Co-op + Community = A Perfect Match

At the Co-op, we are all about community. After all, YOU are why we are here and providing healthy, organic food to the Rogue Valley.

As a cooperative enterprise, there are seven principles we follow. We use them as guidlines to put our values into practice. Principle 7, Concern for Community, affords us the opportunity to give back to local nonprofits that do so much good in this beautiful place we call home.

This year, we donated $24,040 to 32 area nonprofit organizations at our annual Community Grants Dinner. The Community Grant Program is the highlight of Principle 7 and the most visible way we give back to the community.

Each year, the Co-op Board of Directors set aside a small percentage of sales from the previous year to fund the program. There are four categories for grants: environmental stewardship, environmental/sustainability education, education programs focused on food, nutrition and health, and food or supportive services for people in need. 

The maximum grant any nonprofit can receive is $1,500. The Grant Committee, which includes AFC board members, staff, and community members, reviewed all grants and allocated the funds.

Congratulations to the following nonprofits who received Community Grants this funding cycle.

Ashland Food Angels
Southern Oregon Education Service District Migrant Education Program
ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum
Klamath Bird Observatory
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley
Options for Homeless Residents of Ashland (OHRA)
Ashland Parks Foundation, on behalf of North Mountain Park Nature Center
Natives of One Wind Indigenous Alliance ~ Red Earth Descendants
Children's Advocacy Center of Jackson County
Rogue River School District #35
Outdoor Discovery Program Parent Advisory Committee
Multicultural Association of Southern Oregon/KSKQ Community Radio
Rogue Community College Foundation
ACCESS
Ashland Middle School- Rain and Fire-Wise Garden
Civil Liberties Defense Center
Asante Ashland Community Hospital
Pacifica, A Garden in the Siskiyous
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
Southern Oregon Regional Environmental Education Leaders
Bellview Grange #759
White Oak Farm and Education Center
Lotus Rising Project
Bee Girl
Ashland Middle School- School-Wide Composting Project
The Siskiyou Field Institute
Southern Oregon University Foundation
The Family Nurturing Center
Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
The Rose Circle Mentoring Network
Rogue Climate
Lomakatsi Restoration Project
 

The next funding cycle for Ashland Food Co-op's Community Grant program will begin in February 2017. 

More Co-op News

Mushrooms for wellness

You may have heard about the fascinating discovery that trees can communicate with each other. What’s the secret? The mycelia - tiny strands of fungus - in the soil form a vast underground network through which trees send chemical signals to their neighbors.

The mycelia differs from the fruiting body of the mushroom, which is the reproductive component that contains spores and is thought to be higher in Beta Glucans.

What to do with all this citrus?!

So you grabbed a few too many extra oranges and grapefruits and lemons (and some finger limes, and some satsumas…), and rather than watch them go bad, we want to provide you with some ideas on how to reduce waste. You’ll also get to enjoy citrus in a lot of new ways!

There are many guides and recipes across the internet (like this one by our friends at Grow Forage Cook Ferment), so here are a few ideas to get your creative and citrus juices flowing.

Update from the General Manager: "Food for Paradise" campaign

Ashland Food Co-op's General Manager, Emile Amarotico, ends 2018 on a very uplifting note with a report back on the "Food for Paradise" donation campaign. Watch the video below, or read on for an extended written update.

Hello, this is Emile Amarotico, the general manager of Ashland Food Co-op with an update on the Co-op’s Food for Paradise initiative.

5 Fresh Ways to Save at the Co-op

We’ve all been there: your bank account is looking thin after a month of celebrations, but you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to save up for a big purchase later in the year

Now’s the time to make some changes to your spending - but that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on quality goods at the Ashland Food Co-op.

These are some lesser known ways to save at the Co-op. Think of them like ordering off the secret menu. 

Savings Level: $

4 Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste

It’s the New Year, our favorite time for goal-setting, making positive resolutions, and shifting our impact. One of the Co-op’s goals is to become a Zero Waste facility. Our staff works to divert as much food waste as we can - and we hope our member-owners will join us in this goal too.

Meet Cooking Class Instructor Charlie Douglass

Many talented local chefs share their expertise in the Co-op Kitchen. Charlie Douglass is no exception. As the former Master Chocolatier at Harry and David, Charlie knows a thing or two about chocolate and candy making. 

Tell us how your love of cooking and food began.

Meet Cooking Class Instructor Tiazza Rose

From bread baking to Moroccan cooking, many talented local chefs share their expertise in the Co-op Kitchen. We'd like you to meet a few of them. Tiazza Rose has been teaching the Ashland community the art of Moroccan cooking for years. If you haven't taken a class from Tiazza yet, you should. Here's why.

 

Tell us how your love of cooking and food began.

Give the Gift of Wellness

 

Finding the perfect gift for a friend or loved one is an art. This winter, we carefully selected these assortments for those who love some good self-care, are working in partnership with their gut health, or for those making efforts to reduce their pain. Each of these gift ideas will help you make your loved ones feel extra special and extra healthful.

 

Give the Gift of Good Food

During the month of November, Co-op shoppers can nourish their own families and help fight hunger in the Rogue Valley. We’ve teamed up once again with Smart Chicken® for the Smart Giving Holiday Challenge.

Here’s how it works.

  • For every 10 pounds of Smart Chicken® you purchase from the Meat Department or the Deli, Smart Chicken® will donate one pound of chicken to a local non profit

We're All Turtles

By Dean Williamson, Board of Director

My grandmother loved to talk. Oh, could she talk! And she had one expression that I’ve always really liked. “If you come across a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be pretty sure it didn’t get there by itself.”

The Power of Principle Seven

By Emile Amarotico, General Manager

As we approach the holidays, I’d like to invoke the spirit of the Seventh Cooperative Principle: Concern for Community. The International Cooperative Alliance defines Principle Seven as when “cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.”

So how does that work? How does Ashland Food Co-op demonstrate concern for community?