Local Vendor: Spring Time Farm

by Meggan Simpson, Downtown Produce

July, 2017

spring time farm nick spring and sarah robinson

Farmers Nick Spring and Sarah Robinson enjoy a quiet moment on their farm in Everson with farm dog Henry.

photo by TwoFish Photography

Here at the Co-op we realize that farming is hard work, seven days a week, and a pretty challenging way to make a living. It is also an integral part of our community and local food system, which is why the Co-op has created programs like the Farm Fund that offer resources to help small farms like Spring Time Farm make their dreams of bringing fresh, nutrient-dense food to their community a reality.

Sarah Robinson and Nick Spring took the next step, with the assistance of a Co-op Farm Fund Next Step grant, and purchased property for their expanding produce and flower farm.

Nick Spring and Sarah Robinson at Spring Time Farm recently received a Next Step Grant—a relatively new Farm Fund program designed to help small farms take the next step and scale up to provide the wholesale market—and we are so happy to help them expand to their very own property. After farming their first four years leasing land, sharing tools, and receiving mentorship from Dusty Williams at Broad Leaf Farm, they are now in the process of moving to their recently purchased 37-acre property where they plan to farm 5 to 7 acres at a time while rotating their crops to ensure soil fertility and health.

Sarah washing lettuce. Look for signs identifying their organic produce and flowers in our stores this summer and support these up-and-coming local farmers.

photo byTwoFish Photography

So where did it all begin for Spring Time Farm? Nick Spring is originally from Portland, Oregon, and was attending Western Washington University in 2012 while running a garden system in town called Bellingham Urban Growers Syndicate (BUGS). You may have seen him bicycling around between classes with rototillers, rakes, and shovels in his trailer, or perhaps you owned one of the 11 plots of land he grew veggies on throughout town. He didn’t grow up farming or gardening but it is in Nick’s genes.

The name Spring Time Farm was the name of the farm Nick’s grandfather ran until he was 90!

Not only was BUGS a transition to reconnecting Nick to his farming heritage and his realization that he wanted to make a career growing food for the community, but BUGS is also how Nick met his amazing and talented partner Sarah Robinson. Sarah grew up in Maryland, went to college in Boston, and spent many years bicycle touring the continent before coming to Bellingham. It was here with the already passionate vegetable-growing Nick that she discovered her love for farming. With the constant and diverse challenges of farming—keeping her mind and body engaged while allowing her to be outside connecting with nature— she was hooked!

Nick with an armfull of giant alliums. The farmers of Spring Time Farm found a natural division of labor with Nick Spring taking the lead on the vegetable side of things and Sarah Robinson using her decidedly green thumb as the lead farmer-florist. Of course, they both frequently work together across all areas of the farm.

photo by Sarah Robinson

Nick and Sarah have been farming together for four years now and the quality and abundance of fruits, veggies, and flowers they bring to the community makes me feel like they have been doing this for so much longer. He is “in charge” of the veggies and she is “in charge” of the flowers, and they have a wonderful employee named Josiah who has been there from the beginning and whose knowledge, hard work, and fresh perspective have been an integral part of their success.

Sarah, Nick, Josiah, and the rest of the crew at Spring Time Farm are always trying new things, looking for new ways to nurture their land and preserve their bodies so they can continue to farm for a very, very long time. And we hope they do!

Nick and Sarah are such a joy to be around, you can see and feel the genuine passion for what they do, and for life in general, shine through in even the smallest interactions with them. You may see them delivering sun-kissed boxes of produce or flowers to either
Co-op store or selling at the Bellingham Farmers Market on Saturdays. Either way, we hope you get a warm and happy feeling when you put something from their local farm into your reusable shopping bag.

nick and sarah jumping for joy during the garlic harvest

Nick and Sarah's enthusiasm for organic farming is contagious. Here they are jumping for joy during the garlic harvest.

photo by Meaghan Flesch

We all benefit from the vibrant local organic farming community in Whatcom County. Maybe you have never grown a vegetable, or just didn’t have time to plant a garden this year, or perhaps all your greens have bolted—don’t fear! Spring Time, Broad Leaf, Terra Verde, Cascadia Mushrooms, Rabbit Fields, Viva Farms, Cedarville, Moondance, Spring Frog, and so many others deliver their
farm-fresh produce to the Co-op to make sure you have delicious and healthful local food to eat.

We know the hard work, dedication to sustainable farming, and connection to nature of these farmers is a large part of what makes the Co-op where you love to shop and Whatcom County such an amazing place to live, eat, and play. Thank you, Hamsters, for supporting your community and all the people who make it go round.

Learn more about the Co-op’s Farm Fund. The fund is supported by donations. You can join your friends and neighbors who support the Farm Fund by donating at any Co-op register or on our website.

Take a closer look at Spring Time Farm.

July New Items

All of July's new items are Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified!

Probiotic drinks and chips in dill pickle, sea salt, and zesty garden veggie

TRUST YOUR GUT INSTINCTS

Farmhouse Cultures

Healthy probiotics for a healthy gut.

Kraut Krisps $3.75/5 ounces
sea salt • dill pickle • zesty garden veggie

Gut shots $6.49/16 fluid ounces
classic • garlic dill pickle

Petipot pot de creme in lemon curd, dark chocolate, and vanilla

OOH LA LA!

Petitpot Gourmet Pot de Crème

French for delicious pudding. In the chilled dessert case.

dark chocolate • vanilla • lemon curd

$3.99/4 ounces

Organic Lunderberg quinoa, antique white

PROTEIN POWER

Lundberg Family Farms Organic Antique White Quinoa

Fast cooking. Fluffy texture. Grown in Washington state.

$7.25/16-ounce package • $5.99/pound in bulk

Organic Stoneground Flakes in four flavors

UNDO FOOD

Back to the Roots Cereals

Three or four ingredient organic stoneground flakes made in a kitchen, not a lab.

biodynamic cinnamon cluster • purple corn cocoa clusters • California whole wheat

$4.49/11 ounces

Local Vendor: Lummi Island Wild

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

July, 2017 • All photos courtesy of Lummi Island Wild

ships in still water with mountains in sky, Lummi Island Fishery

Reefnet gears anchored in the Salish Sea use the incoming flood tide to catch salmon as they return to their Fraser River spawning grounds.

The Northwest has long been a place of plenty that provides its inhabitants with a buffet of abundant foraged and farmed foods including berries, mushrooms, nuts, herbs, vegetables, and salmon. The mission statement of Lummi Island Wild reflects its intention to preserve one important element of that bountiful heritage: “To promote the respectful and responsible harvesting of wild salmon and to protect the environment for future generations of fish and people.”

Lummi Island Wild employs the oldest known sustainable fishery method in the world: reefnetting.

Reefnet fishing creates an artificial reef that entices fish to swim over a net suspended between platforms. When the fish arrive, spotters signal the crew to raise the reefnet. Then, the fish are gently rolled into a tank that is open to fresh circulating seawater.

Unlike most fisheries, the gear—the term for the system of platforms, nets, watch towers, and winches—is stationary. Fishers aren’t searching for fish in open waters. Instead, the fish come to them. Additionally, Lummi Island Wild is the first solar-powered wild salmon fishery in the world. The fishery also has an ultra-low bycatch mortality rate of approximately 0.5 percent.

A spotter watches for incoming salmon in the clear waters, waiting for the optimal moment to signal the crew to activate the solar-powered winches that raise the reefnet. The crew will then gently roll the catch into a hold tank where any bycatch will be immediately released.

This combination results in the lowest carbon footprint of any salmon fishery in the Salish Sea and earns Lummi Island Wild the accolade of being one of the 10 most sustainable fisheries in
the world.

Once practiced throughout the Salish Sea by many indigenous peoples, reefnet fishing now exists only off Lummi Island, three of the other San Juan Islands, and, as of 2016, off of Cherry Point through a cooperative effort between Lummi Nation and Lummi Island Wild.

For several years, the fishery has partnered with Lummi Nation to source halibut, spot prawns, and some salmon. In 2016, it was asked to assist in designing, building, and deploying a new reefnet gear that resulted in the launch of the first new tribal reefnet gear in 120 years. The Lummi Island Wild website states, “We appreciate the reverence and respect Lummi Nation has for their salmon, and hope to continue to expand our cooperation with them.”

You can easily see why the Co-op meat department staff is proud to offer this local, sustainable product. But how does it taste?

Lummi Island Wild Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon

Lummi Island Wild smoked salmon is among the best you’ll ever enjoy.

As far as salmon are concerned, fat is where it’s at, and the salmon heading to spawn in the Fraser River are among the fattest in the world. Salmon store fat during the ocean-dwelling part of their lifecycle. The longer and more arduous the journey back to their spawning ground, the more fat reserves they store.

The journey for some Fraser River salmon can be as long as 1,000 miles through extremely turbulent waters. For comparison, the now-famous Copper River in Alaska is only 350 miles long.

Lummi Island Wild harvests Fraser River salmon long before they enter the river, so they still have all their stored energy in the form of healthy omega 3-rich fat that results in a texture, flavor, and health benefit that few other salmon can offer.

Find information about the different salmon species, preparation tips, and videos depicting everything from the reefnet process to packaging on the Lummi Island Wild website. Particularly interesting to me is the Patagonia video, linked on the homepage, that features discussion about the importance of pink salmon to the future of Salish Sea salmon fisheries. Have we all been underestimating a local delicacy?

Learn more at lummiislandwild.com.

Summer Essentials

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

July, 2017

POP. FIZZ.

LaCroix Sparkling Water

No sweeteners. No sodium. No calories. Just flavor.

$3.99/eight 12-ounce cans (nine flavors)

Hiking Whatcom County guide book, Community Food Co-op baseball cap, and sunglasses

HIT THE TRAIL & THROW ON SOME SHADE

Hiking Whatcom County (6th edition)

The updated classic by Ken Wilcox.

$16.95

Co-op Trucker Hat

Cool, comfy, Co-op!

$17.95

CHILL OUT

Lopez Island Ice Cream

Small-batch ice cream with an island vibe.

$4.79/16 ounces (seven flavors)

alba Botanica sunscreen in 3 varieties, facial mineral sunscreen, kids mineral sunscreen, sensitive mineral sunscreen

HERE COMES THE SUN

Alba Sunscreen

Mineral sunscreen provides broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection. Hypo-allergenic.

$9.99/4 ounces (three varieties)

Grace Harbor Farms

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

David Lukens (left) is the second generation to step into a lead role on the family farm, established by Grace and Tim Lukens in the late 1990s.

Local farm does it all: soothing soaps & lotions and delicious dairy products.

My co-workers all know: I love goats! When I’m awwwing or giggling at something on the computer it is likely to be a video shared by a goat farmer. Or, how about that issue of Modern Farmer that was all about goats! In August 2015, there was one of those essay contests to win a goat farm; so tempting, but the farm was in Alabama (not so tempting).

But, I’m not the only one who thinks goats are awesome. The folks at Grace Harbor Farms, and their loyal customers, also know that goats and goat milk are something special.

Tim and Grace Lukens started making and selling goat milk soap at the Bellingham Farmers Market back in 1999, and soon after, they were fielding requests from their customers to expand the product line to include goat milk lotions. People were sharing stories about how the couple’s goat milk products were helping to clear up their skin problems, and before long Grace Harbor Farms was born.

The family-run business, based in Custer, has grown a lot since those early days, and so has the product line.

Co-op shoppers can find products sporting the Grace Harbor Farms logo in both the wellness and grocery departments.

In the wellness department, things are still very goat-centric with a variety of liquid and bar soaps, unscented Goat Milk & Honey Lotion, and the super-popular MSM Cream that folks use to find relief from a variety of problems like dry skin and joint pain. While over in the dairy cooler, cows are moooving in on the action with delicious buttermilk and yogurt from cow’s milk, and kefirs and milk from both cow and goat’s milk.

toddler walking next to cows on grace harbor farm

Ellie Lavergne, daughter of marketing manager Kayti Lavergne, enjoys visiting with her curious cow friends—a perk of being part of the employee family. Farm employees also gather daily to share another perk—a home cooked, family-style lunch.

The farm itself has also transitioned from being very goat-centric to now being home to pasture-raised Guernsey and Jersey cows. The goats are raised and milked in Ferndale at Wil-O-Acres Goat Dairy, the very same farm where Tim and Grace got their first two goats back in the 1990s.

The family has always operated a creamery to bottle and package their dairy products right on the farm. In fact, Grace Harbor was the first farm-to-shelf yogurt kefir producer in Washington state. Their farm-fresh milk is pasteurized, cultured, packaged, and delivered to our stores by the Grace Harbor team.

Grace Harbor Farms is now transitioning to the second generation of the Lukens family, with David Lukens at the helm. From the look of things, David is running a super fun operation! This year Grace Harbor held its first Creamery Olympics and it appears that the participants had a blast competing in events like the milk crate hurdles, bottle toss, box-making relay, rack curling, and many more. Need a smile today? Then check out the fun Olympic coverage on their Facebook page.

In our eyes, Grace Harbor Farms wins the gold!

cows in grass on farm in sun, rainbow and trees in background

A lovely rainbow appears above the picturesque pasture at Grace Harbor Farms.

Just for Kids!

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

free fruit for kids stand next to bananas with apples, clementines, and brochures

Look for these stackers full of fun stuff for kids at both stores.

Recently, we added something special to our stores, just for kids!

Kids are welcome to help themselves to a free piece of fruit each time they shop.

We want to get kids excited about eating fresh, healthy produce and encourage the next generation of Co-op member-owners to start developing healthy eating habits today!

The program is a perfect complement to our super-successful Real Food Show assembly that we have presented for free to more than 10,000 elementary school students. The free fruit program reinforces the healthy eating and lifestyle choices championed by our loveable assembly performers Frank and Beans.

Also in the baskets are recipe cards for Harvest of the Month produce items. School kids in Whatcom County are already familiar with the Harvest of the Month program that introduces a different locally grown produce item every month (cabbage in October). The recipes are kid developed, kid tested, and kid approved.

Lastly, kids can “Ask a Farmer” a question. We will occasionally share the answers in our publications (like below) and also post them in our stores.

Q: My dad worked in a farm when he was a kid. How is it like on a farm? (Ginger, age 7)

A: Being a farmer is a lot of really, really hard work, but it is also very rewarding (and it tastes really, really good, hahaha)! Farmers love being outside, working on the land and with our animals, and spending lots of time with our families. And, Whatcom County farmers are lucky to enjoy some of the prettiest views of any farms in the country!

Q: Who takes care of all the animals when the farmer goes on vacation? (Aurora, age 3)

A: It can be hard to find time to take a vacation, and farmers are very protective of our animals. Animals need to be cared for every day, but everybody needs to take a break sometime. Luckily, farmers often have wonderful friends and relatives who will help care for our animals when we are away.

mom helping toddler eat clementine at grocery store free for kids

Enjoy!

Farm Fund Spotlight: McIntyre Family Farm

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

farmers holding baby sheep at mcintyre family farm

Life is never dull on Jena and Matt McIntyre’s family farm where they raise and shear a flock of Icelandic sheep.

With support from a Co-op Farm Fund grant, couple shares equipment and know-how to help revitalize the art of sheep shearing.

In late May, Matt Curtis, Co-op graphic artist and photographer, and I had the good fortune to visit McIntyre Family Farm. We couldn’t have visited at a better time, as the McIntyre’s Icelandic sheep flock had recently finished lambing and we enjoyed the splendor of 20 adorable lambs, some only one-week old, cavorting around the barn, being generally silly and annoying their moms. Oh, we also got to hold a tiny lamb, which was a wonderfully satisfying treat for us city slickers. I’d recommend it, if you ever have the opportunity.

Oh, we also got to hold a tiny lamb.

Since 2013, Matt and Jena McIntyre, now with their young son Elton, live and farm off the scenic North Cascades Highway near Sedro Woolley in a charming farmhouse and chicken coop that date back to 1925. The farm is a diverse enterprise that focuses on pasture-based and grass-fed livestock.

The couple is in the third year of Sustainable Connections farm mentoring program, Food To Bank On, and has also completed a hands-on course at the Washington State Shearing School where they learned the New Zealand method of sheep shearing. If you’ve ever watched any of those televised sheep shearing competitions from New Zealand where people shear a perfect one-piece fleece in an insanely short amount of time (like in a minute!), that is the type of shearing they learned. Google it; it’s amazing!

farmer shearing goat on mcintyre family farm

The breed, valued for its thick dual-coated fleece, is relatively new to the U.S. having been introduced in the 1980s.

goat with full coat shearing process on mcintyre family farm

before
&
after

white, sheered goat on mcintyre family farm

Matt and Jena aren’t breaking any world records, yet, but the knowledge they acquired at the sheep shearing school did inspire them to apply for and receive a Farm Fund grant to purchase mobile shearing equipment so they could share their skills and equipment with other local farmers.

Shearing is somewhat of a lost skill, and small farms are outlaying a fair amount of money to pay professionals, in high-demand, to shear their animals. During our visit Matt and Jena sheared several sheep. Those New Zealanders make it look easy, but up close and in-person, it doesn’t look easy at all.

There is a lot of technique involved (and a lot of back strain)!

The new mobile shearing system, funded by a Farm Fund grant, will help farmers in several ways.

1. It is far more efficient than handheld electric shears, saving time and labor.

2. It can be run from a 12-volt battery making it entirely portable so sheep can be sheared on pasture even if no electricity source is available, which benefits the sheep since they don’t need to be transported for shearing.

3. By avoiding costly professional shearing fees, farmers can add another revenue stream from wool—a value-added product.

After word got out that the McIntyres had both shearing know-how and equipment, fellow farmers initially wanted to simply hire them to shear their animals. But, the couple is confident, that given time, the farming community will realize the benefit of learning how to shear their own animals.

Jena and Matt established their sheep flock in 2015. Of the 20 lambs born in the spring of 2016, all were twins except for two onlies. Matt explained that twins are not only common, but very desirable as the first lamb basically pays for the mom and the second lamb will generate a profit for the farm.

The couple is also establishing a herd of cows, raises pigs and poultry (mostly chickens) for both meat and eggs, and farms vegetables. They carefully care for their 30-acre pasture by constantly rotating their animals and crops, which not only controls parasites and disease but provides the best possible forage for their livestock.

You can find McIntrye Family Farm products at the Saturday Bellingham Farmers Market, and during the summer season they also offer a CSA.

Learn more at mcintyrefamilyfarm.com.

Welcome North Cascade Meats

by Melissa Arbiter, Meat Team

Enrique Barrau North Cascade Meats by grazing cows trees

We love doing business with other co-ops, and this new cooperative is bringing local, grass-fed beef to our stores. At left is Whatcom County farmer and cooperative member Enrique Barrau.

Local, grass-fed, and cooperatively owned—we're so happy it’s here!

Having lived in Whatcom County for the past eight years, I have developed a passion for learning where my food comes from. I prefer local over organic any day and, given the chance, I will take a drive out into the county to get a glimpse of where my food is grown. Before working for the Community Food Co-op and becoming the meat department manager at the Downtown store, I was always curious about how and where to get local beef. Driving around the county, I’ve seen many pastures dotted with happy cows, munching on grass.

The question for me has been: where can I buy the meat from these cattle?

Up until now, the Co-op has carried a small selection of frozen, local, grass-fed beef from Matheson Farms located near the Guide-Meridian on Smith Road. Having enough beef from one small, local farm to supply two busy stores is a stretch, which is why we mainly carry Country Natural Beef and Painted Hills Grass-Fed Beef. These are both excellent sources of delicious beef that satisfy our Meat Guarantee, but definitely not as local as I’d prefer.

Thankfully, we now have North Cascade Meats: A Farmer’s Cooperative. This farmer-owned-and-managed cooperative has begun work to establish a new USDA meat processing facility, in partnership with Del Fox Custom Meats in Stanwood, to service farmers in Island, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. They’ve already established the North Cascade Meats grass-fed brand in the region to provide their cooperative members with a marketing program offering an above-average return on their livestock. This means that those happy cows you see while enjoying pastoral views of the countryside may very well be what’s available on our shelves.

cows walking on grass by fence with mountains and trees in background

Barrau Farms offers lush pasture with a view that most any farmer (or cow) would envy.

North Cascade Meats is currently providing us with pasture-raised, grass-fed beef from two local farms: Forest Cattle Company in Skagit County and Barrau Farms in Whatcom County. As more farms join the North Cascade Meats cooperative, we’ll have more beef available. For the time being, what we have on our shelves from week to week will vary depending on how many cattle are processed from each farm.

So far the meat that has arrived is gorgeous and is competitively priced. Each cut is labeled with a “local” and “grass-fed” green sticker as well as a sticker noting which farm that particular cut came from. Looking for a particular cut? Just ask us at the meat counter!

Learn more at northcascademeats.com and forestcattle.com.

Grass-fed Beef

In general, grass-fed beef has a deeper, “beefier” flavor than its grain-finished counterparts. Nutritionally, it contains less saturated fat but more of those healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Typically, you’ll want to cook grass-fed meat less as it tends to be quite lean.

My favorite way to enjoy grass-fed steak? A nice ribeye, brought up to around room temp, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper, and placed in a rocket-hot cast iron pan with some fat (bacon grease, ghee, or coconut oil are all good choices). Sear both sides and when it’s about 10 degrees away from the desired doneness pull off the heat to rest, covered, for at least 8 minutes (this allows it to finish cooking and ensures all those tasty juices stay in the meat).

As always, your meat department experts love what they do and are more than willing to share cooking tips and ideas … just ask us!

raw steak with rosemary whole peppercorns garlic cloves salt

Tony’s Chocolonely

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

The new kid on the block is Tony’s Chocolonely. We’re excited about introducing it to our stores for several reasons.

Love chocolate? Yep, that is a rhetorical question for most of us, because … chocolate!

If you’ve perused the options in the chocolate aisle lately, you may have noticed the new, bright wrappers in bold primary colors that are jazzing things up.

The new kid on the block is Tony’s Chocolonely. We’re excited about introducing it to our stores for several reasons.

First, it’s delicious! Second, the bars are satisfyingly big, weighing in at a hefty six ounces per bar. Third, and certainly not least, it is 100 percent slave free and fair trade. Since 2012, Tony’s has been buying cocoa directly from two farming co-ops in West Africa, guaranteeing the farmers benefit from fair prices and financial stability and guaranteeing bean-to-bar traceability for Tony’s.

Tony’s Chocolonely was conceived after Dutch investigative reporter Teun van de Keuken (Tony, in English) learned of the preponderance of child slave labor in the chocolate industry and the widespread indifference of chocolate makers to the abuse. So, he started Tony’s Chocolonely and introduced his first “lonely” fair trade chocolate bars in 2005. Lonely, because they were the only slave-free option on the shelf.

Ten years later, the small but mighty company celebrated with a grand anniFAIRsary! You can watch a video of the event on the Tony’s Chocolonely website in the “about us” tab. And, while you are there, you can also learn much more about the fabulosity that is Tony’s Chocolonely.

By the way, the next anniFAIRsary party will be in November, so if you’re looking for a fun event in Amsterdam you should check it out!

Learn more at tonyschocolonely.com.

South of the Border

by Dave Sands, Produce Team

Dave Sands and Primo in Divine Flavor greenhouse

Dave Sands with greenhouse manager Primo at Divine Flavor in Hermosillo.

When the fields up here in the north slow down during our cold season, it’s nice to know our neighbors to the south have our backs.

Last March, I had the opportunity to visit several certified organic and fair trade certified farms in the state of Sonora in Mexico. I was impressed and inspired with the overall quality of these operations and the way they treat their workers. I saw firsthand the positive result of fair trade premiums in the communities near the farms—child care facilities, a tortilla factory and mini mart that sells to farm workers at cost, a full-service dental and medical facility, and even a few soccer fields—all paid for by fair trade premiums.

Well, what is fair trade anyway? According to the Fairtrade USA website: “Fair Trade Certified products were made with respect to people and planet. Rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards work to promote safe, healthy working conditions; protect the environment; enable transparency; and empower communities to build strong, thriving businesses. When you choose products with the Fair Trade label, your day-to-day purchases can improve an entire community’s day-to-day lives.”

During the winter months many of our vegetables, like cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes, come from Mexico and we choose to look for Fair Trade certified product when possible. Typically these run a few more cents per pound in cost to us. These few cents per pound really add up when we are talking truckloads going to stores all over the U.S. that choose fair trade.

Organic Brussels sprouts at Covilli Brand Organics in Empalme.

Many of the farming areas we visited in Mexico are home to large seasonal migrant populations, despite a lack of existing infrastructure. We saw some of the ways in which fair trade premiums contribute to the quality of life for these workers and communities.

We sell the certified organic vegetables that these farmers pick, and have always been impressed with the quality.

At the Divine Flavor grape orchards, dorms are being remodeled to provide more space per person per room. Near the town of Guaymas, the workers at Covilli Organics were close to finalizing plans to build a play area for their children. Wholesum Harvest near Hermosillo showed us the area where they are dividing tracts of land to offer housing to returning workers, so they may own their own piece of land within walking distance to work, the soccer field, and the at-cost tortilla factory and mini mart.

We sell the certified organic vegetables that these farmers pick, and have always been impressed with the quality. It was an honor to enrich my perspective and see the whole supply chain in person.

As impressive as the commitment to the social and economic side of things is, the commitment to growing clean, certified organic products was also great to see. These farms were spotless and used very modern growing methods that take care of the land and the water source.

The more acreage that gets converted to organic farming in Mexico, the better. That’s why we support our farm partners in Mexico and wish them all the success in the world.

tour group wearing white overshirts, hairnets, and shoe covers

Dave’s tour group suited up as per requirements to enter the On the Vine tomato and English cucumber growing rooms at Wholesum Harvest.

by Meggan Simpson, Downtown Produce

July, 2017

photo by TwoFish Photography

photo byTwoFish Photography

photo by Sarah Robinson

photo by Meaghan Flesch

All of July's new items are Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified!

TRUST YOUR GUT INSTINCTS

Farmhouse Cultures

OOH LA LA!

Petitpot Gourmet Pot de Crème

PROTEIN POWER

Lundberg Family Farms Organic Antique White Quinoa

UNDO FOOD

Back to the Roots Cereals

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

July, 2017 • All photos courtesy of Lummi Island Wild

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

July, 2017

POP. FIZZ.

LaCroix Sparkling Water

HIT THE TRAIL & THROW ON SOME SHADE

Hiking Whatcom County (6th edition)

Co-op Trucker Hat

CHILL OUT

Lopez Island Ice Cream

HERE COMES THE SUN

Alba Sunscreen

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

Enjoy!

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

before & after

by Melissa Arbiter, Meat Team

Grass-fed Beef

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

by Dave Sands, Produce Team

enews-sign-up-image

before
&
after