unusual and unpredictable customer service interactions, mask mandates, and constant changes to when, where, and how they work. These changes have happened daily, weekly, and monthly, with no end in sight. Living through this kind of uncertainty and continuous change takes its toll on our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Although we can’t stop the changes, the Co-op has strived to make work a little more bearable, and hopefully even enjoyable, by showing even more compassion, patience, and appreciation to those who work tirelessly every day to keep the Co-op up and running!

2020 Staff Appreciation Index

$317,000

Dollar amount paid in extra COVID-19 wages

Some of the ways we have worked to recognize the hard work of our employees include: •

Offering staff more opportunities to take time off, allowing those who need it to go negative in their PTO.

•

When the salad and hot bar closed down, we provided free daily lunches for over 2 months.

•

Easy and accessible ways of showing gratitude through our “Shout Out” board, where employees can express gratitude for each other and applause a job well done.

•

Monthly giveaways like gift baskets full of wellness items, grocery goodies, and camping gear.

•

A socially distanced BBQ picnic.

•

A root beer float party and pizza days.

•

Free staff t-shirts.

•

Our continued “hero pay,” an hourly increase of wages for all non-salaried employees.

There are also more intrinsic things like encouraging more frequent breaks to take a breather (pun intended) from wearing a mask continuously throughout their shifts, having “summer spirit days” so staff could dress up in fun ways to add a little excitement to the day-to-day, and a newly implemented suggestion box, so that all staff have the opportunity to offer ideas and feedback to management, anonymously if they so choose.

The Co-op is only as good as the people who work for it, so we believe it’s important to take care of our employees in a way that demonstrates that their work is appreciated and their contributions both matter and are recognized. As we are all finding our way through these challenging times, one thing is certain, we will continue to support each other and find new and innovative ways to encourage and appreciate the employees that show up and help make the Co-op the great place that it is for our community.

75

Days of free employee lunches

130

Free t-shirts given to staff

One of our free staff t-shirts.

$3,000+

Value of staff giveaways and raffles

The amount of thanks we owe our amazing team

Stats are based on Human Resources reporting.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

9

4% Friday Community Shopping Day

Every time you shop at the Co-op, you help support our local economy and community. 4% Friday is another easy way to do your weekly shopping and contribute to organizations you care about. You shop, and together we give 4% of the Co-op's sales on the 4th Friday of each month to a non-profit community organization.

Together we gave:

March

April

May

$1,688

$2,287

$2,547

June

July

August

Skagit Valley Farmers Market Coalition

$2,148 Sedro-Woolley Farm to School

North Cascades Institute Mountain School

$2,302 Skagit Animals in Need

Family Promise

$2,132

Mt. Vernon Library Foundation

MV Police Homeless Outreach Program October 23

Outreach Coordinator, Erin vonFempe, is a Master’s level social worker employed by the Mount Vernon Police Department to work with homeless people in our community to provide a variety of services including health, treatment, housing, and more.

4% Friday funds will be employed by Erin to those in need for deposits for housing, temporary housing, travel to treatment programs (typically by bus), and emergency expenses. The MVPD Homeless Outreach Program will also be utilizing these funds to provide blankets, backpacks, room rentals, copays for medications, clothing, travel tickets to reunite with family, clothes for jobs, birth certificates, and food to people without homes in the area.

Underground Writing November 20

Underground Writing is a literature-based creative writing program serving migrant, incarcerated, recovery, and other at-risk communities in northern Washington, through literacy and personal transformation.

Underground Writing believes writing has the power to assist in the restoration of communities, the imagination, and individual lives.

4% Friday funds will help establish the Co-op Chapbook Fund to publish one to two chapbooks every year. Chapbooks are small booklets of stories about the power of creative writing to assist in the restoration of human hope and imagination.

Friendship House December 18

The mission of Friendship House is to feed, shelter, clothe, heal, and empower those in need. The Friendship House provides two emergency shelters, one transitional house, one permanent low income shared living house, a daily hot meal service and an innovative employment training program. The Friendship House believes that by treating all people with respect and kindness, it can help them transform their lives into ones of selfsufficiency and abundance.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to support the general operating expenses of Friendship House including providing emergency and transitional housing and the community kitchen which feeds its residents as well as anyone who is hungry. Funds will also support the daily mobile sack lunch service as well as provide hot showers and laundry facilities for those in need.

Photos: Courtesy of 4% Friday recipients

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Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

New & Notable

by Jenny Sandbo

For Home & Body

Beverages that Sparkle

ATTITUDE Bulk Bodycare & Household Soaps. We’ve had countless customer requests for “more bulk personal care and household cleaners like shampoo and laundry liquid” and it’s taken a while to source a product that fits our standards for ingredients and quality. ATTITUDE Living products are made in Quebec, Canada using plantbased ingredients and are packaged in BPA-free bag-ina-box system. Yes, just like boxed wine. This system uses up to 80% less plastic than the gallon jugs bulk soaps are traditionally packaged in. Look for their hand soap, body wash, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, and laundry liquid in our housewares aisle.

Iggy's Honeybrew Kombucha. Iggy and family were pioneers in the locally-brewed kombucha movement, fermenting their first batches in 2012 using locally-sourced, organic ingredients.

Their hand-crafted artisan kombucha is unique in quality, carbonation, and flavor. Light, fizzy, softly sweet, and not the least bit “vinegary,” it’s a sparkling beverage worthy of your holiday table, as well as delightful daily hydration. Nonalcoholic, you’ll find it in the drink cooler.

Bellewood Acres Bubbly Sparkling Cider. Fresh pressed from a blend of apples grown locally at Bellewood Acres in Lynden, this non-alcoholic cider is then given a shot of zingy carbonation.

The result is a flavorful, sweet-acidic, complex, balanced celebratory beverage that will forever ruin (the more familiar brands) for you and your family. Look for this special treat in the beverage aisle.

Iggy's Honeybrew Kombucha

Finnriver Hard Apple Cider. The good people at Finnriver have taken historic hard cider traditions and bottled it for a new generation of craft cider lovers. On 50 acres of land in the Chimacum Valley on the Olympic Pennisula, they grow heirloom apple varieties that result in the distinct aromas, tastes, and textures that will change your mind about what hard cider can be. Look for their artful labels in our beer and wine aisle.

Comfort Foods Golden Glen Creamery Butter. Have you ever had creamy, farm-fresh butter melted over a piece of crunchy-toasted sourdough bread? It’s an amazing, ambrosial, take-amoment-to-appreciate-it experience. It’s so simple and so accessible. It doesn’t have to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. YOU COULD HAVE IT EVERYDAY. Look for these little tubs of gold in our dairy case.

Willamette Valley Pie and Whidbey Pie. Two pie companies, two distinct styles, both outrageously satisfying. This year we will be offering up Pumpkin Chiffon and Pecan Pies from Salem, Oregon-based Willamette Valley Pie. Made with organic “Palm Done Right” sustainably sourced palm oil and many organic and locally sourced ingredients, these pies are pre-baked, ready to thaw and eat. Look for these pies in our freezer aisle.

A little closer to home, Whidbey Pies are handcrafted in Greenbank, Washington using simple ingredients. Beautifully constructed in the traditional pie craft, berry pies are their specialty, but we thought their apple pie was wonderful, too. Look for take ‘n bake in our freezer aisle.

Piz

za 'z z

iz z a Fr o z e n P

a

Sukin Skincare. Made in Australia using naturally derived ingredients, this skincare line is very gentle and soothing, especially for those of us with sensitive skin. 100% vegan, this company works with Greening Australia’s Reef Aid Program to ensure practices that help improve water quality and seek to protect the Great Barrier Reef from future harm.

Look for this line in our Wellness Department.

.

S u ki

n Sk in c are

Mrs. Meyer's Seasonal Scents. Made with plant-derived ingredients and natural essential oils, these potent and fragrant hand soaps and dishwashing liquids come in an array of seasonal scents that change throughout the year. By the time you read this bit, we should be seeing scents like Apple, Pine, Orange Spice, Rain Water, and Plum Berry come through our store. Everyone’s favorite, Peppermint, will be released in November. Look for the display at the end of the housewares aisle. Supplies are limited, so we suggest stocking up on your favorite scents when you see them.

Pizza'zza Frozen Pizza. You may have visited their pizzeria in the Fairhaven District of Bellingham. Before COVID-19 shut down our world last spring, it was one of my family’s favorite spots to visit after a bike ride or hike in the Bellingham area. Their handtossed crust is made with locally grown and milled flour from Cairnspring Mills, and they use cheese from Ferndale Farmstead. They’ve got lots of beautiful toppings that make for a unique pizza experience. Because of our limited freezer space, we’ve decided to lead with their Grecian Pizza. Bell peppers, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and kalamata olives make for a salty, savory, satisfying, vegetarian dinner. Look for them in the frozen aisle.

Mrs. Meyer's Handsoap

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020 11

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Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

staff profile

(continued from page 5)

Unique Co-op Strength During the Pandemic

George Rodgers-Clark IT/POS Co-op Employee Since May 2015

Finca Triunfo Verde co-op in Mexico created the Family Support Initiative to provide food to members and help them stay at home.

and their systems—financially, logistically, scientifically—to understand and respond to the needs of the community. They had created essential infrastructures that were already up and running, a unique strength that enabled them to respond to members’ needs during this pandemic.

Here are a few of the ways that these democratic farmer co-ops realized and responded to their members’ needs, in ways that their national governments or health care systems could not: • Cocoa co-op Acopagro in Peru used recent advanced Fair Trade premium payments from Equal Exchange to provide food, masks, and cleaning supplies to co-op members in 2 different communities where they work.

• Coffee co-op members from San Fernando in Peru focused on the fact that they had productive land at a time when many of their children were living or studying in the city without reliable access to healthy food; they collectively filled a truck with their homegrown produce and delivered the food to their children.

• Banana co-op AsoGuabo in Ecuador used Fair Trade premium funds to purchase PPE for medical workers in the community and mobilized its logistics operations to transport medicines and supplies to local hospitals.

This was critical support at a time when transportation was significantly restricted as a result of curfew measures.

• Sugar co-op Manduvira in Paraguay donated money to local health clinics, intentionally directing part of their limited resources to other trusted organizations that in turn help their members.

In this heavy time, there have been true moments of connection and inspiration that are important to recognize and appreciate. Out of necessity, many people are finding new ways to listen, to share, to respond. Each co-op is engaging deeply with its membership, and as a network of co-ops, Equal Exchange is finding new ways to interact with their contacts across the supply chain. During October, they often take the time to celebrate the concept and practice of “cooperatives.”

Co-op Impact in US Communities This work continues, as farmer co-ops, the Equal Exchange co-op, and food co-ops each and collectively continue to evolve, adapt, and keep food, income, and support flowing. As members or consumers at food co-ops in your own community, Equal Exchange invites you to reflect upon how it has mattered to you to be a part of your local food co-op in these times. What have you done to support your food co-op? What have they done to support their members and their communities? There is much to be grateful for. In these trying times, we all recognize that the food matters that is traded through these systems, but that the co-op systems themselves are also unique, valuable, and worthy of a spotlight.

Favorite Customer Moment: I've had many great customer interactions: among my favorites have been helping people figure out how to access our Curbside website.

Favorite Item in the Co-op: Ooh, that's tough... probably the Two-fer of ice cream on a waffle cone.

Which two ice creams depends on the day... I really like the Strawberry Basil Balsamic and the Cherry Chocolate Chunk.

Neurofeedback train your brain…function better

HEALTHY SLEEP FOCUS • MENTAL FITNESS

Essential Points ACUPUNCTURE

Elsa Del Toro, L.Ac. Doctoral Candidate, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine

ACUPUNCTURE • HERBS • NUTRITION • TUINA Personalized Healthcare Patient and Community Education Holistic and Preventive Approach Home Visits

(360) 399-7467 613 W Division Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 www.essentialpointsacupuncture.com

LESS STRESS & ANXIETY and other physical, emotional symptoms addressed

• non-invasive • results that last • effective & relaxing • safe for children & adults

Kara

Stamback

Coaching and Neurofeedback

call me to see if this is a good fit

360.708.8169 www.KaraStamback.com Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020 13

vendor spotlight

Finnriver Farm & Cidery

by Leigha Staffenhagen

It’s finally fall, and you’ve probably had daydreams of chai tea lattes and crunchy fallen leaves dancing around your head since late summer. And if you look around our produce department you’ll notice that in-season Washington apples are making their long-anticipated appearance. While nothing quite compares to a crunchy bite of a juicy apple, they’re pretty enjoyable to sip on, too.

If you take a peek at our beer and wine department, you’ll notice that our selection of local beverages is ever-growing. We’ve got beer from our beloved Skagit Valley, wine from Chelan, and cider from Chimacum, a farming community located right outside of Port Townsend, just to name a few. And that Chimacum cider is from Finnriver Cidery.

Yes, Finnriver is one word.

Founded in 2008 by partners Eric Jorgensen and Keith and Crystie Kisler, Finnriver’s mission is to reconnect people to the land that sustains us and to grow community (sounds a lot like a friendly food co-op you may know).

Finnriver ciders are farmed and fermented on 80 acres of Certified Organic farmland and orchards.

Their orchards are home to over 6,000 (!!!) organic heirloom and traditional cider apple trees. In Finnriver co-owners. Photo by James Curtis. order to hand harvest and care for the trees at a human level, their trees are grown on a semi-dwarf rootstock. Semidwarf rootstock grown trees only get 50-80% as tall as standard rootstock grown trees, making them much more accessible when it comes to harvesting time. Finnriver transforms those humble apples into contemporary craft ciders, botanical ciders, their orchard series ciders, and even fruit wine.

Following Mother Nature’s lead, Finnriver’s cider making process begins in the spring, when Pacific Northwest orchards transform into rows of beautiful blooms. Hardworking bees bumble from flower to flower, pollinating as they go, and come fall, the fruit of their labor are hand harvested, and the cider pressing ensues. Some of Finnriver ciders are crafted in a more contemporary fashion, meaning that they incorporate ingredients beyond apples, revealing the versatility and range that ciders can have. Making them in a more contemporary fashion also allows them to be more readily available year-round. Some of their other ciders are a seasonal, small-batch labor of love that are crafted with the intention to respect cider heritage and celebrate the flavor profiles of different apple blends. (continued from page 5)

The Very Least–and the Very Most– We Can Do Nationally, George Bush beat Al Gore in 2000 based on 537 votes in Florida (and a Supreme Court ruling). In a 2017 Virginia House race, the two candidates were virtually tied, and the vote was decided by a random drawing.

There is no difference between the choices: This is rarely true, and it would be a hard argument to make in 2020. Often, the mechanisms of government grind so slowly that we can’t see how those differences play out. But this year, we see immediate, dramatic impact: the policies, priorities, approaches and communication at all levels of government in addressing COVID-19 have demonstrated multiple differences in our choices and in the values of those running for office.

No candidate is perfect—none are everything I want them to be: That is absolutely true. No two cookies are perfect either, but it is possible to utilize some criteria, some scale of what matters most to us, to choose between them. I don’t want to be flippant here, but we make choices constantly between two less than perfect options. If we didn’t, we would be paralyzed (and never eat any cookies).

By not voting, I am making a political statement: Yet no one notices. The world is full of people fighting, literally, for the right to make a political statement by voting. Or fighting to get to the polls and vote. Not voting is a pretty passive political statement.

I won’t vote until everyone can vote: A friend said this to me once. I had to go stand on my head in a corner for an hour to try to make sense of it. What avenues do we have to help ensure everyone has the right to vote? Well . . . we can vote—on behalf of those who can’t—for candidates who value universal suffrage and who work against voter suppression.

It’s just politics—it doesn’t affect me one way or another: I’ll ignore for now my conviction that government affects everyone. Instead I’ll focus on a final, crucial reason to vote. Our own lives may feel relatively stable for now (although that alone seems dubious given COVID); we may feel that we can wait two or four years for another election cycle with candidates we like better, or even that we can scoot through life never casting a vote. But there are those in our country whose lives will be intimately and forever affected by this election. They can’t wait four years. In a democracy, we don’t just vote for ourselves, we vote for what we perceive to be the greater good.

And . . . it turns out that I can’t ignore the fact that government affects everyone. That’s 14 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

Music at Finnriver. Photo by Jen Lee Light.

Sipping a Finnriver cider is like taking a big bite of the Pacific Northwest and all its freshest flavors. With flavors like Farmstead Apple, Black Currant, Forest Ginger, and Pear, each cider features its own unique essence of Finnriver’s home farm. These craft ciders are meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace, so you can experience every flavor element and truly appreciate the thoughtfulness and care put into Finnriver’s unique blends.

For us, the full experience means grabbing a few ciders, a couple of friends, and having your own mini cider tasting. Because after all, fall is better when you’re spending time with your people and soaking up the best flavors of the season.

clear even at the county level. County commissioners, for example, have responsibility for county roads, public health and safety, emergency services, parks, flood control, zoning, land use, environmental regulation, and more. Two of the three positions—a decision-making majority—are up for election this year. The Skagit Public Utility District may not sound glamorous, but it too has influence in areas that matter daily to all of us: electricity, water, sewer, and telecommunications. It also has two positions up for election.

Our democratic institutions, from the Co-op to the government, often seem to roll along without us. Yet we are needed. We are needed to show up, willing to participate, willing to be kind to one another. And willing to cast our votes.

The voting period in Washington State runs from October 16 to November 3. Every registered voter should receive a ballot that can be mailed in or dropped off at an official ballot drop box. You can register to vote by mail or online up until eight days before election day. (Applications must be received by October 26.)

You can register to vote in-person through election day.

However, this year, with all the possible complications of COVID-19, it is highly recommended that you register and vote EARLY. Don’t wait until the last minute to be sure that you are registered and have voted. More information can be found at https://vote.gov/register/wa/ For information on local and state races, search for “Voter guides WA State” or “Voter guides Skagit County” online.

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Maintaining important records?

Care you can trust! Annie Walker, BA, ATA Balanced Bookkeeping and Accounting Services 856-5474. balacctsvc@cnw.com Professional References.

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The Natural Enquirer at nicole@skagitfoodcoop.com or (360) 336 5087 ext. 136.

Or visit our website at www.skagitfoodcoop.com /learn/stay-connected We offer discounts for prepayment.

All first-time ads MUST be paid in advance.

The ad deadline for the next issue (January 2021) is Friday, November 20.

Gift Cards…

Always the Right Choice Use at the Co-op or at

Third Street Cafe

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020 15

IN-SEASON PRODUCE

Change of Season, Change of Scenery

— Living Rain Farm —

Savoy and Napa cabbage, radicchio, Guajillo peppers, Frisee, Escarole, green, red, and Lacinato kale, Collard greens, baby blue Hubbard squash, Kabocha squash, Delicata squash, Winter Luxury pie pumpkins.

It’s no secret that I love autumn. My birthday often lands on the equinox. I look forward to the smells of wood smoke and drying leaves, the final barbecues, and getting out the sweaters and scarves. Autumn is harvest time, and time to prepare for the winter—a time for transition and change.

And though that is always true of fall in the Produce Department, this one will be particularly transformative.

We will be receiving a brand new, top-of-theline refrigerated produce case, with hopes of having it installed sometime in October. The case will be more energy efficient, of course, but it’s going to help us all out in a lot of ways. We will be able to keep our current bountiful look with a bit less lettuce and bunched greens on display at one time, meaning that fresh greens come out more often. It will feature a number of modular shelves, which will be A flashback to what the produce case used to look like. wonderful for displaying the incredible number of specialty produce items that we carry—especially this time of year when our local farms are so prolific in their variety. It will be easy to clean with frequency, and it will have a number of bins with clear fronts, cold enough for us to bring back bulk salads. The new refrigerated case won’t have mirrors. Instead, it will be top to bottom produce, and with room to hold all the produce that needs to be kept cold. It will have both dry and wet areas, and we’ll be able to move things like peppers, bagged carrots, and delicate fruit into it.

But wait, there’s more! That’s only phase one! A specialized firm in the Midwest is about to start building us a series of modular wooden fixtures, with lots of built in storage. We’ll be removing other existing produce tables and displays and replacing them with these beautiful brand-new fixtures, custom built to accommodate our space and enhance the shopping experience.

This will be my twenty first autumn at the Co-op. That’s a lot of transition and change. Twenty years ago, the entrance to the store and the cash registers were where the Produce back room is now. There was a child’s play area on stilts just to your left as you came in, filled with well-loved books and toys, and a slide coming down. The Mercantile Department was in the corner blocking the Produce windows, where bananas and other fruits now live. Where the Deli is now there was a tile store. Since then, we’ve bought the building and undergone more changes than I can name.

I myself designed the current fixtures and layout in the produce department many years ago, though a couple of the pieces predate me, too. They’ve now long outlived their usefulness. It was a challenge to design a functional department that conformed to our space, and it wasn’t my area of expertise. I am grateful that this time I had help: Jeffrey, the National Co-op Grocers West Coast produce specialist and Tony, our new general manager, were both invaluable in putting this together. Again, I’m so appreciative of their support and expertise in this. It’s going to be a challenge taking the old equipment out and assembling the new fixtures (thank you for your patience as we make upgrades), but at the end of the day, I’m confident that it will be well worth the effort. I look forward to more efficiently providing my community with even more of the best, freshest organic produce that nature and our glorious local farms have to offer.

for being part of the Co-op We’re glad you’re an owner.

Here’s our way of saying thanks.

— Cedardale Orchards — Apple cider (not organic).

— The Crow's Farm —

Herbs, heirloom tomatoes, fennel.

— Edible Acres —

Assorted eggplant, assorted melons, pluots, Seckle pears, Golden Delicious apples.

— Gary Moulton (Bow, WA) — Taylor's Gold Comice pears.

— Gibbs Family Farm —

Bosc and Comice pears, Johnathan and Winesap apples, white Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins

— Hedlin Family Farms —

Serrano, Anaheim, Poblano and Jalapeño peppers, assorted bell peppers, Jack-o-lantern pumpkins.

— Highwater Farm —

Slicer cucumbers, Huckleberry, purple, russet, Ozette, Amarosa fingerling, yellow, and red potatoes.

— Long Hearing Farm —

Bagged baby arugula, bagged spicy mix, bagged kale mix.

— Moondance Farm —

Sunflower sprouts, tomatillos, Italian eggplant, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Galeux de Eysines squash, Marina di Chioggia squash, Black Futsu squash, Jarrahdale squash, spaghetti squash.

— Ralph's Greenhouse —

Bunched carrots, bunched beets, green cabbage, red and green dandelion, juicing carrots, leeks, bulk carrots, bulk red beets, parsnips, bunched spinach.

— Skagit Flats Farm —

Zucchini, Romaine, green and red leaf lettuce.

— Waxwing Farm —

Padron and Shishito peppers, curly and Italian parsley, Bull's Horn peppers.

— Well Fed Farm —

Salad mix, bunched beets, kale, Daikon radish, purple cabbage, green tomatoes, red Kabocha squash, sugar pie pumpkins, Acorn squash, mini spaghetti squash, grey ghost Kabocha squash.

co-op owners get

10%

OFF

Thank You

— Brownfield Orchards —

Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Fuji, Pinova, and Gala apples, red and green D'anjou pears.

one shopping trip

in oCtoBer

member number required for redemption:

Coupon valid for 1 (one) shopping visit at the Co-op. Excludes special orders, staff/board purchases, Third Street Cafe, and a few select items.

For current (paid in full or paid to date) Skagit Valley Food Co-op owners only. Expires 10/31/2020.

16

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • October - December 2020

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by Ben Goe