Northwind News
Published Quarterly by Northwind Natural Foods Co-op for it’s members
Winter 2008/2009
A Letter from the Manager
A Report from the GMM Meeting
Winter is here and Christmas is approaching
fast. Before you know it will be a new year.
The fast pace of the Holidays always catches
me off guard. Halloween passes, Thanksgiving is
gone in a blink and Christmas rushes in so quickly
it’s hard to catch your breath. Our Annual Spice
Sale is in full swing and the Co-op is filled with
great ideas for Holiday gift giving.
The Co-op is also participating in the Downtown Ironwood Christmas Bucks program. It’s a
program designed to promote shopping locally in
downtown Ironwood and saving money in the
process.
On the Membership front as of my writing we
have a total of 123 new and renewing members.
There are quite a few members who have not yet
renewed their Co-op memberships. To help along
and give members an extra incentive to renew we
have some exciting offers and new benefits which
are available to current members only and can
translate to great savings!
As you may have noticed the produce cooler
fund box has now become the “Façade Improvement Fund” Box. The plan is to replace the
defunct lights, refresh and move the sign, add
another sign and more. This improvement will
update our front and make it look crisper and
more inviting. You can find an artists rendition of
the new front inside this newsletter.
And last of all, our application for a beer and
wine license is being processed and we are looking
for member suggestions as to the beers and wines
you’d like to see. So don’t be shy and let us know.
On October 18th, 2008 at 10 am, seventeen
Co-op members met at the warm and inviting old
Captain’s Sub Shop in Ironwood for our General
Membership Meeting.
Naomi Kauppi, our president reflected on the
positive events of the previous year. “We do have
a vision” she said – giving credit to the faithful
membership, the current board and to Eva, our
dedicated store manager.
Eva then continued on to list the many changes
in the store…all resulting in our best sales year to
date.
David Graczyk, our treasurer, then went on to
share the Co-op’s financial picture and discussed
how our loan money was utilized in the store
improvements. He also credited the previous
board for their “fiscal conservatism” which set the
solid ground upon which the current board could
build.
The only Board change was the election of Leah
Gramith to replace Mary Waits, who resigned to
devote more time to running the Northwoods
Cabin.
Mary Waits also made a donation to the Co-op
of profits from the sale of several items given to
the Northwoods Cabin by Co-op members.
The delicious and healthy potluck was enjoyed
by everyone – a wide variety of food was served
from sweets to soups. Leah’s Chocolate Avocado
Raw Food Dish was truly a new and wonderful
experience for all.
If you have comments, questions, need special
orders or just want to drop me a note, please call
the store at 932-3547, or e-mail me at
[email protected].
Thank You,
Eva Smith-Furgason
Submitted by Terry Davis
Digital version of the
newsletter now available!
Now you can get the Northwind News emailed to
you in PDF format! Just send Eva an e-mail with
“Digital Version” in the subject line.
DECEMBER SPECIALS
All these great holiday ingredients are on sale at
the Co-op this holiday season:
Lundberg Organic Long Grain Brown Rice
Reg 1.99 lb Sale $1.49
Annies Pasta and Cheese – Assorted Varieties
Reg $2.29 Sale 2 for $3.00
Bragg 32 oz Apple Cider Vinegar
Reg $5.69 Sale $4.39
Spectrum Organic Olive Oil
Reg $18.99 Sale $12.99
Dr. Bronners Bar Soaps
Reg $3.79 Sale $2.59
Jason Super E Crème
Reg $12.99 Sale $8.99
Alexia Frozen Bread Rolls
Reg $4.59 Sale $3.39
A Quick, Delicious Recipe for the Holidays
Organic Roasted Vegetable Side Dish
1
3
1
1
1
large sweet potato cut into ½ inch slices
medium carrots sliced into ½ inch slices
parsnip, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
tart apple, peeled cored and sliced
T butter or 1 T olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all veggies and the
apple in a 9 inch square pan, dab with butter or oil,
cover and bake about 20 minutes or until sweet potato
is tender.
Great Christmas Gift Ideas from the Co-op
Once again we have beautiful fair trade baskets handmade in Ghana. The baskets come in three sizes and
make wonderful gifts.
Italian Panettone and Torrone are unique gifts from
Italy that are sure to please. In our family we make a
egg nog French toast with Panettone on Christmas
morning – rich and delicious – these Italian treats are
only available at the co-op on holidays.
Chocolates make great stocking-stuffers – and we have
several varieties some in smaller sizes just right for
giving. A tasteful gift indeed!
Check out the housewares section for colorful teapots.
Add assorted teas for a thoughtful and exquisite gift.
New Benefits for Members
Exciting news for all current Co-op Members! Thanks to
the following local merchants your membership really
pays!
Superior Shoes on Aurora Street is offering a 12%
discount to current Co-op members.
Northern Mind Yoga Studio is offering a 10% off coupon
for Co-op members (inquire at the Co-op for yours).
American Building Services is offering 15% off any
Carpet Cleaning for Co-op members.
Healing Hands Massage is offering 20% off any Massage
or other Bodywork Modality for Co-op members.
Mattson's Chiropractic is offering a complimentary
symptom survey and 10% off initial nutrition/exercise
purchase to Co-op members.
For all of the above you must be a current Northwind
Natural Foods Co-op member and show your current
member card in order to receive a discount. Some
restrictions may apply and discounts are given at the
sole discretion of participating merchants.
will be refreshed each season.
We are still waiting on the final estimates of the
project as each component will be done in phases
by different people. We've changed the destination
of the donation box money to go towards these
improvements. If you are interested in helping with
this project or making a donation to see it come to
fruition sooner, please call Eva at the store.
One more note - if you have a full body
mannequin hanging around in the basement or attic
and are willing to part with him or her - we would
love to add one to the window display.
Water, Plastic, Earth and You!
By Eva Smith-Furgason
The new front façade of the store, as envisioned by artist
and co-op board member Terry Davis.
Next Project – a New Storefront Façade
Now that our $25,000 improvements are in place,
it's time for an update to the front of the building.
The storefront looks sadly out of date and we are
working on making it reflect the wonderful
improvements that took place inside.
The improvements will consist of the following:
1. Removal of 3 banks of florescent lights from above
the canopy.
2. Refreshing and moving the existing Northwind
Natural Foods sign.
3. Adding a narrow Groceries sign above the Northwind
sign.
4. Adding 3 to 4 "warehouse" type lights to the front of
the building.
5. Eventually add a flat "Northwind" sign to the front
of the building on the burgundy section of the façade
below the new lights.
6. Add a border of writing to the top of the front
windows that will read "Coffee * Tea * Rice * Beans *
Milk * Butter * Eggs * Flour".
7. Make both window displays into an old-fashioned
grocery store - these displays will be permanent and
Full Service Painting.
Drywall Installation & Repair.
Carpet Dry Cleaning.
One of the great things about working at the Coop (or shopping here for that matter) is the great
things you can learn. I had been hearing about the
evils of plastic for several years now and frankly it
was going in one ear… and escaping out the other…
So it was really a good thing when I picked up a
copy of last months issue of “E - the environmental
magazine” (one of the 12 magazines we carry) with
the front cover story “Bottled Water Backlash”. A
figure they gave made me sit up and take notice - it
takes 15 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic
bottles that hold bottled water - that’s PER YEAR
and JUST in the U.S.! This does not include plastic
bottles that contain pop and it doesn‘t include the
thousands of gallons of oil used in trucking this water
all over the country in some cases from thousands of
miles away from it's source! Considering that
Americans use 20 million barrels of oil per day - just
think what eliminating plastic water bottles would
do for the oil supply and for the overall health of the
planet - after all, those plastic bottles have to go
somewhere and only 2 out of 10 get recycled! (I
won‘t even speculate on the impact eliminating
plastic soda bottles would have!)
So - kick the (plastic) bottle! You don’t need to
buy a reusable bottle - at work I keep a glass jar
(recycled mayonnaise to be exact) to drink from,
and on the road a glass water bottle (from the milk
we sell). If you do choose to buy a bottle to refill
and use - choose stainless steel or glass - this avoids
plastic (and such lovely things as plasticizers and
bisphenol-A) altogether and is a very earth friendly
option. Refill from the tap, and clean often. If your
tap water leaves something to be desired, use a
water filter. The Co-op carries water filters that are
easily attached to the sink, as well as stainless steel
water bottles and even compostable bottles made
from corn, that biodegrade in about 6 months.
Northwind Natural Foods Co-op
Mission Statement
1. To provide a marketing and purchasing outlet for
primarily natural, organic, unprocessed foods and related
items at a minimum price, on a nonprofit basis.
2. To educate and promote to the community healthy
lifestyles, wellness and a whole foods diet emphasizing
natural, organic, and unprocessed foods.
3. To educate the community to the benefits and potentials
of our cooperative and cooperatives in general and to
cooperate with other cooperatives.
Northwind News is published by Northwind Natural Foods
Cooperative for its members. Please notify us if your
address has changed.
If you'd like to contribute to Northwind News with a recipe
or article, or advertise in the newsletter, please contact Eva
at the store.
Co-op Board & Manager
Manager: Eva Smith-Furgason
President: Naomi Kauppi
Vice-President: Leah Gramith
Secretary: Terry Davis
Treasurer: David Graczyk
Other board member: Steve Garske
Northwind Natural Foods Co-op
116 South Suffolk Street
Ironwood, MI 49938
(906) 932-3547
[email protected]
Printed on 100% PCW recycled paper.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Northwind Natural Foods Co-op
116 South Suffolk Street
Ironwood, MI 49938
(906) 932-3547