Alder Cooper, Author at Community Food Co-op

Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

Boys and Girls Club eating green apples eating breakfast cookies

A percentage of every purchase of an Erin Baker’s™ product is donated to the “Help Feed 1 Million Kids Program” that provided 100,000 breakfasts to kids at Boys & Girls Clubs in Washington in 2015. Below, Erin visits kids at the Bellingham club.

We’ve all been there, rushing out the door to work, school, an appointment, or to catch the bus while neglecting breakfast in our haste. In 1994 Erin Baker purchased her first Kitchen Aid mixer and, inspired by her mother’s wholesome baking, set her sights on creating a solution to this common situation—a healthy, grab-n-go breakfast treat.

a healthy, grab-n-go breakfast treat

Erin set up shop in a rented 4-H kitchen, and from those humble beginnings her business has grown to become an impressive local success story. Erin Baker’s™ Oatmeal Raisin Homestyle Granola was featured in Oprah magazine, the bakery was profiled in an episode of Unwrapped on the Food Network, and when flying Delta Air Lines you can nosh on an Erin Baker’s™ Breakfast Cookie included in the airline’s in-flight snacks.

Erin Bakers Breakfast Cookie oatmeal raisin with coffee blueberries and strawberry

From the Cookie Maker

Toast your favorite flavor of breakfast cookie for a delicious toasty treat.

Of course, the Co-op was way ahead of any of those highfalutin accolades—we’ve been fans since the beginning, and you can still buy the full assortment of breakfast cookies and granola (also in bulk) in our stores.

Beyond the delicious, whole-grain treats Erin Baker’s™Wholesome Baked Goods makes in its Ohio Street bakery in Bellingham, there are plenty of other reasons to love this local business—1 million of them in fact.

After learning that many children were arriving at the Whatcom County chapter of the Boys and Girls Club without eating breakfast, Erin established the “Help Feed 1 Million Kids Program.” In 2015, the business delivered more than 8,300 Breakfast Cookie Minis, in colorful kid-friendly packaging, to Boys and Girls Clubs across Washington state and to Homeport Learning Center in Bellingham—that’s 100,000 breakfasts for hungry kids!

But Erin didn’t stop there. Her company also partners with the Mt. Baker Ski Area to provide a free Erin Baker’s™Breakfast Cookie or cup of Homestyle Granola and milk to kids of all ages in Mt. Baker Ski Area’s Winter Ride Program. In addition, 100 percent of the proceeds of all Erin Baker’s™ Wholesome Baked Goods sold at the ski area benefit the children of the Winter Ride Program, providing scholarships and gear to kids who otherwise might miss out.

Just like Erin Baker’s™, the Co-op is passionate about giving back to our local community and increasing access to healthy food for everyone. Next time you’re in the Co-op, stock up on some Erin Baker’s™ Wholesome Baked Goods to help ease your morning rush, and know that with every purchase you are supporting a local business that in turn supports local kids.

How to Charcuterie

New to charcuterie?

Try these simple serving suggestions. Add your favorite mustards or other condiments, but keep it relatively simple to let the flavors of these quality, handcrafted meats shine..

charcuterie salami cheese ale French bread

Fra’ Mani sopressata

Genepi Alpine tomme de savoie

hearty ale

Avenue Bread or Breadfarm crusty baguette

charcuterie mortadella salami, pickled peppers, artichokes, rolls

Fra’ Mani mortadella

Mama Lil's pickled peppers

Cucina & Amore jarred artichoke quarters

organic olive oil

crusty sweet roll

charcuterie prosciutto salami cheese slices French bread

Creminelli prosciutto cotto

butter

Avenue Bread or Breadfarm crusty baguette

use in any sandwich or recipe calling for ham

charcuterie salami, broccolini, jalapenos, and anchovies

Fra’ Mani capicollo

broccoli rabe

Jeff's Naturals pepperoncini peppers

anchovies

garlic

Braise the broccoli rabe in olive oil with anchovies, garlic, and a little salt until tender. Slice focaccia through the middle to create two sides. Toast the bread to medium brown on its cut side. Brush with extra virgin olive oil and rub with garlic. Arrange the broccoli rabe, anchovies, and garlic all over the surface of the bread and top with thinly sliced spicy capicollo and Calabrian peppers. Serve open-faced.

charcuterie salami and cheese slices and brie

Creminelli Calabrese Italian salami

Milano Italian salami

Coastal cheddar (England)

Fromager D’Affinois brie (France)

charcuterie salami pepper slices butter French bread

Fra’ Mani salame rosa

Mediterranean Organic roasted red and yellow peppers

Wildwood aioli

ciabatta roll

Charcuterie

by Robin Elwood, Downtown Deli Assistant Manager

deli worker handing wrapped package to customer, salami

Mike in the Cordata deli will slice your charcuterie to order (with a smile!).

The Co-op is proud to announce the arrival of Fra’ Mani and Creminelli charcuteries! Co-op deli staff sought out the highest quality, artisan, handcrafted, additive-free meats for our shoppers, and we are excited to share them with you. Curious to learn more about what makes these two purveyors exceptional? Read on, and ask for a sample the next time you are in the deli.

the highest quality, artisan, handcrafted, additive-free meats

Fra’ Mani, based in Berkeley, California, represents approximately a decade of artisanal, hand-packed, naturally cured meat. Started by slow-food chef Paul Bertolli, their mission is to “keep old world traditions alive...using ingredients of the highest quality from sustainable sources.” Their meat, chiefly pork, comes from family farmers committed to the well-being of their animals and their land. The animals are never given antibiotics, artificial growth hormones, growth-promoting agents, or meat by-products, and are raised on pasture or in deeply bedded pens.

Creminelli, the other main supplier of the Co-op’s new charcuterie assortment, is at least a fourth-generation family producer of Salumi. The current generation moved from Italy to Utah in 2007, bringing the company with them, and searched for a landscape and an heirloom breed of pig suitable for making their traditional recipes. Their Duroc-breed pigs are raised in open living conditions, with all-natural standards similar to Fra’ Mani’s.

Many artisan producers pride themselves on the “story” that goes with their food, and both Fra’ Mani and Creminelli’s websites put family origin and culinary vision front and center. However, any corporation can write a vague story to go with their product. What sets these producers apart is a verifiable commitment to specific animal welfare and sustainability practices. And, of course, by their insistence that what they do creates an especially delicious product.

The real test comes when a room full of professional meat eaters sits in a back room at the Co-op’s Cordata store passing around a plate of charcuterie. Andy Adams, a representative from Peterson (one of the Co-op’s distributors), was running the deli slicer and leading a training on the vocabulary and variety of Italian-style preserved meats.

Andy led the group quickly through the definitions: salumi is a general Italian term for salted, cured, meats including salami, mortadella, sopressata, lardo, porchetta, cotta, etc. The cuts of meat, spices added, and curing times vary, but all of them originated as ways of preserving meat before refrigeration. They have endured due to both their durability and their tastiness.

“One of the great things about salami calabrese is that, despite the Calabrian pepper flakes giving it some heat, you also taste the flavor of the heirloom pork. Unless a customer wants something different, slice it about as thin as a dime,” said Andy.

At this point, Andy pauses and looks around the room. Everyone is eating salami calabrese. No one is listening to him.

“Oh,” he said. “Should I slice some more of that and hand it around again?”

The Cordata deli launched the new line of charcuterie first, and customers have been wildly responsive. Additionally, the deli team has some blockbuster sandwich suggestions utilizing slices of the various offerings. Downtown, the deli remodel delayed the arrival of these new products, but some of the smaller salami is available in the specialty cheese case. If all goes as planned, the full assortment will also be available in the Downtown deli by early February—sliced to order, with descriptions and samples galore.

And, yes, it includes that salami calabrese that stops all conversation.

Learn more at framani.com and creminelli.com.

San Juan Island Sea Salt

sea salt maker building farmer on salt farm

Salt maker Brady Ryan collecting the harvest on his salt farm.

Photos by Dave Hanson

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

What do you get when you combine sea water, greenhouses, and sunshine? San Juan Island Sea Salt!

That’s what Brady Ryan discovered, long after his less-successful initial childhood attempts at making sea salt on his parent’s stove. I’ve got to hand it to him—as a kid growing up on San Juan Island and pondering possible homemade gifts, sea salt was a pretty brilliant idea.

No longer relying on the kitchen stove, San Juan Island Sea Salt is produced using solar energy.

Seawater is filtered and collected into 3-inch-deep ponds inside passive greenhouses. It takes 3 to 6 weeks for the sun to finish a batch, and each greenhouse produces 200 to 300 pounds of salt per batch.

Most brands of sea salt, produced by an energy-intensive process of boiling off the water, are almost entirely pure sodium chloride (NaCl), but the ocean is only about 80 to 85 percent NaCl. San Juan Island Sea Salt’s evaporative process retains the mineral wealth of the sea resulting in wonderfully wild and briny flavored salt.

The salt is transferred to drying racks where moisture levels are carefully monitored before the salt is ground and packaged.

An interesting by-product of this process is the production of nigari, also called bittern. Nigari is used as a coagulant in the making of tofu, and the salt farm sells it to people who want to make their own homemade tofu. Who knew?

After careful monitoring to achieve the preferred moisture content, San Juan Island Sea Salt is ground to a consistency similar to fleur de sel. The irregular crystal size, lots of minerality, and a slight moisture content make it ideal as a finishing salt to sprinkle atop your baked goods, meats, vegetables, chocolates and caramels, egg dishes, or pretty much anything that would benefit from a pinch of salt. Of course, you can also use San Juan Island Sea Salt in recipes, just like any common salt.

Due to a combination of the trace minerals in the salt and our wet climate (and steamy kitchens), it’s completely natural if your San Juan Island Sea Salt gets a tiny bit clumpy. When needed, just give the jar a quick whack to loosen and sprinkle on the salty riches of the sea.

From the Salt Maker

Our theory in salting is plain: The simpler the food, the more powerfully our salt impacts your experience of it. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite ways to harness the flavor of the sea.

Fresh cherry tomatoes with salt and vinegar
Avocado on toast with salt
Salt on a fried egg
Salt on a fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie
Salt with nutritional yeast on popcorn

Take a virtual tour of the salt farm and be amazed by the wondrous beauty of salt crystal formations at sanjuanislandseasalt.com.

2013 Report on Sustainability

by Melissa Elkins, Sustainability Program Coordinator

Keeping it Local 15% of produce was purchased from watcom county farmers at Community Food Co-Op

Since opening our doors in 1970, the Community Food Co-op has followed a triple-bottom line business philosophy that places equal emphasis on economic vitality, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility.

animal stewardship at community food co-op meat department sold 87% free-range chicken 11% grass-fed beef, 29% free-range pork, 39% cage free eggs, 53% free-range, 52% organic eggs

In 2010, the Co-op started tracking its performance specifically as it relates to sustainability. In 2012, Melissa Elkins was hired as the Co-op’s Sustainability Program Coordinator. In 2013, the Co-op joined the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SFTA).

Along with a handful of our fellow food co-ops, we are the only grocers in Washington state that are SFTA members.

Reducing Waste 88% of community food co-op waste was composted or recycled

In April 2014, the Co-op filed its first full annual sustainability report to the SFTA—50 pages of detailed information reporting on the 2013 calendar year. The Co-op will continue to file reports annually to track our sustainability performance
over time.

Shown here are snippets from the condensed version of the report, which is available in our stores.

Paper Use at Community Food Co-Op 49% reduction in purchase of paper grocery bags, 79% of packaging can be recycled or composted, 54% of deli, bakery, and meat packaging is accepted by FoodPlus

“We’ve been collecting a vast amount of information and corralling it into a massive spreadsheet, so we could track our progress. Writing the first sustainability report based on that info was a huge undertaking, but it was extremely gratifying to see that the Co-op really is making great strides in our sustainability efforts!”

—Melissa Elkins, Sustainability Program Coordinator

Bellingham Co-Op vs Haggen and Fred Meyer price comparison

Both the condensed version and the full 50-page SFTA report are posted at www.communityfood.coop/learn/co-op-sustainability.

Drink Up the Benefits of Organic Milk

Most of us have been there. Standing at the dairy case and comparing milk prices, then wondering if it’s worth spending the extra bit of money for organic. Wonder no more.

A Washington State University study has confirmed the benefits of organic milk, finding that “organic milk contains significantly higher concentrations of heart-healthy fatty acids compared to milk from cows on conventionally managed dairy farms. While all types of milk fat can help improve an individual’s fatty acid profile, the team concludes that organic whole milk does so even better.”

Why? The short answer is that cows on organic dairy farms are pasture raised and spend their days outside grazing on a variety of grasses and legumes, and they are raised hormone and antibiotic free. As compared to conventionally raised cows that spend their days in barns, or otherwise confined, are fed a diet high in corn and soy (both at high risk to be GMO), and are treated with large doses of antibiotics and hormones.

The resulting human health benefits from organic milk include 62 percent more healthy omega-3 fatty acids, including ALA which is an omega-3 that cannot be found in fish, and 25 percent fewer omega-6s (unhealthy fats found in disproportionately high levels in the American diet). You may also want to note that many nutritionists now recommend whole milk, rather than 2 percent or skim, as it provides more beneficial omega-3s since skimming off the milk fat also skims off the omega-3s.

Even our environment benefits from organic milk, because of the careful stewardship of organic dairy farmers who maintain healthy pastures free of GMO crops, persistent pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers.

The Co-op carries two high-quality brands of organic milk, Organic Valley and Fresh Breeze Organic. Organic Valley is a nationwide dairy cooperative. In the Northwest region 27 farms provide milk to the cooperative. Among them are Hans and Colleen Wolfisberg, owners of Edelweiss Dairy and Organic Valley members since 2005. Some of you may have visited their picturesque 80-acre farm along the Nooksack River in Everson during a recent Whatcom County Farm Tour. Another local Organic Valley farmer is Andrew Dykstra, one of the first dairy farms in Skagit County to earn organic certification and join the Organic Valley cooperative.

The Co-op’s other brand of organic milk comes from Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy, a fifth-generation Lynden dairy farm located on property homesteaded by the family in 1901. They bottle their organic milk right on the farm—and it doesn’t get any fresher than that.

So, here’s to your health—and to the health of dairy cows and our environment. Enjoy some peace of mind knowing that the benefits you reap from purchasing organic milk far outweigh the small extra expense.

by Laura Steiger, Publications Editor

Vote to Keep Your Co-op Strong

Every year in March Co-op member-owners have the opportunity to help shape the future of the Co-op by voting in the Board of Directors election.

All current member-owners will receive voting materials in the mail, including a description of each candidate and voting instructions. The candidates will also be introduced at the Annual Meeting and Party on Saturday, March 7. You can then vote either online or in person at the Annual Meeting, or vote any time from March 1 to March 31 at the voting kiosk at either store or online from your home computer.

Your Co-op has become a $33-million-plus business with more than 230 employees. In addition to our two established stores, the new Co-op Connections Building, opening this spring, will house The Co-op Bakery, grab-and-go food, café drinks, staff offices, a classroom, and community meeting rooms. Improvements to the Downtown store will soon follow.

The success of the Co-op directly strengthens our ability to reach our goals for sustainability, supporting local suppliers, providing good local jobs, and serving our community.

Especially, it allows us to continue providing a delicious and healthy array of products and a friendly and informative shopping experience.

The role of the Board of Directors is to watch over and govern the Co-op to make sure everything is running smoothly. Directors determine the Co-op’s long-term strategic direction and monitor performance toward our current Strategic Plan. Having a knowledgeable and experienced Board of Directors helps us continue to achieve our financial, social, and environmental goals.

The Co-op has a unique and essential role as the only member-owned grocery store in our county.

Our strength comes from you—the member-owner. Please vote to keep your
Co-op strong.

Tips from the Nutritionist–Back to School

Dear Nutritionist: It’s back to school time, and I need some inspiration. Can you help me with healthy and creative lunch box ideas?

Dear Member,

When it comes to packing lunches, it’s easy to fall into a rut of the same old sandwich and chips. Kids like variety, too! But you also don’t want the hummus to end up in the trash. Here are a few ideas for keeping the lunchbox desirable for your kids—and healthy.

make lunch fun

In general, half of their meal should be fruits and vegetables, but with school lunch, go fruit-heavy. Kids love fruit, and it gives them a naturally sweet treat. Apple, pear, or nectarine slices can be a great alternative to bread or crackers for dipping in almond or sunflower butter or eating with cheese slices. Try adding mashed berries or sliced fruit to sandwiches, in place of jam or jelly. Or experiment with making your own fruit leather. It’s easy and you can customize it to your child’s liking.

When it comes to vegetables, school lunch isn’t the time to try to get your child to eat broccoli—unless she loves it! Include kids’ favorite veggies, like sweet cherry tomatoes, snow peas, or carrot sticks. Add some fun with a dipper, like homemade ranch dressing made from Greek yogurt.

Be sure to include a source of protein, so they have a source of energy that will stick with them through the afternoon: sliced turkey, sliced cheese, bean dip (like hummus), Greek yogurt, or school-approved nut butters, nuts, or seeds.

Make lunch fun. Make “sushi” pinwheels out of whole wheat pita and fillings, or use character-shaped cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into shapes. Bento boxes allow your child to mix-and-match the contents to make their own creations.

Include a treat, but keep it rather low in refined sugar so your child doesn’t fall asleep in class. Fruit is a great choice, but cookies or muffins made with whole wheat pastry flour (for fiber) and filled with dried fruit or a little chocolate are also great.

Mostly, ask your child to help you design their lunches. In general, kids are more likely to eat what they have a hand in creating. It’s a great way to spend time together!

Lisa Samuel is a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist and founding partner of NourishRDs. Check out Lisa’s schedule of upcoming cooking classes and workshops through the Co-op’s Healthy Connections program. You can also find more of her non-diet advice on the NourishRDs Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and blog.

Wines with No Added Sulfites

Sulfur is an antioxidant and antimicrobial that at very low levels is used as a preservative in wine. It serves to keep bacterial activity in check (wine is not pasteurized), preserves color (especially important in white wines), and keeps wine from oxidizing prematurely.

Its use in wine goes back to Roman times. Wines sold in the U.S. must list “contains sulfites” on the label, when sulfur is used in winemaking. Although no such rule applies to other foods including cheeses, dried fruits, or processed french fries, all of which contain far higher levels of sulfites than wine (we can thank neo-prohibitionist politicians in the 1970s for that).

While sulfites in wine may be a problem for a tiny minority of people with allergies or asthma, for most of us sulfites are not an issue. The relationship between sulfites and wine-related headaches has been debunked.

For winemakers, making no sulfites added (NSA) wines is a difficult and risky proposition. When making NSA wine, the winemaking equipment must be sterile, and NSA winemaking techniques often involve the additional use of specialized yeasts, pasteurization, and sterile filtering. In other words, making NSA wines is not exactly non-intervention winemaking.

However, many winemakers have accepted the challenge of making NSA wines (even NSA wines contain residual sulfites, as sulfur dioxide is a byproduct of fermentation), and there is a market for these wines. And, while many NSA wines still seem sterile and stripped of flavor, we are seeing a vast improvement in the quality of these wines in general.

2014 Community Cooperator Award

The Community Food Co-op is honored to award Ellen Murphy the 2014 Community Cooperator award for her years of community service.

Many of you know Ellen, as she has been of service in a myriad of ways to our community over the years. She is one of those blessed community peacemakers that comes along every so often and works tirelessly to make this world a better place—including 13 years as a Co-op volunteer in charge of organizing the reusable bulk food containers.

More notably, Ellen has dedicated her life to helping others heal and to working on the pursuit of peace and justice in a nonviolent way. She has done this through decades of work as a licensed counselor and front-line peace activist, and she “truly believes in cooperation.”

Ellen sees herself as just a mother and grandmother, doing motherly and grandmotherly things about fairness. Ellen said what she is proudest of are her five children and three grandchildren.

When we were talking about being cooperative and working with others, who may not have the same point of view as ours, Ellen said, “The more fully present we can be with others, the more love comes in.”

I asked what being fully present means.

Her answer was something along the lines of the more we are able to listen and hear others and be there in the moment with them, without our judgments and defenses, the better the outcome will be. Being present allows knowledge and honesty to arise. Rather than thinking about what one is going to say next, or how “right” or “smart” one is going to sound, presence allows natural wisdom, often called love or acceptance, to fill the space. It allows people to be themselves. Presence helps us with our own self-awareness and taking responsibility for our own projections onto others, explained Ellen.

In 1980, Ellen founded the San Diego Self-Help Clearinghouse, which assisted new self-help and mutual-aid groups to form, and connected people with the grassroots support group they needed through a referral “warm line” that continues to this day. She worked with 225 non-fee groups, all based on the spirit of cooperation.

Ellen said that a highlight of her life was the mediation she and her legal counsel, the late Joe Pemberton, entered into with the city of Bellingham in 2009 in order to resolve a wrongful arrest lawsuit. Ellen had been illegally arrested at the office of Representative Rick Larsen, while reading names of Iraq war casualties. Mediation with Deputy Chief David Doll and City Attorney Peter Ruffato resulted in changes to the city’s trespass policy.

“We humans are in big trouble,” said Ellen. “Martin Luther King’s giant triplets of racism, militarism, and materialism, along with poverty and inequality, have us in a chokehold. Let the communication really begin.”

From Ellen’s nomination: She takes time to truly listen and try to understand many points of view. She is an elder who has served this community for many years by speaking truth and being willing to sacrifice her personal freedom in order to secure the rights and freedom of others. She has never tooted her own horn and it is time to toot it for her!

-Karl Meyer, Community Outreach Coordinator

Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

From the Cookie Maker

How to Charcuterie

New to charcuterie?

Charcuterie

by Robin Elwood, Downtown Deli Assistant Manager

San Juan Island Sea Salt

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

From the Salt Maker

2013 Report on Sustainability

by Melissa Elkins, Sustainability Program Coordinator

Drink Up the Benefits of Organic Milk

by Laura Steiger, Publications Editor

Vote to Keep Your Co-op Strong

Tips from the Nutritionist–Back to School

Wines with No Added Sulfites

2014 Community Cooperator Award

Optimal Hydration

Learning to Make Mocktails

2022 Community Shopping Day Donations

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