Category Archives: Uncategorized

Viori Hair Care Products

A variety of Viori hair care products, such as these wonderfully packaged shampoo bars, are now available at the Co-op.

In their own words:

Inspired by the hair care tradition of the Red Yao tribe. Made with natural, restorative ingredients like fermented rice water, cocoa butter, aloe vera and bamboo extract, Eco-friendly, sustainable packaging, cruelty free, vegan.

Alongside our focus on creating high-quality products designed with responsible sourcing and reduced packaging in mind, we are committed to maintaining long-term, respectful relationships with the Red Yao community – whose traditions inspire our brand – through ongoing collaboration and partnership.

For more information, check out their website!

From Chiapas to Your Cup 4/25

Most of us know something about what we prefer when tasting coffee, but, how do we know if our coffee has been ethically sourced? Does it matter if it is labeled “Organic”? What is fair trade? What do labels mean for producers in the Global South? Join us for some fresh brewed coffee while Café Mam’s Community Liaison, Megan Bassett, shares photos, stories and a short film made from Café Mam’s 2025 trip to Chiapas. You will leave with warm regard for the producers and clarity regarding the difference between ethically sourced and the majority of coffee on the market. Drawing on Café Mam’s 35 year partnership with producer-owned coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico, this workshop gets to the heart of what matters first with coffee.

Megan Bassett, Community Liaison Having studied Latin American History & Politics and Spanish language at the University of Oregon, Megan’s experience provides an engaging lens through which to view Café Mam’s 35-year relationship with producer-owned cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico. Her presentations touch on themes including coffee’s exploitative colonial origins, the pivotal emergence of producer-owned cooperatives, sustainable agroforestry, and the inspiring emergence of SPP Global as a champion for small-scale and indigenous producers in the global fair trade arena.  

REGISTER HERE

Springtime Honey-do’s Class April 11th

‘Tis spring! And a gardener’s fancy turns to dirt. And seeds. And weeds. And starts. And… With rising prices and climate change, maybe you want to try to grow some of your own produce. Or you want to have a bounty of happy flowers. Or perhaps an herb garden. Where to start?

This class will give you the basics on how to plan, sow, plant, and maintain your garden. Come with your questions, and, if you have it, a basic map of your garden area.

Jennifern Falknor has been gardening organically since, at the age of six, she stuck a popcorn kernel in the ground to see what would happen, and she has never looked back.

REGISTER HERE

Learn to Make Authentic Birria April 10th

Discover the rich, bold flavors of authentic birria in this hands-on cooking class! I’ll guide you step-by-step through the entire process—from preparing the perfect consommé to slow-cooking tender, flavorful meat. You’ll also learn how to make a vibrant, complementary salsa that takes the dish to the next level. And for an irresistible bonus, I’ll show you how to turn your birria into cheesy, crispy quesabirria tacos. Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or brand-new to Mexican cuisine, this class promises great food, new skills, and plenty of fun in the kitchen.

From Oscar Ruiz: I’m 34 years old, an Army veteran, and currently in college studying to become a welder. Cooking has always been a big part of my life, and I especially love making Mexican dishes. I’m constantly in the kitchen, experimenting, learning new methods, and trying out new recipes. Teaching this class gives me the chance to share that passion and hopefully inspire others to explore and enjoy cooking as much as I do.

REGISTER HERE

Qigong Class April 7th

Qigong for Spring Awakening & De-Stressing

Learn simple practices to help you de-stress and align with nature’s impulse to open and grow upwards like the seedlings and buds of spring. Practices will include Self-Healing Massage (An Mo Gong), acupressure points, and simple Qigong movements and meditations that open the body and encourage the smooth and upwards flow of Qi characteristic of spring. Take time to reset your nervous system, gently strengthen your core, align your spine, and calm and brighten your mind. Beginners are welcome in this all-levels class. All the practices may be performed either seated or standing, so come as you are. Unwind, have fun, and learn simple ways to find and maintain your center.

On this land of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla nations, Rae Diamond teaches practices from various Qigong traditions, including Dayan (Wild Goose), Wuji (Primordial), Bone Marrow Washing, Yijing Medical Qigong, and Healing Sounds, as well as a variety of dao yin (cleansing, stretching, and strengthening practices) and meditation techniques, all influenced by their studies of Wild Goose Qigong with master, Dr. Bingkun Hu, a disciple of legendary grandmaster, Yang Mei Jun. Rae offers a rare combination of intricate attention to physical alignment, mechanics of movement, breath, Qi flow, movements of Yin and Yang, and seasonal influences to their students. Their approach is informed by Classical Chinese medicine studies with Neijing scholar, Dr. Edward Neal, and decades of practice and study of Qigong, Yoga, Reiki, Wu Xing (5 phases/elements), Yin-Yang, meditation, astrology, numerology, and shamanic techniques.

REGISTER HERE

Produce Specials March 23rd-29th

All of our produce is grown using organic methods. Here are the specials for the week of March 23rd-29th.

 

  • Strawberries– $5.89/lb
  • Lemons– $2.49/lb
  • Bartlett Pear– $2.39/lb
  • Red Danjou– $1.69/lb
  • Hass Avocado– $3.39/lb
  • Broccoli– $2.19/lb
  • Baby Broccol– $2.49/lb
  • Italian Parsley– $1.69/ea
  • Purple Potato– $1.29/lb
  • Vine Tomatoes– $3.79/lb
  • Zuchinni– $2.19/lb

We proudly carry locally grown produce from:

  • Boistfort Valley Farm (Curtis, WA)
  • Brownfield Orchards (Chelan, WA)
  • Burnt Ridge Orchards (Onalaska, WA)
  • Helsing Junction Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Here To There Farm (Olympia, WA)
  • Kingfisher Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Little Big Farm (Olympia, WA)
  • Newaukum Valley Farm (Chehalis, WA)
  • Okanogan Producers Marketing Assoc. (Okanogan, WA)
  • Piece By Piece Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Rising River Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Wobbly Cart Farm (Rochester, WA)

Produce Specials February 16th-22nd

All of our produce is grown using organic methods. Here are the specials for the week of February 16th-22nd.

  • Evercrisp Apple –$1.89/lb
  • Ataulfo Mango –$3.89/lb
  • Navel Orange –$2.39/lb
  • Red D’anjou Pear –$1.79/lb
  • Pineapple –$1.89/lb
  • Pummelos –$2.49/lb
  • Brussel Sprouts –$4.69/lb
  • Rainbow Chard –$2.49/ea
  • Lacinato & Green Kale –$2.49/ea
  • Lion’s Mane Mushrooms –$13.49/lb
  • Romanesco –$3.19/lb

We proudly carry locally grown produce from:

  • Boistfort Valley Farm (Curtis, WA)
  • Brownfield Orchards (Chelan, WA)
  • Burnt Ridge Orchards (Onalaska, WA)
  • Helsing Junction Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Here To There Farm (Olympia, WA)
  • Kingfisher Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Little Big Farm (Olympia, WA)
  • Newaukum Valley Farm (Chehalis, WA)
  • Okanogan Producers Marketing Assoc. (Okanogan, WA)
  • Piece By Piece Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Rising River Farm (Rochester, WA)
  • Wobbly Cart Farm (Rochester, WA)

Save the date and sign up early for Non-toxic Oil Painting with Josie

This is going to be a great class, taught by our fabulous new staff member Josie, don’t miss out!

Josie will give a brief introduction on her experience with solvent free oil painting. We will assemble a still life model on a staging area with produce from the Co-op, though you are welcome to paint something completely different. Josie will give a brief explanation on Shape, Value, Temperature, Hue, Chroma, and Light, the principles in painting, and demonstrate how to paint a sketch of the still life then block in with color (our painting process). If this sounds academic, don’t worry, it will be fun and accessible.

Josie Walker has been painting exclusively in oils since 2023 and has made numerous pieces,  including landscapes, portraits, pet portraits, and unique commissioned pieces in various sizes. Though she doesn’t have a physical body of work, as all of her pieces to date have been gifted or sold, many of her paintings are available to view on Instagram at @josie.daisy93.

 

If you have materials of your own, feel free to bring them. Materials that will be provided include one canvas per person, a bulk pack of student grade paint brushes, large tubes of paint, and linseed oil.

 

Produce Specials Aug. 26 – Sept. 1

Produce Specials
Aug. 26 – Sept. 1


Black Mission Figs … 9.19/lb
Cantaloupe Melons … 1.29/lb
Large Seedless Watermelons … 0.79/lb
Assorted Specialty Melons … 1.39/lb
Yellow Nectarines … 3.89/lb
Yellow Peaches … 3.89/lb
Dapple Dandy Pluots … 2.59/lb

Cauliflower … 2.49/lb
Bi-Color Corn … 1.29/ea
Portabella Mushrooms … 8.19/lb
Walla Walla & Sweet Onions … 1.59/lb
Mini-Mix Sweet Pepper Bags … 5.49/ea
Slicer Tomatoes … 4.69/lb

We proudly carry locally grown produce from:

Boistfort Valley Farm, Curtis, WA
Brownfield Orchard, Chelan, WA
Burnt Ridge Nursery, Onalaska, WA
Kingfisher Farm, Little Rock, WA
Little Big Farm, Olympia, WA
Newaukum Valley Farm, Chehalis, WA
Piece by Piece Farm, Olympia, WA

SEASONAL HOUR CHANGES

Did you know that the Olympia Food Co-op stays open every day of the year except for May day? However, both stores will operate with shorter hours on these upcoming days:

  • Thursday November 24, open  9-5
  • Sunday December 25, open  9-5
  • Sunday January 1, open 10-9

*photo by Chie Okazaki

RECALL NOTICE: CULINA YOGURT

RECALL NOTICE: CULINA YOGURT

If you purchased the following product in glass jars from our Eastside location, do NOT eat it. The concern is for possible glass fragments. We are accepting returns for:

Culina Yogurt
Mango Orange Blossom
UPC 854724007230
Best By Date: 1/13/2022
Lot: 07422CBCUCYMOB0723

More information from Culina Yogurt https://www.culinayogurt.com/

Winter Pies, Savory and Sweet

by Monica Peabody, Staff Collective

“Easy as pie” is a saying I adhere to. Some people take making a pie crust very seriously and end up many hours later with the flakiest of pie crusts, like pastry. That’s great and I would not discourage anyone from going the extra mile. But if you want a delicious, no nonsense pie crust that is easy to work with and takes minutes, you can follow this recipe and ignore the gasps of those who would never use anything but the proper pastry cutter to work in the butter.


Quick and Easy Pie Crust

For each crust use 1 cup flour, 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and 1/8th cup cold water. If you are using unsalted butter, add a quarter tsp of salt. If you are making a double crust pie, double this recipe, and so on for each crust.

Using a pastry cutter, a food processor, or I use my stand-up mixer, cut cold butter into flour until you get an oatmeal consistency. Add cold water and mix just until dough sticks together. Flour a board. I like to use whole wheat flour which will impart a nuttiness to your crust. Divide dough into even balls depending on how many crusts you are making. Roll out crusts one at a time and put into pie pan or save for top crusts. Use excess dough to shape leaves, etc. for the tops of your pies or use cookie cutters, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake to make yummy cookies. Don’t forget to make small slits in your top crusts to allow for steam.

The filling of both savory pies below can be made vegan, so I would recommend buying a ready to bake vegan pie crust if you are going that route.

I was served this dish by a friend in Vermont. It’s delicious. Thank you, Riley!

Collard and Feta Pie

2 bunches collard greens
1 large onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
2 eggs
8 oz feta or vegan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Saute two bunches of collard greens with chopped onion, several cloves of garlic in butter or olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste, making allowances for the salty cheese to be added. Remove from heat, stir in two beaten eggs and 8 ounces feta or a vegan cheese. Mix well and add to prepared pie crust. Add a top crust, make slits and bake until crust is a golden brown. You can brush the top with melted butter or olive oil if you are going for first prize!

I got this amazing dish from Bon Appetit and immediately simplified it and added it to my regular rotation. Here’s the original recipe if you want to get fancier: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/caramelized-onion-and-squash-tart

Delicata Tart

4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp butter or olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 oz. grated sharp cheddar, Gruyère or vegan cheese
3-4 delicata squash, halved, seeded and sliced (don’t peel)
Bunch fresh sage, chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Chop 4 yellow onions and saute on medium heat in 2 tbls olive oil or butter until they are golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic and continue cooking, stirring often so they don’t scorch, until onions are a rich brown color. Stir in grated cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Put a prepared pie crust into a pie dish and brush with Dijon mustard. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper. Add onion/cheese mixture.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter or heat olive oil, add chopped sage and lightly saute. Mix into sliced delicata. Add salt and pepper to taste and spread over onions in the pie crust.

Bake on the lower oven rack until squash is well browned and cooked through.

As a child I didn’t like pumpkin pie. The reason is, I had only tasted pie made from canned pumpkin puree. The first time I baked a pumpkin and made a pie for someone else, I realized I do like pumpkin pie. The flavor is so different.

Pumpkin Pie

1 pie pumpkin
3 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar or maple syrup
½ to 1 c heavy cream or nondairy milk
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp cloves
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cut pie pumpkin in half and scrape out seeds and pulp. Feel free to roast seeds to add to soups and salads for some yummy crunch. Put pumpkin flesh side down onto a baking sheet and bake until flesh is soft. Cool, then scrape flesh out of pumpkin shell and mash. If you like a lumpier pie you can stop now, if you want a smoother texture, puree pumpkin flesh. This step can be done in advance with several pumpkins and cooked pumpkin can be refrigerated or frozen until ready to use for soups, casseroles or pies.

Preheat oven to 425. Beat eggs in a large bowl then add the rest of the ingredients to eggs. Mix well. Use enough heavy cream to achieve a texture like a thick stew. Add to prepared pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 30 to 45 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean.

My mother is from Louisiana so pecan pie has been a staple as long as I can remember. My family still sends me Louisiana pecans every winter from Bergeron, https://bergeronspecans.com, because they make the best pies.

Pecan Pie

2 cups pecans
3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup (I sub ¾ cup maple syrup and 2 tbsp. molasses, don’t tell my family)
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp. melted butter or oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 425. Beat eggs in large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the pecans and beat well. Fold in pecans and pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 – 45 minutes more or until pecans are a rich brown color and an inserted knife comes out clean.

 

Announcement! CLOSURE Eastside Co-op closing 6 PM Fri., Feb. 12th, 2021


Eastside Co-op will close early tonight at 6 PM Fri., Feb. 12th, due to snow. Westside will remain open for business, except for the Garden Center, which remains closed at least thru Saturday, Feb. 13th. Thank you Joe at Vics Pizzeria for clearing the Westside parking lot! Enjoy the snow!

Winter 2020 Inventory Hours

Curbside pickup availability information is available here:
https://olympiafood.coop/contact-us/order-for-pickup/

December 26th – Friday – Both Stores

Both Stores close at 5pm

December 29th – Tuesday – Westside

Westside store closes at 6pm

January 5th – Tuesday – Eastside

Eastside store closes at 6pm

January 6th – Wednesday – Westside

Westside store closes at 6 pm

 

Thank you, stay safe and cozy!

A Report to the Olympia Food Co-op Membership from the Financial Coordination Team

July – August 2020

We would like to start by acknowledging just how difficult this time has been. We are outraged by heinous acts of police brutality and the history of societal and systemic racism and oppression against Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color in our own community and worldwide. We grieve for the tremendous uncertainty, stress, and financial and emotional struggles experienced by our houseless neighbors, unemployed workers, low income workers, essential workers, small business owners, non-profits, families and more.

The Olympia Food Co-op has also been on a rollercoaster throughout this crisis. In mid-March, we were lucky to have extra business from a huge rush of shoppers.

Then, the state shut everything down and we stayed open as an essential business and adapted our practices to maximize safety for our members and workers.

Since late March, we have incurred financial struggles. As we limit the number of shoppers in the store due to safety concerns, our sales have decreased. Sales are down an average of 5% at the East side Co-op and 9% at the West side Co-op. These numbers represent negative growth compared to 2019 sales. Our ever-popular salad bar was forced to shut down, contributing to the decline in sales.

At the same time, our labor expenses have increased as we created new jobs such as Sanitizers, Door Monitors, and Order Pickers for our Online Order for Pick-up service. Also, our expense for supplies doubled as we continue to decimate our cleaning and sanitizing products and masks, gloves. We are currently losing an average of $3,000 per day as we maintain operations.

We are examining all the ways we can increase sales and reduce labor costs. Luckily, we procured a Federal Payroll Protection Program forgivable loan which will help us keep our doors open for a while.

We report this to you for two reasons:

  • You are the member/owners of the Olympia Food Co-op and have every right to know the financial realities of the operations in your stores.
  • We want to encourage you to remember all the Co-op has brought to our community over the last 43 years. Our support of local farmers and producers. Our commitment to organic and high-quality foods. Our mission that inspires us to work for social and economic justice. Our ongoing experiment with Collective management and a vibrant Working Member program. Our levity, our stumbles, our bumbles, and humbles.

There are so many movements, people, businesses, and organizations that need our support. Please support them all as you can. And please remember to also support your Olympia Food Co-op by shopping for as many of your purchases and essentialities as possible.

If you are apprehensive about long lines and/or safety, know that we are doing as much as we can to maximize customer limits without compromising safety or social distancing. And if you want us to shop for you, our Online Order for Pick-up service is available at the Eastside Store! You can find this service at https://olympiafood.coop/contact-us/order-for-pickup/

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas, please contact us at customerservice@olympiafood.coop

We look forward to continuing our support of our community.

Thank you.

The Olympia Food Co-op Finance Coordination Team
Tina, Kitty, Corey, Jenn, Max, Jill, Mo, Grace, and Harry