Co-op Table Fall 2022

The Olympia Food Co-op Is 45 This Year!

The purpose of the Olympia Food Co-op is to contribute to the health and well being of people by providing wholesome foods and other goods and services, accessible to all, through a locally oriented, collectively managed, not-for-profit cooperative organization that relies on consensus decision making. We strive to make human effects on the earth and its inhabitants positive and renewing, and to encourage economic and social justice.

Like many food co-ops across the country, the Olympia Food Co-op began as several food buying clubs combined to share resources and space. Food buying clubs were being started throughout the nation in the 1970s by people seeking healthier food options, at that time whole grains and organic produce were hard to find, and to save money through cooperative bulk buying. The original name was the Fourteen Ounce Okie Dokie Buying Club and the first location was a store front on 4^th Ave. The Olympia Food Co-op was incorporated in March of 1977 and moved to our Westside location in 1980.

Our Co-op model is based on a set of cooperative principles established in 1844 by the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, a group of artisans working in the cotton mills in Rochdale, England. The weavers faced miserable working conditions and low wages, and they could not afford the high prices of food and household goods. They decided that by pooling their scarce resources and working together they could access basic goods at a lower price. They also decided it was time shoppers were treated with honesty, openness and respect, that they should be able to share in the profits that their custom contributed to and that they should have a democratic right to have a say in the business. Every customer of the shop became a member and so had a true stake in the business. https://www.ica.coop/en/rochdale-pioneers

The Rochdale Principles include voluntary and open membership, democratic member control and economic participation, autonomy, education, training and information, cooperation, and concern for the community. https://cultivate.coop/wiki/Rochdale_Principles

Because they are driven by values, not profit, cooperatives work together to build a better world through cooperation, fairness, equality and social justice. Because they are owned by the community, not shareholders, the economic and social benefits of cooperatives stay within their communities. Profits are reinvested into the business or shared with the community. https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/what-is-a-cooperative

The Olympia Food Co-op shares profits through community donations and sponsorships and our Co-op Access Program, which provides free memberships to low-income community members with a 10% discount at the register.

Since our inception, the Olympia Food Co-op has had a whole-systems, values driven approach. Our business is owned by our members, governed by a Board of Directors elected by our members, and run by a staff collective. We are one of a handful of food co-ops left in the U.S. that has remained committed to non-hierarchal, consensus-based governance. But doesn’t consensus take so much time? Isn’t it impossible to reach a decision? Wouldn’t it be easier just to vote? These are popular myths spread throughout hierarchical cultures.

Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement. Instead of simply voting and having the majority of the group get their way, groups using consensus are committed to finding solutions that everyone actively supports, or at least can live with. This ensures that all opinions, ideas and concerns are taken into account. Through listening closely to each other, no decision is made against the will of an individual or a minority. If significant concerns remain unresolved, a proposal can be blocked and prevented from going ahead. This means that the whole group has to work hard at finding solutions that address everyone’s concerns rather than ignoring or overruling minority opinions. Consensus is used widely by people around the world working towards a more just and equitable society.

Many of us experience very little control over our lives in the wider world, with decisions being made for us by managers, benefits agencies, the police, politicians. We’re encouraged to compete with each other and scapegoat whoever is beneath us, instead of questioning why there isn’t enough to go round in the first place. Using consensus gives us a taste of how things could be done differently. It aims to dismantle all kind of hierarchy, and replace it with shared power. It is based on the values of equality, freedom, co-operation and respect for everyone’s needs.Consensus is neither compromise nor unanimity – it aims to go further by weaving together everyone’s best ideas and key concerns – a process that often results in surprising and creative solutions.

When everyone agrees with a decision, they are much more likely to implement it. People are more likely to stay involved in a group that is committed to hearing their views and meeting their needs. Many of the people struggling for social justice have recognized that changing the way we make decisions is key to achieving equality and freedom. A just society is one that manages to balance the needs and desires of every individual with those of the closer community and the wider world. These are precisely the aims of consensus. https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/consensus

Inclusive and equitable non-hierarchical consensus-based decision-making governance has been practiced on this earth since time immemorial. For example, in what is now the United States, five nations – the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca – formed the Haudenosaunee Confederation, which still works on a consensual basis today. Consensus decision-making models are used by a diversity of people, “Consensus is rooted in many decentralized models of direct democracy practiced across the world — from village panchayats in India to the indigenous Haudenosaunee Confederacy (aka Iroquois), from Quaker meetings to anarchist spokescouncils.

There is a problem with consensus that is more fundamental and structural. Ironically, the seemingly benign notion that all voices are equal can hide the uncomfortable truth of systemic inequality. Almost inherently, the consensus process can absolve us of actively examining how privilege and oppression shape our spaces.  Boyd, A., & Mitchell, D. O. (2016). Beautiful trouble: A toolbox for revolution. OR Books

In an effort to address these problems, many communities and collectives use modified forms of consensus — for example, prioritizing and taking leadership from women, people of color, and those directly affected by the decisions being made, facilitating small break-out groups to ensure more engaged participation; encouraging more debate and discussion rather than just asking for blocks; and actively incorporating anti-oppression principles to prevent harmful opinions from further marginalizing historically disadvantaged peoples.  https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tool/consensus-is-a-means-not-an-end/

Among the Olympia Food Co-op’s stated goals are: make good food accessible to more people and support local production. Our focus is on natural, whole and organic foods and our staff collective has agreed to product selection guidelines to support purchasing decisions. We ask questions like,

How are the farmworkers who harvested this produce being treated? How does this company treat its workers? Does this product packaging have a negative environmental impact, false or misleading nutritional, environmental, or ingredient claims, or exploitative/oppressive imagery? Is the culture represented by this product benefitting from its sales? Can we get this product from a local grower/producer?

There are reasons why we have the freshest produce in town, why our deli food is so delicious. You are often buying and eating food picked and brought in that very day by a local farmer. When we choose locally sourced food, we support an alternative economy that sits outside the mainstream food systems, systems that often focus more on marketing spin than nutrients. Our money benefits local artisans, not giant corporations with questionable ethics, and it stays local. We get what we actually need, and support people who are directly stewarding our landscapes and benefiting our watersheds and catchments. Our weekly grocery shopping becomes a tool for increasing local resilience. https://www.milkwood.net/2017/05/15/food-co-ops-collectives-3-examples-of-community-food-systems/

And then there’s the community aspect, our working member program, our part time flex staff, our stores where you run into neighbors, old friends, have conversations, bring in a stack of shopping bags for re-use, pick up something cool from the free store, share recipe ideas with your cashier, grab snacks for your road trip. The Olympia Food Co-op exemplifies connections, transparency, and good food everywhere we look.

Co-op Table Fall 2022

Co-op Table Summer 2022

45 Years of Co-op Local

A compilation of local musings by writers over the years, including Erin Majors, Grace Cox, Jennifer Shafer, Maureen Tobin, Robyn Wagoner and Tina Shubert

Anniversary years are a great time to reflect on all the things an organization might want to celebrate, and to consider ways to evolve and improve. As we enter our 45^th year as a cooperative natural foods store, one of our cornerstone programs is widely considered an ongoing community accomplishment that just keeps getting better—our Local Farms, Food and Products program.

You can find the word local across a variety of retail store these days. But, what does it mean when local is advertised? This is an interesting question because it can mean wildly different things from store to store. It could mean regionally sourced, as in it came from within your neighboring states. It could refer to a small farm or business, or, it could mean multi-million operations, which sell within their home state and beyond.

At our Co-op, local has been a foundational value from day one. It is the bedrock to so many of our choices in operations, because as both workers and shoppers, our choices can make or break meeting our organizational mission and goals.

…to provide wholesome foods and other goods and services, accessible to all, through a locally oriented, collectively managed, not-for-profit cooperative organization that relies on consensus decision making…

We believe our community supports these values and has shown us this throughout the ups and downs of our economic realities. It is an inspired, unwavering understanding that people matter; that this planet matters; that our food matters. Most of all, it is the knowledge that when you come through the Co-op’s doors, you won’t have to wonder exactly what definition of local buying is being used, because Co-op Local is clear. It means that we work directly with the food producer, building longstanding relationships with people and businesses in our areas that love what they do and the food they make.

Across our departments, from Chill to Wellness, we value these relationships and prioritize our time and resources to support them. Many of our department managers over the years have helped small businesses get into retail sales and discover best methods to market their wares. We currently purchase directly from more than 125 local or regional farms and producers, with the list getting longer all the time.

Co-op Local is Direct, Fresh and Strong Community. Every time.

Tina says it best, “When I think about it, it gets to the root of why I’ve been a member of the Co-op for so many years. As a shopper, I can make my selections with confidence, knowing exactly where my delicious food has come from. And as a Staff member, I can see the impact of our Co-op Local every time I receive a delivery in the warehouse and sign an invoice from a local producer. Knowing that each of those dollars will circulate within our communities for somewhere around a hundred times before it leaves our local economy, leaves me with a great sense of purpose and pride. I see this phenomenon every day and for me, that is the power of Co-op Local.”

Local Farms Program

In our Produce Department specifically, “Co-op Local” means the food is grown on farms ranging from ½ an acre to 50 acres in size and travels from Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Pierce, and Grey’s Harbor counties. This arrangement ensures the freshest possible food on our plates, while saving resources, protecting the environment, strengthening local economies, and building community networks.

The Local Farms Program also creates regional direct purchasing agreements with farms further away, often supplying us with the stone fruit and apple bounty of Eastern Washington, and who don’t utilize a distributor. An example is Brownfield Orchard who has faithfully delivered high quality, small farm fruits for more than two decades throughout the growing season. Fun fact, Brownfield was the organic grower in Washington to gain organic certification!

Our Local Farms Program is an example of successful cooperative negotiations between suppliers and buyers. Our area is so lucky to have literally dozens of talented local farmers who can grow truly amazing amounts of produce. The program encourages local farmers to work together, rather than competing with one another. For example, when a farm who has been growing a crop for the Co-op runs out, they may alert another farmer who they know is growing the same item.

Our produce managers over the years have worked to streamline the process of purchasing produce from local farms, to improve year-round consistency and diversity of produce, and to satisfy the farmers’ desires for a dependable living wage. We meet with our farmers annually and agree upon an average market price prior to each season. This allows farmers to apportion their planting time and seed money more effectively, helping our shoppers and the whole community have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round, and featured in our deli and salad bar preparations.

By decreasing our profit margin, the Co-op can offer our local farmers good prices for their crops without substantially increasing the amount our shoppers pay. We can do this because we’re a not-for-profit enterprise, and making surplus money is not our guiding motivation.

At the Olympia Food Co-op we’re celebrating this last half of our 4^th decade of bringing more healthy food to more people by supporting local farmers and producers who strive to use sustainable methods and ethical business practices.

Sidebar–We invite you to contribute to our anniversary celebration with your art, stories, photos, home movies, and memorabilia to be included in our anniversary event and archiving. Please contact us at outreach@olympiafood.coop with any type of art or content you’d like to contribute!

Co-op Table Summer 2022

Co-op Table Spring 2022

Supporting a Resilient and Sustainable Food System

By Maureen Tobin, Staff member

In my time at the Co-op, the question of how to plan for the future, in a collectively-managed, consensus-based organization, has always been a topic of conversation. Sometimes on the front burner and sometimes on the back, the additional layer of need to address climate change and our ecological footprint as we plan and create ideas has been added to the bigger questions. What are the best ways for the Co-op continue to meet our mission and goals in the face of all these factors?

Recent studies suggest that more than a third of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions are generated by food systems. They also show that food generates an average of 2 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions per person annually. One thing we can all do is to maximize our consumption dollars in the best ways possible. While consuming less is the best way to achieve a smaller “eco-foodprint,” we all still gotta eat! Here are some ideas about ways to shop for food while supporting a more sustainable food system.

Support local production

Transportation and food packaging requirements to help food travel well create huge environmental footprints, so focusing on how you can support local agriculture and other local food businesses will be an essential part of our community path to sustainable eating. The Co-op works hard to make sure local produce and products are found on our shelves throughout the year, with so many farms and companies to mention, the list is rather long.

Investing in a CSA, or a community supported agriculture share from a local farm, is another great way to reduce your food footprint, sustain local livelihoods, and fight climate change. You can find an exhaustive list of local farms offering CSAs- many of them still have room for 2022 shares- at communityfarmlandtrust.org/2022-csa-guide as well as the latest Fresh from the Farm Guide appearing this spring.

Shop in bulk and avoid excessive food packaging

All food packaging has an impact on the environment, responsible for many problems including raw material extraction, litter on both land and in the ocean, and emissions. Even biodegradable products come with an ecological price tag. That’s why choosing durable and re-usable containers, and then reusing them, is a key step in this chain. Food packaging can also generate and contain chemicals that are harmful to human and animal health.

Single use plastic is taking a huge toll on our earth and the Co-op has been working to reduce the amount of items that fall into this category on our shelves. But we all have a long way to go to solve the plastic dilemma! Each shopper can help by choosing to reduce and reuse by sharing larger containers holding bulk foods.

Choose companies with sustainability ethics:

We work to maximize shelf space for both locally produced goods and also the best selling natural food products available from companies who share the goal of reducing the food production footprint through a variety of means. We work to highlight companies with ethical labor practices such as fair trade sourcing and ownership/employment opportunities for less-served communities, such as BIPOC and women.

A few companies to explore include OlyKraut, Quickie Too, Mel O Soup, Frontier Natural Products, Organic Valley, Nancy’s Creamery, Siete Family Foods, Nature’s Path, Ajiri Tea, Numi Organic Teas, Inspired Earth Tea, Alvarado St Bakery, Barnana, One Degree Foods, and Equal Exchange, naming only a few!

Spread the Joy of Cooking

One of the best ways to make sure you are utilizing whole food ingredients with less packaging is to take a do-it-yourself attitude towards more ingredients. Everyone is busy and no one is perfect, but taking on even a couple of new recipes in life can dramatically impact how you shop, eat, and enrich your life with more great food. My recent goal is to try making pasta (a staple in my house) by hand at least a few times as Monica suggests in this issue. No plastic bag involved!

Reduce food waste and compost scraps

Cooking with a plan to minimize food waste is another way to reduce your foodprint. Food waste is a huge contributor to lost money in your wallet as well as methane emissions in our landfills. So, making sure you cut up that cucumber and eat a salad before it goes moldy is actually a really big deal! And if you do fail to see that lost cuke in the back of fridge, keeping it out of the landfill is your next step in the right direction. Backyard compost, worm bins, or the yard waste bins from the city are all ways to keep biodegradable stuff out of our landfills, thereby cutting back on climate change contributors.

I’m sure lots of Co-op shoppers have more ideas on ways to create a better world for our community now and for those who follow. Let’s keep up the conversation as we celebrate 45 Years in 2022!

Co-op Table Spring 2022

Co-op Table Fall 2021

Free Groceries to Fight Hunger

By Desdra Dawning, Co-op Member

Have you heard about or seen the free grocery store in Olympia? Its current location at the time of this writing is in the parking lot of Stonewall Youth in downtown.

Kim and Sosa are community members intimately familiar with life on the street, living without a house to shelter them. And they have seen first-hand how the various services designed to serve our houseless population, while all very well-intentioned,
still leave a crack for those on the edge to quite easily slip right through. With set scheduled times of operation, rules to follow, ID’s necessary, sign-ins and often long lines, these groups can only go so far in helping people who are quite simply hungry
and tired and in need of help in-the-moment. “People should not have to ask for their basic needs to be met. When you are really hungry, you should not be asked to wait until tomorrow to have something to eat,” Kim says. “People who are pushed to the edge in their lives end up doing things like shoplifting in order to care for their hunger,” Sosa adds. Even those with homes are not always free from hunger, and the need for basic necessities.

And so, in May of this year—2021—they decided to do something about it. They rounded up a used refrigerator, got help refurbishing it, and put out the word as best they could to let folks of good heart know that they were setting up a free groceries station. They were looking for both already-prepared food, and fresh produce—food beyond what was already being offered around the community in neighborhood “Free Food Pantry” shelves with canned and packaged non- perishables. They contacted GrUB and some local farmers, looking for contributions. And they found a place to set up shop at POWER (Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights), located in downtown Olympia. At first, it seemed like a good fit, but quickly (in less than a month) the landlord asked them to leave, stating that there were too many people eating in the area. Stonewall Youth, at State and Capitol, then invited them to use their parking lot and offered to take care of the electric bill for the refrigerator.

By June, they were set up with a medium-sized refrigerator, donated through Instagram, and food was coming in from many directions. They were also getting donations of other items that could be used, such as personal care products and things for children. So, they gathered some used wood and created shelves for the non-refrigerator items. Sosa sees this process of people reaching out to help each other as
community-building, and a way to offer help without anyone needing to ask for anything.

It was at this point that something very mean and unkind started to happen. During the night, their refrigerator was destroyed, along with the shelving. This has happened several times, and each time they have found another fridge and wood for shelves. It is also very disheartening to them and to all who benefit from this kind service, to think that anyone would want to destroy what is obviously there to help those of us so much
less fortunate.

Kim and Sosa are doing this work pretty much on their own, even though they are part of a growing movement in the US. YES! Magazine recently published an article about this action, called the Freedge movement (freedge.org). Founded by Berone Oehninger, it sprang up to meet the acute need to address food insecurity and has expanded greatly during the pandemic. The article points out that “…he sees the fridges as a visible reminder that many people don’t have access to enough food, and also a gateway that could create enough food for all through larger efforts that include the people power of mutual aid projects.” The article then goes on to quote Oehninger as saying, “The fridge doesn’t solve food insecurity. What it does well is start a conversation about food insecurity.” “And that conversation,” says YES!, “can lead to
a new urban farm, or more urban kitchens, or even systematic changes on a policy level.”

As for Kim and Sosa, while they very much appreciate the support from Stonewall, they would like to find another place in town, close to downtown, to set up this loving service—a place where they could secure the fridge and shelves during the night, keeping them and all the donated items safe and protected. They would also like to thank everyone who has been so supportive and generous with them as they take on
this daunting task of caring for those on the very edge of our community.

How can the members of the Olympia Food Cooperative help with this project and become part of the community fridge network? Our Westside store has for many years had a Free Store of donated goods. Both stores collect lots of food bank donations. Donating to what is becoming, for our community, a bit of a Free Grocery Store, is a start.

Feel free to contact me for more information. Desdra Dawning:
Desdradawning@yahoo.com

Co-op Table Fall 2021

Newsletter Archive

Co-op Table Summer 2021

Growing Diversity: A Fresh Look at Farmers

This is the farmer that comes in a Lego farm set.  Here in Thurston county however, your farmer is nearly as likely to be female.  The most recent Census of Agriculture in 2017 shows that 46% of Thurston county farmers are women.  Globally the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 43% of farmers are women, however it is probably higher, as women are less likely to call themselves farmers, despite doing a variety of farm tasks including animal care, family management, and quality control, as well as field work.

In Equal Exchange blog, https://blog.equalexchange.coop/who-is-the-farmer/, Emily Gove points out that “perpetuating the stereotype of the white male farmer not only leads to generalizations, but also prevents the experiences of others from being shared and accepted.  This stereotype becomes a powerful representative for a diverse group, which actually includes all genders, ages, and races.”  

Dr. Monica White states in her book, Freedom Farmers, http://monicamariewhite.com/freedom-farmers/, “this tendency of gendering the farmer with capital ownership — white men are often the owners and operators of capital to which other groups have been denied access. Those denied groups’ responsibilities, though essential to the successful operation of a family farm, are distanced from the farm and the capital it represents.”

Banana farmer Cecilia Manzanillas, of AsoGuabo cooperative in Ecuador, says that “when families and communities invest in and support individuals, those individuals will both flourish and continue the cycle by giving back to the communities who supported them.”  I got to see this first hand through speaking with Virginia Herrera and Ann Huster of Eloisa Organic Farm LLC in Albany, Oregon.  The farm sells produce through their CSA, at farmers markets, to restaurants, and to wholesale distributor Organically Grown Company.  You will find their delicious organic produce on our shelves at the Olympia Food Co-op.  They were kind enough to spend time talking with me during this very busy time for farmers.

Both Ann and Virginia worked on Spring Hill farm, Ann for 16 years, Virginia for over 20.  When Spring Hill Farm owner, Jamie Kitzrow, was ready to retire, he offered the farm to two family groups.  Brothers Paulo and Floriberto Martinez with their wives, Gladis and Leanilda started Sunrise Farm.  Virginia and her husband, Zenon Ramirez, started Eloisa Farm.  They are originally from the village of Asuncion Atoyaquillo in Oaxaca, Mexico.  After farming in the United States for 25 years, they were excited to make their long-term dream of going into business for themselves come true.  Jamie gave Virginia good terms and helped her ease into her business.  The first year he sold her tomatoes under his label.  The next year Virginia sold tomatoes under her name at his stand.  The following year they got all their certifications and sold their own produce.

It hasn’t been easy; there have been and still are many challenges.  While Virginia’s English is improving, speaking on the phone is more difficult than a face-to-face conversation and reading legal documents in English can be very confusing.  They were unable to access many of the financial supports that were available to US born farmers.  They have had to rely on loans from family members and friends, just keeping ahead of costs.  Every certification has costs associated and of course farming needs a lot of output prior to harvesting at the end of summer.  Fortunately, many of Spring Hill’s marketing venues followed Eloisa.  After all, the same people were working the farm on the same land.  First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op, which has two stores in Corvalis, were very supportive and came to the farm when Virginia first leased it.  They said they’d buy her produce and have been a steady customer ever since.

There were also unexpected challenges, like COVID19 and massive forest fires.  Smoke-filled air makes field work dangerous and many employees chose not to work when the air quality was bad.  Ash got into everything; think about all the crinkles in lacinato kale.  Vegetables needed repeated washings, as did the baskets and equipment, creating a lot of extra labor costs.  Many parents have had to stay home with their children during the pandemic.  Employees had concerns about working safely and are having to decide what they are comfortable with.  This has made labor difficult to find, on the farm, for the market stall and in the packing shed.  Ann says they like giving people the opportunity to learn new skills and hopefully they will stick with us.

Fortunately, Virginia’s family is very supportive.  She has two young adult children who help with the market, with keeping food in the fridge, the house clean and Virginia’s youngest son cared for.  The farm is a team effort.  Ann says that Virginia is a good cook.  “When I have the time,” Virginia laughs.  She likes doing supportive things for her employees.  She provides a lunch allowance for employees who work at the market stand.  She buys hot lunch for the field workers every Friday from her good friend, Lízbeth Medina, from her food truck, Majahua Authentic Mexican Food.  Lizbeth worked at Spring Hill Farm with Virginia and now she and her husband are venturing into this new business and Virginia wants to support them.  Virginia says that she likes to do things to keep her workers excited and happy.  “In the past I was the employee, I know that work in the field is very hard.  I was very tired at the end of the day.”

Ann says that one of the reasons Virginia and Zenon are successful is because they are willing to try new things; they are open to learning, trying new planting schedules and new ways to pack.  They don’t say this is how we’re going to do it because this is how we’ve always done it.  Virginia shared some ingredients for successfully starting a new business, “Have a dream, think big, plan, save money, find good employees, network, talk to other people and be open to new experiences.”  She and Zenon are proud to be a part of their community, serving and feeding their friends and neighbors.  They give left over vegetables from the market and on the farm to gleaners groups.  The farm is named after Virginia’s mother, Eloisa, to honor her hard work and dedication in raising nine children by herself after Virginia’s father died when she was six.

Tony A. from Portland offers this review on Yelp:  Eloisa Organic Farm is among the best, if not the best, produce stands at the Saturday morning Portland Farmers Market at PSU. Before the market rings its 8:30 a.m. starting bell, dozens of regulars are already lining up, properly socially distancing, waiting to purchase Eloisa’s excellent produce. Customers stop at a disinfectant station, where they are asked to wash their hands and put on plastic gloves.  We’ve been purchasing produce from this farm for years. We love all of their vegetables, and particularly their basil, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, leeks, several kinds of lettuce and other greens, and a wide variety of peppers. The quality of what they grow and nurture is simply outstanding.  We have never been unhappy with any of their produce, and their customer service is outstanding and impressively safe during these challenging times. Eloisa is one of our first stops when we hit the PSU Saturday market. Super friendly people running the stand. Awesome produce. They have our loyalty and trust.

Jamie Kitzrow of Spring Hill Farm may be part of a positive trend.  Ann and Virginia said that other local farm owners are looking at how they want to retire.  Tom Denison sold Denison Farms to two family groups, creating Commonplace Farm, commonplacefarm.com, and Riverland Family Farms, riverlandfamilyfarms.com.  Riverland Family Farms owners Tal and Linder have a long history of family farming going back more than four generations in the Northwest Indian state of Punjab.  They too have kept the same workers.  USDA Census of Agriculture data show that the number of farms with principal operators of “Spanish, Hispanic or Latino origin” grew from 50,592 in 2002 to 90,344 in 2017.  Despite the growing number of Latinos running farms, Dr. Laura-Anne Minkoff Zern said in  https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/organic/latino-couple-goes-from-farmworkers-to-farm-owners/article_99d02fee-6c91-11eb-8ac4-ab417e79d973.html, that most still face barriers with paperwork, documentation, language and access to educational resources.

“Women are valuable, we are intuitive, we are entrepreneurs, we are economists. We don’t need to study the economy to be economists, we are financial in every aspect of what we do in our lives.”
Cecilia Manzanillas, of AsoGuabo cooperative

In Thurston County, small farmers share a cooperative spirit.  Established farmers provide support to new farmers.  They share resources and information.  Two farms, both run by women, take making food accessible to everyone very seriously.  Tierney Creech & Julie Puhich sell their Common Ground CSA shares at a sliding scale, commongroundfarmcsa@gmail.com.  Here’s how they help their customers decide at what level to pay.  “We know that many of you belong to CSAs not only because you appreciate fresh produce, but also because you recognize the broader ecological, social, and economic benefits provided to the community by small farms. We ask you to be as generous as you can, in recognition that food is undervalued and farm labor underpaid. The expenses we take into account are: labor, seeds, fertilizers, fuel, other supplies, tools, equipment maintenance, electricity to run the pump and heat the propagation mats and small infrastructure improvements. Expenses we have not included are land, land taxes and infrastructure.  I realize that letting members decide what to pay does not necessarily lead to “from each according to her ability to each according to her need.” Nor does it necessarily bring in income sufficient for our budget goals. So much has to do with individual perceptions of wealth and need, and individual priorities and expectations. Imperfect as this system may be, we like the direction it leads all of us—farmers and CSA community alike to consider ourselves as part of the whole.”

Sue Ujcic and Annie Salafsky of Helsing Junction Farms, www.helsingjunctionfarms.com, have been farming for over 30 years.  “Really my whole life,” Sue admitted.  “My grandmother was Croation.  They’ve been through so many wars that everyone there understands food insecurity and grows food.  We had a huge garden.”  Sue says that she’s seen differences in the way women approach farming.  “We like to say we’re putting the culture back in agriculture,” Sue joked.  But Sue is serious about being part of an important food system.  Helsing’s website is full of delicious recipes because that’s the next step.   Sue and Annie are in the process of ceding Helsing Junction Farms to Jessica Armstrong and Angie Camp “because they share our values,” Sue says.  “They are good farmers.  They are organized and I have one hundred percent confidence in them.”  Jessica has worked for Annie and Sue for several years and Angie previously ran Left Foot Farm, where the patience and communication skills she developed working with special needs adults serves her well at Helsing.

It wasn’t easy.  Sue said they were discriminated against as female farmers and faced unbelievable bias.  When they went into the farm store to buy parts and machinery, salesmen wanted to talk to their husbands.  Banks would ignore their loan requests.  They finally received their first loan with a 9% interest rate.  “I could have just gotten a credit card,” Sue laughs.  After paying that loan in a timely manner, the bank ignored their next request, until Sue threatened to contact the bank president who she knew through nonprofit work.  Suddenly the loan came through the next day.  Sue says that if you see a woman farming it’s because she made it happen on her own.  They want to maintain the tradition of women farming on Helsing so other women can see that it’s a possibility.

With huge corporations like Amazon distributing food grown on huge corporate farms, Sue says it’s even more important now to support your local small farmers.  She would like to see more dollars supporting these sustainable practices.  She is encouraged that Governor Inslee recently signed a bill making overtime pay mandatory for farm workers.  Though it can be hard to make ends meet, Sue believes in fair wages.  They have always paid their farm workers over minimum wage, their base rate for field crew is $14 an hour, and wages go up for longer term workers,  which makes it difficult to compete with farms in states paying the federal minimum wage of $7.25.  Farm workers used to be excluded from receiving unemployment benefits, though Annie and Sue weren’t excluded from paying unemployment taxes.  Fortunately, in Washington that has changed.  Sue also feels frustrated with the discrimination farmworkers they hire from Mexico face. “They have to raise huge amounts of money to bring along family members on tourist visas.  It’s unfair.  That wouldn’t happen if you wanted your mother from Canada to visit you.”

Helsing Junction Farms partners with Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights to make their produce and CSA shares payable with food benefits.  Together they participated in a Cornel University study aimed at making fresh organic produce easier to access with food benefits. “We have always worked with Gleaners; we were one of the first farms to do that.  Their first fundraiser was our first music festival, which went on for another 12 years.”  Annie and Sue worked with the Chehalis Tribe to source local food and helped the Squaxin Island Tribe set up their Salish Roots Farm.  Part of their CSA program mission statement is to grow 20% more food than they needed for community donations.  They match any donations their CSA members make to the Thurston County Food Bank.  Sue said that Thurston County has been named as having the best access to organic produce for families of any income.

Hopefully one day soon Lego will give us a more realistic representation of the farmer.  Thank you to all of the people throughout the world working so hard to improve your communities and growing for us the sustaining food we eat.

Virginia Herrera and Zenon Ramirez of Eloisa Farm

Sue Ujcic and Annie Salafsky of Helsing Junction Farms

Tierney Creech & Julie Puhich farm the Common Ground CSA

Co-op Table Summer 2021

Newsletter Archive

Co-op Table Spring 2021

How can we, as the complicated group of individuals who make up the Olympia Food Co-op, contribute to healing, and what does that mean? Why do we have a sense that we all need a new beginning? Healing our planet, our neighbors, our community, our relationships, our grief: these are thoughts shared by many at this time.

Spring brings to mind for me a few more specific must-do items related to healing- the need to heal our planet as well as the need to change our national labor practices, including raising the minimum wage. Raising wages in this country would benefit all workers, but especially communities with higher numbers of People Of Color, who also have a disproportionate number of workers trying to survive on wages that simply don’t cover living expenses.

As someone who has worked with our annual budgeting for the Co-op for many years, I can tell you that workers’ wages are also very tied to medical expenses for employers and employees. These expenses have been rising for years and while the Co-op has tried very hard to not pass the rising cost on to employees, in the end the need to create a balanced budget, in which expenses don’t outweigh revenue, has often led to minimal increases in wages. The need for a national health care plan that will assist both individuals and families, but also small employers like the Co-op, is something I see as absolutely required to heal our country’s inequities in income, access, and care.

The ‘Fight for $15’ began many years ago for labor organizers, so long that many now believe expenses have already outpaced that figure, at least in some parts of the country. The Co-op Staff started discussions about our hourly wages and especially the starting wage in 2015, when the starting wage was $12.86/hour but made several large increases at the 6-month and 12-month marks of employment. We have had, for most of our history, a seniority-based pay scale with an annual increase of 25 cents/hour for each employee on their “anniversary” as well as annual decisions about other wage adjustments, usually meant to address cost of living increases. Starting in 2016, we were able to make a plan to increase the first years of the wage scale and by 2019, the starting wage had also gone up beyond $15/hour. For 2021, our starting wage is $15.42 and our average wage is $18.62/hour. We estimate that the average cost to the Co-op for each paid labor hour is about $32.02, including wages, payroll taxes, medical benefits and retirement funding. As you can see, medical expenses make a big difference—what changes could we make if more dollars per hour could be funneled into other parts of our budget?

The Staff collective decided to start closing our stores each year on May 1, International Workers Day, partly in hopes of raising awareness of the many struggles facing workers, issues that often seem hidden from consumers as we go through our busy lives, accepting the services of many for work that is often hard, dangerous, underpaid, and even discriminatory. Our workplace is one that is empowered to have difficult conversations about pay and equity and safe work conditions but may millions of workers are not so lucky. At a time when large retailers are making more than ever before for their stockholders, we hope that 2021 can be a time of new beginnings for more workers, with fair pay and access to benefits and safe conditions that should be a human right.

Finding solutions to our need for affordable and non-polluting energy sources would also greatly benefit our most at-risk communities: it has been proven over and over again that race and income correlate with exposure to environmental toxins and reduced life expectancy. We know that the Co-op can be part of the solution to some of these problems, and hope that one new beginning for us all can be finding ways to heal our planet. We look forward to a spring and summer full of biking, composting and gardening, living our best lives outdoors and embracing it. We’ll find our way forward, cooperatively and together, beginning now.

Co-op Table Spring 2021

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Co-op Table Fall 2020

SOME TIPS ON COZYING UP WITH YOURSELF FOR THE LONG HAUL QUARANTINE

Who thought quarantine would last this long?! What started as an opportunity to complete projects and engage in some self-care has become too lengthy and something to endure. I spoke with Co-op staff

member, Mary Frei, about her tips for cozying up with herself for the long haul.

“I love to cook. I’ve always cooked for myself, but did often go out for convenience. I am now cooking 100% for myself and it’s healthy, tastes good and I’ve saved so much money. I miss the socialness of my local restaurants. I miss interacting with the bartenders and the people I would see there. Restaurants have an important role in this town. Those small conversations keep our community woven together. I’ll look forward to being able to meet up with my friends in them again. Occasionally I’ll still treat myself to a Bar Francis coffee! They taste so good.

I revamped my pantry, pulled everything out and put it in glass jars. I have a lot of little bits from the bulk department. I’ve been cooking through that and adding things to make it fun. That’s satisfying.

I’ve invested in a couple of nice cookbooks, which help me focus on healthy eating. I’m cooking my way through them and tweaking recipes as I go. There are things that other cooks put together that I wouldn’t have thought of. That’s been fun.

If you are staying at home more, you are probably shopping less often though purchasing more groceries per shopping trip. You have to think about portions and food rotation. It’s a little easier as a single person to make something that serves eight. I then put some portions in the freezer.

I will make a lot of brown rice and portion it out or roast broccoli and roasted cauliflower and have a cambro of food that’s ready to eat. Today I’m going to make a traditional stuffed zucchini and I think it will freeze well. I’m exploring middle eastern cooking right now and am enjoying the amount of flavor you can get with those spices. Toasted and ground coriander and caraway seeds add so much flavor, you don’t need to add much sweetener.

I eat almost all of my meals right now outside. I have a designated spot in my backyard. It’s a good practice and feels better. Sometimes I set a nice table, it’s a nice way to make something special. My mom sends me beautiful place mats that she makes or finds. I put a little effort toward treating myself. Another thing I do to treat myself and beautify my table is to stop at a farm stand to buy flowers. I can take home something beautiful and support a farmer without having to interact with anyone.

Sometimes I do eat with a friend or two. There are safe ways I get together with smaller groups of friends, we socially distance outside, eat with our own utensils and share food that is safe.”

Text and Photos by Monica Peabody, Staff Member

Co-op Table Fall 2020

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