January 2, 2025

Spotlight on Bob’s Red Mill

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Bob’s Red Mill this week to shed a little light on this employee-owned business that has been offering stone-milled grains for over 40 years. Member-owners can enjoy 20% off all of Bob’s Red Mill products this week (January 2-8). Read on to learn more about their unique business model and their commitment to using traditional stone milling techniques to deliver healthy high-quality grain products to store shelves.

At Bob’s Red Mill, they believe that quality can’t be rushed. That’s why they manufacture their products using time-honored techniques, like grinding whole grains at cool temperatures with a traditional stone mill. Their beautiful stone grinding mills are much like the ones used during early Roman times and unlike the more commonly used high-speed steel rollers, their mills ensure the most nutritious parts of the whole grain remain intact. It was these beautiful antique grinding mills that first inspired founder Bob Moore to start Bob’s Red Mill over 40 years ago.

An Employee-Owned Business

On Bob’s 81st birthday, rather than receiving gifts, he decided to give his greatest gift away – his business! Bob surprised all of his employees by giving them total ownership of Bob’s Red Mill through an employee stock ownership program (ESOP). Bob didn’t extend this gesture as a means to step away from the company he had created so he could ease into a comfortable retirement. He did so because of his firm belief in putting people before profit, and giving due appreciation to the people who’ve made a company strong. Despite hundreds of lucrative offers to buy his company as he approached “retirement age”, Bob chose the rare path of putting people first and gifted his company to his dedicated, hard-working staff.

Milling, Testing, Packaging, & Distributing Under One Roof

The folks at Bob’s Red Mill knew from day one that if they wanted to ensure the best products possible and ensure quality every step of the way that they’d have to be able to do it themselves. Their facilities in Milwaukie, Oregon include the 325,000 sq ft headquarters, laboratory, and manufacturing plant, plus a 127,000 sq ft distribution center! Their gluten-free products are produced and tested in their separate gluten-free-only facilities to ensure product safety.

Bob and his wife Charlee at the Bob's Red Mill Headquarters — Bob and his wife Charlee at the Bob’s Red Mill Headquarters

Sourcing the Finest Products From Their Farms to Your Table

At Bob’s Red Mill, the relationship with the final product begins at the source. They maintain personal relationships with farmers across the country and make an effort to visit their farms. Together, they are able to ensure that they’re offering the best product available, while always using best practices.

Be sure to check out the Bob’s Red Mill website for more info and don’t miss their extensive collection of recipes!

December 31, 2024

The Dark Side of the Cashew Industry

Cashews are a pantry favorite, but their production often comes at a steep human and environmental cost. From unethical labor practices to ecological damage, the hidden realities of this popular nut deserve a closer look.

This is a repost from Equal Exchange. You can read the original article here.

Why it matters which brand you buy

“If cashew importers want to ensure that their supply chains are not tainted with forced labor and abuse, they need to very closely scrutinize where they source their products.”

— Joseph Amon, Director of Human Rights Watch, Health & Human Rights Division

According to a 2018 study conducted for the Trade and Development Program of the Belgian government:

“… of the total 439,000 tons of cashew nuts that were exported globally in 2016, only 14,000, or three percent were sold under fair trade terms.”

Cashews: Healthy nuts, toxic industry

The popularity of cashew nuts has been steadily growing in recent years. They are valued for their rich, creamy flavor, high nutritious value, and the ease with which they can be substituted into plant-based diets. As the niche of health-conscious consumers widens across the globe, sales of cashews are also rising exponentially. According to Zion Reports, the cashew market is projected to expand about 4.5% annually from 2023 through 2030. Global sales generated almost $8 billion last year and are expected to reach $11 billion by 2030.

Although the health and nutrition benefits of cashew consumption are increasingly well-known and widely touted, sadly, the darker side of the cashew industry is shrouded in a lack of transparency. The global cashew nut trade is marred by unsafe and exploitative working conditions, poverty-line wages, and ecologically unsustainable supply chains. After Human Rights Watch released its 2011 report entitled, The Rehab Archipelago, an article in Time Magazine covering the industry, began with the question: “First there were blood diamonds from the Congo. Then, blood rubies from Burma. Could blood cashews from Vietnam be next?”

The human cost of cashew processing

According to ImpACT International, in a November 2019 article, Cashews are Delicious, but Come with a Human Cost:

“The cashew industry relies on a brutal manufacturing process to bring its products to market, including the forced labour and the exploitation of children. As documented by the International Labour Organisation and Human Rights Watch, the soaring demand for the nut has driven producers to hire cheap labour, including many children, to keep costs down. And in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch documented forced labour among vulnerable members of society, including inmates in prison on drug charges—for whom the grueling work, for little or no pay, is called ‘rehabilitation.’ If they refuse to work or do not meet their daily quota, they are punished with torture or solitary confinement.”

The vast majority of the global production of cashew nuts is processed in India and Vietnam. Despite reports of the horrendous working conditions that exist in many of these factories, there has been very little auditing or certification of the plants, and virtually no accountability throughout the industry.

The cashew plant comes from the same family as poison ivy and poison sumac. The shells contain anacardic acid, a naturally occurring chemical compound that is an extremely toxic chemical. When handled directly, it can cause severe irritation and burns to the skin. For this reason, cashews, unlike other nuts, cannot be sold in their shell. They are removed by hand, and the mostly female workers are rarely supplied with protective gloves, as it slows down work and can increase expenses. The smoke from processing is also toxic and can harm workers’ lungs.

Unsustainable and inequitable supply chains

Half of the world’s cashew nut production is cultivated in West Africa, in some of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. Due to a lack of resources and an unwillingness on the part of investors to build processing plants, only five percent of the cashew nuts grown in West Africa are processed in-country. Without access to manufacturing plants, local communities lose the bulk of the value—higher prices, employment, and economic development opportunities—generated by the global cashew industry. They also lose out on the value-added resulting from the sale of cashew processing by-products, such as cashew apples, cashew nutshell liquid, cardanol, and cashew gum.

Eighty percent of all cashew nuts are processed in just two countries, India and Vietnam. Because India has such a large domestic market for cashews, most of the imported nuts remain in-country. However, as much as 60-70% of the cashews sent to Vietnam for processing are then exported back to Europe and the United States for consumption. Not only are these supply chains opaque, but the carbon footprint and ecological impact of this extra shipping is extremely high.

*Cashew nuts are polished one by one and sorted into piles of wholes, halves, and pieces.*

What can we do?

Ethically-minded citizen-consumers concerned about child labor, worker rights, and environmentally sustainable practices in the food industry, should make a point to learn more about what lies behind these tasty and nutritious nuts. With so much to criticize about the conventional cashew industry, choosing to buy cashew products from Equal Exchange and other Alternative Trade Organizations, is one important action we can all take. These supply chains are transparent and more ecologically sustainable.

Most importantly, the farmers who grow cashews within these systems, such as Gebana Burkina Faso, receive critical benefits, such as technical training and support, higher prices, additional premiums and profit-sharing. With access to their own processing plants, the farmers are able to capture the added value, and their communities benefit from the employment and economic development that the manufacturing generates.

There doesn’t need to be a trade-off between consumer health and worker safety. Organizations do exist that make it part of their mission to build transparent and sustainable supply chains. As citizen-consumers, we can take steps to learn what’s behind the food we purchase and then act accordingly.

The choice is ours to make.

December 31, 2024

Interested in Getting More Involved in Your Co-op’s Governance? Run for the Board!

Consider running for the Co-op Board

If you would like to be more involved in the governance of our cooperative, I encourage you to run for a position on the board of directors. As chair of the Board Development Committee, my aim is to share with member-owners how the board works, what we do, and what to do if you’re interested in running for one of the open board seats this spring.

The board is composed of 11 members who are elected to serve three-year terms. The board is currently composed of member-owners who have been co-op members for different lengths of time. We span a wide range of ages and have varying backgrounds, including farmer, gardener, teacher, professor, cheesemaker, baker and business owner, mediator, attorney, pastor, sales rep, and parents and nonprofit directors. This diversity of backgrounds and skills makes our board stronger. What we have in common is a passion for the Co-op, our democratic principles, and the collaborative processes that guide our work together. No particular expertise is required.

The board has three primary roles: 1) to represent the 6,000+ member-owners of the Co-op, 2) to oversee and support the General Manager, and 3) to provide strategic and financial oversight for the Co-op. Board members craft and monitor policies that ensure our Co-op is meeting our mission and our ends. We meet monthly, with online conversations and some committee meetings in between. Board members receive a small annual stipend, a 10% discount, and access to professional training.

Each year we are committed to recruiting new board members to bring fresh voices and diverse perspectives to our team. Institutional knowledge from longer serving board members and fresh perspectives from newer board members are equally valuable. Our board strives to be actively anti-racist and inclusive. We welcome participation from community members who share a commitment to anti-oppression work.

I am currently in my second year on the board, and I have appreciated how knowledgeable both the manager and the longer serving members are and how generously they share what they know. When I participated in a national training for new board members, I learned how fortunate we are to have a co-op that is such a strong, thriving, growing presence in our community. We can’t take this for granted. Come join us on the board and help support the fine work of this organization!

There are several opportunities to learn more about the board this month:

Co-op members are always welcome to attend board meetings, and it’s a great way to see the board in action and to see if this might be a good fit for you. Prior to the next two meetings we’ll also hold a brief “meet and greet” prior to the meeting, to answer any questions you might have and to talk a bit about what we do. These board meetings are on Wednesday, January 15, and Wednesday, February 19th from 6:00-8:00pm, with the “meet and greet” session starting at 5:30. If you’d like to attend, please contact Board President, Amanda Warren, in advance: board@middlebury.coop.
We will be holding a Zoom Q&A session for prospective board members on Tuesday February 11th from 7-8pm. Join several current board members and MNFC’s General Manager, Greg Prescott, to learn about the board’s governing style and ask questions about the board’s responsibilities. RSVP to me at bhofer@middlebury by Sunday, February 9th at 6pm to receive the Zoom link.

We are happy to connect with you outside of these meetings, too! If you are interested in learning more about what it’s like to serve on the board, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at bhofer@middlebury.edu or any of the other board members.

Barbara is Chair of the Board Development Committee.

December 27, 2024

Spotlight on Joe’s Kitchen

Are you craving the warmth and comfort of a nourishing, home-cooked soup but find yourself short on time? That’s where Joe’s Kitchen soups come in! This week, we’re excited to feature Joe’s Kitchen in our Member Deals Spotlight, with all their locally made, from-scratch soups available at 20% off for Member-Owners from January 23rd to 29th.

From Grandma’s Kitchen to Culinary Excellence

Joe Buley’s journey to founding Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin’ Ridge Farm began in his grandmother’s home in East Randolph, Vermont. He recalls her kitchen as a warm, bustling hub filled with family, friends, and the enticing aroma of a soup pot simmering on the stove. His grandmother’s cooking philosophy balanced flavor and economy, often using whatever ingredients were on hand to create hearty, delicious soups. The key to her creations? The fresh vegetables and herbs she harvested straight from her garden.

Joe’s mother carried on this tradition, teaching him the art of making great-tasting food with fresh, home-grown ingredients. These early lessons shaped Joe’s passion for cooking and laid the foundation for his future career.

A Culinary Journey

Joe’s culinary career took him far and wide. He trained at the prestigious École Supérieure de Cuisine Française in Paris (also known as École Ferrandi), where he was the only U.S. citizen in his class. After graduating, Joe honed his skills in culinary hotspots like Brooklyn, San Francisco, San Diego, and Austin before returning with his family to Vermont in 1999. Back home, he served as a chef-instructor at the New England Culinary Institute for nearly a decade.

During this time, Joe began growing his own food, inspired by memories of his grandmother’s garden. What started as a small operation with a single greenhouse and a walk-behind tractor evolved into Screamin’ Ridge Farm—a thriving business known for its winter spinach and a wide variety of summer crops. The farm’s produce was sold at the Montpelier Farmers Market and through seasonal CSA programs.

Bridging the Gap Between Farm and Table

As Joe connected with customers at farmers markets and through the CSA, he noticed a common challenge: people wanted to eat healthy meals but often lacked the time or inspiration to cook from scratch. This realization sparked the idea for Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin’ Ridge Farm, where he could combine his passion for growing ingredients and cooking them into flavorful, ready-to-eat foods.

Joe’s soups are crafted with integrity and a commitment to using local ingredients. When sourcing items not grown on his own farm, Joe partners with neighboring small farms in the Montpelier area. This approach not only supports Vermont’s working landscape but also ensures that his soups have the authentic, fresh flavors reminiscent of his grandmother’s cooking—all without the need for added sugars or excessive salt.

Joe’s crew hard at work at their production kitchen in Montpelier, VT

A Co-op Favorite

At the Co-op, we’re proud to offer a rotating selection of Joe’s Kitchen soups, showcasing the best of Vermont’s seasonal produce. From hearty stews to creamy bisques, there’s a flavor for everyone. Which one will you try next?

Rooted in the family traditions passed down from his grandmother’s kitchen, and combining locally sourced ingredients with time-honored cooking methods, Joe’s Kitchen soups bring together the quality and essence of home-cooked meals with the convenience that busy lives demand.

Co-op Member-Owners, don’t miss your chance to stock up and save 20% on Joe’s Kitchen soups from January 23rd to 29th!

December 26, 2024

Co-op Connection Featured Business – Juice Amour

Treat yourself to a healthy treat at this month’s Co-op Connection featured business: Juice Amour. Co-op members enjoy 10% off their full line of organic, raw, fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, chia puddings, and other healthy, seasonal, vegan lunch and dinner offerings – just show them your membership card at check out.

Juice Amour is owned and operated by father-daughter team Sheri Bedard and her father David, and driven by their belief in the transformative power of nutrient-dense, plant-based foods. Every day they prepare fresh, organic juices and vegan meals with one mission: to make nutritious, delicious, and sustainable food accessible to everyone.

“Every day we wake up passionate in our belief that healthful food should be accessible, taste delicious, look beautiful, help you feel amazing, and have as little negative impact on the environment as possible.” Says Sheri. “Every decision we make here is with those philosophies in mind.”

Keeping it Local

Juice Amour sources their ingredients locally whenever possible, partnering with organic farmers to ensure their menu reflects the best Vermont has to offer. Their dedication to purchasing from local farms reflects their dedication to environmental sustainability, and their desire to spend their dollars where they have the greatest positive impact on the community – with their neighbors.

Sustainable Packaging

Sheri and David believe that juice just tastes better from a glass – and that it’s better for you, too. Juice Amour avoids using single-use plastics, opting instead for a “milk bottle” model for their container. Customers pay a $.50 deposit for the bottle that contains their beverage, which is refundable upon return of the glass jar. Jars are commercially washed and sanitized, and put back into rotation to be used again.

Commitment to Organic

Organic is more than a label at Juice Amour—it’s a core value. By prioritizing organic farming, they ensure their food is free from harmful chemicals, is grown in a way that supports soil health, and of course, tastes exceptional. No wonder their juices are bursting with flavor!

So Much to Love

In addition to a bounty of fresh organic, raw fruit and veggie juice options, Juice Amour also offers guilt-free raw smoothies, chia puddings, overnight oats, raw nut milk, fresh vegan salads, tacos, soups, and more! Click here to see their full menu.

If you’re looking for vegan-friendly catering for your next event, you’ll be thrilled to hear that Juice Amour offers a tasty catering menu to make your guests swoon. And of course, their 1, 3, and 5-day juice cleanses are extremely popular, and a great introduction for people are interested in cleansing but don’t know where to start.

Located in downtown Middlebury on Merchant’s Row, Juice Amour is a vibrant hub of healthy eating. Stop by this month, treat yourself to something nourishing, and enjoy your 10% member discount.

December 11, 2024

Spotlight on Champlain Valley Creamery

We’re casting our Member Deals Spotlight on a local organic creamery that produces delicious award-winning cheeses just a few short miles from the Co-op. Champlain Valley Creamery uses traditional techniques and small-batch pasteurization to produce their cheese entirely by hand in a net-zero solar-powered facility in Middlebury. Member owners can enjoy a 20% discount on Champlain Valley Creamery’s fantastic lineup of cheeses from December 12th – 18th – just in time for those holiday parties!

Champlain Valley Creamery was first established in 2003 by founder and owner Carleton Yoder. With a graduate degree in food science and a background in wine and hard cider making, Yoder was eager to run his own food business. With Vermont’s abundance of amazing local milk, small-scale cheesemaking just made sense. Yoder began his adventures in cheesemaking in a facility in Vergennes, where he focused on two products: Organic Champlain Triple and Old Fashioned Organic Cream Cheese. Both have been awarded well-deserved honors from the prestigious American Cheese Society.

Over the years, the creamery has continued to grow and expand its offerings, eventually moving into a net-zero solar-powered facility on Middlebury’s Exchange Street in 2012. Yoder and his small crew now produce an expanded lineup of cheeses including Queso Fresco (available in original, house-smoked, and pepper varieties), Maple Cream Cheese, a pyramid-shaped triple cream with a layer of ash known as Pyramid Scheme, and, most recently, they began importing Italian truffles to produce the Champlain Truffle Triple.

The Creamery also made a switch last year to using 100% grass-fed organic milk from the Severy Farm in Cornwall. The milk only travels a few short miles from the farm to the creamery, where the cheesemaking begins within hours of arrival. The use of grass-fed milk results in a richer, creamier cheese that displays subtle seasonal changes reflective of the changing diet of the cows as the seasons progress. It’s truly the terroir of Addison County in each decadent bite of cheese.

Yoder is supported by a small crew that is just as dedicated to the craft as he is. They use traditional techniques and small-batch pasteurization to produce their cheeses entirely by hand. A recent visit to their facility found the crew in constant motion, measuring, stirring, monitoring temperatures, and generally putting every bit of the day’s fresh batch of milk to good use. The bulk of the cream and whole milk is used to produce the Organic Champlain Triple, Champlain Truffle Triple, and the two varieties of cream cheese. The part-skim milk is then transformed into each of the three varieties of Queso Fresco, and the whey is drained off to create hand-dipped, basket-strained ricotta that is only available to a few select restaurants in the area. The only remaining by-product is a small amount of whey, which is sent to feed the happy pigs at Hinesburg’s Full Moon Farm, resulting in an operation that is hyper-local with very minimal waste.

According to Yoder, “cheesemaking is hard work but we strive to let the milk, cream, culture, salt, and mold shine through with their amazing flavors.” It’s this minimalist approach and the desire to honor the high-quality local ingredients that make Champlain Valley Creamery’s cheeses shine.

Picture hanging above Yoder’s desk made by his son, Nate

December 11, 2024

Featured Co-op Connection Business – Maple Landmark

If you’re searching for thoughtfully crafted, eco-friendly toys for the kids on your holiday list, look no further than Maple Landmark, our featured Co-op Connection Business. Based right here in Middlebury, Vermont, Maple Landmark has been making sustainable wooden toys, games, and gifts for over 40 years. Visit their factory store on Exchange Street and show them your Co-op membership card to enjoy 10% off your purchase all year long!

A Vermont Legacy of Craftsmanship

Maple Landmark began humbly in 1979 in founder Mike Rainville’s parents’ basement. Today, the company operates out of a 28,000-square-foot facility, producing nearly all of the items they sell. With a team of over 40 dedicated employees, they supply toys and gifts to stores and catalogs nationwide, while maintaining a delightful factory store for local shoppers. They take great pride in being a local business that supports other local businesses, while operating with sustainability at their core.

A Family Business

Maple Landmark is run by three generations of the Rainville family. Founder Michael Rainville serves as president and CEO, overseeing daily operations. His wife, Jill, manages the office, and his sister, Barbara, leads marketing and helps in the finish room. Their sons, Adam and Andrew, have joined the team as project and communications managers, respectively, contributing to product innovation and outreach efforts. Even Michael’s parents pitch in, with his mother, Pat, supervising finishing and hand-painting, and his father, Claude, helping with packing and lawn care in his spare time. Together, they embody a multigenerational dedication to quality and community.

Sustainably Sourced Materials

The wood Maple Landmark uses is primarily native to Vermont, including rock maple, pine, and cherry—ideal for wooden toys and gifts. By focusing on making smaller items, they are able to utilize downgraded lumber by cutting around defects, and make use of smaller “cast-off” cuts. They are also careful to work exclusively with local suppliers who are thoughtful about how the wood is harvested.

Click here to learn more about the use of lumber for Maple Landmark products.

A Commitment to Zero Waste

An honest concern for preserving our limited natural resources mixed with good old-fashioned Yankee frugality ensure that sustainability is more than a buzzword at Maple Landmark. Instead of sending their residual waste to the landfill, scrap wood becomes free kindling for local families, and wood shavings are donated to area farmers, who use it for cattle bedding. Over-packaging of products is another major source of waste, so Maple Landmark nixes plastic, and ships their products in reused and upcycled packing. Click here to learn more about their extensive and thoughtful recycling and conservation practices.

How It’s Made

Support Local, Shop Thoughtfully

Maple Landmark is more than just a toy company—they’re a pillar of our community, creating beautiful products while protecting the environment. This holiday season, we invite you to visit their factory store located at 1297 Exchange Street in Middlebury, and discover the magic of Vermont-made craftsmanship.

Santa is coming to town!

Santa and his elves will visit Maple Landmark on Saturday, December 14th. Tickets are limited – click here to reserve your spot!

November 20, 2024

Spotlight on Lake Champlain Chocolates

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight this week on a local favorite – Lake Champlain Chocolates! All of their mouth-watering Fairtrade Certified chocolates are 20% off for member-owners from November 21-27. Read on to learn more about this local confectionery that has called Vermont home for 40 years and its commitment to responsible sourcing.

History:

The story of Lake Champlain Chocolates began back in 1983 when founder Jim Lampman dared his pastry chef at Burlington’s Ice House Restaurant to create a better truffle than the ones he had been buying for his staff as holiday gifts. Together they began making the most amazing hand-rolled, creamy truffles and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sourcing Matters:

From the very beginning, long before eating local was cool, Lake Champlain Chocolates has been committed to sourcing Vermont-grown ingredients whenever possible. They knew that using high-quality Vermont honey, maple syrup, and fresh dairy from local farmers and producers would result in superior chocolates.

The goal is to bring you their best. To make high-quality chocolate that amazes with exquisite flavor and creates a moment of pure joy. It’s also why they’ve never added preservatives, extenders, or additives, and why they’ve worked diligently to remove GMOs from all of their chocolates and use organic and Fairtrade certified ingredients whenever possible. With each new product, the goal remains the same – to create something special, and to give you the best experience.

A Family Affair:

Lake Champlain Chocolates is a second-generation, family-owned business, just like the generations of Vermont family farmers that provide them with fresh butter, cream, maple syrup, and honey. And just like the generations of cacao farmers in places like the Dominican Republic and Guatemala — with whom they have direct partnerships. Today, Jim’s son and daughter, Eric and Ellen, are defining the future of Lake Champlain Chocolates by developing award-winning organic products and spearheading sustainable sourcing initiatives. Along the way following the Lampman family principles: Dare to do better. Always do it with Passion. And do it your way.

Fair Trade:

Making great-tasting chocolate is hard work and the team at Lake Champlain Chocolates believes that every person in this process should be treated and compensated fairly and that their actions should make a positive impact on local and global communities. When you purchase Fairtrade chocolate, more money goes back to the farmers, allowing them to lift themselves out of poverty and build a better life for their families. It also allows these farmers to invest additional Fairtrade premiums in community development, ensures a ban on forced labor and child labor, and encourages environmentally-sustainable farming practices. Go ahead and indulge your sweet tooth and feel good knowing that 100% of the chocolate they use at Lake Champlain Chocolates is Fairtrade certified.

Why Buy Fairtrade Certified Chocolate?

Farmers and workers are justly compensated and have safe working conditions (this includes prohibiting the use of forced labor and child labor).
Farmers are empowered to lift themselves out of poverty and help to build sustainable businesses that positively influence their communities.
Cocoa farmers and co-ops receive an additional premium for investing in community development.
Farming communities develop skills that help them use the free market to their advantage.
Farming villages become better stewards of the environment — using sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices to preserve local habitats and increase biodiversity

B Corp Certification:

Lake Champlain Chocolates joined a growing community of more than 2,500 certified B Corporations worldwide who are united under one common goal – to redefine success in business. Rather than focus solely on profits, certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. Unlike other certifications that look at individual products, B Corporation evaluates the entire business — assessing the yearly impact on the environment, workers, customers, community, and government. This new type of corporation is purpose-driven to create benefits for all, not just shareholders, working together to be the change we seek in the world.

For Lake Champlain Chocolates these performance standards provide a valuable third-party measurement tool, assuring customers and suppliers that LCC’s business practices meet the highest standards. “Achieving B Corp Certification is the next step towards fulfilling our company’s vision to become the gold standard of chocolate companies in the United States, a respected leader other companies aspire to be,” says Eric Lampman, LCC President. “For more than 35 years, our practices have been guided by one core value – ‘everything must measure up to the chocolate.’ And this includes making a positive impact on our local and global communities by respecting our employees, fostering long-term partnerships with our suppliers, and practicing environmental responsibility.”

November 13, 2024

Spotlight on Elmer Farm

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Elmer Farm this week to celebrate this 90-acre organic farm and the farmers who bring it to life. Member-owners can enjoy 20% off their glorious spread of organic vegetables from November 14-20! Read on to learn more about the history and heritage of this farm, which has been providing food for this community since the early 1800s.

Driving into East Middlebury on Route 116, it’s hard to miss the beautiful patch of flowers bordering the white farmhouse at the entryway to Elmer Farm. What you might not see from the road are the amazing fields of vegetables that are grown on this fertile, organic soil. Elmer Farm is a conserved 90-acre farm growing 8 acres of mixed vegetables, flowers, and herbs, all of which are certified organic. Annual inspections and certification by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) ensure that the crops are grown responsibly and safely without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.

The farm originally belonged to the Elmer family in the early 1800s and has a long heritage of providing food for its community. The receding glaciers bestowed the farm with a wonderful mix of fertile soils and sandy loam, perfectly suited to growing vegetables and grains. It’s on this fruitful land that Elmer Farm now grows more than thirty-five different vegetables, an array of flowers, and culinary herbs. This includes over 200 different seed varieties, many of which are heirlooms. With a goal of maintaining long-term soil health, the crew at Elmer Farm also manages an additional 15 acres of rotating cover crop, keeping one-third of their acreage in production and two-thirds resting.

A number of years ago, representatives from HOPE, Middlebury College, ACORN, and the local business community, along with several local farmers, including Spencer from Elmer Farm and Will Stevens of Golden Russet Farm, got together to discuss the possibility of increasing the amount of locally grown food offered at HOPE’s food shelf. This group recognized that Addison County farmers grow vast amounts of beautiful, healthy organic fruits and vegetables, which are often unavailable or too pricey to those who need it most. They also recognized that these farms often had excess produce available that would not be destined for retail markets, which could instead be diverted to the food shelf. Fast-forward to the present day, and the idea hatched by this group has evolved into an incredibly successful program that is bringing thousands of pounds of healthy, local foods to those in our community who need it most while also diverting a lot of food from the waste stream.

At the Co-op, you can find Elmer Farm’s organic red, green and napa cabbage, kale, onions, butternut and delicata squash, baby bok choy, radishes, leeks, chard, garlic, turnips, rutabagas, beets, parsnips, and, of course, their famous carrots!

November 6, 2024

Spotlight on Cabot Creamery

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Cabot Creamery this week to shed a little light on this 102-year-old cooperative creamery, established at a time when cows outnumbered people in Vermont. Cabot’s full line of dairy products is 20% for member-owners from November 7-13. Read on to learn all about their humble beginnings, the local farmers that are part of this cooperative, and how the Cabot name became synonymous with dairy in Vermont.

The Cabot Creamery, headquartered in Waitsfield, VT, is a cooperative made up of more than 800 dairy farm families located throughout New York and New England. They also manage four plants in three states, employing over 1,000 people, who make “The World’s Best” cheese and dairy products.

The Cabot story reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century. In those days, the cost of farming was low and most farmers produced way more milk than they could market. So, in 1919, farmers from the Cabot area figured that if they joined forces, they could turn their excess milk into butter and market it throughout New England. Ninety-four farmers jumped on board, purchased the village creamery (built in 1983), and began producing butter.

Over the next two decades, as the nation’s population flocked to urban areas, Cabot’s farmer-owners thrived by shipping their milk and butter south. While the national economy shifted away from agriculture, the Vermont economy was still largely based on dairy farming. In fact, in 1930, cows outnumbered people! It was at this time that the company hired its first cheesemaker and cheddar cheese entered the product line for the first time. By 1960, Cabot’s membership reached 600 farm families at a time when the total number of operating farms around the nation was in sharp decline.

Steady growth continued and 1992 was a pivotal year in Cabot’s history as their farmer-owners merged with the 1,800 farm families of Agri-mark, a southern New England co-op dating back to 1918.

Today, Cabot blends state-of-the-art facilities and a savvy entrepreneurial spirit with the timeless values and personal commitment to quality that comes from being 100% owned by their farm families. In the Middlebury facility, they installed a huge new piece of machinery that allows them to process 4,000 more pounds of cheese curd per hour than the 8,000 pounds the previous machine handled. This 22-ton piece of equipment known as the CheeseMaster will increase the production of the 26 truck-sized vats — each holding enough milk to make 6,000 pounds of cheese — that get filled daily.

The Middlebury facility runs 24 hours a day/seven days a week and serves to make and age Cabot’s famous Vermont Cheddar. The plant also processes whey liquids, which are leftover from the cheesemaking process, to produce whey proteins and permeate, which is sold around the world. Additionally, the facility serves as a warehouse for cheese and whey products, with the capacity to store up to 2 million pounds of cheese. On a daily basis, over 100 Vermont and New York dairy farmers supply the milk for the Middlebury plant, although that number increases on weekends and holidays when other plants are closed. Addison County is one of the largest membership areas in the farmers’ coop, helping to supply the milk that comes to the plant every day.

To learn more about the eight farms in Addison County that are part of the Cabot Cooperative, click on the links below:

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