Have you seen the new front-end of our store?  We’re pretty excited because on Tuesday November 12th, 2013 our new POS system and check-stands made their debut and staff are getting up to speed on the new equipment.

We think these changes are very positive for the Co-op and will make your grocery shopping experience more convenient.  The new checkout stands include a third lane for busy times.

Tim Kennedy of Blind Moses Woodworking in Astoria built them for us.

He’s done some of the other finish work in the produce and deli areas, so we knew he’d do a great job.  He says the new checks-stands have a “nice personality”.  He constructed them with fir and walnut.  And he helped come up with a new configuration for the layout of the checkout lanes that has resulted in less congestion for you at the front-end of the store.

What’s even bigger than the new checkout lanes is the new POS (point of sale) system.  It was needed given our level of growth in recent years, and this new system will be able to grow with us, possibly even into a larger future store.  What improvements can you see?  Quicker checkouts due to better scanners and credit card processors.  And, you now get to swipe your own credit and debit cards.

The new checkout stands are specifically designed to hold the new hardware required with the POS system.  They are also ergonomic for cashiers and customers.  And,  it’s nice to no longer have our cash drawers resting on milk crates!

Please be patient as we train all our staff on the new system.  We have had lots of extra help as this new system goes live.  While there will be a short period of transition with our new POS system and checkout lanes, we fully believe these changes will benefit you long into the future.  We thank our member-owners and shoppers for continued support!

Over the past two decades, GMOs have been entering U.S. grocery stores at a dizzying rate. While certified organic foods are prohibited from containing GMOs, the Congressional Research Service estimates that 60 to 70 percent of processed conventional foods contain GMO ingredients, none of which have been tested for safety by the FDA.  Genetically modified organisms are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from different species in order to create benefits such as disease resistance.  But are they safe?  The answer is debatable, and growing number of consumers are wary of the potential risks. 

In the second of a two-part series by the Astoria Co-op, General Manager Matt Stanley will give a presentation focused on the consumer perspective surrounding GMO’s.  In October, the Co-op brought OSU Professor, Robert Zemetra, a wheat breeder and geneticist to Astoria to speak from a pro-GMO perspective.  In order to present a balanced view of this controversial issue to the public, Stanley will share information he has learned about GMO concerns.

“It’s always been important to me since I learned about the lengths the industrial food system has gone to create food that isn’t keeping our health in mind.  This is one of many ways that large companies are manipulating our food in ways that aren’t good for us.  All you have to do is look at health trends in our country, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, in large part all come back to our food system,” Stanley said.

Stanley will share a presentation created by Gary Hirshberg, the chairman of the Just Label It campaign.  JLI is a national coalition dedicated to bringing about mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods in the U.S.  More than one million people have signed JLI’s petition to the Food and Drug Administration, more than any other food petition in the country.  The Astoria Co-op has joined other food co-ops around the country to support the labeling campaign, and increase awareness about GMOs.

Stanley says his main concern about GMOs is exposure to chemicals.  Genetically engineered plants can be designed to withstand more pesticides, created by corporations that design the GMO seeds, and cancer drugs, which some of these chemicals may cause.  GMOs are also linked to digestive issues, allergies, and other dietary struggles Americans are going through, according to Stanley. 

When and Where:

“Beers to Your Health” the Co-op’s monthly lecture series happens Thursday November 14 at the Fort George Lovell Showroom at 14^th & Duane St. in Astoria.  Doors open at 6 p.m., food and drinks are available from the Taproom, the talk starts at 7 p.m. and lasts about an hour.

Our co-op is joining others from around the country to raise awareness about GMOs and the Just Label It Campaign in October.  Our Co+op Deals sales flyer explains more about this and we also have an article in our current newsletter.

Our monthly lecture series, “Beers to Your Health” at the Fort George will also put genetically modified organisms in the spotlight, looking at multiple sides of the controversial issue in a series of two lectures.  GMOs are plants or animals of which scientists have altered the genes with DNA from different species of organisms, bacteria, or viruses to gain traits such as resistance to disease or tolerance of pesticides.  GMOs are present in many conventional foods on US supermarket shelves, but some people question potential health risks, environmental harm, plus farmer and consumer rights. 

Japan suspended buying certain varieties of wheat from the US after experimental genetically modified wheat created by Monsanto Co. mysteriously appeared on an Oregon farm last spring.  The US Department of Agriculture has never approved any strains of GMO wheat to be grown in our country, and is investigating how this breach happened.  A Monsanto representative speculated that anti-biotech activists stole some of the GMO wheat and planted it to create problems for his company.   

Meantime reporters called on an expert from Oregon State University for perspective on how the GMO wheat ended up on the field.  Professor of Wheat Breeding and Genetics, Robert Zemetra, contradicted Monsanto’s theory.  He thinks it was an ordinary mistake.  Zemetra says it was his “15 minutes of fame” when he was quoted in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, on NPR, and other world media outlets. 

Zemetra will travel from Corvallis to Astoria to speak on GMOs from a scientific standpoint.  Much of his current research focuses on developing new varieties of wheat for Oregon.  He also has a special project to look at modern versus traditional strains of wheat and its effect on gluten intolerance and Celiac disease.  In his presentation, he plans to explain what it means when a plant is genetically engineered and then answer questions.  He believes the science is safe when it comes to human consumption.

“My attitude is that people who don’t want GMO’s for whatever reason, that’s fine, but you can’t justify something on no science or bad science,” Zemetra said.

You can hear Zemetra’s presentation on GMO’s, Thursday October 10^th at the Fort George Lovell Showroom, located at 426 14^th Street in Astoria.  Doors open at 6 p.m. with food and drinks available from the Taproom.  The lecture starts at 7 p.m. and lasts for an hour.  It is free and open to all ages.

The Co-op will hold a second lecture on GMO’s December 12^th, focusing on consumer concerns of genetically modified food.

It is kind of funny when we told some of our crew members about the contest, they wanted to know if there was an age limit, and if they could register.  Perhaps we will have to create a special category for Co-op staff and/or adults who think they are kids!

Anyway, this is mostly for kids.  Ask a cashier for a coloring page. Get it back to us by October 27th.  Judging will happen on the 29th.  There will be some fun prizes in a few categories.  But everyone (kids under 12 anyway) who enters will get something.  That includes a Co+op Explorers membership card, which is our free fruit program, and entitles kids to choose a free apple, banana, or carrot from a special basket during each shopping trip.  Plus, we’ve got Co+op Explorers tattoos and stickers.  Fun!

Great response the class sold out!

From cooking novice to full-blown foodie, this class and dinner had something for everyone.  The four-course menu was designed based on what was pulled from the ground and caught off our waters.
This is “chef’s mercy” at its finest, a menu item Marco Davis is known for at the Columbian Café, where he’s worked for 23 years.  Chef Marco is now branching off with his own occasional gigs such as this, to teach people to cook and heal through food using seasonal and local ingredients.

The evening kicked-off with a wine spritzer made with organic cranberry juice from Washington’s first organic cranberry farm on the Long Beach Peninsula.  Locally-grown food came from Stewardship Farm,  plus fresh in-season fish from Skipanon Seafood.  Brandborg Winery attended, pairing wines with each course.

Chef Marco happened to attend kindergarten with the chef from Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH), Kurt Rummel, who has been bringing traditional institutional eating to a whole new level, including a salad bar with local, seasonal and organic food.  Many of the ingredients for that salad bar have come from the Co-op.  That’s where the relationship with the Co-op and the hospital formed.

“Good food is what started our organizations talking and good food is at the heart of collaborating on this event.  We’re thrilled to be able to share our resources and expertise to educate the community on how to cook amazing-tasting food, that makes you happy and healthy,” said Astoria Co-op Marketing Director, Zetty Nemlowill.
CMH and the Co-op are fulfilling mutual missions with this event.

“Nutritious, satisfying food and an economically robust community are central to the health and future of our region. We are excited to offer this tasty tour of local seasonal seafood and produce. This collaboration meets CMH and the Co-op’s shared goal of improving our community’s health through better nutrition,” said CMH Community Relations Manager Paul Mitchell.

The sold-out event happened in CMH’s Columbia Center Coho Room and attached gourmet demonstration kitchen on Thursday, September 26th, 2013.