Love Local with the Local Guy
Throughout September, we will be celebrating all things local. And no one loves local or is more local than our Temporary Demo Coordinator, Brighton Litjens. He was basically raised at the Co-op, has a strong passion for local farmers and producers and loves delighting shoppers with delicious samples and great deals. Who better to tell us about loving local than the "Local Guy" himself?
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Happy day! My name is Brighton Summer Litjens. Lots of light in that name huh? Yes, it’s a lot to live up to. I was born at home and sustainably pasture raised here in eccentric Ashlandia. I am 20 years old yet my friends joke that I live like a 58 year old. I am very involved in the local community doing as much as I can to learn, grow and have an absolute blast! I work three different jobs that keep me nice and busy and with all of them I get to educate and share nourishing food with the best people. Joni Mitchell is my favorite artist. (See I AM 58)
Rumor has it you're what they call a "co-op baby." Can you tell us more about that and if it's true?
Well I’m currently not a baby anymore but yes! The Co-op is my stomping ground. It’s my church, community center, education center, and the place where I end up being part of an Om circle around some loose chickens in the courtyard... I have been coming to the Co-op everyday since I was in my BabyBjorn. It was (and is) the only store my mom shopped when I was a kid and instead of going to the park we would come to the Co-op and I would eat yummy snacks, play and be incredibly entertained. My parents actually met here! My dad had a room for rent and posted it on the flyer board; my mom saw it and they met at the juice bar and supposedly “fell in love”. So cute! I am passionate about healthy foods and I thank the Co-op for offering such an abundance of nurturing products. We are so so lucky to have access to amazing produce, wellness items and herbs that better our lives.
In your position, you work a lot with local producers and vendors. What's your favorite part about about working with them?
I absolutely adore working with all of our amazing local vendors in the area. It is such a pleasant experience every time I see and talk with the owners. It is so special to hear their stories and learn about what they create. It’s their art and passion. My favorite part is helping them get their product known and exposed. A lot of the time we are their first account and it’s so rewarding for them to demo their product and interact with customers in the store. Creating, sustaining and nourishing our community is something that we strongly believe in here at the Co-op. It all comes together here.
Tell us about what the Co-op and the Demo Department have planned for Love Local Month in September.
When you come in the store, you can look forward to tasting the local products you love. Come and meet our region's awesome vendors. We put a good amount of local products on a super sale all month long! Here’s some product tastings we have lined up throughout the month: Rogue Creamery, Wilderness Poets, Quady North, Caldera, Dagoba Chocolate, local body care/soap companies and wellness brands as well as wonderful local produce samples happening every week.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take three local products/foods with you, what would they be and why?
Oh goodness, that’s a tough one. I would choose the crispy and perfect Barking Moon carrots that we just got in, Blue Lotus Chai Golden Masala tea and Pickled Planet’s I-Boost Sauerkraut. Mmmm… throw me on that dang island, I want to start eating these great treats!
More Co-op News
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Here’s how it works.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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