Meet your newly elected board members
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Ed Claassen
What's your favorite meal/produce/item from the Co-op?
I love all the fresh organic produce, but my favorite is the Co-op brand granola in the bulk section. I ran into a fellow admirer a few months before Covid-19 shut down the self-serve. We shared our predilection for the granola and then he quoted the bin numner by heart as he saw me searching for it.
What's your favorite activity or place to visit in Ashland / the area?
I have a pre-Covid-19 and a post-Covid-19 response: before, it would be breakfast at Brothers, sure to include their fresh-baked scone of the day. Since the coronavirus, it has to be the view from Hobart Bluff, with Mt. Shasta to the south, Mt. McLoughlin to the east and the whole Rogue Valley opening to the northwest.
Do you have a favorite community organization you support in the Rogue Valley?
I have to mention two organizations. After facilitating some strategic planning for both Lomakatsi and Rogue Valley Farm to School, I found myself deeply impressed with their missions, their leadership, and the operational excellence of both!
Julie O'Dwyer
What's your favorite meal/produce/item from the Co-op?
My guilty pleasure is Honey Mama's Lavender Chocolate and fresh blueberries.
What's your favorite activity or place to visit in Ashland / the area?
If I could live on the patio of Irvine & Roberts, I would be a very happy person. But there are lots of wineries that take my attention away.
Do you have a favorite community organization you support in the Rogue Valley?
First and foremost, the Ashland Food Co-op! But after that it would have to be my new non-profit, Ashland Works.
Mark Gibbs
What's your favorite meal/produce/item from the Co-op?
You'll find me spending most of my time in the produce - I'm all about fresh berries, any and all!
What's your favorite activity or place to visit in Ashland / the area?
This is a toss up, depending on the season: either hiking with family and friends up Pilot Rock, or sunny winter days on Mt. Ashland.
Do you have a favorite community organization you support in the Rogue Valley?
It's hard to beat the long history and welcoming, inclusive work of Ashland Emergency Food Bank.
More Co-op News
November Change for Good Partner: Southern Oregon Climate Action Now
November Change for Good Partner: Southern Oregon Climate Action Now
November's Change for Good Partner is
October Change for Good Partner: AFC Gives Community Fund
October's Change for Good Partner is
September Change for Good Partner: Center for NonProfit Legal Services
September's Change for Good Partner is
Center for NonProfit Legal Services
The Center for NonProfit Legal Services has provided free/low-cost civil legal assistance to low-income persons and seniors residing in Jackson County since 1972.
August Change for Good Partner: Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
August's Change for Good Partner is
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
(KS Wild)
KS Wild's mission is to protect and restore wild nature in the Klamath-Siskiyou region of southwest Oregon and northwest California.
July Change for Good Partner: Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
July's Change for Good Partner is
Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
Protecting and enhancing precious land in the Rogue River region
to benefit our human and natural communities since 1978
Meet the 1st Street Beet
Welcome to the newly redesigned and reimagined newsletter from the Ashland Food Co-op: 1st Street Beet.
Think of this publication as a resource to know what’s going on in every level of the community: at the co-op, around town, in the region, and on Earth!
June Change for Good Recipient: Our Family Farms
June's Change for Good Recipient is
Our Family Farms, an Oregon 501(c)3 non profit organization, is hard at work educating and inspiring farmers, policy makers and the community at large to support regenerative agricultural practices.
Capiche Conversations: Interview with Tracy Kaiser, Marketing & Education Manager of Ashland Food Co-op
Our own marketing manager, Tracy Kaiser, was interviewed by Melissa L. Michaels for Capiche Conversations.
May Day Community Block Party
Photography by Chelsea Whitney Art
On May 1st, several Southern Oregon businesses came together for a block party to provide a space to gather as a community after a rough spell due to the pandemic and fires. The May Day Block Party was hosted on Main St in Phoenix, where the scent of food trucks mingled with artisan goods such as local cheeses, locally farmed flowers, and even fresh-baked pastries.
May Change for Good Recipient: Rogue Valley Farm to School
May's Change for Good Recipient is
Rogue Valley Farm to School educates children about our food system through hands-on farm and garden programs, and by increasing local foods in school meals.
April Change for Good Recipient: Pollinator Project Rogue Valley
April's Change for Good Recipient is
A Visit with Rolling Hills
Visit Rolling Hills Farm and learn more about owner Dave Belzberg, who the Ashland Food Co-op is so honored to partner with for more than thirty five years.