Community Food Co-op

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      • Community Food Co-op, Downtown Store, 1220 North Forest Street at Holly StreetDowntown Store
        1220 North Forest Street at Holly Street
        Bellingham, Washington
        8 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
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        315 Westerly Road at Cordata Parkway
        Bellingham, Washington
        8 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
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You are here: Home / Archives for award

We Won a Climate Award!

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

April 2018
climate collaborative

Melissa Elkins (center), Co-op Sustainability Coordinator, accepted the Outstanding Company award at the 2018 Climate Collaborative Awards. Also pictured (from left) is Lara Dickinson, Climate Collaborative Co-Founder, and Robynn Shrader, National Co+op Grocers CEO. Photo courtesy of New Hope Network.

We’re all familiar with the tried-and-true award season saying—it’s an honor just to be nominated. Well, sure, that’s true. But it’s even better to have your work recognized by winning!

Melissa is steering the Co-op toward increasingly impressive accomplishments in its sustainability programs

In that spirit, we want to share appreciation for the hard work of Melissa Elkins, the Co-op’s Sustainability Coordinator. Melissa is steering the Co-op toward increasingly impressive accomplishments in its sustainability programs and this award is just the most recent acknowledgement of that work.

The Co-op was awarded “Outstanding Company" for improving energy efficiency in a retail grocery setting and fostering resilient, regenerative farming communities at the inaugural National Co+op Grocers (NCG) Climate Collaborative Awards.

NCG noted the following factors in the Co-op’s award:

  • "offsetting 102% of their electricity use with their own 126 solar panel array and renewable energy certificates
  • diverting 90% of their waste from the landfill
  • investing in efficient lighting and refrigeration systems has earned their co-op the only 2017 EPA EnergyStar Certificate issued to a grocery store west of the Rockies and puts them among the top 30 retailers in the country in utilization of renewable energy.

"If that weren’t enough, they also invest profits back into their community in many ways, including an innovative Farm Fund supporting local sustainable farming projects.”

Congratulations to Melissa and to the entire Co-op staff who work daily to implement innovative sustainability strategies in our co-op. Make every day Earth Day!

Our 2018 Sustainability Snapshot is available online or in print at the service desk. Following are a few highlights!

2018 sustainability snapshot

Waste Reduction Highlights

supermarket energy star certification

Energy Efficiency Highlights

energy efficient grocery store

Keeping it Local

puget sound food hub sales
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2017 Co-op Awards: Volunteer and Cooperator

2017 Cooperator of the Year: Jade Vantreese

by Kris Buettner, Outreach Assistant and Member Affairs Committee Member
Jade Flores

Congratulations to our 2017 Cooperator of the Year: Jade Vantreese!

Her work to promote the cooperative business model, bring awareness through education to food justice issues, and build an equitable food system is inspiring to all who know her, and her accomplishments continue to grow as she works and lives cooperatively for a more just and equitable society.

While working at the Community Food Co-op, Jade was elected by coworkers to serve as the staff representative on the Board of Directors. She also served on the Co-op Board’s Members Affairs Committee, seeking ways to engage member-owners with cooperative values and strengthen the fabric of our community. She was an active participant in the Domestic Fair Trade conferences held in Bellingham, and worked to support farmworker rights and small cooperative businesses.

While studying and working in environments steeped in cooperative principles, Jade continues to raise her children in cooperative housing. She graduated from Fairhaven College with a concentration in alternative food systems and sustainable agriculture and economics. While on campus, she spearheaded efforts to create a food bank at Western Washington University, which is now a reality.

Jade now works with the Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative, where she is responsible for marketing and development while working with farmers and buyers to promote the mission of the cooperative. As if that wasn’t enough, she is also working on a master’s degree in public administration at Evans School of Public Policy, University of Washington, and has participated in many conferences and trainings on cooperatives.

Jade was recently highlighted in Cooperative Spirit magazine for gathering stories of people living and working cooperatively, intended for a future book. Our community is very lucky to benefit from her studies and her passion for creating a more just and sustainable society. Thanks, Jade!

2017 Volunteer of the Year: Frances Charlock

by Karl Meyer, Outreach Team
frances charlock

We are honored to recognize Frances Charlock as the 2017 Community Food Co-op Volunteer of the Year.

At our Annual Meeting and Party, at which the Co-op prepares food and beverage for over 600 members, Frances has been an able and steady volunteer helping with the beverage station year after year.

I am grateful for her commitment to volunteering in the community and know I can always count on Frances to be upbeat and eager to help at this event and at our other events throughout the year.

Frances also volunteers at Sustainable Connections, Womencare Shelter, and The Lighthouse Mission. During our interview, Frances mentioned her favorite part of volunteering is getting to know the people she gets to work with. Her weekly shifts at The Mission have made her familiar with the community there and she speaks highly of that connection. She said it was a “kick in the pants” getting to know folks at The Mission and now they all look out for her as she bikes around town.

Frances does not drive a car and uses her bike extensively. She and her partner also play piano and sing as part of their volunteer service.

It’s been a pleasure working with Frances. I also enjoy the way she ends her emails with: “Tickle my memory with all the good things you’ve done for me, so that I have a thankful, happy, spirit today!”

Thank you, Frances!

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SALES| THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE award| cooperator| frances charlock| jade vantreese| volunteer

We’re Sustainability Stars!

melissa elkins coefficent sustainability star

Co-op Sustainability Coordinator, Melissa Elkins, leads the award-winning sustainability efforts at the Co-op and keeps us all on track and striving to continually improve.

Learn more about Sustainability at the Co-op and read our Impact Report and Sustainability Goals for 2017.

The Co-op has been named a Sustainability Star by National Co+op Grocers (NCG) for excellence in our sustainability efforts.

The award recognizes food co-ops that demonstrate outstanding leadership by making a positive impact on social, environmental, and local economic issues.

sustainability star co-effcient

At its annual meeting, NCG honored Community Food Co-op for our role in creating positive sustainability impacts in 2016.

The Co-op eliminated GMO ingredients from our bakery and deli production departments, became the only Energy Star certified grocery stores west of the Rockies, and did a complete audit of our waste stream, among other initiatives in 2016.

Like all Sustainability Star award winners, we participate in Co+efficient, NCG’s sustainability program that helps co-op grocery stores measure their impacts, drive improvements, and share the story of their important work with community members and other co-ops. This marks the second year that NCG has highlighted co-ops by awarding Sustainability Star honors.

The Community Food Co-op is one of ten co-ops nationwide recognized for its 2016 performance.

The sustainability initiatives that the Co-op chooses to endeavor don’t increase sales but they are an integral part of our business structure because we feel it is the best way to show respect to our community and environment.

The cooperative sector has long been an innovator in sustainability. Earning Sustainability Star recognition shows that the Co-op is leading the way, not only by excelling in our sustainability pursuits, but by sharing the details and result of our efforts for the benefit of co-ops and communities around the country.

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We Won Gold, Again!

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

bellingham alive farmstrong brewing company magazine

Everyone at the Co-op is basking in the golden glow of once again winning Best Grocery Store and Best Health Food Shop in Bellingham Alive! magazine’s annual Best of the Northwest reader poll.

At the Co-op we take pride in the fact that local isn’t just a tagline and sustainability isn’t just a talking point. It is simply the way we do business with care and conscience.

We sincerely appreciate your votes, support, and recognition of the Co-op—Whatcom County’s only community-owned grocery store.

Our member-owners help us achieve the high standards we set for quality products, superior customer service, community giving, support of local farms and small businesses, providing an exemplary workplace, and, of course, fresh, delicious, organic, made-from-scratch food and baked goods prepared daily in the Co-op kitchens.

We are your Co-op. You own it. So, congratulations … you also won GOLD!

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SUSTAINABILITY| THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE award| bellingham alive| best grocery store| best health food shop| best of the northwest| gold

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Sun Protection That Is Good for You and the Environment

We like to make the most of our long summer days, but one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime and UV exposure is the most preventable risk factor. So play it safe in the sun this summer.

Is Your Toilet Paper Destroying the Environment?

The Co-op is proud to report that the toilet paper we sell received an “A” on the NRDC’s “Buyer’s Guide to the Sustainability of At-Home Tissue Products.” Let’s not flush our beloved, life-sustaining forests down the drain!

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Helping Salmon and Orcas in the Salish Sea

Learn about our commitment to cease the sale of any chinook/king salmon from the coastal waters of Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia, and discover ways that all of us can help protect the Southern Resident orcas.

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• map • 360-734-8158 •  8 am – 9 pm; deli service counter closes at 7 pm
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