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The Natural Enquirer YOUR COMMUNITY NATURAL FOODS MARKET THE NATURAL ENQUIRER A Publication of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op October - December 2019 Photo: Farmers Isa Pacheco (pink hat) and Foncho Cantillo of Coobafrio Cooperative learn how to properly cut bananas to prevent rot. The Benefits of Fair Trade Banana Farming by Ben Goe In the last Natural Enquirer, I To review, the basic principles of wrote about my trip to Colombia Fair Trade are: 7. No discrimination for any reason. 8. Promoting skill development, in March with a focus on banana 1. Creating opportunities for especially to the most production. Now, in honor of small producers in economically disadvantaged and vulnerable. October Fair Trade Month, I disadvantaged areas. thought I’d talk a little about what 9. Actively promoting the 2. Democracy, transparency, Fair Trade means for farmers and principles and values of Fair and accountability at all levels communities in Colombia, and what Trade at local, continental, and of business. the practices look like in person. international levels. 3. Freedom of association. Fair Trade Certified adds up to 10. Practicing and defending 4. Emphasizing the importance a lot more than an extra few bucks environmental sustainability at of people over profits. for the farmer. Did you know that all levels of the supply chain. 5. Paying a fair price to certified Fair Trade means always producers, agreed upon through These are probably all things non-GMO? And that there are far a participative dialogue. you’ve heard before, but I was fewer chemicals allowed than what surprised many times by what it is permissible for conventional 6. Absolute rejection of child U.S. crops? labor and forced labor. (continued on page 14) in this issue page page page From the Board ∙ pg 2 3 6 8 Fall Workshops ∙ pg 4 Support Farm to School ∙ pg 9 Fair Trade Impact Index ∙ pg 9 New in the Co-op ∙ pg 11 Diggin' It with Wild Weed Healing One World Gifts History of Meatballs ∙ pg 13 Garden Jay from the board General Manager Here to Stay Announces Retirement by Beverly Faxon As I write, fall is still a tease in the morning fog, but in the blink of the ever earlier setting sun, September will curl its leaves and turn October. & Next Steps Ah, October. An orange month if ever there was one—crisp leaves, and pumpkins, and Halloween candy corn. And also, fittingly, Co-op Month. Fitting because October is harvest It has been a very busy few months on the Board of Directors! As time, and harvest has traditionally been about cooperation. Cooperation many member-owners are aware, Todd Wood, the Skagit Valley Food in sharing harvest equipment and in sharing the work. Cooperation in Coop’s General Manager (GM) announced his retirement in July. With the kitchen, both preserving and celebrating the abundance. deep gratitude for the leadership and guidance that Todd has provided over the past 41 years, the Board of Directors has been diligently working to ensure that the next generation of leadership at the Co- op ensures a smooth transition and a resilient, bright future for our community-owned business. Replacing a General Manager is one of—if not the most—important tasks that a Board of Directors can have at any co-op, and we greatly appreciate the trust that our member-owners have placed in us to fulfill this duty. Our GM search process has been under way since the beginning of the year, and we have brought in an outside consultant with years of experience working with cooperatives to facilitate. We are conducting a national-level search and have posted the position through many different traditional channels, as well as those that are more specific to co-ops. We have a clearly delineated process and timeline in place: by the time this goes to print, we will have evaluated applications received to date, developed our interview process, and decided our top candidates to invite for in-person interviews. This timeline is subject to change, but the goal is to make an offer to an outstanding candidate immediately after our Board Retreat in early October! At the same time, we have several parallel initiatives underway that will help ease the transition to a new General Manager. First, we are in the process of revising and formalizing our Board governance policies into a system known as, wait for it… Policy Governance! This is an established system used by many co-ops around the country and relates to processes and expectations for GM reporting on various aspects of fiscal and operational stewardship and risk management. But as I think about Co-op Month this year, I also find myself Secondly, we are conducting updated strategic planning for the considering the disheartening resurgence of an ungenerous slogan: Co-op, which will become our 2025 Vision. Steps include surveying “Love it or leave it.” Love it or leave it was a popular catchphrase in the member-owners and undertaking an iterative process to help capture mid-20th Century—the same time food cooperatives were forming in the our collective vision of the Co-op in five years time. Both of these United States. Loving “it” meant loving the whole package. In the case of initiatives will greatly inform the work and direction of our new GM as what went on the table, if you loved the purple mountains’ majesty, and they come onboard. the amber waves of grain, then darn it, you better love the Wonder Bread We have been fortunate to have over four decades of stability in our the grain became. GM, which has been integral to our success over the years while remaining Yet so many worthy ventures, from co-ops to countries, began financially sustainable, and true to our core values. With change comes because people were dissatisfied with the status quo—whether it was opportunity, and we are excited for the future of our Co-op! bread with the texture of cotton or an oppressive government. When our Co-op began, it was almost impossible to find brown rice on a grocery shelf. Honey? Maybe in a small, dusty jar on a top shelf. Fresh, local produce? Let’s just say I was well into my teens before I had green beans not from a can or broccoli that hadn’t first been frozen. Freshly roasted coffee beans? Why would you want those when you had Skagit Valley Food Co-op Mission Statement the convenience of Nescafé? Tofu? . What? And organically grown anything was flat-out subversive, possibly The Skagit Valley Food Co-op is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose un-American. Why question the goodness of chemically induced is to provide good food at a fair price. As stated in the Co-op By-Laws: abundance? “The Co-op shall promote member welfare by utilizing their united funds I’m glad that those who wanted to eat organic fruits and vegetables, and their united efforts for the purchase and distribution of commodities whole grains, and foods without additives and preservatives didn’t just in accordance with the following criteria: melt into the tree-hugging woodwork when they were ridiculed for A. Maintaining the non-for-profit status of the Co-op; seeking a new food system and an alternate economy. Because certainly, B. Offering high quality products which contribute to good nutrition; the mainstream groceries and growing agribusinesses wanted to send those agitators for good food back to wherever they came from—really C. Supporting a low impact, non-harmful approach to the environment; wanted them to just “leave it.” D. Supporting local suppliers and producers; When a side in power pressures those who disagree with them to E. A commitment to building a cooperative economy and leave, it stifles the potential for constructive change. It also makes clear supporting others who share that commitment; that those who are in power believe you only belong, you only get a say, F. A commitment to educational programs relevant to members if you are in power. and non-members in the community.” Building cooperative food economies did not come easily. (Although, to be honest, it was often fun.) The co-op movement and the food it offered were fringe for a long time. Now the food itself has been The Skagit Valley Food Co-op Natural Enquirer is a quarterly publication thoroughly embraced by the mainstream. The concept of a cooperative of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op. Opinions expressed are those of the writers food economy is still not high in the public consciousness, but it has and may not reflect Co-op policy. No articles are meant to be used for living models in our co-ops. Neither might have gotten on our radar diagnosis or treatment of illness. The Co-op does not endorse the products or if those interested in them had folded their cooperative tents and left services of advertisers. when told they or their ideas didn’t belong. Editor: Nicole Vander Meulen | Layout & Design: Emily Zimmerman So here’s a thank you to all of those who don’t just leave it when Staff Contributors: nancylee bouscher, Ben Goe, Jenny Sandbo, things get hard, whether “it” is the dream of a cooperative economy and Jay Williams, & Todd Wood | Board of Trustees: Brad Claypool, good food, a neighborhood in need of loving care, or the country they Kristen Ekstran, Mike Hackett, Casey Schoenberger, Rob Smith, live in. Here’s a thank you to those who keep working to create places Wayne Rushing & Tom Theisen (like the Co-op), where everyone who comes in good faith is welcome, Copyright 2019: Reprints with permission and everyone who joins in gets a say.
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