A Party for YOU

Each year we hold an Annual Meeting and Owner Picnic. This is our chance to catch up over a delightful picnic and most importantly update you on the recent year’s events and financials.

This year, we are changing things up a bit. The Annual Meeting and Owner Picnic will be more family friendly than ever before. We have a new menu designed to appeal to busy little (and big!) hands so you and your kiddos have time to enjoy one of our many family friendly activities.

With all the new changes, we developed this step by step guide to attending the event.

6 Things to Know Before You Go

1. Friendly Food
Enjoy light picnic fare in a beautiful setting, Lithia Park. The tapas style meal will have you satiated and give you the freedom to mingle with other Co-op owners, play games, and/or explore the park.  On the menu we have: fruit salad, cheese, crackers, hummus, salami, corn chips, artichoke spinach dip, black olives, lemonade, and fruit popsicles. Food service starts at 11am and closes at 12pm sharp. *If you have dietary restrictions, please bring your own picnic.*

2. Bring Your Own 
At the Co-op, sustainability is a key pillar of our day to day business operations and this event is no exception.  As we strive for a zero waste event, please remember to bring your own durable plates, eating utensils, cups and reusable napkins.

3. Get Your Game On
Is your bean bag toss game top notch? Do you have mad hula hoop skills? If so, you are in luck. This year, we planned a variety of activities and games that are fun for the whole family. On the game agenda we have face painting, an egg race, hula hooping, a bean bag toss, 3-legged race, bubbles and more.

4. Play and Win
Participate in activities and games and earn tickets for the raffle. We have prizes for adults and kids, including a Magic Bullet, $100 Co-op gift card, s’mores essentials package, and much more. Rumor has it that talking to people wearing purple feather boas will also earn you raffle tickets. So many ways to win big!

5. Lunch and Learn
After food service ends, stay for the Annual Meeting portion of the picnic. Meet newly elected Board Members, hear an update on the Strategic Planning initiatives, learn about the financial health of the Co-op, and hear the key findings from our recent Owner Forums. 

6. Stay and Explore
Lithia Park is probably the most beautiful place in the world for a picnic, at least we think so. We’ll picnic under towering trees and listen to the sounds of Ashland Creek flowing by. Stroll around the park’s lovely trails or enjoy the awesome playground area before or after the event.
 

Reserve your meal tickets ($5 Adults, $1 Children 10 and under) at the Info Desk today. We hope you can join us for this family friendly party on June 25th, 11am to 1pm, at Cotton Memorial Picnic Area in Lithia Park. See you there!

 

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?