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Here is an outline of what will be happening on Sunday, April 18th

We encourage car-pooling / bike rides. For those coming from Champaign-Urbana there will be a gathering at the Common Ground Food Co-op at 1:15 PM and then a ride to Ananda Liina.
There will be Two Programs: Come to one or both!
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Tours of the alternative energy technologies used in our facilities—including rainwater recycling, solar and wind energy collection, bio-fuel production. Additional programs include tree planting, organic gardening, children’s program, yoga classes, meditation, nature walks and more!
6:00 PM – 9:30 PM: Vegetarian Meal ($5), and a campfire at the Medicine Wheel.
Space is limited so Pre-Registration is REQUIRED
To register email ron.marusarz@gmail.com or call (217) 369-1076

Please, no dogs, alcohol, or drugs

Next week, as early as Tuesday, April 13, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a sweeping overhaul of federal food safety law – S. 510. The House food safety bill passed last year (HR 2749) included several measures that threaten small-scale organic producers, including a registration fee of $500 and blanket application of complicated monitoring and traceability standards — regardless of one’s farm size.

Now is your chance, as a supporter of sustainable family farming, to help fix these problems! Senator Tester (D-MT), a certified organic farmer himself, is proposing an amendment to S. 510 that would exempt small-scale farmers and food processors from the most burdensome regulations.

We need your HELP TODAY, please call your U.S. Senators in support of these proposals.
The vast majority of recent food safety scandals in the U.S. — E. coli on fresh spinach, melamine in dairy products, Salmonella in peanut butter — were all linked to industrial agribusiness practices, and these large-scale operations clearly warrant more federal food safety oversight and strict enforcement action.

What is NOT needed is a “one-size-fits-all” approach that poses unfair costs and onerous reporting on local and organic farmers. Safer, healthier food options provided by local, organic, and sustainable farmers should not be punished for their responsible work with expensive and complicated new rules.

These rules may make industrialized food production safer, but offer no real food safety gains to consumers of local and organic foods. Small-scale operations are already subject to adequate regulation by local and state agencies. Smaller farm size inherently poses less risk (they are almost always owner-operated), and direct marketing also offers consumers better quality food with more transparency and accountability –and easy traceability.

Thanks for your support of organic, local and sustainable farmers!

Recycling program looks to loan out bins

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL

DANVILLE — The Vermilion County Health Department is hoping the offer to loan out its current recycling bins could give someone the jump start needed to continue recycling in the county.

Lynn Wolgamot, recycling coordinator for the county, said the offer put out this week is not an indication she is giving up on the county’s recycling program — which was suspended on Oct. 30 as a result of lack of funds.

Read More: The Commercial-News, Danville, IL – Recycling program looks to loan out bins.

10 Good Reasons To Go Organic

Organic products meet stringent standards

Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.

Organic food tastes great!

It’s common sense – well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become nourishing food for people and animals.

Organic production reduces health risks

Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Organic agriculture is one way to prevent any more of these chemicals from getting into the air, earth and water that sustain us.

Organic farms respect our water resources

The elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in combination with soil building, protects and conserves water resources.

Organic farmers build healthy soil

Soil is the foundation of the food chain. The primary focus of organic farming is to use practices that build healthy soils.

Organic farmers work in harmony with nature

Organic agricultural respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem: wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural areas.

Organic producers are leaders in innovative research

Organic farmers have led the way, largely at their own expense, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing pesticide use and minimizing agriculture’s impact on the environment.

Organic producers strive to preserve diversity

The loss of a large variety of species (biodiversity) is one of the most pressing environmental concerns. The good news is that many organic farmers and gardeners have been collecting and preserving seeds, and growing unusual varieties for decades.

Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy

USDA reported that in 1997, half of U.S. farm production came from only 2% of farms. Organic agriculture can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.

Organic abundance – Foods and non-foods alike!

Now every food category has an organic alternative. And non-food agricultural products are being grown organically – even cotton, which most experts felt could not be grown this way.

Organic Trade Association www.ota.com

via 10 Good Reasons To Go Organic – Organic Trade Association.

Let me know if you need a invite to Google Wave. I will do my best to get you hooked up. Just leave a comment down below.

Genetically modified alfalfa

• Controlled by 2 companies: Monsanto and Forage Genetics Int’l
• Is engineered to be Round-Up Ready, a pesticide designed to (at least) kill everything green that doesn’t contain the right modified genes
• Can cross pollinate with other non-GM alfalfa plants; needs a 5 mile buffer zone between farms
• Is pollinated by bees that can fly 5 miles or more; many pollinating bees are transported by truck between farms
• Farmers with contaminated alfalfa are held liable for patent infringement if they did not buy the rights to use the product
• Is being marketed to commercial growers as “safe”

Use your voice TODAY, then pass this on!

Submit a Comment to the USDA

The True Food Net Work

What Is A Coop?

In the loosest sense, a co-op is any voluntary organization composed of a group of individuals (or organizations) formed for their mutual (generally, financial) benefit. A familiar example is a group of roommates who rent an apartment together to save money.

These informal associations and the more formal ones discussed below all share a number of common features.

*They all are democratic, volunteer associations.

*They are formed for mutual financial benefit (to save money or to increase buying power); in short, they are businesses.

*They have no owners other than their members.

*They are non-profit organizations; what would be profit in other organizations is returned to the member/owners.

Coops are all around us – they are everywhere! They include:

*Credit unions

*Mutual insurance companies (Invented by Ben Franklin in 1752)

*Housing co-ops

*Rural electric power co-ops

*Consumer goods co-ops (REI comes to mind)

*Distribution coops (Ace Hardware)

*Producer co-ops (Sunkist, Land’O Lakes)

For more information on the various types of co-ops in the US and around the world check out the National Cooperative Business Association and the International Cooperative Alliance sites.

The CDS is dedicated to promoting one form of consumer co-op, namely the natural food co-op. These natural food co-ops deal primarily with food products that are “natural” – those produced with a minimum of processing and with little or no additives or preservatives (much of this food is also organically grown).

There are three types of natural food coops that CDS deals with:

BUYING CLUBS – these are (generally) informal organizations of friends, members of church groups, etc. who buy food together from a food co-op warehouse.

COOP GROCERY STORES – much like a buying club except that they are (generally) formal co-op corporations often with thousands of member/owners. It must be emphasized that you do not have to be a member of the food co-op to shop in these stores.

COOP DISTRIBUTORS – These supply their members/owners (including buying clubs and grocery stores) with food. Until last year all of the distributors we list were, themselves, co-ops owned by their member/customers. Due to unbearable market forces one of them folded and two others sold out to a private firm – the remaining two have not as of this writing, succumbed. With, as they say, a heavy heart we will provide links to these commercial warehouses as long as they continue to support sales to co-op buying clubs.

Otherwise, each of these coops are non-profit organizations formed by people to provide low cost healthy food primarily to members of their organization.

via Coop Directory Service: Find A Natural Food Coop Near You.

Case study: Riverwest Co-op

Submitted by bella on Wed, 10/28/2009 – 13:14.

The Riverwest neighborhood of inner-city Milwaukee, a group of people held a general community meeting in the fall of 1998. The neighborhood had gradually been deteriorating. Organizers proposed starting a natural foods co-op as a way to help revitalize the area and to bring healthy food to their neighborhood. Those in attendance voiced strong support for a co-op. Inspired by this interest, eight organizers formed a steering committee. They began meeting once a week to develop plans for the co-op.

In the early stages, each committee member took on a specific task, such as researching locations, researching bylaws, recruiting members, finding distributors, and learning more about the role of a co-op board of directors. The committee began holding festive community fund-raisers during holidays. As word spread about the new co-op interest grew. But the challenges were many. In the words of Sarah Ditzenberger, a member of the co-op’s board of directors, “This community really wanted a co-op in the neighborhood. But it took a strong commitment from everyone to build something without a lot of money.” After two years of planning, the store was still not opened, so organizers formed a buying club to keep interested members connected and to give them access to natural foods.

The total cost to get the new co-op started was about $67,000 and due to some very fortunate circumstances, the co-op had to raise very little of it. A member purchased the building the co-op is located in for $50,000 and paid for the rent, utilities, and renovations needed to get the co-op started ($15,000). All appliances and labor were donated. The co-op had to raise only enough money to purchase its initial inventory — $2,000.

The store opened on November 3, 2001. At that point, the buying club was discontinued and all of its members automatically became members of the co-op store. Currently, Riverwest Co-op is run solely by member workers who volunteer their time — all members work at least four hours a month. At this point, the co-op has 150 members and is open only a limited number of hours each week.

RIVERWEST CO-OP – at a glance

* date of first co-op meeting : Fall 1998

* number of people initially organizing the co-op: 8-10

* date incorporated : November 2000

* size of store – projected : 1,175 square feet (total & retail)

* required member investment : $100 share with option to pay in monthly installments

* store opening date : November 3, 2001

* number of paid staff : none

* total sales : $600/week in the first month

* number of members : 150

Information compiled as of November 2001

via b. Case study: Riverwest Co-op | CGIN.