Let the co-op cook for you and your loved ones this Thanksgiving! Orders are open until Nov. 19 at astoriacoop.square.site so make your order today!

Our deli and bakery are preparing delicious dishes and desserts for you. The traditional menu, which serves four to six people, includes organic roasted turkey breast and leg, homestyle gravy, classic mashed potatoes, traditional herb stuffing, sweet potato casserole with hazelnuts and housemade marshmallows, green bean casserole and cranberry-orange relish.

We’re also offering a vegan, gluten free menu that serves two to three people and includes a roasted mushroom ballotine, vegan gravy, vegan mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole with hazelnuts and housemade marshmallows, green bean casserole and cranberry-orange relish.

On the list of bakery items are pumpkin brioche rolls, classic apple pie, maple walnut brown butter tart, pumpkin pie, vegan dinner rolls and apple cake (V, GF).

Of course you can add extra sides and extra gravy too!

“A lot of brain power and culinary experience went into creating this menu,” Deli Manager Andy Catalano said of his team, adding they’ll offer traditional holiday items as well as new dishes for customers to explore.

Order now until Nov. 19 and then come pick up your Thanksgiving meal at the deli counter on Nov. 23 or 24.

Happy holidays!

Becky Graham is creating a pollinator sanctuary in the land surrounding the Astoria Co+op.  

As the greenskeeper for the co-op and other properties on the North Coast through her business, Harvest Moon Design, Graham said she feels honored to take care of this piece of earth.  

“Everything is grown organically and naturally because healthy soil makes for healthy plants,” Graham said. “I’m trying to create a healthy microbial life. There’s so much going on under our feet.” 

She’s been taking care of the co-op’s plants since 2014. 

When she first took on the grounds of the new co-op location, Graham brought in high quality soil and soil amendments like cow manure and mulch. She brought in new plants from a nursery in Hillsboro and was very strategic in where she planted each item. The plants next to the outdoor dining area will grow specifically to create a screen for the traffic noise as well as an aesthetically pleasing display.  

“This is a very young garden,” Graham said. The co-op has been in its new location since December 2019, and Graham has planted a variety of new plants since then. “They say the first year a plant sleeps, the second year it creeps and the third year it leaps.”  

She planned the garden to encourage beneficial visitors like bees, butterflies, insects and birds. The nectar and pollen nourishes the pollinators, who in turn keep the garden healthy. The variety of plants and plant shapes are intentional, as hummingbirds can access some flowers that insects can’t, and vice versa, and some plants have higher amounts of pollen and nectar.  

“I’ve put food here for them and they show up and are feasting and that makes me very happy,” Graham said. “I have something blooming 12 months of the year. Even in winter I’ll have beautiful fragrant plants that will bloom.” 

In addition to garden visitors, she’s hoping to see garden residents make the place home with nests to lay eggs, or for insects to go through the larva stage.  

At the end of the summer, Graham collected seeds from wildflowers she had already planted on the grounds so she could use them to plant more.  

“I always look to see what a weed is before I pull it because a lot are native wildflowers that want to come back, like lupin and purple clover,” she said. “One is called phacelia, or ‘bee’s friend,’ which is not native but the bees love it.”  

Many of the perennials at the co-op garden, like the pollinator-magnet Agastache, bloom nonstop from June until the first frost.  

“I always make sure what I’m doing is a tamed wild look that’s aesthetically pleasing, beautiful and kept-up,” Graham said. “It’s function first and beauty second.”  

She said a well-organized organic garden with a diversity of plants creates its own balanced ecosystem that takes care of itself and is less prone to disease and other issues that non-organic gardens deal with.  

“I’m hoping the co-op is a place where other businesses can look to as an example of what I’m able to do that’s beautiful, easy to maintain and makes a difference for birds, bees and butterflies,” Graham said.  

She added she’s open to talking with co-op customers who have questions about the plants.  

“It feels like a gift for me to share my love of nature, plants and design here,” Graham said. “I have so many people take the time to tell me the garden makes them happy and they love it.”  

Graham is hoping to get Astoria on the map as a Bee City USA, a designation that would require City of Astoria staff and community members to work together to make the area a better place for pollinators. Graham is currently looking for volunteers who would be interested in talking with the city, maintaining spaces with native plants and reducing the use of pesticides. 

To get in touch with Graham, call her at 503-791-7664 or email her at [email protected]. 

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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 [email protected] 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.

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.

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.