non-gmo Archives | Community Food Co-op

Doctober Movie: Modified

At Pickford Film Center
Film will be followed by a Q&A panel discussion.
Sponsored by Community Food Co-op

The documentary filmmaker and her mother embark on a very personal and poignant investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Interweaving the personal and the political, the film is anchored in the filmmaker’s relationship to her mom, a gardener and food activist who battled cancer during the film's production. Winner of 8 festival awards.

Panel:

Steve Crider, Founder and consultant at Stone Soup Advisors, LLC. Steve is the former head of Government & Industry Affairs at Amy's Kitchen. In that capacity, he worked for 6 years on the Right to Know/GMO labeling battles, including the political campaigns to pass mandatory GMO labeling through state ballot initiatives in CA, WA, and OR - and also the effort to defeat the DARK Act in Congress.

Kristin Wheeler, Communications Manager, Non-GMO Project. The Non-GMO Project Standard is North America's most rigorous and reliable standard for GMO avoidance. The only way to truly avoid consuming GMOs is to Look for the Butterfly. nongmoproject.org

Crystine Goldberg and Brian Campbell of Uprising Seeds, a small family-run organic seed farm. Uprising Seeds is committed to strengthening the public commons of seed genetics by working to preserve and improve open-pollinated varieties, keeping biodiversity strong through adaptability and resilience. Uprising Seeds is adamantly opposed to GMOs and considers it a challenge and honor to take part in the rebuilding of healthy and just food systems for all.

Local Vendor Profile: Tortillas Con Madre

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

July 2019

Lupita Nava stands at the back of the delivery van for her business Tortillas Con Madre

Tortillas Con Madre is a family affair and Lupita Nava's entire family pitches in with the business.

The family business was recently featured in a King 5 Evening Magazine story. Watch the video here! Congratulations to Tortillas Con Madre on the well-deserved recognition!

Photos by Matt Curtis, Habiba Sial, and courtesy of Tortillas Con Madre.

Locally Made Tortillas Con Madre:
Delicious tortillas naturally enhanced with omegas 6 & 9 from organic pumpkin oil

package of tortillas con madre tortillas locally made in bellingham washington

Lupita Nava grew up eating freshly made tortillas with every meal. By the age of 13, under the careful tutelage of her grandmother and mother, she was the tortilla maker for her family.

As always, practice makes perfect and in 1995 Lupita and her husband, Gerardo Quiroz, started a corn tortilla business in Monterrey, Mexico, that Lupita’s younger brother still runs.

I wanted to give my family a clean product, GMO-free and free of preservatives and pesticides.

In 1997, after the couple immigrated to Canada and then to the U.S., they often talked about opening another tortilleria.

“When we emigrated to the U.S., I starting making my own tortillas because I wanted to give my family a clean product, GMO-free and free of preservatives and pesticides. It wasn’t until 2016, when I started making my own organic flour tortillas at home, that we seriously considered opening an organic flour tortilla factory," said Lupita.

With the knowledge Gerardo gained from 20+ years working in the organic industry, Lupita started to test different combinations of wheat flours and oils.

the Tortillas Con Madre recipe featuring five simple ingredients: organic artisan wheat flour, water, organic pumpkin oil, sea salt, and non-aluminum baking powder

ingredients to make tortillas con madre made in bellingham washington

She determined that pumpkin oil best enhanced the flavor of the wheat flour and developed the Tortillas Con Madre recipe featuring five simple ingredients: organic artisan wheat flour, water, organic pumpkin oil, sea salt, and non-aluminum baking powder.

“I learned that all pumpkins in the world originated in Mexico and felt this recipe, besides being very nutritional, was a bit more authentic Mexican because of the pumpkin seed oil in it,” said Lupita.

Like most small businesses, Tortillas Con Madre is a family affair. “My husband helps me with the operations and the mechanical aspects. He also helps with marketing and USDA compliance. My son, Gerardo Jr., operates equipment during production and cleans and sanitizes it, and my daughters, Valeria and Nicole, help with packing and general cleaning. I manage sales and administration,” said Lupita.

Lupita’s Recipe Tips

“Honestly, I eat Tortillas Con Madre with most of my Mexican dishes, but quesadillas are my favorite.”

For the tastiest results, warm tortillas on a preheated skillet until soft and puffy (as pictured).

a puffed up tortilla on the griddle from tortillas con madre made in bellingham washington

Lupita's Favorite Memory

stack of freshly warmed Tortillas Con Madre made in bellingham washington on a pretty purple place setting

“My favorite memory will always be watching the family work together during production. The satisfaction I get knowing that our Tortillas Con Madre have been made with care, and consumers are taking home a little piece of that and the passion we instill in each tortilla.

“I feel proud to partner with such a passionate community of suppliers and customers. It’s important to understand that buying local creates jobs in our community. Local farmers harvest and mill local grains, local factories manufacture nutritional oils, and a local family helps with baking and packaging this flat bread for the delight of our community. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Co-op Deli: Fresh, Organic, GMO Free

by Robin Elwood, Downtown deli

Downtown Deli Assistant Manager Robin Elwood resupplies the salad bar fixin’s. The hot bar and salad bar are the same low price per pound, so you can mix and match the just-right amount of any items you desire for your perfect plate.

Your Co-op deli makes it easy. Soup, salad bar, hot bar, or grab-n-go. Join us for a healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

One of the best parts of my job in early summer is watching the procession of the species. I don’t mean the parade in Downtown Bellingham, although that is awesome too. I’m talking about the procession of fresh produce boxes that makes its way into the Co-op kitchens every morning.

In winter, many of those boxes come from places farther afield, such as California, Canada, and Mexico. But around this time of year, more and more of the boxes are direct from the hands of local farmers.

When I ran into Joe Hill, assistant manager in the Downtown deli kitchen, I asked him what was new with the procession of produce. Recently, Joe and the other kitchen managers reviewed the salad bar, hot bar, and deli case to assess the state of our non-GMO and organic ingredients.

It turns out that our bar was already almost entirely organic. “We basically have the least-renowned organic salad bar in Bellingham,” Joe told me with a grin.

Every fresh ingredient in the salad bar is organic and non-GMO certified. The few exceptions—black olives, housemade Breadfarm croutons, and mandarin orange slices—cannot be sourced as organic, but are the cleanest available product the kitchen staff can find.

“That is something we’re very proud of,” Joe said. “What we serve is priced affordably, and we are dedicated to absolute transparency of sources and ingredients.”

Along with the organic produce flooding into the kitchen, Prepared Foods Manager Nick Barrett gave me good news about another change. Both the Cordata and Downtown deli kitchens have committed to a new supplier of organic chicken—Smart Chicken—for all the deli food we make from scratch in our kitchens. That includes the hot bar, salad bar, and the chicken dishes and salads in the deli cases.

Founded in 1998 in the Midwest, Smart Chicken strives to be an alternative to the race-to-the-bottom horror show that is American poultry production. Not only are they certified organic, they are also committed to verifiable humane raising, butchering, and production standards. And, intentionally make their workplace safe and sustainable.

As Nick, Joe, and I finished talking, I heard the background sound of a smoothie being blended. The all-organic, design-your-own smoothie menu at all three Co-op locations has been a hot seller. For example, more than 1,300 people bought a smoothie at the Downtown store in March. As the weather heats up, we’re prepared to make an absolutely ridiculous number of drinks.

If you haven’t visited the Co-op deli, hot bar, salad bar, or organic smoothie and espresso bars lately, we welcome you to stop by for the freshest, tastiest organic food in town made right here in the Co-op kitchens!

Learn more about Smart Chicken.

Made-to-order or grab-n-go, all of our deli sandwiches are made fresh throughout the day. The Co-op bakery café and Cordata store also have pressed-to-order paninis.

EWG's 2016 Dirty Dozen: strawberries apples nectarines peaches celery grapes cherries spinach tomatoes bell peppers cherry tomatoes cucumbers

Our deli never uses any ingredients from the Dirty 12, unless they are organic.

The Spice Hut

by Meaghan Flesch, Outreach Team

Co-owners (and mother/son) Mundir and Tanvir Sidhu’s love of vibrant, healthful foods shines through in all of The Spice Hut’s products.

Variety is the spice of life. We’ve all heard the saying, which by definition means that life is more interesting when it changes often and you have many different experiences. The same is true of spice itself.

The use of spices has been traced back to the dawn of history and been depicted in Egyptian tombs, hieroglyphics, and the Old Testament. Hundreds of spices are found worldwide and used for many reasons such as religious practices, medicinal benefits, and for flavoring bland foods.

"use of spices has been traced back to the dawn of history"

For Mundir Sidhu, her love of cooking, teas, and a health-conscious diet inspired the opening of her store, The Spice Hut, now in operation for a decade. Born in India and raised in Canada, Mundir ended up in Bellingham raising her children and working in retail. She always dreamed of owning her own business.

What started as a dream to open an Indian foods specialty store turned into a tea and spice store when Mundir said she began falling in love with teas and the added health benefits of drinking them.

baskets labeled for spices oregano juniper cumin allspice cinnamon

Tanvir and Mundir carefully select 100 percent certified organic ingredients for use in their tea and spice blends, and are currently in the process of having their products Non-GMO Project Verified.

Providing clean, healthy foods is a value that The Spice Hut believes is parallel to that of the Co-op, and Mundir said that is why the relationship is a good mix. “What the Community Food Co-op brings into their store is the same that I would bring into mine,” said Mundir.

Tanvir Sidhu, son of Mundir and co-owner of The Spice Hut, said from the beginning the business grew as a result of their being conscious of the health benefits of what they put into their foods. “That carries through into all of our products—our teas and spices,” said Tanvir. “We don’t put something as simple as salt into our spice blends, so that people can control that for themselves.”

"business grew as a result of their being conscious of the health benefits of what they put into their foods"

Both the Cordata and Downtown stores carry an array of The Spice Hut’s seasoning blends. Varieties include Creole, Garam Masala, Chinese Five Spice, and Italian, to name a few. Their spice blends are made with whole spices that are packaged immediately after grinding to preserve the peak of freshness. They are free of salt, coloring, and anti-clumping chemicals, said Tanvir.

Later this month, the Sidhus are proud to be able to add the 100 percent organic label to their packaged spice blends, and by the holiday season they will likely have finished the six-month process of becoming Non-GMO Project Verified.

On any given day you may see a representative from The Spice Hut at the Co-op handing out samples and demonstrating easy-to-make, flavorful recipes using their spice blends. As a result of these in-store demos, The Spice Hut has experienced a rise in sales, said Michael Elkins, Cordata grocery department manager. “They have a real connection with their brand,” he said.

Over a nice cup of steaming “Twilight” tea, the Sidhus are positively passionate about the brand they have created. In the future Mundir would love to work with local cheesemakers and create a new line of products utilizing her spices.

No doubt, The Spice Hut will continue to bring unique foods to the people of Bellingham and to the shelves of the Co-op.

Mundir’s Berbere Chicken

4 tablespoons Spice Hut Berbere Seasoning

4 chicken breasts

Salt, to taste

Place chicken breasts in a large pan and coat liberally with Spice Hut Berbere Seasoning.
Marinate in refrigerator for an hour or overnight.
Place chicken breasts into oiled casserole dish and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until done.
Serve with rice.

Learn more at www.thespicehut.com.

Grocery- Rockin’ Around the Clock

by Michael Elkins, Grocery Department

Amy's Soup cans in aisle Community Food Co-op grocery straightening

Grocery Assistant Managers Chuck Marston (front) and Travis Meyer (back) align product to keep the Downtown grocery shelves looking just right for Co-op shoppers.

When I was asked to compose an article about the grocery department it seemed like it could be a daunting task. There are so many things to talk about—product selection, pricing, promotions, the staff, and on and on. I thought I would start off with a little bit about the staff.

There are 23 grocery team members at the Downtown store and 13 at Cordata. Not everyone works full time, and a few folks also work shifts in other departments, but there is a cumulative total of 285 years of Co-op experience working in the grocery department every week. We have a couple of new hires still getting their feet wet, and one of our team members is coming up on her 30th anniversary in September-hi there, Sandy Hanson!

“there is a cumulative total of 285 years of Co-op experience working in the grocery department ”

The grocery department is comprised of all the packaged dry goods, bulk foods, frozen, dairy, refrigerated goods, beer, wine, and mercantile. Specific staff are responsible for making sure these sections have the goods you buy, and that they run smoothly year in and year out. The grocery department, overall, is responsible for approximately half of the Co-op’s total sales. We work hard, and we have a really good time doing it!

You may see a lot of these folks when you’re shopping, but one HUGE piece of how we provide you with products happens behind closed doors and after hours. The grocery department has a crew of incredibly hardworking individuals who receive the majority of our freight after hours, and work well into the night and early morning stocking those shelves that always seem to be full. Combined, the freight crews at our two stores receive, on average, 35 tons of goods three times every week that they break down and stock to store shelves in a matter of hours. That’s more than 100 tons of product every week. While many things are done by the folks who run the individual sections within the grocery department, and we also receive many additional deliveries during business hours, we would never be able to achieve the success we have without the hard work of the unsung heroes on our freight crews.

At any given time the grocery department houses about 7,500 different items. We add about 100 new items every month, but, of course, that means we drop about the same number to make room for the new ones. We meet monthly with food brokers that are hired by manufacturers to show us new products, and we also receive up to 50 product requests per month from member-owners through our website. While we can’t bring in everything that we’re shown, or asked for, we do our best to stock our shelves with what we think our shoppers want. We taste nearly every single product for quality, and we have fairly strict guidelines on what we will carry, including a list of “Not Acceptable” ingredients. Our most recent addition to our product guidelines is the Co-op’s commitment to decline any products with high-risk GMO ingredients. This means if it’s not organic and has any ingredients sourced from potential genetically modified crops, we will not make room for that product on our shelves. We are hopeful that through our working product guidelines, and the work of many other co-ops and natural food stores that are taking a similar stance, we can send the message to food manufacturers that we do not want GMOs in our food.

It has long been thought that co-ops are higher in price than other grocery stores, but the reality is if you compare organic apples to organic apples we are very competitive in our community. Just know that we strive to offer you our best possible price on all of our products.

“part of our commitment to make high-quality, nutritious, culturally appropriate, and affordable food more accessible”

Our co-op is part of a larger group of co-ops nationwide called National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) that helps us stay competitive with our everyday prices, as well as offering some tremendous savings on sale items in our stores. Check out the percentage savings that appear on our sales signs; some offer more than 40 percent savings. Each store has aisle-end displays that highlight some current sale items, so if you’re not already looking there for savings, you should certainly start checking it out. We also started the successful Co-op Essentials program last year; look for the red and white signs in every department throughout the store—the largest number of which are in the bulk department. The program is part of our commitment to make high-quality, nutritious, culturally appropriate, and affordable food more accessible to every customer who walks through our doors.

I’ve worked at the Co-op for more than 18 years and have been a part of the incredible growth we’ve experienced in that time. I always feel good when I come to work, and I always feel even better when I go home at the end of the day, because of the work I am fortunate to be able to do. Whether it’s once a month, every week, or every day, I hope that every time you shop we’re offering you the same great experience that I enjoy. Thanks for supporting the Co-op. We couldn’t do it if we didn’t have each other!

Doctober Movie: Modified