Friday, May 28, 2021

Local Food Update and Going Forward


 

It’s really weird how things happen. Sometime after the previous posting, I was locked out of my Blogger. I thought I would never get in; I’d reached a point where I could only hope that Blogger would eventually delete the blog. Finally, after not attempting sign in for many weeks, I decided to go at it once again, and yes, I am here because I was able to finally receive that G-code. I didn’t want the previous posting to be the last thing published to this Local Food blog. 

This post is sort of about food, but of the kind of food that supports the spirit and mental well being of community. 

I begin again. Kroger – the problem being attributed to the technological malfunctioning. Specific questions I posed to the representative employee were responded to by referring me to their corporate statement. It took a while before I could enter any of their stores again; and I seek to never be in store alone, and my exit is slow to make sure that the “machines” have okayed my purchase. May my experience, and Kroger’s offering results and understandings, be experienced through all Kroger management connections. May all the minds and hearts involved be open to healing and healed. 

What a shit storm we are currently living through as our nation goes through a world pandemic and an important social and political recconing! I have always, yes, always believed that we (holding to our national principles) could face our misrepresented past with truth and integrity and not fall prey to the bulley pulpet and adopt true national history atrocities. I never on my worst days imagined that I would live to see persons who say they are for the US move forth an insurrection; and that even as I write this some who do not show support of our democratic principles are attempting to rewrite the story. Perhaps Alzheimers or fear has taken hold on these politicians, and they have forgotten oaths taken to stand for the people, and pledges made to their constituents and the nation, and now with clay feet can set aside truth, honor and justice to censure truth speakers. 

Our nations tattered past story is being outed and presented for the cast system it is. I recall asking a history teacher back in the sixties what the difference was between India’s cast system and the legislated systemic system in the US. They looked the same to me. I was told that I did not understand. Even then, I knew that it was she who did not understand. 

We, the people, have the opportunity to “do the work” to cleanse our nations palate and heal the dishonest and dishonerable past foundation story and replace it with truth. We have the stregnth necessary to do the tough inner and outer work for our national healing. Not an easy task in any way, yet essential that we reach for it. 

I think that the majority of people want a unified country and are willing to explore ways to heal and make this happen. Many understand that supression of others and is not an allowable option. Many realzie how much of their self has to be reduced (is shamed) to hold another down because when someone supresses another because of unconscious or conscious entitlement, they, the surpressor is holding themselves right down there too. 

It is time to let go of the shameful past story and actively reach for what I imagine most want; abundance of joy, love, kindness, health, home, community of wellbeing, regeneration and uplift for every home and on every plate in the kitchen. What a melting pot of a smorgasboard of resources we have to feast upon! 

It is clear that we as a nation, and planet are up against the wall and the “bozo’s”. The real vampires are coming out of closets ready to strike at any who threaten the green blood supply. Either we will love ourselves, love our children and theirs yet to come, love our country and our planet home enough to put our collective energies toward the care and necessary shift work to move this country forward and long term, so that we can continue as the human race. 

Those who cultivate division do so as a necessary distraction and thankfully, more people seem to recognize current actions targeting voting access as acts of desperation; attempts to limit the voice of the people. Acts of fear. Limiting the voice of the people by representatives who are supposed to be representing all constituents is, from my view a relinquishing of sworn national responsibilities so that unsustainable ideas and institutions can continue grasping to ideas that are infertile seeds. 

 Our nation stood against the cast system of India and the segregation within South Africa and continue to wage wars all over the globe in the name of democratic principles (and resources). I have watched, I have listened, and I have questioned and asked through more than half a century of decades, when will the same efforts for justice and equality be taken by the US government to secure the rights of American citizens whether Indigeneous, stollen into slavery or imigrant? Silence regarding unequal treatment is never an option. We as a nation have a great opportunity to love forward. 

Our energies can go toward connecting, healing, stregnthening and rejuvination. I think that most people are ready to balance and heal the collective spirit of this nation because many still hold to an American Dream. Our nations principles are held as an ideal to work toward. I hope that we understand that a shadow will remain across our country as long as we do not not look honestly at our historical past and actively allow the nation’s healing to begin. 

New humanstory books are being written to offer a truthful and inclusive American foundation and development story. Someday, sooner than later, I hope that America will get over fear of its real back story; that we as a nation can move forward with the real American her/history in the hands of all of our students. We are more together. Together, we human beings, have a potential beyond extinction; we have the potential for regeneration and the creation of an amazing country fruited by our collective efforts. 

There is much work to be done. Let’s make steaming piles of compost out of fear, deception, ignorance and hate. Feed a love that nurtures heart, mind, body, family, community, country, planet; there is much love; yes there is love in action here in America, and upon the earth. Our survival as a species depends on our being a loving kind, the health of our nation depends on us growing up, growing together, and becoming a regenerative loving kind. 

End Note: 63 Suffragists of Color Quilt, a commemorative quilt made in celebration of suffragist was recently on exhibit in the Grunwald Gallery in the Eskanazi Museum with a Voters Timeline for People of Color. You can read a little about the quilt here. https://quilterscomfort.blogspot.com/ 

 

 

Key words Kroger, voting, cooperation, healing, regeneration, community, love more, government, voting, compost, local food, local food bloomington, @localfoodbloomington, Indiana, food shopping, hope, collaboration, environment, quilt, Eskanazi Museum, Grunwald Gallery, suffragists

Friday, June 19, 2020

Thumbs Down To East Side Kroger





Patricia C. Coleman
Local Food Fairy









@localfoodbloomington
#localfoodbloomington
#localfood
#kroger
#eatt
#equityatthetable
#bloomingtonindiana
#krogereast
#eastkroger
#justice
#equitity
#blacklivesmatter
#myblacklifematters
#humanspecies
#onerace
#melaninerich
#yoursilencedoesnotprotectyou
#blackfoodie
#createcommunity
#dothework
#wakeup
#woke
#bewoke
#blackfoodloversmatter
#foodsecurity
#foodmatters
#foodblogger
#jamesbeardfoundation
#letusrebuildtogether
#wearethechange
#uplift
@patriciaccolemanart

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Make Your Own Yeast - Making a Sourdough Starter


HAPPY EARTH DAY - LET'S PUT OUR BEST FOOD FORWARD!

I really wanted to participate in a COUNCIL OF ALL BEINGS to celebrate today. Alas that may have to wait until I am in the Turtle Dome.
Today, I thinking of Lucille Bertuccio, a founder of the Center for Sustainable Living and the ceremonies we faciliated together and the training classes I presented to the IU graduates during Environmental Education in the Ourdoors classes at Hilltop. Local Food was a project of the CSL during that time. If you don't know about the Council of All Beings, check out the Book "Thinking Like a Mountain - Toward a Council of All Beings" by Joanna Macy and John Seed. I hope to have the opportunity to facilitate this ritual to a future generation of Council Presenters.


Why this video?
Many communities are experiencing an absence of yeast. There are lots of great detailed videos out there. This is to share how easy it is to develop your own sourdough starter. You will need a lot more patience as there is a lot of rising time to get the elevation many are used to. Don't expect the same rise in whole grain bakes because they will be delicious, but always a bit denser because they contain more nutrients than white flours.





I have pictures of some bakes on Instagram - https://instagram.com/localfoodbloomington



Click for Baking Resources and free classes - https://localfoodbloomington.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html



BAKING TIP - I FIND THAT WARMING ANY LEFT OVER WHOLE GRAIN BAKES MAKES THEM LIKE FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN. Even though I am reducing most recipes by a third, I still end up putting bakes into the freezer. I portion them (cut) before storing and have "like" fresh always. These don't stay in the freezer for more than a few weeks, because I am regularly baking and switching up things.

STAY HOME, BE SMART, BE SAFE, BE A NURTURER OF LIFE, PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP AND GATHER YOUR POSITIVE IDEAS FOR THE REGENERATION WE KNOW THAT WE NEED.

MUCH LOVE INTO THIS WORLD,


PATRICIA
Local Food Fairy


@localfoodbloomington #localfood #localfoodbloomington #yeast #sourdough #baking #councilofallbeings #earthday2020

Thursday, April 09, 2020

FREE Baking Education Classes and Resources

Hello,

I hope that you and yours are well and handling self-isolation well.


This amazing man/chef Jose Andres On Why Food is a National Security Issue

 

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Baking education resources from Local Food Bloomington's Baking/Bakery page. 
 


I/Local Food am still here.  It seems really ironic that Local Food/Green Dove went offline at a time when local food as a resource  has become extreamly important.  Folks will have to turn now to the farmers and gardeners who have been working steadily to  bring local foods to communities.  Many are waking up to the idea that local food security is a real issue and that this basic need is threatened in a way only imagined in science fiction.  Speaking of sci-fi, I have been asked if this virus is a possible result of the chemical soup of gmo agri-business or who knows what.  I only know that we are here at this crossroads, and that many have become or are becoming really aware of what foods are important to them and how they regularly access those foods. 

Many have turned, (using store shelves as as my basis) to traditional staples of dried fruits, nuts, grains, legumes, seeds, oils, pastas, canned goods; simple foods of high nutritional value that can be easily stored for periods of time and useful in a variety of cooking styles. 

I am grateful to every food store that is open.  I wish for everyone to be safe.  Wear a mask when out in the world even if you don't believe it necessary because it may save your or another person's life.  I do not like wearing the mast, but when I need to shop, I wear one.  Do this little thing that seems to have a huge impact.

Though not food, I am wondering why the building trades in my town are still working?  I could see if they were rushing to get homes for the needy citizens, but that is not the case.     


FOOD IS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

POTABLE WATER AND SHELTER ARE NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES





Saturday, February 29, 2020

Looking for Local Food and Green Dove?

Looking for Local Food Bloomington and maybe Green Dove? 


                                                (spring is almost here!  Soon violets!)


 When things are all sorted out, we (meaning me, has) have a new address!  Local Food Information - https://localfoodinformation.net/localfood.  My food post will focus more on the home table. 

I am not sure if I will bring Green Dove back.  I don't have the heart or the energy. 

I will be posting here as a check in for Local Food as it becomes Local Food Information.  

I am setting up interviews with people on the Wellness Arts - CREATIVELY BEING Chanel, and there will be a mixture of creative interest and definitely, there will be  food and art and I hope song and laughter and good story! 

Recipes, including the Persimmon Biscuit recipe be up with the rest of Local Food Bloomington website.  In time, if I do anything, all the resource information will shift to Local Food Information.  

Though not recipes, you can see my food.  I welcome your questions.

I hope to get the Local Food pages up on the Local Food Information website as soon as I get the ftp sorted out.

Thanks for reading.

Patricia






 

Sunday, June 02, 2019

Local Food on Instagram


I have been going back and forth, and around about my food presence in life and on the web. Local Food, for reasons of wellness, must change. I admit that I do resist, because I fear stepping too far away from the public pathways; not because I will be forgotten, but because it would be lonely for me. Because of my interest, I am alone much, and I love being around people and miss opportunities to do so because of this disorder. 

So, I am finding my way toward integrating Quilter's Comfort with Local Food into one presence so that I reduce the outflow of my energies.  When all is said and done, they may have a new name.  I don't know.  Quilter's Comfort is shifting focus, and that seems to be moving me toward making the business wholesale and favors only; or something else.  I do not have the ability to rush, so ideas will wait, and I will see how and what gets baked.  



My goals, out of necessity have changed, and one thing for sure is that they must come together or fall away.


Here are a few other examples of food posted to @localfoodbloomington.




Sometimes, I end up posting food  images to my art/life page @patriciaccolemanart on Instagram. 

In this letting go for wellness  is the need for what I refer to as my dome home (an environmental build). Want to know more about Turtle Dome, go to Aircrete Builds.  





I have always been a giver.  I love and appreciate many things!  Asking for help for myself, particularly when in a health crisis, is very challenging.  

Asking for assistance is another type of journey I am learning to take. 


I need your help, if you are able to help, please do.


I will appreciate any support toward my goal!  Thank you now for being here!




Thanks for reading and looking at my food!



Good Food to you!







Sunday, February 10, 2019

Indiana Bee School XVII is Almost Here!



Indiana Bee School XVII

Oh Boy, it's Bee School time!!  What a super school we have planned this year.  With two outstanding speakers, you can expect the school to fill up early.  Each year we max out and disappoint those that call after the cutout.  Don’t be disappointed, register early. Cost is $35 for members and $45 for non-members. 

The Bee School will be held on February 23, 2019, at Decatur Central High School, 5251 Kentucky Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46221.

Here are the directions to the school and hotels.  Folder pickup starts at 7:00 a.m. (EST), with the program starting promptly at 8:30 a.m. and concluding around 5:00 p.m.  

With wonderful local and national speakers, super topics, great lunch and hundreds of beekeepers that we haven’t seen since the previous year, we seem to get bigger and better and this year will be no exception.

Click here for the current agenda.

For the first time ever, we have two first time guest speakers for the Indiana Bee School.  Dr. Tom Seeley is from Cornell University, and Jeff Pettis is a Research Scientist with Pettis and Associates.  See "Our Guest Speaker" on the right for more information.

To download the paper form and mail it in, click here.

To register online, click here.

The Beekeepers of Indiana

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

IU Cinema Presents "Little Woods" Directed by Nia Da Costa


 
IU Cinema, thinks it is critical to showcase the underrepresented work of women in film.  
Of the 103 screenings left this season, 40 are F-rated (directed and/or written by a woman). 


For this reason, we are thrilled to host writer/director Nia DaCosta in Bloomington on 1/31 and 2/1 for a screening 
of her debut feature film and an extended, on-stage interview. 


The Tribeca Film Festival calls DaCosta "a name you're gonna need to get familiar with," and we couldn't agree more! Her impressive debut feature, LITTLE WOODS, won the Nora Ephron Award for ‘spirited and bold’ storytelling at Tribeca and stars Tessa Thompson​ and Lily James. The film expertly addresses a range of timely topics including the opioid crisis, sexual violence, women’s reproductive rights, poverty, and healthcare. 





  
DaCosta is scheduled to be present for a Q&A after our 1/31 screening of LITTLE WOODS. Tickets are $4 for IUB students and $7 for non-students and can be purchased online here, at the IU Auditorium Box Office, or in the IU Cinema lobby beginning one hour before the film.
 

More Info


Her Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Program will take place on 2/1 from 4 - 5:30pm and is FREE, no ticket required. ​
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IU Cinema hopes to welcome an engaged audience for both of these events, and would love it if you would help us spread the word. Please feel free to use any of this information in your own outreach, and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.  Thank you and best wishes,



I you have any questions, contact:

Caitlyn Stevens
Marketing & Engagement Assistant | Indiana University Cinema





Saturday, December 29, 2018

Growing for Seed, N.A. Sustainable Foods Summit 2019 & 39th EcoFarm Conference

 Growing for Seed: Small Scale Production & Seed Saving

January 15, 2019, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m - FREE | Viva Farms Ag Park | 16470 Washington 20 | Mount Vernon, Washington - Join OSA’s Micaela Colley and hosts Viva Farms for an evening workshop on small scale seed production and seed saving. Gain the tools you need to start growing and saving seed with a focus on work with culturally significant varieties. Spanish translation will be available. 

The workshop will be held on January 15, 2019, and is being offered free of charge thanks to support from the New Field Foundation Seeds, Soil and Culture Fund. Pre-registration is requested.  https://seedalliance.org/events/seed-production-mt-vernon/




The North American Sustainable Foods Summit will be hosted in San Francisco on 16-17th January 2019. Other editions in this international series will take place in Latin America (São Paulo, 29-30th November), Europe (Amsterdam, 13-14th June 2019) and the Asia-Pacific. Each edition will bring together some of the most influential organizations involved in sustainability and eco-labels in the food industry. 

The aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues. 
  • How do organic, fairtrade and other eco-labeling schemes further sustainability? 
  • With growing proliferation in labels, what are the prospects for a single sustainability standard for food products? 
  • What are the practical application of sustainability metrics? 
  • What advances are occurring in sustainable ingredients? 
  • What developments are happening in formulation, production and marketing of sustainable food and beverages? 
Such questions are regularly addressed at this international series of summits.
The Sustainable Foods Summit is devised for key stake-holders in the food industry that include:

  • Food & beverage companies
  • Packaging companies
  • Academics & researchers

  • Ingredient & raw material suppliers
  • Industry organizations & NGOs
  • Investors & financiers

  • Retailers & distributors
  • Certification agencies
  • Other stake-holders
Please contact us for more details. http://www.sustainablefoodssummit.com/northamerica/contact-us/





Organized by Ecovia Intelligence (formerly Organic Monitor), the Sustainable Foods Summit is a climate-neutral event. The carbon footprint of each edition is determined by calculating the carbon and greenhouses gases. These emissions are offset by investing in soil composting and / or related projects.


------------------------


39th Annual EcoFarm Conference

 

January 23, 2019 - January 26, 2019 


The Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) presents the 39th annual EcoFarm Conference January 23-26, 2019 in Pacific Grove, CA. 

The event features 70+ workshops, intensives, keynote sessions, an exhibitor marketplace, and special events including an annual awards banquet, tastings, seed swap, live entertainment, and organic culinary fare. Workshops offer practical and cutting-edge information on crop production, livestock, soil health, marketing, distribution, and food systems. 


As the oldest and largest organic farming conference in the West, EcoFarm is a prime networking and educational hub for farmers, ranchers, distributors, retailers, activists, researchers, and educators.  https://eco-farm.org/conference

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Quilter's Comfort and Wilderlove Farm Indiana Grown Members


 
L.A.O.'s Savory Chocolate Rub and Seasoning


Quilter's Comfort, L.A.O. Organics is a member if Indiana Grown featuring their certified organic nightshade free seasonings and herbal teas.  Another local,Wilderlove Farm, a family farm organically growing vegetables on approximately 1/4 of an acre also became a member of Indiana Grown in October. 



Indiana Grown is a state initiative that promotes growers of all types, food and beverage producers, sellers and agritourism. Its members include a wide variety of farmers, farmers markets, distributors, producers, processors, wineries, breweries, artisans, as well as retailers, grocers, hospitals, restaurants and more. 

Quilter's Comfort is also a new member of Equity at the Table (EATT) -  an easy-to-navigate database for food industry professionals featuring only women/gender non-conforming individuals and focusing primarily on POC and the LGBTQ community.

https://www.quilterscomfort.com/
https://www.wilderlovefarm.com/
http://www.indianagrown.org/

 https://equityatthetable.com/

Saturday, October 06, 2018

Indiana Food Freedom Legislation

Indiana Food Freedom

Cottage Foods 

 Indiana Senator Greg Walker announced that he will propose The Indiana Freedom in Homemade Food Contracting Act, also known as The Indiana Food Freedom Act, in the upcoming session of the Indiana State Legislature. The Indiana Food Freedom Act seeks to allow small-scale producers to make foods for sale in their home (or farm) kitchens, creating greater access for consumers to healthy, local foods. Additionally, advocates of the bill anticipate it will offer a boost to the agricultural economy and encourage sales for ranchers, farms, and home-based producers.

This bill will take a somewhat different approach from other food freedom bills in that it will require a formal, contractual agreement between the producers and consumers permitting the sale of foods prepared in unlicensed and uninspected private kitchens and farms. The contract will have to be signed and notarized, and there will be a one-week waiting period between the signing and any food exchanging hands. This requirement is presumably intended to address some of the common objections to food freedom bills by creating a barrier to so-called more casual transactions where consumers have not had time for significant thought before purchasing.

The Indiana Food Freedom Act is the latest legislative effort to strengthen Indiana’s local food system. In 2014 Indiana passed Senate Bill 179 (SB 179), known as The Poultry Bill, which expands on-farm poultry processing in the state; the bill also eliminated regulation from county health departments over poultry, rabbit, and egg sales direct to the consumer. Additionally, Indiana has legalized the on-farm slaughter and processing of rabbits and amended a regulation on wild pigs ensuring that heritage breed hog farmers are no longer a potential target of the law.

Importance of Food Freedom  

Food freedom and cottage food laws are designed to free small-batch producers from the often arduous licensing requirements required of larger commercial operations, as long as they are selling direct to consumers. These laws recognize that direct producer-to-consumer transactions have a transparency and accountability that is not present when food is produced and distributed on a massive scale. Consider that all of the major recalls and large-scale outbreaks have occurred in the conventional system, under inspection by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), or their state agency equivalents. Re-connecting food producers and consumers and decentralizing our food system restores integrity and increases food safety in the long run.

Call to Action

If you live in Indiana, you can help this bill become a reality! Find out who your State Representative and Senator are at www.iga.in.gov. Then call their offices and urge them to support the food freedom bill in the upcoming legislative session. And stay in contact with their office throughout the session because building a relationship with your legislators is vital to successful, long-term change.

If you’re in another state and know of a good bill (whether it is to promote cottage foods, food freedom, raw milk, egg sales, or other), let us know! We’ll help spread the word and generate grassroots support for it. For members, FTCLDF also offers consultations on policy development and strategy.

YOUR FUND AT WORK
 
Services provided by FTCLDF go beyond legal representation for members in court cases.
Educational and policy work also provide an avenue for FTCLDF to build grassroots activism to create the most favorable regulatory climate possible. In addition to advising on bill language, FTCLDF supports favorable legislation via action alerts and social media outreach.
You can help FTCLDF by becoming a member or donating today.

Anyone wanting to make a contribution to support the work of FTCLDF can donate/find out more or join us today!

Monday, September 03, 2018

A Few Good Things about Bloomingfoods Coop And Why It Matters in Community



A Few Good Things about Bloomingfoods Coop And Why It Matters in Community


Apples at Bloomingfoods Fall 18 by Patricia C. Coleman
Local Apples Bloomingfoods Fall 18 by Patricia C. Coleman.  Apples are from Apple Works Orchard


Bloomingfoods matters.  I’ve asked a few people to tell me a few good things about Bloomingfoods.  Most of these folks have decades of experience with the Coop and are also member-owners of the store.  I encourage you to share your own reasons why Bloomingfoods matters. 

- Bloomingfoods and Coop was founded in 1975 and laid the foundation for the mega organics and bulk foods now being sold and consumed in Bloomington, Indiana and in most other communities across the nation.  Everyone realizes that Bfoods is in a major shift time.  What happens to the foundation of healthier foods truly depends upon the community of its members.  Even if you have been hurt by some past experience, that is just it, a past experience.  Let’s all grow on and up otherwise we step aside and allow mega corporation dollars to roll over the foundations of local foods in communities as it forces its way across the nation. 

Those very same corporations that now have their own organic brands previously spent huge sums of money working to deflect  and destroy coops, organic standards and GMO regulations for the healthy foods markets here and in other countries. 

The Coop is a store that has played a role in supporting some local growers and farmers and vendors and made the welfare of growers everywhere a priority.  Bloomingfoods created educational and community opportunities fostering the understanding of healthy food for healthy people and healthy community.  For decades Bloomingfoods has nurtured the seeds of sustainable community.  

I asked a few folks to tell me a couple of good things and here is some of what was offered. 

I appreciate Bloomingfoods because :
-- Bloomingfoods is locally owned, by its members.  This is just one thing, or maybe two,
-- it's the one that matters most, and that no big chain can match
--it is earthy and offers community and a sense of belonging
-- there is so much for shoppers and members to like:
---I can buy favorite foods, even kombu from Japan!
--It is a store where you LOVE to run into friends
--of the fact that Bfoods is of the community, for the community
--the staff for whom this is more than a job
--the comforting scale of the buildings
-- I have seen little children grown up shopping with their parents and then take their
   first jobs there
--of the bulk foods section
-- if I don't like something about Bloomingfoods, I have the power to try to change it
    through the democratic process.  How much power you have depends on whether
   others agree with me, and how involved I'm willing to get. The decisions in national  
  chains are made who-knows-where, to profit the owners or shareholders; if it's
  profitable to close a community's only natural-foods store, for instance, they'll do it. 
--It matters that Bloomingfoods is owned and run by members of our community.
--that it is a welcoming place
--it is ours
--it is a welcoming safe place for my children
--the big variety of local and organic foods
--the affordable and delicious deli
 --good food equals good health which equals longer life expectancy
--co-op is an opportunity to guide our youth in cooperative principles they may not   
   receive elsewhere in their education
--It is a place that has supported local growers and producers educating the larger
   community regarding health and community benefits of locally grown food.
--that it helped educate this city to the amazing health benefits of food.
--  it has helped the community to develop an infrastructure toward sustainability. 
-- it has the good old co-op feeling!
--of the fact that it connects personally to so many peoples’ story and a gem that you
   can still come home to, though very different, you can still come home.

Bloomingfoods Coop has offered and continues to create employment opportunities that connects community through owner membership and education and this has been part of the national muscle that works to educate and obtain protective regulations regarding organics, GMO’s, Monsanto’s pesticides and food labeling.  Our Coop has been invaluable in community building and local foods education in particular and the organization worked diligently with local groups and individuals to develop and strengthen our local Farmers Market, Tuesday and Wednesday Farmers Market as well as the Winter Farmers Market. 

Bloomingfoods Coop is here because a small group of local people received a loan from, I think Cathy Canada, a then local because they valued having healthy organic and bulk foods available in the community.  Cooperative membership has grown to more than twelve thousand member owners.  These members and the community at large will decide what happens to the mother and father of organics, bulk and whole foods in Bloomington. 

I hope that every small business is paying attention because this pattern of destroying or neglecting locally owned small businesses in favor of those with large purses is truly death to communities.  Check out what membership means at Bloomingfoods Coop https://www.bloomingfoods.coop/members/

I want to believe that people in this and other community’s want more connections with their foods than a faceless corporation can ever give.  I hope that the people here want stores that nurture and ultimately will try to stay within our community when times are tough. 

I hope that you will share into the larger community your reasons for why Bloomingfoods matters. 

I am member #244 and I think that the Coop matters.

Local Food Fairy