Organic plums, pluots, peaches, and nectarines only $1.99/pound!
On sale Saturday and Sunday only at both stores.
While supplies last.
Hosted tastings noon to 3 pm:
Downtown store on Saturday;
Cordata store on Sunday.
Voted Bellingham's best grocery store. Full-service deli, hot bar, salad bar featuring organic, local, and natural foods. Everyone can shop, anyone can join. Co+op, stronger together.
Cordata store: 11 am to 2 pm
Downtown store: 3 to 6 pm
Meet a citrus farmer. Samples galore. Screaming deals. Live music in the Downtown store.
Organic mangoes are 5/$5! (Both stores, while supplies last.)
Try this delicious mango salsa recipe from Downtown Produce Assistant Manager Russ!
Flash sales are a member-owner benefit. Not an owner yet? Join today!
A lot of words may jump out at you when you walk down the coffee aisle at the Co-op—shade-grown, fair trade, organic, local, and more. But what do they mean in this context? What makes shade-grown coffee desirable? What exactly does “fair trade” require of companies? These are exactly the kinds of questions we want to answer, so you can shop with more confidence.
To understand why shade-grown coffee is so important, we have to remember that coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Its history spans centuries, continents, and cultures. As Businesswire explains, the global coffee industry was valued at USD 102.15 billion in 2019 and is set to grow a record 6.2% in the next six years. Ensuring that there are 75 million cups of coffee to be consumed around the world each day is a big business and it has dramatic effects on the developing and emerging countries where coffee grows most abundantly.
There are two kinds of coffee beans, robusta and arabica, and two main coffee cultivation systems, sun-grown and shade-grown. Arabica loves the shade and robusta needs the sun. That means that if you are drinking coffee made from arabica beans, you are most likely drinking shade-grown coffee—whether it is advertised that way or not.
Coffee plants naturally grow under the shade of a full forest canopy. Until the 1970s, cultivators largely let coffee grow as part of this larger ecosystem.
Coffee plants in Colombia growing under the shade of banana trees.
Out of the desire to decrease growing times and increase yields and profits, coffee producers began clearcutting for coffee plantations and growing coffee plants in neat rows in direct sun. In this quest, the sun-grown coffee industry deforested 2.5 million acres in Central America. Many organisms experience habitat loss due to widespread deforestation (especially migratory birds), but deforestation also contaminates waterways and expedites natural soil erosion.
A sun-grown coffee plantation
Absent the natural protection of the canopy and the diversity of life teeming underneath, farmers must introduce chemical pesticides and fertilizers to ward off plant disease and create growing conditions. Relying on these chemicals damages the soil, contaminates the groundwater, and causes illness in exposed humans and animals. The robusta beans that are cultivated in this way are also lower quality than their shade-grown, arabica counterparts. Exposure to full sun stresses these already vulnerable monocrops, and the faster growing times that makes robusta beans easier to produce is a double-edged sword. Because the beans grow faster in the sun, they also don’t develop the density and complexity that characterize arabica beans, which grow more slowly at higher elevations and in cooler temperatures.
Increasingly farmers are returning to traditional, shade-grown farming methods, because beans cultivated in that manner can be sold for higher prices to more discerning buyers. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that coffee plantations are a thing of the past. Of the coffee sold in stores in the US, 75% is still made from sun-grown beans, and the US leads the world in global coffee consumption.
One of the most important choices you can make as a conscious consumer in the coffee aisle is to select brands that only roast shade-grown beans. By doing so, you are protecting the people and the planet that make your coffee possible and you’re getting a tastier cup of coffee along the way.
In addition to looking for signs that your coffee is shade-grown, you should also scope out fair trade certified products when you shop. Corporate greenwashing trends have made it really hard for consumers to trust “fair trade” labels. At the Co-op, we take out the guesswork. You can expect to see this logo on coffee packaging:
The fair trade certified seal means that the coffee producer was held to the most rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards. The coffee you are about to drink was cultivated under safe working conditions that protected the environment and the beans were sold for a fair price that allows their farmer to sustain a livelihood.
Not all fair trade certified products are organic and neither are all shade-grown beans. To ensure that the coffee you drink is the best possible for your body, the environment, and the workers who cultivated the beans, you should choose a coffee that is organic as well as shade-grown and fair trade certified.
At the Co-op, you can expect to see the USDA Organic seal all around our store, including on our coffee. The United States Department of Agriculture sets the national standard for organics and conducts thorough inspections of all the products it certifies. USDA certified organic coffee beans cannot be grown with the aid of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetic engineering or in soil that has been contaminated by chemicals in the last three years. USDA Organic is the gold standard certification, in part, because the USDA has strict regulations that govern the whole life cycle of the bean. There are rules for how beans must be transported, roasted, and packaged to prevent contamination from certain cleaners and conventional products.
Want to go the extra mile for sustainability? Choose coffee from a local roaster. Buying locally means that you can support your neighbors, keep more of your shopping dollars in the local economy, and reduce the carbon footprint of the products you buy. What’s not to love?
Ready to shop? Browse our selection of shade-grown, fair trade, organic, and local coffees online here.
Tukey is the centerpiece and superstar of your Thanksgiving, and choosing the right turkey is important for your meal’s success. With so many types of turkey to choose from, determining the right one can be stressful and confusing. Let the Co-op help with our easy guide to the types of Thanksgiving turkeys we have available for sale.
All the turkeys available for purchase at the Co-op are from Mary’s Turkeys. Mary’s Turkeys is a third-generation family owned and operated farm focused on the animal husbandry and welfare of birds raised for consumption. We have three fresh, never-frozen turkeys to choose from for your Thanksgiving dinner: natural, organic, and heritage.
Mary's Non-GMO Natural Turkeys are raised on healthful grains and allowed to free range on the farm. Their high-protein diet provides the optimal amount of nutrients for the turkey to grow. Mary’s Non-GMO Natural Turkeys are free of antibiotics, animal byproducts, hormones, preservatives, and additives. These fresh, never-frozen turkeys are a flavorful and beautiful centerpiece for your holiday table.
Mary’s Organic Turkeys are fed a premium diet of USDA certified organic ingredients and are free of antibiotics, animal byproducts, hormones, preservatives, and additives. Certified organic turkeys easily roast for delectable moist dark and light meat. Organic turkeys are always delicious and cook lovely mild meat.
Mary's Heritage turkeys resemble the first breed of turkeys that existed in the United States. They breed naturally as they run and fly on the farm. Their increased level of activity results in larger thigh meat and slightly less breast meat than is found on a typical turkey. All of these traits, along with an air chilling packing process, result in a superior tasting turkey that cooks faster than other birds. Heritage turkeys are free of antibiotics, animal byproducts, hormones, preservatives, and additives. Heritage turkeys have a rich, satisfying taste, and tender, moist meat. If you prefer dark meat, you will love the flavor of a heritage turkey.
Aaron (left) and Kim Otto pose on their Whatcom County farm while welcoming Co-op staff for a tour.
Honeybees drone in a field of chamomile. Nearby, calendula is blossoming in tidy rows—glowing with a bright orange of fresh tangerines.
Nestled near the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Nooksack River, just off the Valley Highway in Deming, Moon Valley Organics is a handmade haven of quiet and quality, carefully cultivated by Kim and Aaron Otto.
From seed to salve, their mission is to create high-quality, organic personal care products that promote a healthy way of caring for our bodies and the world.
No small task, but they’ve been doing it with grace and style since 1999.
The farm’s old silo is ringed by fields of herbal ingredients, busy workshops, and a cozy
micro-village of trailers and tents for itinerant WWOOFers. (WWOOFers volunteer on organic farms around the world in exchange for a hands-on learning experience, plus room and board.)
If the relaxed, smiling faces of Moon Valley staff don’t tip you off, we are assured through their certified B Corp status that both seasonal and long-term workers enjoy the Moon Valley ethic and environment.
Calendula is the farm’s signature herb and Kim’s personal favorite. This year’s harvest was so abundant that space in the drying racks in the barn loft was at a premium, so blossoms were pre-drying in the hot, sunny field. Calendula, long-valued for its soothing properties, is used in almost all of the lotions and lip balms made by hand on the Moon Valley Organics farm.
Lovingly and expertly crafted from ingredients mostly grown on their own sustainable permaculture farm, their soaps, lip balms, lotion bars, and salves need no preservatives because of the high-quality beeswax and infused oils. (Don’t try it at home, but Kim says you can practically eat the stuff!)
Like all of their products, every herbal lip balm is formulated and packaged by hand right on the farm.
If the silky feel doesn’t make you want to buy one for every pocket and bag, just know that 10 percent of net lip balm profit is donated to organizations dedicated to protecting pollinators. And, Moon Valley created a 4-acre pollinator sanctuary on their own farm, ensuring the health of our flying friends for generations to come.
Listening to Kim and Aaron talk about bees and dirt makes me proud to carry their products.
Their commitment to sustainability even extends to packaging, which is not only beautiful but also BPA-free, 100 percent recyclable, and made from the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled materials available. For those striving for a zero waste lifestyle, the Co-op is happy to offer bulk options for their bar and liquid soaps. And a relatively new addition is plastic-free Moon Valley Herbal Shampoo bars packaged in recyclable paperboard
We are proud to call ourselves partners, and together will continue using beautiful body care and cooperative business as a vehicle for social change.
Taking a break in the calendula field are current and former Cordata wellness staff (taken in 2017: above, from left) Ticker Ba-Aye, Jesi Van Leeuwen, Sarah Schermer, Christy King, and, seated, Christy’s son, Odin.
Learn more at moonvalleyorganics.com. You can even take a video tour of the farm.
Each time you choose Reishi Chocolate, Turmeric Golden Milk, Maca Cold Brew, or any other REBBL elixir, you make a choice to delight your taste buds, nourish your body, and support the Botanical Revolution for Good.
Photos courtesy of REBBL
When you see REBBL Elixirs on the shelf at your local co-op, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it’s the array of decadently delicious flavor profiles that remind you a bit of your childhood. Each elixir is soulfully crafted to be creamy and indulgent. What you taste is what you get—the whole ingredients and herbs—that’s it. No gums, natural flavors, or thickeners, there’s no taste bud trickery. Just pure, honest, sensory delight.
organically grown for your health and well-being, and for the health and well-being of the farmers, the soil, and the water used in its cultivation
Every super herb is used at levels that correspond to traditional levels. If we can’t use a super herb at meaningful, efficacious levels, then we won’t use it at all. Every. Single. Ingredient. we use is organically grown for your health and well-being, and for the health and well-being of the farmers, the soil, and the water used in its cultivation. We support fairly-traded ingredients whenever they are available and sourced from indigenous communities, empowering them to thrive.
Whether you start your day with a mouth-watering Matcha Latte or you unwind with the bright flavors and adaptogenic herbs in 3 Roots Mango Spice, you can’t go wrong. While this is all essential to the ethos of REBBL, what is equally important is our purpose-driven existence.
Green tea cultivator in the Nishio, Aichi region of Japan.
We are REBBLs with a cause: a band of revolutionaries for the greater good. We were born out of a conscious collaboration between global thought-leaders, whose “soul” purpose was to address the malfunctioning global food system through a regenerative business model that would respect, uplift, and delight the world.
modern day botanical treasure-hunters grounded in ancient herbal wisdom
As modern day botanical treasure-hunters grounded in ancient herbal wisdom, our expertise is identifying and gathering the very best the Plant Queendom has to offer. We curate these diverse, ethically sourced whole Roots, Extracts, Berries, Barks, and Leaves (REBBL) into delicious beverages with vibrant flavors that deliver your daily dose of exceptional goodness.
Brazil nut harvester in the Madre de Dios rainforest region of Peru.
A core part of our mission is to create positive social and environmental impact through our super herb elixirs. We source ingredients from suppliers who exemplify our values: whether that means working with generations of family farmers, indigenous peoples who wild harvest from the land and care for the land, or women’s collectives that create economic stability.
We carefully source over 70 organic ingredients from 29 countries, and each ingredient has an impact.
Through ethical, impact sourcing practices we develop community, prevent worker exploitation and work to ensure farmers receive fair wages, access to health care, water, nourishing food and education as well as protection of basic human rights.
Turmeric farmer in the Idukki district of Kerala in Southern India.
Moreover, at REBBL we are committed to creating a future without human trafficking in partnership with Not For Sale.
Not For Sale is an international nonprofit organization that works to prevent the root causes of human trafficking through innovative and sustainable business solutions with a goal of, ultimately, ending exploitation.
REBBL donates 2.5 percent of net sales to support Not For Sale
REBBL donates 2.5 percent of net sales to support Not For Sale in providing shelter, education, healthcare, legal services, and job training for survivors of exploitation. We support our valued partners to thrive and build self-sustaining, resilient communities all over the world.
When you reach for REBBL, you join the Botanical Revolution for Good and become a REBBL with a cause. That’s the secret ingredient to why REBBL super herb elixirs taste so good and make you feel so good. That, and—of course—all the super herbs and adaptogens packed in each delicious sip!
In the fight against Climate Change, REBBL is actively working with farmers and suppliers to mitigate the effects of global warming, addressing it at the root causes. That’s why REBBL developed a Code of Conduct for its suppliers to drive eco-social improvements for each of the 70+ raw materials from around the world that are used in REBBL products. Learn more at the REBBL blog.
The REBBL website is a goldmine of useful information about its products and practices.
The Co-op bakery team makes every recipe by hand—cracking every egg, decorating every item, and packaging every dessert to make each treat as beautiful as it is delicious.
Like all our housemade sweets and savories, every syrup, frosting, ganache, and embellishment is 100% free of artificial colors, flavors, and GMOs.
Valentine's Day bakery orders accepted through Monday, February 11.
Our perennial Valentine’s Day (or any day) favorite. Moist, scratch-baked chocolate cake filled with our housemade raspberry sauce made with local berries, enrobed in vegan housemade chocolate ganache, and finished with a chocolate drizzle.
It is sure to capture you or your valentine’s heart.
Like all the housemade sweets and savories from our bakery, every syrup, frosting, ganache, and embellishment is 100% free of artificial colors, flavors, and GMOs.
Local raspberries and fair trade chocolate are the perfect combo.
It's vegan. Really. We swear.
An adorable rich and creamy vanilla mini cheesecake decorated with two raspberry sauce hearts.
Beware! Due to extreme deliciousness you may want to buy two to ensure sharing.
This gluten-free cheesecake features local dairy and eggs. The raspberries are from Barbie's Berries in Ferndale!
To maximize flavor and freshness, we make our delicious gluten-free graham crust in house from scratch.
A perfect dessert for sharing with a valentine.
Our unabashedly delicious chocolate cake is covered with our decadent housemade chocolate ganache and beautifully decorated for a love-inspired day.
Colored icings are created in-house using plant-based, all-natural products that are 100% free of corn syrup and synthetic dyes.
Made with fair trade chocolate and organic flour, sugar, and eggs.
Storm Cloud Cake has irresistible layers of gluten-free chocolate cake with raspberry filling and vanilla whipped cream.
Cosmic Cupcakes are dreamy vegan and gluten-free delights colorfully adorned by the Co-op bakery team to suit every season.
Our New York style cheesecake—kissed with hints of vanilla and raspberry—when paired with Chocolate Pot de Crème is dessert perfection!
Both irresistible treats are gluten-free.
What is chocolate pot de crème? It’s not mousse, it’s not cake, it’s a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate dream come true!
The bakery team is skilled at hand-decorating and can fulfill nearly any heart's desire with a custom order.
Nick Guilford tending plant starts in Sunseed Farm’s eight greenhouses. After the germination chamber, the small starts move into this warm greenhouse to grow before being hardened off for outdoor planting in the cooler greenhouses.
Nestled in the valley of the south fork of the Nooksack River sits Sunseed Farm. Nick Guilford, proprietor, has been using organic growing methods since starting the business in 1997 and obtained organic certification in 2001. On the farm you’ll find organic garden starts, many destined for sale at the Co-op, growing right alongside the plants that go into Sunseed’s fields for vegetable and herb production.
This makes for less transplant shock, and an earlier, more abundant yield.
Most plant starts sold in our area are chemically raised, which can make for a hard transition into a garden where they aren't being fed a nutrient solution every day. According to Sunseed’s website, “Our organic starts not only come with a longer lasting nutrient base in the pot, but the plants are also in a more natural, nutrient foraging relationship with the soil. This makes for less transplant shock, and an earlier, more abundant yield.” Additionally, over a 20-year career as a market farmer, Nick has selected varieties of crops that have been proven to thrive in our climate. All of these factors can help produce a successful home gardening experience when using starts from Sunseed Farm.
You can find their organic garden starts at both Community Food Co-op locations from about mid-March through the end of our often unpredictable local planting season. You can also find Sunseed Farm at the Saturday Bellingham Farmers Market.
Dedicated to your gardening success, Sunseed’s website is a great resource for the home gardener, with planting tips and schedules, articles on season extension, and even a selection of their favorite gardening tools and books available for purchase.
Margaret Gerard and Nick Guilford at Sunseed Farm get your garden starts growing with the best soil, optimal growing conditions, and lots of love.
Nelida Martinez (at right) and her daughter hold armloads of organic produce grown on her farm in the Skagit Valley.
“Me gusta mucho crecer las plantas, producir buena alimentación, para alguien más. Me gusta mucho, este trabajo es mi pasión!” says Nelida, owner of Pure Nelida Organic Produce.
Translation: I like to grow plants and provide nourishment for everyone. I like it a lot, this work is my passion!
Photo courtesy of Pure Nelida.
The story of Pure Nelida began 30 years ago when Nelida Martinez learned to cultivate fruits and vegetables in the fields of California.
For many years, she and her family worked and lived under the hot sun while being exposed to pesticides.
Nelida’s personal interest in organic food comes from her son’s diagnosis of leukemia and her suspicion that the disease arose due to the many years the family spent working in the pesticide-ridden fields of California. Despite a long battle, Nelida ultimately lost her son to the disease.
After moving to Washington, Nelida enrolled in bilingual sustainable farming courses, developed a business plan for an organic farm, and gained experience with organic farming with the assistance of Viva Farms in Skagit County, Washington state’s first bilingual farm business incubator.
Nelida’s passion as a farm owner has her always thinking of ways to improve her farming methods and expand her farm. She is currently farming on nine acres and plans to lease five additional acres.
(from left) Alex Perez from Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Nelida Martinez from Pure Nelida, and Jean Rogers from the Co-op’s Farm Fund, gather to present Next Step grant and loan funds to Nelida.
The funds will be used to purchase and construct a large durable greenhouse that will help Nelida expand her business and increase efficiency on the farm
Unfortunately, this past winter windstorms destroyed the greenhouse she used to start her plants. Next Step grant and loan funds will be used to purchase and construct a large durable greenhouse that will help Nelida expand her business and increase efficiency on the farm.
Pure Nelida currently sells produce to the Puget Sound Food Hub, which delivers fresh produce to our stores. Nelida is also working to expand into more wholesale markets. Among other products, the farm sells berries, tomatillos, kale, chard, onions, corn, potatoes, and jalapeño, chili, and bell peppers.
Edited and reprinted with permission of Pure Nelida Organic Produce and Viva Farms.
Learn more about Pure Nelida and Viva Farms. Find information about the Co-op's Farm Fund grant and loan programs.
We visited Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall to talk about Ebb & Flow Herb Farm and her Co-op Farm Fund grant project.
Co-op vendor Flynn Farms is woman-owned, veteran-owned, AAPI-owned and certified organic. We visited Flynn Farms to talk with owner Savannah about her journey and her mission to empower a new generation of farmers.
Thank you for donating to the Co-op Farm Fund! Farmers share their appreciation for the ways in which the Farm Fund has helped their organic, sustainable farms.