The Co-op is Certified Organic! What does that mean?
By Barry Haynes, Store Manager
Did you know that the Ashland Food Co-op is the only Certified Organic Retailer in southern Oregon. Well, that’s great! But what does that actually mean?
Though it sounds like it implies that all of the products we offer are certified organic, in actuality, it’s more about ensuring that the integrity of our certified organic products is maintained from the moment it enters our doors to the moment it leaves. In other words, you can be assured that the organic coffee you bought has stayed clean and clear of non-organic ingredients or contaminants during its stay at the Co-op. “Organic to the last drop!”
As a retailer, the Co-op is not required but we choose to be inspected by a USDA accredited, third party certifier every year.
We do this to verify that we are in compliance with the USDA’s National Organic Program and maintain our Organic Certification. Our third party certifier, Oregon Tilth, has been an integral part of the organic movement for forty years and does much more than inspection and certification. Tilth provides resources for farmers interested in switching to organic production, environmental conservation on the farm, farm viability and even a farmer mentorship program. It also publishes “In Good Tilth”, a seasonal magazine that tells positive stories about the organic trade. Pick up a copy at the Co-op or read it online at tilth.org.
During our annual inspection, we are required to provide organic certificates for all of the organic products we offer in every department of our Co-op. We also have to demonstrate that we have procedures and training in place to ensure that there is no commingling of organic and non organic products during receiving, storage, processing and merchandising. For instance, we would never display non organic produce above organic produce in our wet vegetable displays.
Any water dripping from non organic produce could contaminate the organic produce below. Another example would be in our Meat and Seafood department, where we cut and package all of our organic chicken before we process the natural chicken. All of these steps are very important to ensure organic integrity.
Imagine a store without these procedures in place. They could be preparing non organic product on the same surface as organic. This would obviously compromise the integrity of the organic product.
In addition to reviewing paperwork and procedures, our inspector conducts an in and out audit. This audit reviews the volume of organic products that we have sold and compares those figures to our purchases of those products. This type of audit ensures that a business hasn’t sold non organic products as organic.
This comprehensive inspection process usually takes about seven hours. After the inspection has been completed, the inspector presents their findings to one of Oregon Tilth’s inspection reviewers. Once the review has taken place and they are confident that they have received all of the information they require, a decision on certification is made. We’ve been having voluntary inspections since 2008—and have passed all of them!
Why does the Co-op choose to go through this process when there is no requirement to do so? We want our customers to have confidence that when they choose organic products at the Co-op, we have done everything we can to ensure the integrity of that organic product. This is just one of the ways we let our shoppers know that we try to stay true to our Product Philosophy and they can continue to trust the high standards the Co-op sets for itself and for the health of the community.
More Co-op News
Nourish Your Family and Fight Hunger
The holiday season is upon us. Amidst the shopping frenzies, family gatherings, and parties it can be hard to remember this is also a season of giving. That’s why we want to make it easy for you to give back. So easy that it’s as simple as doing your everyday grocery shopping. You can nourish your own family and help fight hunger in the Rogue Valley.
For the month of November, we are once again teaming up with Smart Chicken® for the Smart Chicken® Smart Giving program.
Here’s how it works.
5 Reasons to Love Co-ops
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
October is National Co-op Month, so what’s the big deal? Being a co-op is special. Yes, we know we are biased, but being a cooperative enterprise means we do business differently. We don’t have a single owner living on their private island drinking margaritas all day without a care in the world. We are owned and governed by you, our 10,000 members. We share the burden in hard times and share the benefits in the good times. We put people, the planet and our principles before profit.
From the General Manager's Desk
By Emile Armarotico
This spring, National Co-op Grocers recognized Ashland Food Co-op as a Co+efficient Sustainability Star for our excellent sustainability efforts.
Our Sustainability Vision aims at being carbon neutral by 2030. We’ve taken a great stride toward this by installing a 39 kilowatt solar electric system on our rooftop with the capacity to generate approximately 7% of our electricity usage. The cost was partially offset by a $27,000 REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) Grant.
Local Starts at the Co-op
When we say local, we mean local. We source our local goods from within 200 miles of the store. By purchasing goods from local producers, we aim to create and maintain a healthy local economy and support family farms. What could be better than helping your community by buying local goods?
With all the local products that we offer, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But that’s exactly what we asked our staff to do. Here are some of their go-to local eats.
Your Fruit. Your Cider.
How often can you browse the shelf at your neighborhood grocery store, see a bottle of hand crafted, local cider and say, “Hey, I help make that!” Well, at the Co-op you can.
Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
Many of us wait all year for this moment. We spend the winter months dreaming of a certain fuzzy stone fruit, its sweet juices dripping from our face and the buttery golden pie crust those yellow-orange slices will inhabit.
Good news! The wait is over. That local, sweet orb of sunshine has finally arrived. That’s right. Rolling Hills peaches are here!
2017 Board Election Results
We're Sustainability Stars!
Deep in our hearts we've always known we were sustainability stars, but now we have an award to prove it.
We recently received a Co+efficient Sustainability Star award from National Co-op Grocers (NCG) recognizing our positive environmental and community impacts.
Co+efficient, NCG’s sustainability program, measures social, environmental and local economic impacts from participating food co-ops across the country.
Give Where You Live
It’s the most wonderful time of year! Yes, we know that phrase is generally reserved for the holiday season. But for us, this truly is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s OUR season of giving.
Dine In and Bike Your Way to Savings
Did you know that approximately half of our landfill waste stream is composed of Deli trash? A significant part of that is “to-go” containers, which are sometimes used for dining in and don’t end up “going” very far at all.
Sustainability matters in everyday actions and we want you, our customers, to help us reduce unnecessary waste and make the most ecologically sound choices possible.
Participate in YOUR Co-op!
Spring Picks
The sun is (mostly) out and the weather is finally getting warmer. That must mean summer is right around the corner, right? We sure hope so. We’re ready to grill, soak up some sun and enjoy the many fruits and vegetables that are in season. Our Floral Coordinator, Rachel Chastain, shares some of her favorites.
Be the Sustainable Change
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
Sustainability is not a new concept at the Co-op. It has always been part of our DNA. We’ve been using sustainable business practices before it was the “cool”, “responsible” thing to do. In fact, the Co-op was founded 45 years ago largely on the principles of sustainable, local organic food production as an alternative to modern industrial agriculture.
A New Look
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
For 45 years we’ve been loving local and fostering community. Throughout our almost half a century history, our identity and logo has gone through many iterations.
Some of you might remember the logo above from our newsletter in the early 1980s.
As we’ve done multiple times throughout our history, it’s time to refresh our brand and launch a beautiful, new logo to take us into the next decade.
Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili
Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili is one of my favorite Co+op Basics recipes. It is full of flavor, color and shatters the myth that a healthy meal has to cost a fortune and take all day to prepare. This recipe is also a clever way to use sweet potatoes, which are not only tasty but high in fiber and vitamin A.