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Spotlight on Black River Meats

This week, we’re shining our Co-op spotlight on Black River Meats of North Springfield, Vermont to bring awareness to their efforts to provide humanely-raised, ethically slaughtered, regional meats to our Co-op. All of their products are 20% off for member-owners from July 12th – 18th. Read on to learn more about this company and their state-of-the-art, Animal Welfare Approved facility:

BRM MEDALLION (GRN-ORANGE) SPR

Black River Meats creates solutions connecting farmers, chefs, and retailers in the local and natural meat marketplace. They achieve this with the help of a state-of-the-art, Animal Welfare Approved facility,  Vermont Packinghouse. The facility opened in the fall of 2014 with the goal of putting humanely-raised, ethically slaughtered, beautifully cut local meat onto our tables. The designs for their facility were developed by Temple Grandin’s firm, so they meet the high standards that Grandin, a pioneer in humane livestock handling, has set for such facilities.

They point out that The US meat industry is almost entirely controlled by four companies. If we are to ever move away from this consolidation and towards a decentralized and sustainable base of meat production, we must develop mid-sized supply chains that are big enough to have an impact, yet small enough to care. Making meat as it ought to be is the mission of Vermont Packinghouse.

They are one of only two facilities in the US with viewing windows, allowing those who are interested in taking a tour and gaining a better understanding of how the meat they eat is processed. They acknowledge that this is an act that can require courage and vulnerability, but that it can ultimately spark greater respect for animals, meat, and meat industry workers. And it seems that there are plenty of folks who are interested in taking these tours, from student field trips, chefs-in-training, or individual families who want their children to understand where their meat comes from and how it moves through every part of the supply chain. We even had a group of Co-op staffers who took a field trip to check it out!

Farmers who bring their livestock to the facility for processing also appreciate the opportunity to see how their animals are treated after they leave the farm. “I want the best start for my animals, the best life, and the best end – then I know I’ve done my job as a responsible meat farmer”, said one of their producers. The Packinghouse processes New England raised meats from small and medium-sized farms for Black River Meats, who then bring the products to our store shelves and your home. This represents an important move toward greater collaboration between local meat producers, meat processors, and meat consumers in Vermont and New England. Black River Meats works closely with their producers to ensure quality production, humane handling, efficient processing and fair pricing. They have an open door policy of transparency with all of their customers and invite you to call and schedule a visit to their farms, processing facility, and a tour of their warehouse!

Want to know where your Black River Meats are coming from? Here’s a list:

  • Argyle Angus – Argyle, NY
  • Mile Long Farm – Glover, VT
  • Cavendish Farms – Springfield, VT
  • Oberkirch Farms – Poultney, VT
  • Champlain Valley Farm – Addison, VT
  • Rosenkrans Farm – Seneca Falls, NY
  • Clay Hill Farm – N. Hartland, VT
  • Settlement Farm – Underhill, VT
  • Cream Hill Farm – Shoreham, VT
  • Skyway Farm – Fair Haven, VT
  • Deer Run Farm – Danville, VT
  • Stone Farms – Cornish, VT
  • Easton View Angus – Easton, NY
  • Tensen Farms – Lyme, NH
  • Hayward Farm – Derby, VT
  • Wagner Ranch – Bridport, VT
  • Hewitt Farm – N. Pomfret, VT
  • Yates Farm – Brownsville, VT
  • Marchaland Farms – Greenwich, NY

 

Spotlight on Orca Bay

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Orca Bay this week to shed a little light on their efforts to source sustainable, ocean-friendly seafood for all to enjoy. Their sustainable seafood products are 20% off for member-owners from July 5th – 11th! Read on to learn more about this ethically-minded company providing exceptional seafood choices for more than 30 years:

Orca Bay is pleased to be an example of how ethics, fairness, and friendship can be core values of a healthy and thriving business endeavor. They’re on a mission to “do business honestly, honorably and show continuous improvement.” From their people to their products, to the clients that they serve, their goal will always be to exceed expectations and to keep the Orca Bay whale synonymous with true quality and customer satisfaction. They have invested over three decades into searching out and nurturing business relationships with some of the most quality-minded seafood harvesters in the world.

At Orca Bay, they strive for complete transparency with their customers, employees, and suppliers. Together they collaborate to ensure that demand and standards for the finest seafood do not come at the expense of the individuals or oceans that provide them. From harvest to your kitchen table, they believe you have the right to know where, who, and how your fish got to you. Common Sense Seafood is how Orca Bay describes its dedication to responsible stewardship and wise business practices. It means targeting well-managed fisheries that are built for the long run. It means partnering with quality-minded providers who share their ethics. And it means providing customers with all the delicious, nutritious things that seafood has to offer. Orca Bay follows a fairness-based approach that embraces the fact that the health of their business goes hand in hand with the health of our oceans.

Orca Bay is also committed to supporting organizations which promote their shared values in business, health, and social responsibility such as the National Fisheries Institute,  Sea Share, and the Whale Research Center.

To learn more and to find great seafood recipes, click HERE.

Co-op Connection Business of the Month – Green Peppers!

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Have a hankering for a mouth-watering slice of pizza? Or how about a calzone, some pasta or a fresh, beautiful salad? Check out Green Peppers Restaurant! They’re our Co-op Connection Business of the Month, so we’re reminding member-owners that you can enjoy 10% off your meal at Green Peppers! Green Peppers, owned by Mark and Donna Perrin, has been serving up delicious food in Middlebury since 1982.

In addition to being a great chef, family-man, and successful small business owner, Mark is also very involved in serving his community. He participates in Hunger Free Vermont’s local chapter of the Addison County Hunger Council, which aims to alleviate food insecurity for members of our community. He has also been actively involved in the community by serving on the Chamber of Commerce Board, Workforce Investment Board, and Middlebury Business Association Board. Governor Shumlin appointed Perrin to the State Board of Education on April 12, 2013, to serve a six-year term (2013-2019) with a focus on policy concerning the education of Vermont students and assuring equal access for all Vermont students to a quality education.

Perrin also knows what it means to be a good neighbor. Two years ago, a water main rupture on Washington Street left us with a mountain of dirty dishes and no running water. Mark and the rest of the crew at Green Peppers welcomed us into their kitchen without hesitation! We were so grateful!

We’re proud to know Mark and proud to have such a wonderful local restaurant as our neighbor. Green Peppers is open daily at 10:30 am and offers dine-in or take out service. Choose from a mouth-watering list of soups, calzones, salads, pasta, pizzas, subs, and more! Gluten-free? They’ve got you covered! Just don’t forget to mention that you’re a Co-op member!

 

Spotlight on Wood’s Market Garden

There are certain fruits and vegetables that seem to announce the changing of the seasons and for us here at the Co-op, the day we receive our first delivery of local, organic tomatoes and strawberries from Wood’s Market Garden, we know that summer is finally here! We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Wood’s Market Garden this week to highlight their magnificent 150-acre organic farm in Brandon, VT. Member-owners can enjoy 20% off all of their glorious local, organic fruits and veggies from June 27th – July 4th.  Read on to learn more about their farm and the family that makes it possible for us to offer such a beautiful bounty:

Wood’s Market Garden is a fruit, vegetable & flower farm and seasonal market nestled in the quaint town of Brandon, Vermont. Their fields have been producing fresh food for the greater Brandon community for over 100 years!

The farm consists of 150 acres of Vermont farmland and woods. Known far and wide for their delicious sweet corn and plump, sweet strawberries, they also grow over 50 kinds of vegetables and fruits on 60 acres of sandy loam soils. Their produce and vegetable plants are certified organic, and in addition to their field production, they also have 7 greenhouses for raising bedding plants, ornamentals, vegetable starts and the tastiest early tomatoes in the state! Their unique varieties of plants and passion for quality crops keeps people coming back year after year.

Farmer Jon Satz purchased the iconic Wood’s farm from Bob and Sally Wood in 2000. With his passion for growing and sustainable farming practices, the farm and market have blossomed into a destination for beautiful organic vegetables, quality bedding plants and some of the sweetest strawberries around! Jon, his wife Courtney, and their 2 young sons make their home on the farm and enjoy the continued legacy of farming the land that the Wood family started generations ago.

Their farm stand and market is open 7 days a week during the spring and summer season. Outside, it’s a paradise of plants, hanging baskets, creeping vines, and gardens to wander. Perhaps you’ve seen it while driving down Route 7 South through Brandon? You’ll notice Jones Mill Pond, which during the warm summer months is covered with those famous pink water lilies, and Wood’s sprawling acres of lush fields and greenhouses surrounding the pond.

Inside the market, the shelves and baskets are filled with gorgeous fresh produce from the farm. Depending on what’s in season, you’ll find everything from fresh spinach to strawberries to squash. In addition to produce, they have an unbelievable variety of artisanal cheese, organic milk and local dairy products, local meat and poultry, fresh baked goods, maple syrup, honey, jam and more! It’s a foodie paradise at Wood’s Market….a really fun place to shop, and guaranteed to make you smile. Stop in and see them on your next trip through Brandon!

Spotlight on Neighborly Farms

As part of our celebration of Dairy Month, we’re shining our Co-op Spotlight on a fantastic local, organic dairy farm hailing from Randolph Center, VT: Neighborly Farms! Member-owners can enjoy 20% off their award-winning organic cheeses from June 21st – 27th! Read on to learn more about this 168-acre organic dairy farm that calls VT home:

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Established as an operating dairy farm in the 1920’s, Rob and Linda Dimmick are continuing the tradition of family farming. Nestled in the rolling hills of Randolph Center, Vermont, Neighborly Farms decorates the countryside with its red barn and white post and beam farmhouse built in the 1800s. They operate on 168 acres with cropland and grazing fields to support the dairy and a sugarhouse for producing pure Vermont maple syrup. The clean and tidy barn is home to 70 Holsteins—the black and white cows that symbolize rural living at its very best.

Rob and Linda are continuing the family farming tradition because they have a passion for the land and animals. They are a totally organic farm. This means the farm is run in complete harmony with the land and the animals; no antibiotics, no hormones, and no commercial fertilizers. Just pure and natural techniques that keep the cows healthy, happy, and the dairy products wholesome and chemical-free. It means that the cheese produced at Neighborly Farms are pure and natural. And the best part? The organic cheeses taste great too.

Neighborly Farms of Vermont is not just another dairy farm. At their family farm, there is a deep love for the land and animals. That’s why they choose to be an organic farm. It’s a way of showing that they care about their surroundings and neighbors. Neighborly Farms produces eleven kinds of delicious organic cheeses; all made with wholesome milk from their well-cared-for Holstein cows. They make cheese the old-fashioned way and believe that caring for the land and surroundings helps them produce the finest cheeses possible.

At the Co-op, you’ll find a rotating variety of their cheeses including Jalapeno Jack, Monterey Jack, Colby, Feta, Green Onion Cheddar, and their staple Raw Milk Cheddar, many of which have been honored with awards from the prestigious American Cheese Society. They hope you enjoy them and they thank you for supporting your local, organic dairy farms!

Spotlight on Newman’s Own

This week, we’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Newman’s Own as a tip of the hat to a man who decided to launch a food business that gives away 100% of its profits to charity. All of Newman’s Own products will be 20% off for member-owners from June 14th – 20th!  Read on to learn more about how Paul Newman accidentally found himself at the center of a successful food business and the impact of his incredible philanthropy:

 

Paul Newman’s craft was acting, his passion was auto racing, his love was his family and friends. But his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place. His commitment to philanthropy was clear — he used his influence, gave of his financial resources, and personally volunteered to advance humanitarian and social causes around the world. While Paul Newman was a Hollywood star of extraordinary celebrity and a person recognized for exceptional commitment and leadership for philanthropy, he lived his life as an ordinary person, which he always considered himself. He was a man of abundant good humor, generosity, and humility.

Newman’s Own began as a bit of a lark. In 1980, Paul Newman and his pal A.E. Hotchner filled empty wine bottles with his homemade salad dressing to give as gifts for the holidays. After friends and neighbors came clamoring for refills, Paul and “Hotch” were convinced that the special recipe was good enough to be bottled and sold.

Newman’s Own Salad Dressing was officially launched in 1982 and, surprisingly, became an instant success. The first year of profits exceeded $300,000 and Paul declared, “Let’s give it all away to those who need it.” Without ever taking personal compensation, Paul shared his good fortune. It was a unique concept at the time –  giving away all after-tax profits, but he believed that helping others was just the right thing to do.

Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation have now been “giving it all away” for 35 years and recently reached a milestone of $500 million in donations, helping thousands of charities and millions of people around the world. Newman’s Own Foundation is an IRS-recognized charitable corporation, which carries on Paul Newman’s commitment to using all the money it receives (royalties and profits) from the sale of Newman’s Own products for charitable purposes. The Foundation is governed by an independent Board of Directors which is obligated by law to use the Foundation’s resources only to advance its charitable purpose. The Foundation makes grants to charitable organizations, pays for other qualifying charitable expenses, and sets aside reserves to cover future payments on pledges, establish a rapid response fund in case of disasters, make program-related investments, and cover unanticipated contingencies. The Foundation believes that each of us, through the power of philanthropy, has the potential to make a difference.

Click here to read more about the beneficiaries and impact of the Newman’s Own Foundation

Today, Newman’s Own produces over 200 individual products across 20 categories. Always great tasting, always top quality, just the way founder Paul Newman insisted. The enterprise remains true to Paul’s original mission and values, using only all-natural, high-quality foods and donating 100% of profits and royalties to charity. Who would’ve thought that so much good could come from a simple idea? As Paul said, it has been “a heck of a ride.”

Spotlight on Vermont Creamery

With National Dairy Month in mind, we’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Vermont Creamery and reminding member-owners that they can enjoy 20% off their decadent dairy products From June 7th – 13th. We’re incredibly lucky to live in a state with the highest number of artisanal cheesemakers per capita, and Vermont Creamery ranks high among them. Their cheeses, creme fraiche, mascarpone, and cultured butter have garnered awards locally, nationally, and globally, creating quite a reputation for this incredible creamery with such humble roots. Read on to learn more about how the creamery began, their model for being a sustainable mission-driven business, and what keeps them inspired to produce their world-renowned products:

Our Story:

Vermont Creamery was started by two young visionaries devoted to new and non-traditional agriculture, Allison Hooper and Bob Reese. As a college student, Allison spent a summer traveling in France. She worked on a small family farm in Brittany, earning room and board while learning how to make all of the essentials of what was to become her life passion: cheesemaking. Bob always thought he would one day take over his grandparents’ dairy farm. Unfortunately, by the time he finished his degree in Agriculture, they’d sold the farm. Appropriately enough, the improbable run as long-term business partners began in 1984 during a dinner celebrating Vermont agricultural products. Bob was in charge of the dinner and desperately needed a locally made goat cheese for the French chef’s signature lamb dish. He reached out to Allison, who was then working at a dairy lab and milking goats in Brookfield. Allison made the chèvre on the farm, Bob delivered it to the chef– the dinner was a success and Vermont Creamery was born.
As they say, “time flies when you’re having fun”. And what a fun wild ride we’ve had. A quarter-century ago, $2,000 of savings and a $4,000 loan from an ag-minded Vermont church made possible our first nervous debut of fresh chèvre in the milk house on the farm in Brookfield. We sold first at farmers’ markets, then to food co-ops and French chefs. Back then, fresh chèvre, so popular today, was a dazzling exotic foreign delicacy for American palates. Today, almost 30 years later, 20 Vermont goat farms ship their milk to Vermont Creamery. We are humbled and proud to have won more than 100 national and international awards. Our butter and cheeses populate some of the most prestigious cheese boards in America. But what makes us proudest perhaps is that we have sustained a team of family farms and creamery artisans. Together we thrive making simply great cheese for discerning, appreciative eaters, home cooks and discriminating chefs alike.

Co-Founders Allison Hooper and Bob Reese

 

Our Mission:

At Vermont Creamery, we strive to produce the highest quality cheeses and dairy products using local ingredients while supporting and developing family farms. We aim to exemplify sustainability by being profitable, engaging our staff in the business, and living our mission every day in the creamery.

Our mission is founded on five principles:

  • The farms: Improve our rural communities by supporting family farms which have best management practices that are sustainable and environmentally sound.
  • A culture of continuous improvement: Invigorate and challenge our creamery community to maintain the highest product quality, excel at customer service and care for our consumers by inviting them to be part of our family.
  • The value of cheese: Promotes a life of good health and meaningful connection through the preparation and sharing of good food with others.
  • A responsible manufacturer: Add value to milk while minimizing our impact on clean and plentiful water, clean air, and land.
  • The Team: Accountability and responsibility allows every team member to create a profitable, meaningful and fun workplace where he/she is challenged empowered and motivated by his/her contribution.
  • A workplace that thinks globally and acts locally: Fostering mutual respect and tolerance in pursuit of a better life for everyone resonates within the creamery, into the community, and beyond

Click HERE to read Vermont Creamery’s 2017 Mission Report

Our Culture:

In 2014, Vermont Creamery became B Corp certified. B Corps are a new type of company that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corp certification is to sustainable business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. This designation reflects the values upon which our company was founded and our operating philosophies today. We became B Corp because capitalism affects change when it is mindful of doing what is right at the expense of profits. The B Corp Impact Assessment reflects not only what we currently do, but applies rigor to and accountability for our mission.

Our Recipe for Making a Difference-

  • 100% of our company utilizes open book management
  • 100% of Creamery employees participate in profit sharing
  • 100% of our milk comes from small-scale suppliers/farms
  • Our conservation partnership with the Ayers Brook Goat Dairy trains future Vermont farmers
  • 1% of profits are given to support non-profit and community work
  • Cut water consumption by 1/3 even as our business grew
  • 50% of the management team are women
  • 5 days paid maternity and paternity leave per year
  • Carpooling and bike-to-work incentive programs
  • More than 70% of heath insurance premium cost covered by the company

Meet the Goats:

 

Spotlight on Henry & Lisa’s Seafood

Henry & Lisa’s Natural Seafood, based in Seattle, Washington is featured in our Member Deals Spotlight from May 31st – June 6th. During this feature, member-owners can enjoy 20% off their full line of sustainable seafood products, so it’s a great time to stock up the freezer! Read on to learn more about the history and mission of this eco-friendly seafood business:

Their Story

Henry & Lisa Lovejoy launched their company in 1999 with the belief that there are many concerned people just like them who care about where their food comes from, care for the environment, and desire a source of all natural premium quality seafood from environmentally sustainable fisheries. Having spent 10 years in the seafood industry traveling the globe and visiting seafood exchanges from Tokyo to Paris, Beijing to Madrid, they witnessed the astounding volume of seafood being sold each day on these exchanges and noticed the size of many of the fish decreasing. Simultaneously, there was more and more news that numerous species were being fished to the point of commercial extinction. It became very evident that the world is harvesting our oceans faster than they can replenish themselves, and these resources need better management.

Henry & Lisa both have a deep respect for and great appreciation of the oceans. As a youngster, Henry was inspired by Jacques Cousteau, spent time volunteering at the New England Aquarium, and learned to scuba dive. Now as avid scuba divers and sea kayakers, whenever they have a chance, they are out exploring the ocean and feeling their love and respect for it grow.

Much has changed since Henry first sat down to write the EcoFish business plan. Today you can find their products in over 3,500 grocery/natural food stores and many restaurants nationwide. But, a lot has stayed the same. They continue to source the finest seafood available from both well-managed wild fisheries and state of the art eco-friendly aquaculture operations.

From how they purchase their seafood, to their 100% recycled packaging, to the renewable energy that powers their office, to the many marine & conservation causes they support, each purchase of Henry & Lisa’s Natural Seafood helps them further their mission.

Their Mission

  • Provide only the most sustainable, highest quality, healthiest, all natural, most delicious seafood to customers.
  • Help support sustainable fisheries (wild & aquaculture), and their fishing communities by featuring their sustainable seafood products and adding value to their catch.
  • Help reverse the decline of marine biodiversity by encouraging a shift in consumer demand away from over-exploited fisheries.
  • Offer a level of customer service unmatched in the seafood industry.
  • Accentuate the positive — highlight fishery success stories by increasing demand for these products, creating an incentive for others to adopt sustainable fishing practices.
  • Support marine conservation efforts through collaboration with conservation, research, and educational organizations worldwide.
  • Raise consciousness of the threats to the world’s oceans by providing a credible source of environmentally responsible seafood to the rapidly growing consumer demographics seeking environmentally sustainable products.
  • Set a good example for corporate America by striving for the “Triple Bottom Line” — operate a profitable business that’s also responsible to its community and the environment.

Click here to read more about the EcoFish Approved species offered in their product line and the way in which they are harvested.

Click here to read about the various conservation partners that Henry & Lisa work with to ensure their seafood is certified sustainable.

Spotlight on Real Pickles

Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly this week on a worker-owned cooperative aiming to change the food system by making pickles – Real Pickles! All of their probiotic-packed products are 20% off for member-owners this week! Read on to learn more about what makes this co-op beyond worthy of the spotlight:

 

The Real Pickles story begins in 1999 when Dan Rosenberg attended a traditional pickling workshop during a NOFA conference. Armed with this new skill, he began pickling locally-grown vegetables as a way to preserve the harvest so that he could continue eating locally during the winter months. He was further inspired by the work of Dr. Weston A. Price, a researcher who traveled the world in the 1920s and 30s studying the diets of indigenous peoples, finding that those eating traditional diets including fermented foods enjoyed a high level of health completely unknown in industrialized societies.

After two years of experimenting with recipes and honing the craft, Dan was ready to launch the business. From the very beginning, he prioritized local/regional food and organic agriculture. Real Pickles would buy its organic vegetables only from Northeast organic farms and sell its products only within the Northeast. A year later, the business began operating out of the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center in Greenfield, MA, a business incubator kitchen created to boost the local agricultural economy by providing a venue for making value-added foods with local farm ingredients. Dan was soon joined by Addie Rose Holland and the business began to grow.

Dan Rosenberg and Addie Rose Holland

By 2009, Real Pickles had outgrown the incubator kitchen and was ready to settle into their own home. They purchased a century-old industrial building in Greenfield, MA and transformed it into a solar-powered, energy-efficient, organic pickling facility. The move allowed for a significant expansion, tripling their purchases from local farms in the years to follow. Their success demonstrates that there is a real and growing demand for raw, fermented vegetables and that consumers value a business as deeply committed to social responsibility.

In 2013, with a goal of preserving their social mission for the long term and with the help of a successful community investment campaign, Real Pickles took the exciting step of transitioning their business to a worker co-operative. They are proud to join the ranks of other co-operatives that are supporting local ownership, workplace democracy, and contributing to the co-operative economy!

Want to learn more about the farmers in our region that supply Real Pickles with fresh, organic veggies? Click HERE!

To learn more about the health benefits of fermented foods, click HERE.

 

Spotlight on McKenzie

This week’s Member Deals spotlight shines brightly on McKenzie. All McKenzie meats (including their Alfresco line) are 20% off for member-owners from May 10th – 16th. Read on to learn more about this local Burlington-based company that’s been providing all-natural meats to our community10 for well over 100 years:

 

History

In 1885, John married his beloved Nellie an Irish farm girl. In 1898 they immigrated to rural Vermont to fulfill their dream of running their own farm. It flourished and included smokehouses for slow curing country hams. Nellie began giving hams as holiday gifts to neighboring farms. Word got out of their extraordinary quality and flavor. Soon the orders started coming and they never stopped.

Much has changed in this world, but some things are too good to change. Today, the McKenzie folks are still going to extraordinary measures to bring you the best meats made the old-fashioned way – based on John and Nellie’s farm methods for naturally hardwood smoking hams and using pure Vermont maple syrup for authentic flavor. They continue this tradition of bringing you authentic flavors with simple, wholesome food values. Attention to the little details served their family well back then, and that same integrity in their process and product continues to serve as their compass today.

The McKenzie Promise

At McKenzie, they believe in paying attention to all the little details, that meats and cheeses should be crafted with care, that every batch should be sourced from independent farms and trusted purveyors, and that a recipe with natural ingredients is always better than one with artificial ingredients or preservatives. To that end, here is there promise to you:

  • 100% natural
  • Raised without the use of antibiotics
  • No nitrates or nitrites
  • No growth hormones
  • Gluten-free
  • Sourced from independent farms