January 2023 Natural Enquirer

A monumental moment for a monumental year: to kick off the Co-op’s 50th Anniversary year, we are elated to announce that the Co-op has donated $100,000 to Viva Farms to support local, organic agriculture and the future of farming in Skagit Valley!

The Co-op has been supporting local producers and giving back to community since 1973, and we could not imagine a more powerful way to continue our commitment as we head into the next 50 years than this new partnership with Viva Farms and our Growing Good Fund. The Board established the Growing Good Fund to cement the Co-op’s legacy in the Valley, with a strong focus on the cooperative principle “Concern for Community.”

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op’s legacy already has a firm foundation as a provisioner of safe, healthy food choices, our working relationships with local farmers, and our economic impact as one of Skagit County’s largest employers. Yet, some questions have lingered as the Board continues its strategic planning: “How can we parlay our depth of experience in food matters to broaden our influence to help make healthy food more accessible and available to more people? What role should we play to help solidify healthy long-term food

systems and security in our community? Who should we partner with and why? How can the Co-op play an even bigger role in local agriculture and food resiliency?”

Big questions, now with an answer: more local farmland means more food for our community, and that is a legacy worth investing in. But instead of reinventing the wheel, or creating a Co-op Farm Fund, we decided to partner with Viva Farms, because the groundwork has already been laid. In fact, Viva is a well-oiled machine with over a decade of known success.

Founded in 2009, Viva Farms is a non-profit Skagit Valley organic farm and beginning farmer support organization with a mission to preserve sustainable farming and create a resilient and just local food system.

Viva empowers beginning and historically-underserved farmers by providing bilingual (Spanish-English) training in organic farming, along with access to essential start-up resources, including equipment infrastructure, capital, and markets.

Viva Farms exists as a proactive and practical response to the current generational crisis: the simultaneous rapid loss of farmland and skilled farmers, and increased food needs.

A Fresh Veg Harvest at Viva Farms

For the last 50 years, our Co-op has been providing good, healthy food at a good price to the community at large. And while the Co-op started as a place for good food, the Co-op has always been more than a food store, both foundationally and practically, as guided by the international cooperative principles we adopted in 1973.

As you may well know by now, one of those founding principles is Concern for Community. In the last Board Update, we relayed to you that we have been discussing, through a series of retreats, how we can create even more positive impact in our community. Rather than create a profit for stockholders, we are committed to investing back into our store, employees, member-owners, and community.

The Co-op has, over the years, through its fiduciary practices and ongoing sales growth, managed to accumulate capital in excess of our current need for expansion and unforeseen downturns (like COVID). After supporting our General Manager’s moves to increase employee wages and commit to a livable wage structure, rewarding employees for the great work they do as well as remedying infrastructure needs, we have decided it is time to invest further into our Concern for Community.

We can all agree that our community has many needs, and each of us has our own specific areas of interest. The Co-op mission and principles all point to encouraging local farmers and healthy food with an eye to sustainability, including agricultural practices in Skagit Valley and beyond. So, this is where we focused our attention; creating an environment and infrastructure to make a bigger longterm, persistent difference.

After much discussion, and after looking at several options – both in approach and the size and nature of the commitment – participating Board members unanimously agreed that we would begin with a partnership with a $100,000 contribution to Viva Farms. You can read about Viva Farms and the details of our commitment in this issue’s cover article.

As we celebrate our Co-op’s 50th Anniversary, we find it fitting to embark on such a meaningful journey of supporting healthy, local food and the legacy of sustainable farming in Skagit County for the next 50 years and beyond.

A Note of Transparency: Board Member and Treasurer Rob Smith is the Director of Programs and Operations at Viva Farms. Rob was involved in board discussions regarding community investments, and while he did provide valuable information about Viva Farms at a purely informative level, when it came time to vote on any specifics of the selection of Viva Farms as the recipient, he appropriately recused himself.

Call for Candidates

The Board of Trustees of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op has always been fortunate to have a good group of qualified, involved owner members who were willing to volunteer their time and varied expertise in serving on the Co-op Board. This has provided the governance necessary to allow the Co-op to broaden our offerings of high quality, healthy food, support our environment, support our community with relevant education, and support local farmers, international fair trade, and other co-ops. We have been able to manage our finances appropriately to provide a base for growth and a cushion for harder times while still providing support to members of our community in need.

Each year, two positions are open for candidates from the community. (The dedicated Staff Board Position is elected every third year.) The election runs through the May Annual meeting, and we hope for a good turnout.

We are especially interested in bringing in owner-members with skill sets that will enhance our role. As the Co-op is a business, business, finance, and leadership skills are always welcome. We work collegially and are looking for people who understand working within a group towards consensus while bringing their own experience and viewpoint to the table. The Board is hoping to increase its representation of the diversity of our community, and we encourage memberowners of all backgrounds and lived experiences to run for office, especially those from underrepresented groups.

We ask that interested member-owners also attend at least one board meeting and meet with current Board members to go over what the Board does and what you could expect if you joined.

If you are interested in being on the Board, we ask that you fill out the Notice of Intent (available on the Co-op website) and submit it to: board@skagitfoodcoop.com

The deadline for the next Board election is fast approaching. If you are interested in being on the ballot, you’ll need to submit this paperwork by February 3 and complete the meetings prior to February 17 in order to have your name and info included in the Notice of Election in the Natural Enquirer and online. (We’d also like a photo for the publication.)

If you are interested in being considered for Board vacancies that might arise between elections, the timing isn’t quite as urgent, although it would still be valuable to get the process started.

Note to Spanish-speaking member-owners: Si usted desea ser candidato para la Junta Directiva de Skagit Valley Food Co-op, por favor visite: skagitfoodcoop.com/our-board. Complete la forma con la informacion requerida.

2023 4% Friday Recipients

Community is what makes us a Co-op, and it’s why we exist: to nourish, serve, and give back to our friends and neighbors in Skagit Valley. Every month, all year long, when you shop on 4% Friday, we donate 4% of sales to local nonprofits. From school gardens and community kitchens to homeless outreach and the preservation of Skagit farmland, what you put in your cart plays a big part!

Thanks to you and our ongoing 4% Friday Community Shopping Days, we have donated over $440,000 all time!

In 2021 and 2022, we prioritized healthy food for all by selecting groups with a focus on food security throughout the pandemic and beyond. The need for food security still looms large, so that focus continues into 2023. We’ve also selected a few groups brand new to the 4% Friday program including Mount Vernon Library’s Trial By Flavor program and New Earth Recovery. You’ll find all of this year’s groups on page 8. Be sure to mark your calendars, stock up, and shop big on 4% Fridays to give back with us in a big way!

Skagit Valley Food Co-op Mission Statement

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to provide good food at a fair price. As stated in the Co-op Bylaws: The Co-op shall promote member welfare by utilizing their united funds and their united efforts for the purchase and distribution of commodities in accordance with the following criteria:

A. Maintaining the not-for-profit status of the Co-op;

B. Offering high quality products which contribute to good nutrition;

C. Supporting a low impact, non-harmful approach to the environment;

D. Supporting local suppliers and producers;

E. A commitment to building a cooperative economy and supporting others who share that commitment;

F. A commitment to educational programs relevant to members and non-members in the community.

Copyright 2023. Reprints with permission.

The 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 | Megan Young

STAFF CONTRIBUTORS | nancylee bouscher, Ben Goe, Leigha Staffenhagen, Tricia Carter, David Feinstein BOARD OF TRUSTEES | Brad Claypool, Kristen Ekstran, Britta Eschete, Genaro Gomez, Casey Schoenberger, Rob Smith, & Tom Theisen

A Bit of Heart

On a chilly November morning, I found Jonelle working in the garden center. It was the right place to be, standing next to a rack of wintery hellebores with shy white flowers, when she said, “Dimity is the heart of downtown.”

Dimity O’Neil, plant person extraordinaire and friend to pretty much everyone, had passed away a few weeks earlier, but Jonelle’s present tense seemed apt to me. Dimity’s heart and her cultivating care can be seen throughout downtown Mount Vernon, in almost every landscaping design and planter. She brought color, texture, and flora diversity to our town decades ago when the tired standard was marigolds and stripes of grass.

She tended the unfurling and nurtured the flowering. With her wild curls, her bright eyes behind those big glasses, and her ever-present smile, she turned her face, as if to the sun, toward anyone she engaged in conversation.

Jonelle added what Dimity had given to her, “When I was a new mom, she was so supportive of me, but she was also supportive when I came back to work. Someone so strong, so passionate—it’s what I want to be.”

As the Co-op celebrates 50 years, Dimity shines as an example of all those who have contributed talent, hard work, and spirit to our community.

Fifty years of Co-op translates to fifty years of a physical place, a place that smells of spices, fresh produce and coffee, a place that has been a gathering spot for friends and neighbors, a vector for education and a source of community strength.

Fifty years of Co-op means the Skagit Valley has benefitted from fifty years of commitment to enduring beliefs: supporting access to healthy food grown in a way that is good for the earth; supporting farmers and suppliers who grow and make things sustainably; being a pillar in the national co-op community with a member-owned, not-for-profit economic model.

And it also works out to fifty years of people: thousands of people certainly, who have made— who are making—the Co-op.

I have a friend, let’s call him Matt, because that is his name. He lives now on the East Coast, but when I was in school, and we saw each other regularly, he had a comforting habit. If I was distressed (lost my keys, lost a computer file, lost my composure), he would say, calmly and cheerfully, “How can I help?”.

The truth was, much of the time, Matt couldn’t solve my dilemma, but his willingness to help was so down-to-earth and genuine, it made whatever was going on feel lighter and more manageable.

These are the people who come to mind—the ones who have held up the Co-op by their willingness to jump in and be of service. The ones who Marge Piercy writes of in her poem, “To Be of Use”: those who “do what has to be done, again and again.”

I have been struggling for the right word for those who contribute in this way (and you, my reader, are quite possibly among them). “Unsung hero” gets bandied about a lot, and “hero” itself is especially overused, applied to everyone from yesterday’s winning quarterback to a celebrity strumming a guitar at a benefit concert. I’m a little jaded on “heroes” unless a life is being saved. But all these people, past and present, sometimes acknowledged, sometimes not, contributing in small and large ways—shall we call them the Co-op’s hidden heart?

Accountability Training

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op Management Team was recently able to attend a 2-day offsite training called Managing Effectively –Focusing on Accountability. The ultimate goal with this training was to help coach and develop our Leadership Team into highly effective managers, giving them tools and concepts that they can utilize when communicating with their employees. These new communication skillsets are intended to help increase accountability and productivity.

We invited Stephanie Merriman, owner of Merriman Management Support, to help us accomplish our training goal. Stephanie is wellknown and well-respected in the co-op world. She has over 30-years of experience in the retail foods industry and has developed training

specific to cooperatives, honed through years of co-op trainings and her role at Sacramento Food Co-op as the Director of Training and Development. Stephanie’s main focus is to provide managers around the country with the concepts and tools they need to manage their teams effectively in terms of accountability and customer service.

The training was a valuable time of discussion, reflection, and growth for all who attended. Going forward, the Co-op will continue to provide resources and the trainings needed to develop our Leadership Team into highly effective leaders who will in turn hold their employees to a high standard of accountability and productivity. As Stephanie stated, “you manage others as well as you manage yourself.”

If I tried to thank by name those hidden hearts who have made the Co-op the Co-op, I would inevitably leave out hundreds of them. Carpenters, cashiers, cooks, and cartoonists; dishwashers and designers; meat-cutters, cheese-cutters, and those trimming vegetables in the back room; night-time stockers, day-time stockers, and everyone who pulls forward a carton of milk to make it easier for someone else; writers and reps; bookkeepers, bakers, buyers, board members, beekeepers, brewers of beer. Members and customers and volunteers. The frontline workers; those behind the lines. The workers in the farm fields, in the factories, in the warehouses, in the delivery trucks. People moving palettes in the dark, and moving mops in the kitchen. People who spend hours in front of computer screens and long to stretch their backs. People who answer the question “Where is the bathroom?” 20 times each day and keep smiling. People piling up sandbags, people putting up holiday decorations, people in long meetings in the early days, trying to keep the Co-op afloat. Some staff, some not. Sometimes paid, sometimes not. People who left with a celebratory party and some cake in the break room; people who picked up a last paycheck and said quiet goodbyes.

How lucky we are to have each other. And the beauty of this hidden heart can be found in the long-time Co-op line, “Anyone can join.”

I recently listened to an episode of NPR’s Hidden Brain, interviewing Gillian Sandstrom, a British professor. She has researched the interactions we have with casual acquaintances—or even strangers— and finds that those brief moments we take to say hello and connect with others we meet in public increase our happiness more than we might think.

Writing in The New York Times, David Sax explored the goodness of connecting with those we don’t even know, “Engagement with strangers is at the core of our social contract… anytime we ignore strangers in our vicinity, whether because of fear, bigotry or the everyday convenience and efficiency of digital technology, we weaken that contract . . . strangers connect us to the community, teach us empathy, build civility and are full of surprise and potentially wonder.” These interactions strengthen the fabric of our community. And yes, each one of us can join in.

A few weeks ago, I walked into the store, and from behind the registers, Michael turned around and called out, “Hi, Beverly.” Just that. It warmed me all day, it still warms me. How good it feels to be seen, to be welcomed. When I get up to the cashier stand, Baiyu doesn’t need my member number. He knows it even if it’s been months since I’ve come in on his cashiering day. He remembers it even though he jokes with me, “I’ve tried to forget it.”

No public place that I regularly frequent allows me more opportunities for these gentle interactions—with old friends, with acquaintances, with strangers—than does the Co-op. The Co-op is where connection can abide.

Here’s to Dimity, who gave so much heart to her work and to all those she met—and in so doing, gave us the perfect example of how to join in and create community.

Here’s to everyone, over all the years, who has given the Co-op a bit of their hearts, and suffused this place with both spark and stability.

Here’s to taking a bit of heart into the Co-op encounters we have in the years left to us.

by Beverly Faxon

Dimity O’Neil, 1948—2022

Memorial for Dimity at Christianson’s Vinery

Memorial for Dimity at Christianson’s Vinery

by Tricia Carter

Stephanie Merriman Presenting to Co-op Managers.

50 Things to Love About the Co-op

A lot can change in 50 years. A lot can stay the same, too. And while the Co-op has seen its fair share of change since 1973, many things remain constant, and for good reason. Our commitment to the Skagit Valley community, our staff, and our local farmers and producers has never faltered. We’re proud to be the heart of Downtown Mount Vernon and honored to have members like you that support us and our mission to provide good food to the community.

From the sounds of it, the feeling is mutual: in reviews, store surveys, emails, and social media comments, you all have shared what you love about the Co-op.

by Leigha Staffenhagen

Just know that there are real humans that read every single one of your notes, and we value your thoughts and comments more than you might know!

In fact, you all have left so many wonderful comments over the years that we have enough (well, more than enough) to put together a cooperatively crafted love letter. So, in honor of our 50th anniversary, get ready to feel all warm and cozy with 50 things our customers, staff, and board members love about the Co-op, in no particular order:

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· How deeply (and maybe unknowingly) we all impact those around us

· The environment is upbeat and friendly

The Mercantile – it’s different every time I visit upstairs!

· Feels like home

· Wonderful place for lunch

· The chance to be a part of a community experience even for a short time So many yummy vegan options The comfy feeling Kind and knowledgeable staff

· Shopping joy

· Best produce in the Valley

· Local, independent, and community-centered

· Fun and “hip” atmosphere

· Everybody knows your name

· Availability of bulk food

· The people

· Great community involvement Diverse people coming together for the common cause of having good food!

· The coffee bar is a treat to look forward to

· Gourmet, organic, local, quality, delicious

Everyone is always friendly, from the cheese buyer to the cashiers

· Fresh selections of fruit in produce

· Reasonable prices

· Fresh + food + friends + smells

· A very welcoming place to shop

· The inviting, relaxing smell and ambiance

· An important community hub to keep alive

Blend of familiar products and new items

· Our employees

· The Co-op experience is absolutely exquisite!

· Sharing anecdotes and information in the wellness department

Great food, good vibes

The 2nd-floor gift shop!

The coolest Co-op ever

· Best of everything local

· The curried kasha knishes and scones are food groups within themselves!

· Community gathering place

· Everything you need under one roof

· Great deli, smoothie, and coffee spot

· SO many choices

The employees are seriously the most helpful I have experienced in any Co-op.

· Grabbing ice cream here is a MUST!

· The Co-op’s multi-grain bread is phenomenal

· The black bottom cupcakes

· A Foodie’s paradise

The fresh baked cookies and sandwiches

The real deal

by Leigha Staffenhagen

Dry January

Dry January is simple: abstain from alcohol for 31 days to reset your body and mind. If you’ve found yourself feeling “blah” after a holiday season filled with wine, eggnog, and holiday punch, Dry January might be just what you need to kick off a healthier new year. From non-alcoholic spirits to fizzy agave drinks, the Co-op has lots of new options for you to get your zero-proof sip on.

TÖST & TÖST Rosé

Made with natural ingredients like white tea, ginger, white cranberry, and elderberry, TÖST & TÖST Rosé are alcohol-free beverages that have a subtle effervescence and a dry, light finish. They’re the perfect alternative to champagne or sparkling wine for any special occasion. Find them on the non-alcoholic shelf in our Beer & Wine aisle.

Santa Cruz Sparkling Mocktails

Fruity and sparkly with just the right amount of sweetness, Santa Cruz’s sparkling mocktails are a must-have for any party. Choose from Cran Fizz, Radiant Rosé, and Sangria Spritzer – all certified organic, non-GMO Project Verified, and made from 100% juice. In the juice aisle.

Agua Bonita

When Kayla Castañeda lost her job mid-pandemic, she took the proverbial “lemons” life had handed her and made Aguas Fresca! Inspired by the traditional (and food-waste-busting) drink her grandfather used to make, Kayla founded Agua Bonita to pay homage to her culture, family, and grandfather’s teachings, while offering a light and refreshing fruit drink that’s basically summer in a can. Drink Agua Bonita as is or top it with a float of seltzer water for a bright and bubbly mocktail. Choose from Watermelon Chile, Hibiscus, and Mango Habanero, available in our Deli drink case.

Alcohol-Free Spirits

Want to mix up an extra-special mocktail that’s reminiscent of something you’d find at a craft cocktail lounge? Pick up a bottle of nonalcoholic spirits from The Pathfinder and Wilderton! The Pathfinder is described as a “fermented and distilled hemp-based liquid with intense flavor and aromatic characteristics of a spirit”, without the alcohol. Pair it with bubbly seltzer and a squeeze of lemon for a mocktail that’s similar to an old-fashioned. Wilderton’s botanically-based spirits vary from citrusy to spicy and make wonderful editions to fruity mocktails. Find them on the non-alcoholic shelf in our Beer & Wine aisle.

Water Tank & Nutty Norsky

Our dear friends at Breadfarm recently shared that they’ll no longer be distributing their bread in order to focus on production at their storefront. We know it was a tough decision for Renee and Scott, and as the Breadfarm’s very first customer, we are so grateful for the relationship we’ve created with them over the last 19 years. And while it’s a bittersweet farewell, the Co-op will continue our commitment to building strong local partnerships. We are proud to welcome two new local bakeries to the Co-op: Water Tank Bakery and Nutty Norsky! The other good news? You can still visit Scott, Renee, and their exceptional team of Breadfarm bakers in Edison. It’s so worth the trip!

Nutty Norsky Baking Co.

After selling a successful Norwegian bakery in Seattle in 2018, Michelle of Nutty Norksy packed up and moved to beautiful Skagit Valley. When the pandemic hit, Michelle discovered there were no traditional Scandanavian baked goods readily available... enter: Nutty Norsky Baking Company!

Specializing in traditional Norwegian bread and pastries, Nutty Norsky opened as an online bakery with options for delivery or local pickup at Skagit’s Own Fish Market in 2020. And now, you can find Michelle’s specialty bread at the Co-op.

Free of preservatives and made with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients when available, Michelle’s goal is to create products that delight while focusing on family traditions and stirring up childhood memories. Swing by our bread aisle to check out all of Nutty Norsky’s offerings:

- Old World Style Baguettes -

- Rosemary Baguettes -

- Cinnamon Twist Loaf- Sourdough Loaf -

- Swedish Rye Bread- Cardamom Braid -

A Plant-Based Start to 2023

Whether you’ve been vegan for years or are just dipping your toes into a plant-based diet, we’re adding a few new products you’re sure to love!

Carbonaut: Keto-Friendly Bread

Keto friends rejoice! We’re pleased to offer a new Keto-certified, gluten-free, and 100% plant-based bread. Meet Carbonaut! With just 1-2g of net carbs per slice, Carbonaut breads are a great alternative if you’re working on cutting back on carbs in the new year. Choose from seeded, white, and cinnamon raisin bread, as well as plain and seeded herb and garlic bagels. Find them in the bread aisle.

Loca

Think classic American cheese sauce, but make it plant-based, packed full of veggies, and so good that no one at the football watch party will even know it’s made of potatoes, not cheese. Loca is also free of the top 8 allergens, making it an easy option for a big crowd with many different dietary needs. Choose from mild cheddar and spicy jalapeno and find them near the shelf-stable salsas and dips.

Core & Rind

And while we’ve got cheese on the brain, we’d be remiss to not mention 2 new flavors of plant-based cheesy sauces from womenowned brand Core & Rind: sharp & tangy and bold & spicy! Whether you use them as the base for a dip, as a cheese replacement for mac and cheese, or drizzled on top of tortilla chips for nachos, Core & Rind sauces are vegan, keto-friendly, non-GMO project verified, and made from whole ingredients. Find them near the shelf-stable salsas and dips.

Water Tank Bakery

Located near Cairnspring Mills and the WSU Extension at the Port of Skagit County, woman-owned Water Tank Bakery has been making wholesome bread, cookies, and other baked goods since 2020. And while Water Tank was borne as a result of the pandemic, owner and head baker Rachael Grace Sobczak’s breadmaking story goes back much further.

After graduating from Evergreen State College in 2007, Rachael moved to Skagit Valley and kicked off what would become a 10-year tenure at, you guessed it… Breadfarm, where she was immersed in a world of professional artisanal baking.

In addition to mastering the art of breadmaking during her time at Breadfarm, Rachael had the opportunity to connect with growers and become a frequent customer of both farmstands and local flour mills alike. A passion for baking and a dedication to Skagit’s local food systems are what guided Rachael to build Water Tank to celebrate the flavors and bounty of the Valley.

All of Water Tank Bakery’s breads are made exclusively with Northwestgrown grains milled right next door at Cairnspring Mills. The flour is stoneground and used fresh to retain most of the beneficial oils, fats, and vitamins that wheat has to offer. Not to mention, the texture and flavor of these breads are simply divine.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op is one of the only place you’ll find Water Tank breads, and we’ll also be using Skagit Wheat and Glacier White as the foundation of our famous Deli sandwiches.

Water Tank Bakery Breads available at Skagit Valley Food Co-op:

- Skagit Wheat -

- Roasted Onion Boule -

- Raisin Walnut Bread -

- Seeded Loaf -

- Sliced Sandwich White -

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Bakery owner, Michelle Morck

Nutty Norsky’s sweet breads carried at the Co-op

Water Tank owner, Rachael Grace Sobczak. Photo: Suzanne Rothmeyer

I’ve heard the Co-op referred to as many things, from “my favorite place in Skagit” to “that bougie middleclass hippie place”. We’ve been told we are cozy and welcoming and also accused of being too friendly. Some paint us with broad strokes while others pick us apart with a fine-tooth comb, and yet, here we are. Through many remodels, resets, and maybe a few regrets we are entering into the 50th year of something that started as a spark of an idea by a group of average folks making it up as they went along.

I used to imagine the Co-op as a hub of a wheel. We were at the center, rotating around by the work of many, moving forward. Then I started to see us more like a great tree with the roots and the leaves and the sun. We’ve got the members and the customers and the Board of Trustees and the staff – but I couldn’t decide who were the roots or if we all were the roots. My most recent visual is more of a spider’s web. I’ve always been fascinated by spiders and their ability to build a home that doubles as a trap, out of nothing. They don’t march off to snip off bits of leaves and then glue them together or gather bits of fluff from dry grass to weave a nest. They pull the material out of their body and then make this beautifully complex web, which is actually how I imagine this Co-op started: one fragile string linked to another and another until you stand back and see it glimmering with jewels of rainbow dew.

Thinking back of the early days I reached out to two of my favorite main threads on the web of the Co-op: Todd and Bev. I asked them specifically what the first wellness products they remember us selling were, and their responses delighted me and confirmed one of my initial guesses: Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap. It’s not like it’s a requirement that Co-op shoppers have tried it (I do get pretty jazzed up when I get to introduce someone to it), but it’s kind of a rite of passage. Both Bev and Todd remember us selling the peppermint in bulk, as we still do, so folks could bring back their gummed-up bottles to refill and pay by weight. It’s the wonder soap –just read the label –that can be used for everything from washing your dog, your clothes, your body, your dishes. Rumor has it that the hard core amongst us even wash their teeth with it.

I remember in college I lived in a big tomb on Grant Street in Bellingham. Like many college houses, the layout made no sense. The bathroom was on the other side of the house from the bedrooms, right next to the kitchen, and in that shower was a big tub of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap. Many Saturday mornings as I made coffee, the sound of “SQUEEEEE” would erupt from the bathroom as a house guest decided to give it a go and got the icy jolt of peppermint all over their tenderbits. We’d grin and chuckle as the embarrassed but MINTY FRESH house guest emerged from the steam and began to try to explain what just happened when their soul left their body for a hot second. No, we never warned them.

This is by no means a unique experience either. I have shared many, many laughs with people over this very Dr. Bronner’s whoosh-factor. Even if it’s a cliché, I wholeheartedly embrace it. I’m okay being considered so crunchy that I fangirl over a soap company that started in 1948 and seek out other followers in the houseware aisle. Recently, one of the reps from Dr. Bronner’s came and visited our store. Josh looked like he was cosplaying The Dude from the Big Lebowski, and I mean that as a compliment. He was exceedingly funny and positive. He was so clearly stoked to work for Dr. Bronner’s and checked all the boxes I expect from such an iconic company: he ran a small store with kombucha on tap, he wore a

necklace he found while he was cleaning up garbage on the beach, and he played guitar in a band that sounded like a hug feels. He absolutely is in the web of crunchy Co-op kids who burn their buns now and then, accidentally on purpose.

When I asked about the early-on supplements, both Todd and Bev mentioned that it was a while before that part of the store took off. Initially, the Co-op’s focus was on THE FOOD – and much of it still is. The Wellness Department is a small corner now, but it started as mere inches in the original storefront. We started with bulk herbs and empty capsules. If you wanted to not taste the sucking bitterness of Goldenseal, then prepare to have yellow fingertips as you scooped it into gelatin capsule halves that came together with a satisfying SNAP!

When I first started shopping at the Co-op, I remember the big machine of bulk capsules, that had a shelf of bulk herbs housed in plastic boxes that you’d slid into the machine. You’d type in how many capsules you wanted and put the empty plastic bag under the metal spout. It would count out the pills and then you’d pay per pill, like a vending machine full of herbal magic. That thread led me to remember the big carousel of bulk tinctures you could use to refill your own bottles and make a colossal mess all in one poorly planned act of self-care.

Thinking of tinctures reminded me of a customer I had a couple months ago: she was probably a bit younger than me, standing in front of the wall of herbal tinctures early in the morning. As I came around the corner, I could see her eyes scanning the many bottles of herbs in a slightly worried way. The creases of her brow bent in an angle of concern, or maybe pain.

When she turned her face toward me the immensity of her unease hit me –the puffy red rims of recently-crying eyes is a universal sign – and if she had not been a stranger, I would have offered a hug immediately. She held back for a moment, sizing me up to see if I was someone she could trust, as you do when you are about to ask for help. When she began to speak I saw her right hand go up to her heart and rest over it like a shield.

She said she was looking for something to help with anxiety, which has risen to the top ten inquiries we get every day in Wellness. We have many products that people have reported to have helped them. When I looked at her holding her heart, my thoughts went immediately to Motherwort, (Leonurus cardiaca) which translates to Lion Heart. When I first met this plant in the backyard of a very talented herbalist, Erin VanHee, I was enamored with her tall stalk and crown of small invisible thorns around each dainty bloom. The next year, when the plant volunteered in my yard, I felt blessed by the universe and just watching her grow made my heart feel protected by a fierce lion of luck. Just that morning I had contemplated harvesting some to make my own tincture, but wasn’t ready to cut her down.

I asked the sad woman if she had heard of Motherwort as I reached for a bottle of Herb Pharm’s liquid extract. I told her about this plant and what it meant to me and that some people have found it

helpful to ease fears and grief. As I said the word “grief”, her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded her head. She reached out and pulled the small glass bottle to her chest, and then we did hug. Just another couple of crying strangers hugging in the aisles of Wellness. I mean, at this point is it even a workday if I don’t wipe a few tears away?

The gal and I exchanged a few more words and she left. I’d never seen her before or since, so I won’t ever know if she found Motherwort to be helpful for whatever grief was hurting her heart. What I do know, is that somehow, she followed a thread of thought to the Co-op on a day when she needed something more than just a herbal remedy for anxiety. Google and Amazon could have given her both the info and the product, but instead, she walked into our wonky 1919 building with unreliable temperatures and pockmarked floors because she needed to connect with a human that wouldn’t think it odd to believe a plant could bring solace.

I don’t imagine that the group of founding Co-op people could ever have imagined the impact their dreams would someday have on a community. Maybe they just thought “wouldn’t it be great to buy organic beans?” Maybe they sometimes were able to glimpse the potential of a diverse group of people just gathering together for the sake of simple living and deeply loving in a really gorgeous corner of the world. Maybe they did allow themselves to fathom how vast the web they wove would reach once folks decided to shift some priorities, literally into thousands of homes and hearts.

To Bev and Todd, Beth and Cheryl, Marianna and Sherry, and all the other people who started the spinning, who repaired the rips and found new anchors when winds wreaked havoc: a very sincere “Thank You.” Because of you, I get to spend my days surrounded by people who are weirdly wonderful in familiar and new ways. May all your showers be just spicy enough to get your day going and as the Doctor himself proclaims on his label, “In all we do, let us be generous, fair and loving to Spaceship Earth and all its inhabitants. For we are All-One or None!”

Dr. Bronner

Leigha’s Minty-Fresh Shower

The Tea That Can Be Bought Is Not the Tea

by David Feinstein

On the shores of a mythic past in a forest in southwestern China, sat emperor and herbalist extraordinaire Shennong. To bring his people medicine, the semi-divine monarch had resolved to test every plant in the land, on himself. Practicing the public health policy he preached, Shennong boiled water to make it safe for consumption. As the fish eyes came to a rolling boil, a gust of wind came up and blew some leaves from a nearby tree into his vessel: a serendipitous occasion for the experimental herbalist. He drank the infusion and felt revitalized, and Chinese culture was revolutionized. This myth begins to impart the importance of the tea plant in human history. It is with the spirit of Shennong I offer some ideas, inspiration, and encouragement to explore with curiosity.

So, what is this mythical, magical mystery? Thinking of tea as a hot drink resulting from an infusion is a little reductive. This broad category can be cleanly bifurcated into “true” teas and herbal teas. “True” teas come from a single species, Camellia sinensis (with a couple of close relatives). Leaves and occasionally smaller stems are used. Herbal teas, sometimes called tisanes, come from a multitude of plants and plant parts.

It’s incredible how many ways one plant’s leaves can be prepared. For the first 4000 years or so of its 5000-year history of cultivation, Camellia was mainly a bitter medicinal supplement. Innovations in growing, processing, and preparation methods transformed it into something pleasurable. By about 1300 CE, the six primary categories of tea we have today had been established: white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu’erh. I entered this rabbit hole, looking for health benefits, by picking up a tea from the bulk department, looking it up, and drinking just that for a week.

The part of the plant used dictates the preparation method. For tough bits such as seeds and roots, a decoction is the way. Simply bring 32 oz of filtered water and 28 grams of plant matter to a low boil in a saucepan. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, then take it off the heat and let it stand for ten minutes. Now you’re ready to strain it. (Wait, this sounds familiar... is vegetable stock mirepoix tea?)

Mesh Tea Infuser

NORPRO

Softer bits such as leaves and flowers need the gentler touch of an infusion. Achieving a desirable result from infusions requires attention to a few key details: tools, ingredients, and parameters. Suboptimal infusion vessels are common. The most relevant features are the shape and straining method. Tea needs room to expand as it rehydrates, so it can have maximum surface area interacting with the hot water; you need something wide that allows the plant matter to free float. A French press is a great option, there are also mugs that come with quite wide strainer baskets. A general rule of thumb for herbal tea is 1 cup of boiled water to 1 tablespoon of tea for 5 minutes. Be sure to preheat the vessel with some hot water, then discard it before infusing.

While any tea drinking is great, some teas are better than others. Loose-leaf tea is the highest quality and allows the most control of brewing parameters. Tea in bags is a lower grade, made from the dust and fannings, and the bag can limit proper expansion. Tea in sachets is in the middle. It can be decent quality full leaves and allows more room for expansion.

There is a vast world of herbs and herb blends available, with or without Camellia. Making your own blends is also a fun way to play! The herbs and your body will give you direction. One of my favorites is 1 tablespoon chamomile, 1 tablespoon crumbled rose buds, and 1 teaspoon lavender to one cup of boiled water for 5 minutes, yielding a soothing and fragrant nighttime flower stock. Hibiscus is another good choice: it has a tart cranberry-like flavor and a deep red color. It goes well with lots of herbs and spices and has a colossal antioxidant content. It can be its own thing or sweetened and added to cocktails. (I think hibiscus chai licorice is next on my list, oooh!)

A good rule of thumb for black tea is 1.5 tsp of tea to 1 cup 190°F water for 4 minutes. Green does well with 3 grams of tea to 1 cup 170°F water for 2 minutes. While black tea can be forgiving, greens need a little care. A thermometer or temperature-controlled

kettle are useful for getting the temperature right, as well as a scale to dial in the leaf to water ratio. These are generalities, but looking up the specific tea you have can really help get your leaf stock to sing.

From there you can adjust to your taste preferences. Hotter temperatures and longer times extract more caffeine and bitter compounds while the reverse gives a gentler brew. These are westernized quick infusing techniques, useful sometimes, but they don’t bring the most out of tea.

For that, more traditional eastern methods are called for. Multiple infusions of the same leaf for a shorter time gracefully unfurl layers of different flavors therein. This sort of technique is what would be most useful for artisanally-grown teas. Japanese green teas are my go-to. They have wonderful umami and vegetal flavor and high concentrations of a calming compound called l-theanine (also available as an extract in gummies and capsules). They give you a sort of peaceful calm energy, and it’s easy to see why zen monks use it for meditation.

Whatever tea or technique you prefer, the most important aspect that encompasses them all is the attention you apply. Slowing down and taking time to pay attention to the process and sensations, the color, the fragrance, the taste, the feeling is what really makes tea. It can’t be bought or sold and no one can do it for you. That’s all the tea I’m spilling today.

Tea Time

Turn over a loose leaf! Let your new favorite tea steep in this handy-dandy mesh tea infuser for the best brew possible.

Green Tea Clay

EVANHEALY

Tea: it’s for more than drinking. This clay is an exfoliating mask alternative, ideal for congested, blemish-prone, dull, and mature skin. Double the fun if you wear it while drinking tea.

Ceramic Collection Mugs

UNITED BY BLUE

Fuel your tea routine with a cute new cup. For every product purchased, United by Blue removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways. We’ll raise a mug to that.

Herbal Tea Blends

BLOOM APOTHECARY

Local herbalist Kelly Ann Nickerson dreams of rekindling the relationship between plants and people one sip at a time. Brew one of her custom blends for your daily dose of herbaceous wellness.

MycoBrew Matcha

HOST DEFENSE MUSHROOMS

Embrace the power of mushrooms while enjoying this modern-day spin on an ancestral infusion. Simply mix with your favorite milk for an uplifting experience.

Grow Your Own Tea

TIMBER PRESS

Make a fresh pot, sit down with this delightful guide from tea farmer Christine Parks and enthusiast Susan Walcott, and discover the joys of growing and processing your own tea at home.

David’s Tea Time

Board Announces 2023 Recipients

The mission of DVSAS is to end domestic violence and sexual assault in the Skagit Valley community through empowerment, advocacy, education, and action for social change.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to provide emergency housing, toiletries, gas, clothing, and food for victims of domestic violence or abusive relationships through Skagit DVSAS’ emergency shelter program.

The mission of the Skagit Valley Family YMCA is to create positive community change through relationships by empowering the mind, body, and spirit of all. The Y is a cause-driven organization focused on four key areas: youth development, health, living, and social responsibility.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to support the Skagit Valley Family YMCA’s new Sedro-Woolley Rec Center, which acts as a dedicated safe space for youth ages 12-17 to gather after school for free, supervised activities and connection to resources and services.

Trial By Flavor introduces patrons to healthy and diverse food choices by offering them inspiration, information, and encouragement. The library offers a free kit of recipes and information focused on a particular flavor profile, seasoning, or ingredient, along with many of the non-perishable ingredients for making a particular recipe.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to expand the program, offering 8 editions of the program in 2023, with 100 take home kits for each edition.

The mission of Concrete Farm to School is to build resilient students and families by providing access to healthy local foods, nutrition and culinary education, and hands-on gardening activities.

Funding from 4% Friday is critical to support the program as Concrete Farm to School moves towards self-sustainability. With increased produce sales, Concrete Farm to School can build an internal funding stream that will ensure the long-term viability of the program for students and families.

Camp Korey’s mission is to honor the courage, strength, and determination of children and their families living with life-altering medical conditions by providing them with a transformational experience in a fun, safe camp environment with specialized medical support.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to create a compost and garden program to empower campers to be good earth stewards through food waste awareness, sustainability, and gardening. Expenses include program staff, 4 food waste bins, starter compost, plant identification signage, and plant starters.

Food to Go is a weekend backpack food program serving children in the Anacortes School District.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to purchase food for children. Food to Go currently packs about 400 bags for children and supplies granola bars and apples to Anacortes High School and Cap Sante High School. Food to Go has returned to delivering bags to the schools for elementary students but is also home delivering some bags for older students.

Photos Courtesy of 4% Friday Recipients

One of our most exciting ways to support the community is through 4% Friday! You shop and together we give 4% of Co-op sales on one Friday a month to a non-profit, charitable community organization.

just think–each of these organizations is, itself, supporting the community! What a great circle of giving.

Skagit Gleaners’ purpose is to provide food, household merchandise, and clothing to frugal, waste-conscious, and working families. Skagit Gleaners does this by rescuing surplus food and products from local businesses, keeping such items out of overflowing landfills.

Skagit Gleaners will use funds from 4% Friday to purchase more culturally appropriate fresh produce from local Mexican-Indigenous farm owners during high harvest months, which is when Skagit Gleaners’ sees a concentration of seasonal farmworkers using its services

Underground Ministries provides community support, reentry accompaniment, and a growing list of services including employment, driver’s license fees and training, housing, assistance in leaving gangs, addiction treatment, and familial reconciliation.

4% Friday funds will support the Underground Ministries community with a variety of needs, including housing costs, drivers licensing, and the purchase of food and body care items. Funds will also help provide counseling to those trying to exit gangs and abusive relationships.

C2C partners with farmworkers to develop cross-cultural awareness, restore justice to food, and promote community relationships. 4% Friday funds will be used to cover the costs of two interactive workshops for farmworker women and their children. The workshops will highlight the importance of healthy food and disease prevention, and will include a hands-on collective cooking session of a full meal with culturally appropriate foods using local and organic ingredients to further promote healthy cooking methods

New Earth Recovery offers safe, high-accountability, and substancefree housing for women and men who want to maintain their sobriety and find healing from wounds that have contributed to cycles of addiction.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to strengthen New Earth Recovery’s garden internship flower share membership program. This includes establishing more perennial varieties in New Earth Recovery’s cut garden area, purchasing any seeds that can’t be donated, re-covering a greenhouse, and investing in longer-lasting tools.

The Mount Vernon Police Department’s Integrated Outreach services focus on providing outreach and aid to Skagit Valley’s homeless population.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used for incidentals such as food, temporary housing, medical expenses, transportation to treatment, prescriptions, and costs involved in replacing important paperwork.

The mission of IRIS is to connect immigrants with existing resources in the community and provide immediate assistance to those experiencing a temporary period of crisis.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used for direct support to IRIS’ recipients. Some examples include partial or full rental payments for those unable to pay due to crisis or potential eviction, shopping trips at Goodwill to purchase basic needs, and shopping trips to grocery stores to purchase culturally appropriate food and hygiene items.

Co-op High-5 Recipes

by Leigha Staffenhagen

If you pulled out all the stops for the holidays and are ready to simplify (and healthify) your plate, we know just the thing – recipes made with 5 ingredients or less! Whether you want to refresh your palate with stellar winter citrus or are looking for a simple, crowd-pleasing spread for the Big Game We Shall Not Name, we’re here to help. Our Co-op High 5 Recipes feature our very own ready-made ingredients, so you can breeze through meal prep and still enjoy a tasty meal.

Choose Your Own Adventure Winter Salad

With such a sensational selection of winter citrus, we won’t tell you which fruit to add to your next winter salad, only that you absolutely should! This chooseyour-own-adventure winter salad lets you pick your preferred citrus and greens, so you can satisfy your current cravings or make the most of your Co-op citrus haul. No matter what, you’ll end up somewhere sunny and delicious.

· 3 of your favorite citrus fruits, peeled and segmented

· 1 cup pomegranate seeds (about half a large pomegranate)

3 cups of your favorite mixed greens - think arugula, spinach, kale, butter lettuce, or local raddicho

The Co-op’s Grilled Citrus Vinaigrette

· 1/2 cup salty cheese - crumbled feta, ricotta salata, chevre

Directions:

On a platter, spread the mixed greens followed by the segmented citrus and pomegranate seeds.

Drizzle on your desired amount of citrus vinaigrette and top with cheese. Serve immediately.

Want a protein? Blackened chicken or a white fish would pair well, or swing by the Deli for current ready-to-eat offerings like Lemon Garlic Chicken, Baked Salmon, or Lemon Rosemary Tofu.

Hidden Veggie Mac & Cheese

You want a cozy bowl of mac and cheese because it’s freezing out. You also want to get your veggies. Enter: hidden veggie mac and cheese! Whether you’re an adult with a kid-like craving or an adult with a picky kiddo, this mac and cheese will do the trick. Serves 6.

· 1 lb elbow macaroni

1 cup cauliflower florets

· 1 cup diced squash - butternut, kabocha, acorn

· 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups milk

Additional pantry ingredients: butter, flour, salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to directions, al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain and set aside.

Add the reserved pasta water, cauliflower, and diced squash to a large pot over medium heat. Cover and cook 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork-tender.

Add the vegetable mix and water to a blender, blending until smooth. Set aside.

In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, slowly whisk in 2 tbsp of flour to create a roux.

Slowly add milk to the roux, whisking until the mixture begins to boil.

Reduce heat to low and stir in the veggie puree followed by the cheese. Continue stirring until all the cheese has melted.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the noodles. Once combined, transfer to a large casserole dish. Broil the macaroni in the oven for 5 minutes to get the top nice and crispy. Serve and enjoy!

Low-Stress Game Day Charcuterie

Super Bowl parties don’t have to be super stressful! With a little help from the Co-op Meat Department, you can put together a quick ‘n’ easy chicken wing charcuterie the whole crew can get behind – no matter which team they’re rooting for. Serves 6–10.

3–4 packs of your favorite Co-op marinated chicken wings - buffalo, Jamaican jerk, garlic & pepper, herb & garlic, habanero & green chile, or teriyaki

6 celery sticks and/or carrot sticks

· 3–4 small bowls filled with wing dipping sauce - Co-op ranch, hummus, jalapeno artichoke dip, chipotle cream cheese dip

· 3 types of cheese - soft, semi-soft, hard

· 2 bags of something crunchy - chips, pretzels, almonds, pistachios

Directions:

Cook the wings according to package directions.

While the wings are cooking, prep the remaining ingredients – cut the veggies, transfer dips to small bowls, and slice cheeses.

Begin to assemble your charcuterie. If you’re serving a large crowd, try to scatter the ingredients throughout the board as opposed to grouping like items together. This will make snacking easier and more accessible from all angles.Make sure to leave space for the wings!

Once the wings are done, let them cool for a couple of minutes, and add them to the board. Score!

Note: Depending on the number of guests, you may want to spread items across multiple boards or plates. Get creative and make your board a spiral of snacky foods, or, go simple and put each ingredient on its own plate.

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs with Stir-Fried Veggies

While we always encourage eating seasonally, sometimes you just need a little taste of summer to get you through. Using our teriyaki-marinated boneless chicken thighs and organic frozen stir fry veggies, this quick hitter adds color to your plate and brightens the mood, without a lot of prep time. Serves 4.

· 2 packs of Co-op Teriyaki Marinated Chicken Thighs

· 1 bag Cascadian Farm Organic Frozen Chinese-style Stir-Fry Vegetables

1 cup white rice

Additional pantry ingredients: coconut oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, red chili flakes

Directions:

Prepare rice – on the stove or in a rice cooker.

Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add in the chicken. Cover with a lid and cook for 8 minutes.

Remove the cover and flip the chicken. Cook for another 5-8 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

While the chicken is cooking, heat another skillet over high heat. Once hot, toss in the veggies.

As the chicken cooks, you’ll notice that the excess teriyaki marinade will form a glaze on the bottom of the skillet. Push the chicken around in the glaze to make sure you soak up all the flavorful bits.

Once cooked, distribute the rice across plates and top with cooked chicken.

Season your vegetables with salt and pepper to taste, and distribute them across the plates. Sprinkle red chili flakes for an extra kick. Enjoy!

Celebrating 50 Years of Community Giving

In the next 20 years, 70% of all Washington farmers are expected to retire and take their knowledge with them, and there’s potential their farmland will no longer be farmed.

Viva Farms is creating a succession plan – training the next generation of farmers to care for our land, grow our food, and nourish our communities – a cutting-edge farming model located right here in Skagit Valley.

Viva’s values are evident in the work. Economic viability is critical, and after starting with just five farmers, farming on eight acres, Viva has since educated over 1,400 beginning farmers (350+ Spanish speakers) in sustainable organic farming and business management. Now, they are one of the largest – in both acreage and sales – and comprehensive farm incubator programs in the nation. 79% of Viva farmers were profitable in 2021!

In addition to economic viability, Viva cares deeply about environmental sustainability and equity. Viva Farms implements and teaches sustainable and organic agricultural practices to reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, regenerate soil, and use less energy. That’s a breath of fresh air for Skagit Valley! Viva is committed to increasing healthy food access through discounts and sliding scale pricing to individuals and food banks. Viva has provided nearly 100,000 pounds of local, organic produce to low income consumers and emergency food programs since 2020.

For these reasons, it only makes sense that the Co-op has been working with and contributing to Viva Farms for years. Our produce department has long been carrying fresh, organic produce from Viva Farms and its individual farmers for you to enjoy. And with your help, we have donated thousands of dollars to Viva over the years through our 4% Friday and Tokens for Tomorrow community giving programs. The Co-op even rallied together with people and businesses throughout the Valley to help Viva replace a stolen tractor in 2022!

We are excited to take what has already been a meaningful partnership to the next level. $100,000 is the largest single donation Viva Farms has ever received, and we feel certain the impact will carry well into the future.

Viva’s work is multi-faceted and complex, with needs that shift based on the weather, other grants and contributions, and the sometimes unpredictable nature of farming and demand for food. With that in mind, the Board has agreed to flexible

use of the funds according to Viva’s needs, whether it be equipment, training, land, infrastructure, or otherwise. However, moving forward, you can expect to see updates and reports from Viva Farms on how the funds are supporting Viva’s mission of empowering aspiring and limited-resource farmers.

Part of the Co-op’s partnership with Viva Farms also includes opportunities for you, our beloved member-owners and shoppers, to dig deeper into farming in Skagit Valley. We’re kicking off the year with an introductory evening at the Lincoln Theatre on Thursday, January 26th! It’s a chance for you to learn more about Viva Farms and its incredible work, as well as getting to know some local farmers who’ve participated in Viva’s programming. We’ll be following up the event throughout the year with in-store meet-n-greets and on-farm tours of Viva’s operations here in Skagit Valley.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, next time you shop at the Co-op and put Viva Farms produce in your cart, you can take heart, knowing you helped grow it.

Former Viva Farmers, Amy & Jacob Giving a Tour of Boldy Grown Farm. Photo: Organically Grown Company

WELLNESS

Acupuncture

Barbara Paul-Mayer, MAc. LAC 360-336-6809

Core Synchronism Julie Kongs 360-630-6742

Colon Therapy Jayne De Felice, I-ACT Certified 360-336-5220

Reiki & Theta Healing® Valerie Jean Rose, Reiki Master 360-840-1723

Massage Therapy Spencer Kelliher, LMT 425-231-7605

Rolfing Structural Integration® Nils Larsen 360-293-5866

Clinical Massage & Lymph Drainage GuruBani Whitney, LMT, CLT, CPHt, RH www.alchemy-wellness.co

Meet the 1st Quarter Tokens for Tomorrow groups!

With Tokens for Tomorrow, every time you bring in a reusable shopping bag, we honor your commitment to reducing waste with a token worth 8¢ that you can give back to one of these local organizations:

Jeremy Young

Produce Department Co-op Employee since April 2019

Favorite items in the Co-op: The bakery’s Cheddar and Chive scones, honey-roasted peanut butter, and Gold Nugget mandarins.

Favorite meal to make at home with Co-op ingredients: Hand-tossed pizza using the Co-op’s pizza dough, topped with whatever local veggies I bring home.

Favorite way to spend time outside of work:

Playing board games, video games, and hiking with my wife and our dog.

Amethyst by the Sea

Caryn Boyd Diel is now offering treatments at Coherence Wellness Center in Mt. Vernon.

She has been working with clients and students around the world for over 40 years.

Specializing in Abdominal Health and Energy Medicine.

read about her offerings at the website: AmethystbytheSea.com

Skagit

Skagit Legal Aid

Friends of Skagit Beaches

Friends

Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County aim to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. They provide a safe, fun, positive space for youth ages 6-18 to thrive in, where they engage in programs focusing on priority outcomes of academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship.

Food is... Intel

REIKI BLESSINGS

Because We Care Rescue

Because We Care is a foster-based animal rescue focused on pregnant or nursing mama dogs needing a safe home. Donations help pay for food, medical care, and travel expenses for local animals looking for their forever homes.

by Karl Mincin

Food is so much more than calories, and humans are more than calorie-burning machines. Food is intel.

Great health, including safe and sustainable weight loss, involves far more than balancing the thermodynamic equation (calories out > calories in). All too often burning more calories than we consume does not lead to fat loss. Food is sub-cellular, bio-electric energy. Far more than thermogenic heat energy, it influences the totality of our genetic makeup and mitochondrial function, the heart of our subcellular makeup. Phytonutrients influence genetic expression. All calories are not created equal; calories from avocado have a completely different metabolic impact than calories from a donut. A calorie is not just a calorie.

Most plant foods fall into the carbohydrate category, or what I refer to as slow carbs, which are low-glycemic and don’t spike our blood sugar or insulin (the fat storage hormone). Slow carbs come loaded with nutrients, fiber, and amazing molecules called phytochemicals. Colorful plants are the number one superfood. When you eat a veggieloaded diet, focusing on these low-glycemic-load plant foods, your weight normalizes. You feel better without the sugar crashes. You reduce your risk for numerous diseases. Food isn’t just like medicine, it is medicine.

Food is color. Colorful food leads to more colorful food, and color can change mood. Mood, of course, impacts behavior, performance, and whole body-mind health. Count colors, not calories! And the greener, the better. Chlorophyll is plant blood, identical to human hemoglobin except for one central mineral difference (magnesium in place of iron). It is one of the few substances on the planet that can simultaneously nourish and detoxify. Even the lowest calorie diet, in a sluggish metabolism and toxic body, will not result in sustainable, healthful weight loss.

Food is the most powerful drug on the planet. It can improve the expression of thousands of genes, balance dozens of hormones, optimize tens of thousands of protein networks, reduce inflammation, activate enzymes, and optimize your microbiome (gut flora), including those beneficial bacteria responsible for burning fat! Our microbiome also determines how much brown fat the body produces, which is the healthiest, and most metabolically active.

Dietary diversity matters. A healthy diversified diet promotes a healthier diversified microbiome, which in turn promotes better overall health. Next time you’re in the produce section, consider what new food or different color you’re going to try that will build better biology.

It’s never just one thing. Nutrition is nuanced and the human body is complex. Two overweight individuals can have two completely different root causes and require two different diets and treatment protocols. Just as a one-size diet doesn’t fit all, a one-size oversimplified approach to weight management doesn’t fit all. We need a new approach, an understanding that nutrition can and must be personalized. Bio-individuality rules. Personalization is key.

For effective weight management and improved health, count colors, not calories. The right stuff can help you lose weight, even with equicaloric intake. This is because food is far more than calories, it is intel that programs our metabolic machinery, for better or worse! With each bite, we either feed or fight disease.

Karl Mincin is a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in practice for 36 years 360.336.2616 | Nutrition-Testing.com Instagram @MincinNutritionist | Facebook @NutritionTesting1

Legal Aid expands access to the civil justice system for historically underrepresented and underserved people and seeks to identify and eliminate barriers that perpetuate poverty and racism and deny justice, which makes our community a more equitable, happier, healthier, and safer place to live and work.

of Skagit Beaches develop volunteer programs and activities in Skagit County to protect marine shorelines and nearshore waters through education, citizen science, and stewardship projects. Tokens for Tomorrow Funds will help support the Skagit Plastics Reduction and Recycling Coalition and the Stormwater Outfall Monitoring Program.

What a Good “Adilla”! Quesadillas & Their Companions

by Sarah Stoner

There isn’t much to tell you about the quesadilla that you don’t already know.

Quesadillas are warm comfort; simple, fast, and filling; and as complex and varied as you have time, and preference, and patience.

The name “quesadilla” translates as “little cheesy thing.” You’d think that makes cheese an essential ingredient of the quesadilla, but friends and Google inform me that Mexico City is King of the Quesadilla, and often, cheese is not the main ingredient for most street food tacos there. What? A little cheesy thing without cheese! I know. My well-traveled friend Tobin swears by his favorite non-cheese quesadillas: Hongos (mushroom), Huitlacoche (corn smut mold), Papas (potato), Rajas (pepper strips) and Sesos (cow brain)

Here are three versions, including our family’s two favorite variations of the quesadilla. The quesadilla recipe showcases a few of the many ways to make these little cheesy things your own. Hearing so many favorite variations from friends and family and neighbors made me feel a tad closer to everyone, imagining the alchemy of our kitchens, the infinite variety of our unique imprints on food—and our shared comfort in a warm little cheesy thing.

The Quesadilla, Historically

Oaxaca cheese is the traditional filling in a traditional masa (corn) quesadilla. Oaxaca cheese is stringy, semi-hard, and white. Once filled, the Mexican quesadilla would be cooked on a smooth flat griddle called a comal. Today, quesadillas have made their way onto menus all over the world. You will find numerous adaptions of the quesadilla, for any meal.

The Quesadilla, Plain & Simple

Grab a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Toast a large tortilla on both sides, then add half a cup of shredded cheese, spreading it evenly. Toss on optional toppings and then put the lid on your skillet to steam the cheese into melting. With your spatula, fold the quesadilla in half—or place a second whole tortilla on top of the first and flip. Kitchen shears work well to cut finished quesadillas. Repeat to make more quesadillas and serve them with the accompaniments you’ve chosen like sour cream, pico de gallo, and avocado.

The Quesadilla, A Few Favorite Accompaniments & Variations

- Houseboat Nancy always adds a sprinkle of celery salt to the outside of her tortilla!

- Doug in Portland uses no oil to heat up the tortillas, adds a splash of Tapatio to taste to his four-cheese blend, and mashes up an avocado with salt to eat on the side—preferably in alternating bites.

- Connie Alice in California throws in cooked veggies like broccoli and adds salsa.

- Erin on the farm in Van Zandt loves quality basics which for her means using home-processed lard out of the freezer long after the pigs are gone for a wonderful meaty flavor. Then, it’s all about the toppings: fresh pico de gallo from in-season with heirloom tomatoes, peppers from the greenhouse, cilantro, garlic, and onions all fresh from the farm. Just a smidge of salt and lime imported!

- Homeschool parent of many years Amy said quesadillas were their most common lunch. Her favorite tweak is adding her homemade kimchi, using the recipe of another local homeschool mom—essentially, gingery, salty, garlicky cabbage. Also, adding home-cooked beans!

- Neighbor Kelsey’s family likes garlic jack cheese in their quesadillas while neighbor Anna is torn up by the question: “red sauce or green sauce?” for her flor de calabaza (zucchini blossom) quesadillas. For sure, Manchego cheese!

- Liz’s quesadillas in Seattle have a light layer of black beans—always. And a mix of cheeses (jack and cheddar), with fresh avocado slices in the cooked quesadilla, not on top.

- Kristan in Bellingham has a go-to breakfast quesadilla: tortilla with melted goat cheese gouda. She adds at least half an avocado and a fried egg on top, with fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of Celtic salt. Always a corn tortilla! Her favorite purchased quesadilla is one with hen-of-the-woods mushroom, epazote and habanero salsa, but you have to go to Berkley for it.

- Natasha in south Seattle likes adding fresh basil and tomato. What is a favorite quesadilla variation of yours?

Sarah Stoner grew up in Uganda, Morocco, Belgium, and Thailand and lived in the U.S. for the first time at age 18. Along with her family, Sarah planted herself in the Skagit Valley area where she’s watched her children grow from being nursed to moving confidently in the kitchen, feeding themselves their first PB-adillas sarahjstoner@hotmail.com

Samosa-dilla

While a perfectly made, expertly fried, and quickly served samosa might be superior to this version, that’s a hard-to-come-by samosa. By comparison, this quesadilla approach to the samosa is an approachable and delicious comfort food in fall and winter.

Your family will beg for more! Consider a double batch or make the potatoes ahead of time for a quicker dinner.

· 11/2 lbs gold potatoes, peeled + cubed kosher salt to taste

· 1 tbsp olive oil

· 1 tbsp butter

1 large yellow onion, diced

· 1 1/2 tsp garam masala

· 1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

For Cilantro Lime Chutney:

· 2 small bunches of fresh cilantro

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves

· 1/4 cup sliced green onions

· 1 serrano pepper, sliced

· 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

· 1 serrano pepper, minced

· 3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped

· 1 cup green peas

· 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 lemon, juiced

· 1 lime, juiced

1/2 cup plain yogurt

· salt to taste

PB-adilla

Like a crepe, but like a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, but like its own unique roll-up of sweet savory warm gooey goodness. Aside from being delicious, the PB-adilla has a special place in my heart due to being one of the first foods my kids felt confident to make on the stovetop. Their first stepping stone to food confidence, sustenance, and comfort in the kitchen. Take a bite!

· Butter (or other fat)

1-2 tbsp peanut butter (or, spread at will)

· 1-2 tbsp jelly (your choice of flavor)

· 1 large flour tortilla

Melt the butter in a warm pan on medium-high heat. Spread the peanut butter onto half of the tortilla. Cook until the peanut butter is melty warm and the tortilla is slightly crisp and lightly browned.

Remove from the pan onto a plate, and spread the jelly onto the other half. Roll the tortilla up starting with the jelly side first, pinching the bottom so the insides don’t drip out!

Place potatoes into a pot of cold water. Stir in salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer over medium heat until cubes are tender but still hold their shape, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander and set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Cook and stir until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1 tsp of kosher salt, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne in a small bowl for the spice mix.

Add serrano pepper, garlic, ginger, and the spice mix to the onions. Cook and stir until the mixture is well combined, about 2 minutes. Add peas; cook until heated through and slightly tender, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl with the potatoes. Add cilantro and lemon juice. Mix with a spatula until the filling is well combined, with some potatoes partially mashed. Add more salt if needed.

Combine cilantro, mint, green onions, serrano pepper, lime juice, and yogurt in blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt.

Spread a few spoonfuls of the filling over one-half of 1 tortilla. Fold in half. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas. Feel free to melt some mild cheese over the tortilla before adding the filling.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook each quesadilla until browned and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the quesadilla onto your work surface and cut it in thirds. Plate and serve, alongside the chutney sauce.

You know the type: when they show up, the room shifts. There’s just something about them. With them arrives an energy – they are kinetic and magnetic. And yes, attractive. They orbit around each other, and everyone else around them, inevitably. Great stories, better jokes, and a strong interpersonal connection cemented with fierce but friendly eye contact. Bon vivants, now immediate best friends. That’s Patrick and Lisa.

Proud owners of Beso Imports in Anacortes, the two found each other at a climbing gym, and haven’t looked down, or back, since. After years of traveling together in their free time experiencing the world’s best, they uncovered a gem: a hidden valley of exquisite vineyards. Tastings led to friendships led to business relationships, and in January 2018, the two established Beso Imports. It is with that same room-altering presence and passion, Patrick and Lisa approach their business of importing world-class wine from Mexico.

Yes, Mexico.

If you let your mind wander south of the border, where does it take you? The more popularized images include tacos, tequila, beaches, and bright colors. Margaritas and pool parties, siestas and sunburns. And maybe, drugs and danger, too. Indeed, Mexico is a place of great celebration and spirit. Mucha fiesta: feast and fest.

When I think of Mexico, a piñata explodes – a sweet scattering of thoughts, too much to grasp or gather all at once. But I try anyway. I envision tiny ants marching across a tile counter, masters of opportunity feeding the queen with my tostada crumbs. Street dogs and beach dogs with wagging tongues and tails. Kissing a stranger in the bar, a couple kissing on a park bench in el jardin. Architecture – both modern-day Mexico City and of Mayan ruins. Of standing atop the Temple of the Moon contemplating el pasado and el futuro while eating a peanut butter ‘n’ jelly sandwich. A bright scorching sun separated from an underwater world of caves and caverns by jungle vines and bougainvillea. Waking up to the sound of horned instruments – a random parade passing by in the street, a riotous reminder to celebrate… whatever you want.

Mexico is vibrant—a land of details, of contrast, of pride. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any sweeter, I met them. And you know the type: only they could pull off such an enterprise. When Patrick and Lisa showed up to the Co-op for a private wine tasting, we just knew – knew that we had to partner with them to bring Mexican wines to you

We swished and we swirled, while Patrick and Lisa shared the relatively untold story of Valle de Guadalupe. Valle de Guadalupe lies east of Ensenada and a few hours south of California on the Baja Peninsula. The valley boasts a Mediterranean growing climate tempered by the marine influence of the Pacific. And while this may be your first encounter with “El Valle”, the region’s first grapes were planted in 1791.

Centuries-old vines paired with Mexican tradition, passion, and pride have resulted in unparalleled fruit, both in variety and character – grapes that taste of place – the epitome of terroir.

The region has been compared to Napa before it was Napa, but here, there will be no massive expansion, nor degradation of charm or merit. The valley itself is limited by geography, tucked tightly between mountains and ocean. More importantly, El Valle’s viticulturists are a talented group, committed to making wine the right way. There’s no desire to scale up; they care too much about the land, the vines, their livelihoods. Most of the wineries focus on small batch production. In a typical year, a winery may release 2,000 cases of wine, a stark contrast to the megaliths who release 80,000 cases of a single wine. In El Valle, the ethos is quality over quantity every time. And, this year’s vintage doesn’t taste exactly the same as last year’s, because it shouldn’t. The nuances of a growing season are intended to be a pleasant surprise to the palate.

Patrick and Lisa were drawn in by the people, their acumen and attention to detail. The two tasted offerings from over 150 wineries in Valle de Guadalupe to refine their portfolio, which is the most extensive portfolio of Mexican wines available in the U.S., with exclusive import of over 50 wines from 12 boutique estates to the Washington market.

Patrick and Lisa say it best: “We have made it our mission to navigate the region with onsite experience grounded in personal direct relationships with winery owners and their vintners. Every wine that makes it into our portfolio does so after having been tasted by us personally during visits to the estates. We take the time to familiarize ourselves with the principal members of the wine making team, their wines, their wine making practices, as well as the land they cultivate and the philosophy that drives them. We are proud to say that the practices and people behind these wines are just as interesting as the wines themselves - driving their appeal with a quality that is both authentic and just downright delicious.”

The dedication to excellence is obvious when you pick up a bottle. There’s an empty bottle of Monte Xenic Chenin Blanc sitting on a shelf in my garage that weighs two pounds, heavy and substantial in the hand. It doesn’t have to, but it does, and it feels right, like thick stationery. (And yes, I’m still dreaming and scheming a way to build an earthship home out of all the wine bottles I’ve consumed in my lifetime.)

And the art! Oh, the art. Maybe you, too, sometimes select a wine simply because the label made you do it. Many of the wineries collaborate with local artists to create one-of-a-kind designs. I happen to have

have a bottle of (unopened) Finca de Carrodilla Canto de Luna (Song of the Moon) on my kitchen counter, that enticed me with gold foil branches and slender sprite fingers skimming a dark and mysterious pool. There is no doubt, magic at the bottom.

Pride, intention, spirit. It’s how viticulturists in El Valle approach their wines; it’s how Patrick and Lisa approach their relationships and business; and it ripples through each and every bottle. One sip and you’ll know. Guadalupe belongs on the list of West Coast wines you already know –Napa, Willamette, Columbia.

And so, it is with great pride, from one magical valley to another, you’ll find a rotating selection of Beso Imports specialty wines here at the Co-op, so you can uncork a little part of Mexico.

Beso Imports Owners, Patrick and Lisa. Photo: E.J. Harris Photography Song of the Moon

A Sensational Selection of Beso Imports Mexican Wines. Photo: E.J. Harris Photography

When first meeting Jacob Slosberg and Amy Frye, you might not be shocked to learn that they are farmers. Though young for the job, they look the part; they work too hard not to. You won’t often catch them out of their flannels and boots. Running an independent organic farm as large as theirs is no joke. They are the founders, owners, and operators of Boldly Grown Farm in Bow, WA, and one of our main suppliers of local, organic vegetables.

Amy and Jacob both have deep roots in the sustainable agriculture movement. Born in Seattle, Jacob grew up an avid outdoorsman. He spent much of his youth kayaking, backpacking, and skiing the Northwest. His appreciation of the natural world led to an abiding interest in sustainability, which in turn led him to examine the links between sustainable farming methods and healthy wildlands. Growing up in Minnesota, Amy was similarly enamored with the outdoors and spent many of her formative years helping out on her grandparents’ farm. They both decided to go to school for agriculture at the University of British Columbia, where they met and began dating. While there, they managed seven acres of crops with three greenhouses and 200 chickens, supplying not only the campus kitchens with produce but local restaurants and a CSA, as well.

Traveling back and forth between Seattle and Canada on breaks, they’d considered the Skagit Valley as a possible farm site. At the time, Viva Farms, our local organic farm incubator, was in its nascence. In 2014, Jacob was at the Washington Tilth Conference, where he met Ray DeVries, owner and second-generation farmer of Ralph’s Greenhouse. If Anne Schwartz of Blue Heron Farm is our local matriarch of organic and sustainable agriculture, then Ray is probably the patriarch. He mentioned to Jacob a job opening at Osbourne Seeds in Mt. Vernon. Between that and the possibilities offered by Viva, Amy and Jacob made the move to Skagit after graduating from UBC.

Jacob and Amy started farming at Viva Farms as Boldly Grown in 2015. They came and introduced themselves to me early on and asked which niches in the local produce supply chain they might be able to fill. We all thought that focusing on storage crops was a wise strategy, as the Co-op already had a number of strong local farms covering many of our needs through the season proper. That year, Boldly Grown farmed a single acre at Viva Farms in Burlington. The following year they farmed two, and the acreage nearly doubled every year thereafter. By 2021, they were farming 25 acres, with fields, pack sheds, greenhouses, and an office scattered between five sites. They were also raising two small children; Leo is now six, Ayla is two and a half. It was time for a home base.

In midsummer of 2021, Boldly Grown officially moved to an old 58-acre dairy farm in Bow. It had been derelict for some time. Five feet of weeds covered what property wasn’t occupied by collapsing barns. The one benefit of having been vacant for so long, is that they were able to put the land immediately into organic production. It took a lot of work to pull off, but this year, they farmed 28 of the 40 or so tillable acres, plus five acres of rye – their first-ever grain crop. The land includes eight acres of riparian barrier on the Samish River, which provides habitat, shields the river from heat, and acts as a groundwater filter. To get it done, they had to pull down approximately 50,000 square feet of decrepit barns and outbuildings, convert

the sturdiest barn into a pack shed, construct a greenhouse, add in buried irrigation, and renovate the house on the property. They also just put in a retail farmstand, which they hope to keep open year-round.

There’s a lot yet to be done; they’ve brought in an architect to design an additional pack shed with on-site winter crop storage, and they will keep clearing more land to put into production. Though there are already 275 subscribers, there’s room for their winter CSA to grow, and Amy hopes to have enough laying hens soon to keep the stand supplied with eggs.

Boldly Grown has been one of our key suppliers since 2016, and we are so excited for them to be able to keep growing. At this point, we are the only grocery store they deliver to directly, and they plan to keep it that way. “When we say the Co-op, there’s only one co-op we have in mind!” laughed Jacob.

“Finally, we can put down roots, and we’re excited it’s in the Skagit.” Amy added: “We are able to farm in the way that got us excited about farming in the first place, and we’re trying to pace ourselves; we’re going to be here awhile.”

Rad Grower Recipes

If you don’t know already, Amy and Jacob love vegetables and vegetable puns in equal measure. They also farm radicchio, which makes them Rad Growers! Rad, right? Here are a few of their favorite ideas to make the raddest, baddest recipes from Boldly Grown radicchio.

Amy says, “We mostly eat it in salads. Our goto dressing is to mix some combo of mayo, plain yogurt, and sour cream in equal parts, add a couple cloves of garlic paste with kosher salt, then add white wine vinegar and lemon juice to taste and thickness you desire, and lots of black pepper. Then, some combo of the following: pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, roast squash, croutons, dried bread crumbs, blue cheese, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds...lots of options!”

Pink Radicchio Salad with Red Pears

Compliments of Farm & Larder | www.farmandlarder.com

· 1 head pink Rosalba radicchio, halved, cored, and cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips

· 1 red D’Anjou pear, cored and thinly sliced 1/2 cup high-quality olive oil

· 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

· 1 clove garlic, crushed Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Place the radicchio in a large bowl.

Whisk the olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar together. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.

Drizzle about half of the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to incorporate, then add more as desired.

Top salad with pear slices. Add more fresh ground pepper over if needed.

Variations:

Feel free to toss in a few handfuls of arugula, toasted pecans, and even crumbled blue cheese to make this salad a main course.

Season

Rainbow beets, purple and savoy cabbage, radicchio, kohlrabi, winter squash BOLDLY GROWN FARM

Shiitake, Oyster, and Lion’s Mane mushrooms, mushroom grow kits, and dried Reishi and Shiitake CASCADIA MUSHROOMS

Apple cider (not organic) CEDARDALE ORCHARDS

Pea shoots, spicy mix, mild, red kohlrabi, radish, & pea shoot microgreens (not certified organic) DAHLIA DEPOT

Cubed Sugar Hubbard squash SHERMAN’S PIONEER FARM

Shallots, green cabbage, Savoy cabbage, January King Savoy Cabbage, winter squash HEDLIN FAMILY FARMS

Leeks, parsnips, cabbage, and daffodils RALPH’S GREENHOUSE

Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp apples

BROWNFIELD ORCHARDS

Assorted winter squash

WELL FED FARM, HEDLIN FAMILY FARM, WAXWING FARM MOONDANCE FARM, & THE CROWS FARM

Sunflower sprouts

MOONDANCE FARM

Sunchokes SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

Honeycrisp apple cider and grape cider SAUK FARM

Join us in the Produce Department on Saturday, January 28 from 12pm-4pm for a free radicchio sampling with Boldly Grown Farm!

Want to learn more about radicchio, or even just how to pronounce it?

Boldly Grown Owners, Jacob & Amy. Photo: Shawn Linehan