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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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 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.

By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator

We hear from time to time that people feel the Co-op is higher priced than other stores. In the past, we may have earned this perception. But not anymore. We took a long, hard look at ourselves and we talked with other Co-ops across the country. Together, we are pooling our resources to bring you organic, household staples at everyday competitive, low prices. Welcome to Co+op Basics.