We are so grateful to our member-owners for all that you do to support your Co-op. It’s time we showed you a little appreciation! Stop by the Co-op on Saturday, June 4, 11 am to 2 pm to feel the love! Start your visit at the Co-op Plaza and:
Meet your new General Manager – Greg Prescott (he’ll be tending the grill, so you won’t be able to miss him!)- he’s excited to talk with all of you!
Enjoy free Co-op Kitchen Made Quesadillas (bean and cheese), hot off the grill on the Co-op Plaza!
Then, reap the benefits of member-ownership and get a FREE Co-op T-Shirt when you:
Become a Co-op Member-Owner
Renew your Membership (12 months will be added to any renewed membership, so nothing is lost by renewing early)
Round Up Your Totals at the Registers May 5-11 for United Way of Addison County…The Co-op Will Match Your Donation!
Together with thousands of volunteers, supporters, and advocates, United Way of Addison County is building a stronger community by finding solutions, supporting programs, and fighting for the health, financial stability, and educational success of every person – at every age – who calls Addison County home. We are proud to work with 30 of the most compassionate, intelligent, nonprofit partners in Addison County who are:
● Increasing access to health care and healthy foods. Providing resources to encourage healthy, active lifestyles. Encouraging connection to one another and to our community to combat isolation. Reducing youth substance use rates.
● Preparing children so they enter school ready to learn. Providing the support students need to stay in school and graduate. Encouraging lifelong learning and skill-building.
● Ensuring that all families have safe housing, healthy food, transportation, and quality childcare. Providing access to financial tools and coaching to help build a better future. Supporting employees in crisis so they can maintain employment and grow professionally.
We are so thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Co-op’s Rally for Change! The intersection of COVID and inequity has only widened the gap in health, financial stability, and education. When you round up at the register for UWAC, you are helping the most vulnerable people in Addison County stay in their homes, feed their families, keep the lights on, flee unsafe situations, and more. Your donation helps close the divide and give every person an equal opportunity to succeed. Thank you.
Any day now, Co-op member-owners will receive a Board of Directors Election Info packet in the mail. Inside this packet, you’ll find information about our Board, the election process, candidate biographies, and instructions to help you cast YOUR vote for our Board of Directors. Don’t want to wait for the mail? You can check out the packet online right HERE!
Are you ready to vote? Please follow the link below to get started, May 1st – May 31st (link will not work until May 1st!).
You’ll need the first initial and last name of the co-op member-owner in your household, plus the last five digits of your member number (you can find this on the back of your paper Election Info Packet mailing label, or on the back of your co-op member card).
Your vote is completely anonymous, and after you participate in this year’s election, your name will be entered for a chance to win one of 50 $25 Co-op Gift Cards! Happy Voting!
Election results will be shared by Friday, June 3, via our website, e-news, social media, and in the store.
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is April 30. Let’s celebrate! From April 28 through May 4th, co-op member-owners will receive an additional 20% Off ALL Pet Products at the Co-op! And guess what? The Co-op will donate 20% of the pet product sales from that week to Addison County’s Homeward Bound! If you aren’t familiar with this amazing local organization, here are a few lines, in their own words, to help explain their place in our community:
Our Mission:
To be a community-centered shelter that supports the human-animal bond through compassionate care, adoption, education, and advocacy.
Our Vision:
A community that is nurturing and compassionate towards all animals.
A community where no animal suffers from abuse or neglect.
A community where companion animals are treated as lifelong, valued family members.
Join members of Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op in pledging to reduce waste and “SLASH YOUR TRASH!”
Did you know that the 292 million tons of waste (nearly 1,800 pounds per person every year) generated in the US in 2018 was primarily made up of plastics, paper, paperboard, and food? As individuals and working together as a community, we can take steps big and small to reduce our waste. Participate with your Co-op community in April to SLASH YOUR TRASH!
To participate:
Pick up a pledge card at the Co-op (example below)
Fill it out with your pledge (one card per pledge, please!)
Drop it into our raffle box for a chance to win an earth-friendly prize!
Pledge participants will be entered into weekly raffles throughout April.
NOW, FOLLOW THROUGH WITH YOUR PLEDGE:
• Share Your Experience! Use #SlashYourTrash, #NeighborCoops and
#ActNowOnClimateChange in social media posts. When you share your experience,
you’ll be entered to win a prize again!
• Visit un.org/en/actnow and let the UN know what you are doing to #ActNow
on Climate Change!
Did you make a Slash Your Trash pledge in honor of Earth Month? Join Don Maglienti of the Addison County Solid Waste District as he covers the ins and outs of what can (and can’t) be recycled in our area. Participants will learn about how recycling is processed, common contaminants, and some special programs for hard-to-recycle materials. Bring your questions and have fun expanding your recycling knowledge! Leave with a free pack of Bee’s Wrap!
Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004.
Too much garlic mustard? Is Sumac taking over your hedgerow? Herbalist Julie Mitchell of EOS Botanicals will address plants that are considered invasive in the light of possible utilitarian uses, both medicinal and culinary. This hands-on class will include some recipe-making and a thorough discussion of properly identifying plants, resources, and some ethical wild-crafting or herb-gathering tips.
Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004.
Bring your stories, roll up your sleeves and join chef Matt Laux in the kitchen! Together the class will prepare a delicious Indian meal from Matt’s time spent in India. There is no better way to enjoy the magic of cooking than as a group – slicing, stirring, and reminiscing fondly about food memories as we cook our dinner. With this familiar spirit, we will learn from each other and hone our culinary skills. Participants will leave with plenty of leftovers!
Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004.
Join Magdalena Deloya of the famed Viva el Sabor collective to learn how to make tamales! When Deloya isn’t cooking up meals with the Viva el Sabor collective, she serves her community at Middlebury’s Open Door Clinic (ODC), where she’s been a valued translator in the clinic’s outreach to migrant workers. She prepares meals for many members of the migrant farmworker community, serving them both through her work at ODC and also in partnership with Middlebury’s Giving Fridge. Deloya hails from the state of Guerrero in Southern Mexico and looks forward to sharing the cuisine of her region with the Co-op community.
In an effort to provide a safe experience, we ask that all class participants be vaccinated and wear a face covering. Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004.
Round Up Your Totals at the Registers February 6-12 for The New Community Project…The Co-op Will Match Your Donation!
New Community Project (NCP), is a nonprofit organization committed to the creation of sustainable systems that care for the earth, empower people most marginalized and impoverished, educate and inspire, and build the foundation for a nonviolent lifestyle. We work to create transformation at both the personal level and community level in three key areas that have the highest impact: food, transportation, and the built environment to promote justice, fairness, and increase resiliency for our community in the age of climate change.
Our Sustainable Living Center in Starksboro puts our mission into action by offering the following programs in our community:
Food Share: Our weekly Food Share program combines food rescued from area stores (including the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-Op) with food produced in NCP’s Food Justice Gardens to serve those struggling with food and nutritional insecurity in our community. Every Sunday afternoon, our Food Share Program provides up to 45 food boxes to individuals and families from fourteen area towns while diverting 144 cubic feet of potential food waste from the landfill.
Gina and Bella at Food Share
Food Justice Gardens: Located at NCP’s Sustainable Living Center and the Starksboro Community Garden, NCP’s Food Justice Gardens help supply fresh organic vegetables to our weekly Food Share Program. In 2020, the gardens supplied 1000lbs of produce to the Food Share program.
Little Free Pantries: Located in Starksboro Village and South Starksboro, two Little Free Pantries now provide an additional food resource to our community. These free-standing structures offer non-perishable foods and supplies 24/7 to anyone who needs them. The Little Free Pantries are operated in partnership with RISE VT and United Way of Addison County.
Little Free Pantry
Community Woodbank and Emergency Heating Assistance: In partnership with the Town of Starksboro and H.O.P.E. in Middlebury, NCP operates a Community Woodbank and Heating Assistance Program. This program provides short-term heating assistance to individuals and families short on fuel during the winter. Our program also assists renters and homeowners by connecting them to state weatherization assistance resources to help them reduce their energy use and costs. This program provided firewood assistance to 5 families during the past winter and helped enroll two households in the state weatherization program.
How will the Rally for Change Funds be used?
Funds received through the Rally for Change program will help support an expansion of NCP’s Starksboro Area Food Justice Initiatives. This funding will support the planning, design, and expansion of our Food Justice gardens to increase the supply of produce to our weekly Food Share Program and increase food resilience/security for our community. Specifically, these funds would assist us in purchasing seeds, building materials, tools, soil amendments, season extenders, and an irrigation system necessary to launch this next phase in our initiative. With the unprecedented challenge of the climate crisis and growing food insecurity in Vermont, we see a tremendous opportunity to help address these issues through the development of a resilient local food system.
