The live, online meeting will be on Sunday, November 7 at 3-4:30pm via Zoom. Anyone who is a co-op owner can attend. Click on this link to register no later than November 5. You will receive details on joining the meeting once we approve your registration.
The meeting will include an annual report, Board election, video about the history of co-ops in the area and more. Please contact General Manager Matt Stanley matt@astoria.coop if you have any questions.
We look forward to connecting and hope you can attend this virtual co-op event! If you cannot attend, the meeting will be recorded for later viewing.
From Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 14-17, the co-op is offering a 20% discount on supplements and body care items. Take advantage of this opportunity to stock up on everything you need to stay healthy this fall and winter. Boost your immunity and pamper yourself!
Check out the video to learn what our Wellness Manager Katie is planning to stock up on.
In honor of this newly named Oregon holiday the co-op has made a $500 donation each to the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes and to the Chinook Indian Nation. You can learn more information about these nonprofits working to support the indigenous communities still alive and well in our region at chinooknation.org and clatsop-nehalem.com.
Happy National Co-op Month! During October, cooperatives across the country are celebrating and raising awareness of this trusted, proven way to do business and build communities. This year’s theme is “Build Back for Impact,” cooperating together to face some of the biggest challenges, including a global pandemic, climate emergency and systemic racism.
“As we build back an economy that works for everyone, our biggest impact comes from embracing the values and principles that make us truly unique,” according to coopmonth.coop.
Astoria Co+op General Manager Matt Stanley said co-ops are more ubiquitous than we might think.
“Nearly 12% of global economic activity is thought to occur through cooperatives,” Stanley said. “There are 64,000 cooperatives operating in the United States alone. It is a growing model that could be part of a solution for the vast inequality pervasive worldwide.”
We will be running an ownership drive during the week of October 24-30, when we will be promoting new member sign-ups with some giveaways. Learn about becoming a member here.
CO-OP MONTH FUN FACTS:
Minnesota was the first state to declare an official Co-op Month proclamation in 1948.
Co-op Month has been a nationally recognized celebration since 1964, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed October Co-op Month.
The first national Co-op Month theme, in 1964, was “Cooperatives: USDA Helps Build a Better America.”
The U.S. Government sponsored Co-op Month from 1964-1970.
Every October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its annual Co-op Month proclamation.
October is Fair Trade Month and National Co-op Month, so Fairtrade America partnered with National Co+op of Grocers to put on a campaign called ‘Choose Fairtrade: Choose the world you want.’ It’s a way for shoppers, retailers and businesses to show their support for the nearly 2 million Fairtrade farmers and workers around the world. The Fairtrade movement works to balance the inequalities that exist in trade that prevent farmers and workers from getting a fair deal on their products.
We at Astoria Co+op are proud to celebrate why we #ChooseFairtrade this month.
Our goal is to help U.S. consumers connect the dots between their CHOICE to purchase Fairtrade certified products and the differences made in the lives of people who produce and grow our food. Now more than ever, we need to work together to promote fairer trading conditions, and in turn combat issues like poverty, child labor, gender inequality and climate change.
Fairtrade is a simple and powerful way for people to make a difference. Fairtrade envisions a world in which all farmers and workers can enjoy secure, sustainable livelihoods, trade is equitable, and they have the freedom to decide their own futures. When consumers choose to buy Fairtrade products, they are part of an ecosystem that enables farmers and workers to get a fair deal and have access to the resources needed to farm sustainably.
Look for the Fairtrade Mark when you are shopping! We have a special display of several Fairtrade items and additional products throughout the store, including Equal Exchange coffee and chocolate bars, Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars, Lubanzi wine, Tulsi tea, bananas and more.
Celebrate Fair Trade Month by entering for a chance to win a prize pack that includes a mural print, a tote and Fairtrade certified goodies from Conscious Step, Divine Chocolate, Kicking Horse Coffee, La Riojana, Nature’s Path and Reese Specialty Foods!
Shannon O’Donnell, the lead baker at Astoria Co+op, said she’s always loved to bake.
“In high school all my friends would come over and I’d make them biscuits and honey for an after-school snack,” O’Donnell said.
Her passion for baking was perhaps inherited from both her grandmothers, one of whom, Veronica, loved to bake.
“My grandma Evelyn didn’t love it, but she loved that I did, and she would help me with projects,” O’Donnell said. One such project was making truffles for friends on Valentine’s Day. “She thought it was great that I wanted to try it.”
After years of self-taught baking experience, O’Donnell attended a year-long French intensive culinary school. There, she learned valuable skills like mise en place, keeping an organized workspace.
She began working at the co-op deli in January 2020. Starting as a prep cook, she transitioned into her role as the lead baker.
Chocolate chip cookies are one of O’Donnell’s favorite things at the co-op.
Some of her favorite items to bake at the co-op are the fresh fruit pies and the chocolate chip cookies. She’s also looking forward to baking holiday favorites this fall and winter, such as pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving and an Italian Christmas bread called panettone.
“I’m glad to be here,” O’Donnell said. “I love the bakery.”
In her spare time, she enjoys going for hikes and exploring the area with her dog, Lula. Gnat Creek, Ecola State Park and Saddle Mountain are some of her favorite hiking destinations.
She also recently enjoyed camping in Yachats after a year of not leaving town much during the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shannon O’Donnell is the lead baker at Astoria Co+op.
Get 20% off organic potting soil, manure, bark and peat moss while supplies last.
Why should you work on your soil now that we’re going into the fall season? Our floral expert Julie Skopal has your answer.
“Top dressing your garden now will help the plants during the winter and get them off to a great start in the spring. I would recommend steer and chicken manure. I personally use steer manure, which is lower in nitrogen, because you don’t want a big grow right now as we’re going into winter.
Julie Skopal explains why it’s important to work on your soil at this time of year.
Bark is also on sale. Putting bark around plants now will help keep the rain from pounding the soil down. It will be muddy out here, so bark makes a great pathway. Bark will suppress the weeds in the spring.
You can get the sphagnum peat moss for acid-loving plants like your camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and of course your blueberries.
Everything is 20% off while supplies last so get it now! The amendments work well for the perennials we have here too.”
Bark, peat moss, manure and potting soil are on sale for 20% off while supplies last.
The co-op bakery does special orders for 6″ and 9″ cakes, including this gluten free vanilla cake with Italian strawberry buttercream. Vegan cakes and a variety of flavors are also available. Call or order online at least 48 hours in advance so it will be ready for your celebration!
