IN THIS ISSUE - Willy Street Co-op

Transcription

Reader
A PUBLICATION OF WILLY STREET CO-OP, MADISON, WI • VOLUME 34 • ISSUE 3 • MARCH 2007
IN THIS ISSUE
Ask the Midwife; Queen Bee’s Producer
Profile; The California Freeze; Farmer
Appreciation Dinner Wrap-up; Tips for
Healthy Cooking; Working at the
Co-op; and much more!
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
1221 Williamson Street • Madison, WI • 53703
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Reader
IN THIS ISSUE
3
CUSTOMER COMMENTS
Questions, comments and concerns from our customers.
Answers from Co-op staff.
4
GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
5
BOARD REPORT
Anya Firszt reports on the budget planning and approval process.
Board member Nina McGuffin outlines two of the Board’s major
annual activities.
6-7 COMMUNITY ROOM CALENDAR
Classes and events happening in the Community Room.
8-9 OFF-SITE KITCHEN NEWS
Tips for healthy eating from Josh Perkins.
10-11PRODUCE NEWS
Andy Johnston gives us the scoop on California’s recent freeze
and shares the details of this year’s Farmer Appreciation Dinner.
12-13HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS
Ariel Timon shares what it’s like to work at the Co-op and she
profiles four staff members.
14
JUICE BAR & BAKERY NEWS
Dan Moore discusses the benefits of wheatgrass.
19-20ASK THE MIDWIFE
Ingrid Andersson answers a question about vitamin D in
pregnancy and lactation.
21-23AND THE WINNERS ARE…
Kathy Humiston gives us the results from our recent taste test.
24-25PRODUCER PROFILE: QUEEN BEE’S EARTHLY DELIGHTS
AND BABY MOON PRODUCTS
Lynn Olson profiles this local bodycare producer.
26-27RECIPES AND DRINK RECOMMENDATIONS
Recipes gathered by the Co-op; drink recommendations by our
friends at Star Liquor.
28
PAPER OR PLASTIC? The Willy Street Co-op Reader is the monthly communications link among the Co-op
Board, staff and members. It provides information about the Co-op’s services and
business as well as about cooking, nutrition, health, sustainable agriculture and more.
Views and opinions expressed in the Reader do not necessarily represent those of the
Co-op’s Directors, staff or membership. Acceptance of advertising does not indicate
endorsement of the product or service offered. Articles are presented for information
purposes only. Before taking action, you should always consult a professional for
advice. Articles may be reprinted with permission from the editor.
All advertising submissions must be reserved and arranged with the editor by the 10th
of the month previous to publication. All advertisement copy must be submitted by the
15th of the month. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected]
or mailed to Willy Street Co-op according to submission requirements.
Find out what’s on special this month at the Co-op.
EDITOR & LAYOUT: Liz Wermcrantz
ADVERTISING: Liz Wermcrantz
SALE FLYER DESIGN: Amber McGee
SALE FLYER LAYOUT: Liz Wermcrantz
COVER ART: Amber McGee
ILLUSTRATIONS: Amber McGee
PRINTING: Wingra Printing Group
SUBMISSIONS
15-18SPECIALS PAGES
Published monthly by Willy Street Co-op
1221 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703, 608-251-6776
www.willystreet.coop
Co-op member Rick Bernstein tells us why we should think
about what’s in our wallets.
29-30NEWSBITES
31 COMMUNITY CALENDAR
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 608-251-6776
BUSINESS OFFICE: 608-251-0884
FAX: 608-251-3121
SEAFOOD CENTER: 608-294-0116
GENERAL E-MAIL: [email protected]
GENERAL MANAGER: [email protected]
EDITOR: [email protected]
PREORDERS: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.willystreet.coop
BOARD E-MAIL: [email protected]
STORE HOURS: 8:00am to 9:00pm, everyday
Juice Bar: Monday–Friday: 8:00am to 7:00pm; Saturday–Sunday: 8:00am to 6:00pm
Deli: 8:00am to 9:00pm
Seafood Center: Monday–Saturday: 9:00am to 7:00pm; Sunday: 9:00am to 6:00pm.
MISSION STATEMENT
To operate a financially sound store; To hold cooperative philosophy and values as
an essential part of our enterprise; To give equal consideration to members needs;
To recognize workers’ rights to participatory management and a humane work
environment.
y
re’s Baker
atuCooperative
N
Your local organic whole-grain bakery
1019 Williamson St
Madison, WI
(608) 257-3649
naturesbakery.coop
2
Willy Street Co-op Reader, March 2007
WILLY STREET CO-OP BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Renée Lauber, President 251-0227
Doug Johnson 241-5667
Steve Silverberg, Vice President 258-8289 Nina McGuffin 256-7730
Buck Rhyme 345-0215
George Hofheimer 257-3295
Tamara Urich-Rintz 442-8822
Cara Coburn 250-9706
Debra Shapiro 238-4368
BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE
Monday, March 19th, 6:30pm (only if necessary)
Monday, April 16th, 6:30pm
Monday, May 21st, 6:30pm (only if necessary)
Monday, June 18th, 6:30pm
Monday, July 16th, 6:30pm (only if necessary)
Thursday, August 9th (Annual Membership Meeting)
Monday, September 17th, 6:30pm (Special Membership Meeting and Board Meeting)
Monday, September 24th, 6:00pm (FY2008 Board orientation)
Monday, October 15th, 6:30pm
CUSTOMER COMMENTS
you are the willy street co-op
Write Us!
We welcome your
comments and give each
one attention and serious
consideration. Send them
to l.olson@willystreet.
coop or fill out a Customer
Comment form at the
Customer Service desk.
Each month a small
selection is printed in the
Reader. The rest can be
found in the commons or in
the binder near Customer
Service. Thank you!
Kids’ carts
Q: Hey! I like the kids’ carts.
No one’s ever slammed into me
before. When I was little I loved
coming here and having my own
little cart, and now my sister does.
As long as children exist they will
be kind of annoying. Why not let
them have their fun? Perhaps some
signs could be posted reminding
parents and children to be careful.
A: A sign is a good idea! Thanks
for the positive feedback. -Anya
Firszt, General Manager
The wall of water
Q: Do we really sell so much
Klarbrunn water that we have to
have stacks and stacks of it? (Both
bottles and cans!) It gives the aisles
such a warehousey Woodman’s
kind of feeling. Produce needs
more room; can’t we have boxes
of produce or something else using
that space? I guess I’m surprised
at what co-op shoppers drink...
A: Co-op shoppers do drink a lot
of water. All of the Klarbrunn water
sells extremely well. Produce also
sells very well but for the sake of
keeping traffic moving in that aisle
(the gateway to the rest of the store)
we intentionally merchandised very
simple-to-select products along that
wall. We also are able to stock the
water quickly and get out of our customer’s way. This would not be true
of produce with its need to be rotated
and culled daily. Thanks. -Wynston
Estis, Assistant Store Manager
Magazine request
Q: Hey. I’m surprised Willy
doesn’t carry ODE magazine. It is
a great progressive publication that
contains articles about people having a positive impact in the world. It
is a more feel-good version of Utne
and, yes, please consider stocking it.
A: Great news!
We’ve decided to bring
this magazine back. It’s
on the rack! Thanks! -Vanessa Tortolano, Book & Magazine Buyer
you are the
willy street co-op
you are the willy
street co-op
Clean belts
Q: Please remind all cashiers
that their belts and food surfaces
must stay clean. Spilled flour,
polenta or other grains or nuts can
be detrimental to the next customer
whose products are exposed to these
allergens!
A: Thank you for voicing your
concern! Our cashiers do their best to
balance efficiency at the register with
cleanliness as many customers have
issues with allergens and/or animal
products. I have addressed this issue
with my staff again but also encourage
customers with concerns to ask their
cashier to wipe down register surfaces. -Kristin Esselstrom, Front End
Manager
Childhood cheese
my morning coffee to be totally
eco-positive. And I can’t own a
cow! Thanks!
A: I will look into the logistics of
this endeavor. I have a few concerns
to consider as well: 1. The bottles
and crates, even just for the creamer,
consume constant storage space in
the dairy cooler, Front End and in
our backstock. 2. One product from
any brand often leads to customer
demand for more products from said
brand. 3. Would just the cream be
fine? Thanks for writing! Check back
for more developments or ask for me
at Customer Service. -Matt Hofstede,
Grocery Supervisor
you are the willy street co-op
Scooping mushrooms
Q: Why not tie a large scoop
with a long string with the mushrooms? It would make it easier to
get the mushrooms and be more
sanitary.
A: Due to the delicate nature of mushrooms, the scoop tends
to do too much damage. Tongs might
work better, so we’ll give them a try.
If you are concerned about contamination, try the packaged buttons.
-Andy Johnston, Produce Manager
you are the willy
street co-op
you are the willy
Yogurt sizes and prices
Organic vs. organic
Q: Could you carry half and half
in returnable glass bottles by local
dairy Crystal Ball Farms (I think).
Jenifer St. Mkt. carries it. I’d like
Correction/Addition
What about bussing to the
Co-op?
Several members called and wrote
about last month’s Operations News
article Parking at the Co-op (willystreet.coop/Newsletter/Newsletter_Archive/0702/operations.html) to
suggest riding the bus to the Co-op.
Routes 3, 4, 37, and 38 conveniently
serve the Co-op. The nearest bus stops
are right past our back yard on Jenifer
Street. Undoubtedly, even many car
owners could save money and bring
convenience to their shopping experience by using Madison’s bus system.
Shafer Pharmacy sells bus passes right
next door and lots more information
is available at http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/.
Freshly-ground chunky
peanut butter
Q: I live 50 miles away and
love shopping at the Co-op. I am
missing the chunky peanut butter
machine. I have heard it is broken
and the replacement is very expensive. Here is my voice to put it in
the budget soon!
A: Thanks for
casting your vote. We
are ordering a new one
this week. Now we wait for the 4-6
week shipping timeline. Hopefully it
will come in sooner than that. -Wynston Estis, Assistant Store Manager
Half and half in glass
bottles
producer we carry in that pursuit.
Reading labels/checking for location is my own guide when trying to
decide on my purchases. -Lynn Olson,
Cooperative Services Manager
street co-op
Q: I’m so glad you’ve started to
carry halloumi cheese. Thank you!
My husband grew up in Cyprus and
has been enjoying having a familiar treat from his childhood. Have
you thought of carrying a domestic
halloumi, though? It would require
less transport miles and might even
be cheaper. I know there is a cheesemaker in Michigan who makes it.
A: Thanks. We don’t have any
knowledge of a domestic maker of halloumi but if you could send us the info
on the maker in Michigan, we’ll see
what we can do! Thanks again. -Dan
Moore, Prepared Foods Manager
Q: Brown cow yogurt-size went
from 8-oz to 6-oz but price stayed
the same?
A: The Brown Cow cup did go
from 8-oz to 6-oz and the price went
down from 95¢ to 85¢. Thanks. -Matt
Hofstede, Grocery Supervisor
= A fulfilled member request.
you are the willy
street co-op
you are the willy
street co-op
Q: I’m reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma right now,
which is a great book. I’ve just
read about something I knew,
but didn’t know, if you take my
meaning. Is there any way to tell
organic from organic? That is,
some organic is factory-farmed
and some is not. Is there a way to
tell the difference? Thanks!
A: Gosh, I guess knowing your
grower is about the strongest recommendation I can make. We strive to
keep you informed on every local
3
GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
Business Matters
by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Budget planning and
approval
The current Willy Street Co-op
bylaw 8.2 requires that the membership approves the operating and
capital budgets for the organization—this month is the beginning
of the budget planning process for
the drafting of the next fiscal year
budget to begin July 2nd, 2007
(FY2008). The proposed operating
budget uses a number of different
sources of information including
actual income and expenditures for
the first two quarters for FY07, projected income and expenditures for
the second two quarters for FY07,
and past performance from previous
years to make our best estimates of
what our future performance will be
in FY08.
The job of budgeting for future
years is complicated—more so now
than ever. The recent changes in the
grocery market (Trader Joe’s) along
with known future redevelopment
(Whole Foods Market) makes the
crystal ball murkier. Additionally,
our current site is beginning to show
stresses and strains of over-utilization. It is a matter of pride that we
can report that our sales per square
foot is amongst the highest in the
region, yet that high sales per square
foot makes it more and more difficult to provide you with the high
quality of service you have come to
expect.
In FY2001, annual sales were
$7.78 million—in this fiscal year
we should effectively double that
amount to over $15 million in annual sales. This will have been done
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without increasing the size of our
back room or parking lot—the pressure is on. Sales growth has flattened
to some extent—prior to 2005, our
annual sales growth at 1221 averaged
over 12 percent. This year we can
expect a seven to eight percent sales
growth. Obviously, as the sales base
increases the percent of increase will
naturally decrease—but double-digit
sales growth at the current site is not
on the horizon. Our initial estimates
for our next fiscal year are for our
sales increase to be in the five percent range, leading to projected $16
million in annual sales. Once we
reach the $16 million sales level that
translates to $1,684 sales per square
foot—that is something to be proud of
and worried about at the same time!
The process at this point is to
seek input from department managers
on the respective budgets—operations and capital. Management will
prepare a preliminary draft of the
budgets for the Finance Committee
to review. Once the Finance Committee agrees with a draft, a recommendation budget is presented to
the Board for approval. If the Board
accepts the Committee’s recommendation, that document is presented to
the membership for final approval.
As we grow and as the business we
operate becomes more complex,
another approach would be to have
the Board approve our budget and
that the membership could approve
the actions of the Board through the
election process. BUT, this change
in process could only take through a
bylaw change that may be presented
in the near future—stay tuned.
In cooperation
The Regent Market Co-op board,
staff, and membership met January
23rd for their annual membership
meeting. There was not a board election, but acknowledgement that seven
board members—not twelve—now
constitute the board. Cooperatives are
the product of many people’s contributions. I would like to thank those
board members that chose not to run
for another term for their contributions to the continued success of the
cooperative model in Madison. For
more up to date information about
RMC contact Jim Huberty, general
manager, at: [email protected].
BOARD REPORT
Two Major
Activities
by Nina McGuffin, Board Member
I
joined the Board last fall and
have enjoyed the experience
and learned a lot so far. Board
involvement gives me an opportunity to work on issues that I care
deeply about—creating a healthy,
local, sustainable food system and
providing an empowered and positive work environment. It’s energizing to be part of an organization that
is having a real and positive impact
on these issues on a daily basis.
There are two major activities
that the Board works on each year in
the first quarter: a review of the General Manager and a Board Retreat
during the first quarter of each year.
I’d like to tell you a little more about
each of these Board responsibilities.
GM review
The GM review is conducted as
a 360º evaluation, which means the
Board reaching out to Co-op stakeholders from every side: community leaders, the management team,
and staff in general. Anya Firszt,
our current General Manager, also
completes a self-evaluation that the
Board factors into our assessment of
her performance over the past year.
Once we have all this information
in hand, the Board comes together
to evaluate what the GM has accomplished, what goals have not
been reached and why, and areas for
further development. The Board then
writes a summary of our meeting
as a letter to the General Manager
and approves the continuation of the
GM’s current employment contract.
While the content of the review
is confidential, I can tell you that
the Board feels quite lucky to have
such a competent and experienced
General Manager as Anya in a time
of great opportunity and change. We
believe that she, along with the entire
management team and staff, have a
significant and positive impact on
the way the Co-op currently operates
and how prepared we are for future
growth. The quality of the people
working at the Co-op in general is one
of the things that make it a great place
to shop, eat and to be involved in our
community.
Annual Board Retreat
In addition to the GM’s annual
review, the Board is currently planning (and will hold by the time this
issue of the Reader goes to press)
our annual Board Retreat. The retreat
focuses on the long term vision and
strategies for Willy Street Co-op. The
newly-formed Board Development
Committee is responsible for planning
the retreat as well as Board education
throughout the year.
The Board Retreat (held on February 17th) is one of the few opportunities that we have during the year to
take a step back and think about the
bigger picture—where the Co-op is
and where we would like it to go. This
year’s retreat focuses on improving
how we work together, evaluating our
progress in reaching goals set at last
year’s retreat, and establishing the future direction of our work. You’ll hear
more about our long-term strategic
plans in the coming months.
In the meantime, if you have questions or comments, please e-mail us at
[email protected].
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
Psychic Readings:
Spirit Medium, Clairvoyant, Energy/Aura,
Tarot & Psychometry Readings,
Pet & Animal Communication, Business Readings
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    
Ian Colin
MacAllister
Astrology:
Natal (Birth Chart), Transits (Future Trends),
Relationship/Synastry, Relocation/Astrocartography,
Childrenʼs Charts & Reports for Parents
(608) 204-0324
Over 20 Years Experience O Gift Certificates
Available O All Readings Are Confidential
[email protected]
5
non-members is $23.00. Payment is
required at the time of registration.
Friday Night Films—
Strange Days on Planet
Earth
CLASSES AND EVENTS
Ayurvedic Cooking &
Nutrition
Saturday, March 3rd, 2:00pm–
4:00pm. Part Two of this focus on
Ayruvedic eating will include a cooking demonstration, food sampling and
discussion of the basics of digestion
as seen through the lens of Ayurveda.
Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and
Educator Patty McCormick will cover
agni (digestive fire), spices to enhance digestion, appropriate eating for
the seasons, the six tastes, and Food
Sadhanas (conscious eating habits).
Patty will demonstrate ghee-making
and cook tridoshic kitchari (a delicious healing everyday meal made
of basmati rice and split mung dal),
Indian-style vegetables and a digestive tea. Cost for members is $20.00,
Friday, March 3rd, 16th and
23rd, 6:30pm–8:30pm. This series
of documentaries by National Geographic and Sea Studios Foundation
will be shown as part of a series of
films and discussions facilitated by
Tammy Beiberstein of Weed Warriors. Free to members in our Community Room throughout March. The
March line-up for films and discussions include:
Friday, March 2nd—Troubled
Waters: Water sources on our planet
are showing signs of trouble down
the road. This film details the many
aquatic anomalies pointing to a more
sinister outcome.
Friday, March 16th—Invaders: Uninvited and dominant plant
species have already begun to pop
up in unexpected places, which puts
indigenous species in jeopardy of
losing their ground share. Learn how
they are affecting your life and what
scientists think can be done to stem
the tide of these interlopers.
Friday, March 23rd—An
Inconvenient Truth: Based on his
“traveling global warming show,”
former Vice President Al Gore and
his fervent crusade to halt global
warming are the subjects of this frank
and honest look at our prospects on
earth. An Inconvenient Truth, pro-
duced by Paramount Pictures, lays
out the bracing facts and raw realities
of our environment and may be one
of the most important films of the
decade.
For more information on Strange
Days on Planet Earth, log onto:
www.pbs.org/strangedays/. For more
information on An Inconvenient
Truth, log onto: www.climatecrisis.
net. Space will be limited, so please
pre-register by the preceding Thursdays to secure a seat.
Irish Music Jam
Sunday, March 4th, 1:00pm–
3:00pm (and continuing on the
first Sunday of every month). All
those interested are invited to come
and play—or relax and listen. For
more information click on www.
celticmadison.org or call Karen at
233-6298.
Wellness Wednesday
Free Lecture—Maya
Abdominal Massage
Wednesday, March 7th,
6:00pm–7:00pm. Chandon Williams and Lisa Shepherd of Isthmus
Acupuncture will demonstrate the
use of Maya Abdominal Massage to
help with gynecological, digestive
and urinary difficulties. The focus
of this lecture/demonstation will be
the benefits of MAM treatments for
gynecological disorders and pregnancy. Free; registration is suggested
by stopping in or calling Customer
Service at 251-6776.
Kids Cook: Mexican Foods
Saturday, March 10th,
11:00am–1:00pm. Kids, here’s your
chance to get into the kitchen and
learn skills and recipes to share with
your friends and family! No experience is necessary and everything will
be furnished for each child to have a
hands-on experience preparing fun
foods. Parents, safe kitchen practices
will also be included in this curriculum. Instructor Lydia Critchley brings
over 10 years of experience teaching
cooking to children and adults in a
relaxed and interactive environment.
Participants will learn to prepare:
Mexican Omelet, Mexican Hot
Chocolate, Beef Enchiladas and more.
Recipes will be prepared and generous
sampling is included. An adult must
enroll with children under 8. Fees are
per person. Cost for member/children
is $10.00. Non-member/children is
$13.00. Payment is required at registration, please pre-register by March
8th by stopping in or calling Customer
Service at 251-6776.
“L’Allegra Tavolata”—The
Happy Table
Thursday, March 15th, 6:00pm–
8:00pm. Looking for cuisine inspiration? Chef Camillo Castelnuovo
shares instruction on classic dishes
and tips for good eating from his
native northern Italy. With an emphasis on simple recipes and authentic
ingredients, members of this class
will learn to prepare: Minestrone Con
Pesto (Minestrone soup with Pesto),
Troy Gardens Townhomes still has room for you!
Imagine living amid 31 acres of gorgeous green space with all the amenities of Madison nearby. Imagine stepping out or your home to see
community gardens, walking trails, woodland, restored prairie and a five acre organic CSA farm.
Twenty nine families have stopped imagining and are already living at Troy Gardens!
We have room for one more—why don’t you join them?
We only have 1 townhome* left at Troy Gardens! This is it—the only phase—we aren’t building anymore!
Don’t miss out on your chance to be a part of this wonderful community.
Call Sharene Wilcox at the Madison Area Community Land Trust and make an
appointment to see the last available home at Troy Gardens and meet some neighbors!
(608) 280-0131 x22 or email [email protected]
*3 Bedroom market rate unit priced at $198,000.00 / no income restrictions apply
6
Petti Di Pollo al Chianti (Chicken
breast with Chianti wine), and Arugula Salad. Cost for members is $20.00
and non-members is $23.00. Payment
is required at registration.
Cost for members is $20.00 and nonmembers, $25.00. Payment is required
at registration, please pre-register by
March 17th by stopping in or calling
Customer Service at 251-6776.
Seed Starting
SustainDane
Discussion Course:
Voluntary Simplicity
Sunday, March 18th, 9:00am–
11:30am and Tuesday, March 20th,
6:00pm–8:30pm. Instructor Charles
Dykman will share the proper techniques for starting tomato and eggplants from seed through this handson experience. Starting over 350
tomato plants from seed each year,
Charles has been raising vegetables
on Madison’s eastside since 1967 and
shares a wealth of knowledge in this
class. Additional information provided will include finding the seeds you
want, seed saving, how to plant and
water the seeds, keeping seeds warm,
propagation mats, damp-off control,
initial and garden transplanting and
artificial light. Class participants will
go home with their own tomato and
eggplant starters. This class is limited
to 14 students per session and is a
perennial favorite, so sign up early!
Cost is $5.00 for members and $7.00
for non-members—includes all materials and instruction. Please pre-register by March 16th at the Customer
Service Desk or by calling 251-6776.
Wild & Raw(kus)
Monday, March 19th, 6:00pm–
8:00pm and Saturday, March 24th,
1:00pm–3:00pm. Learn a variety of
recipes and techniques for great flavor and nutrition including soaking or
dehydrating ingredients for use in raw
recipes. Instructors Miranda Knox
and Angela Roherty will prepare and
share samples from delicious raw and
sugar-free recipes for:
Class I (March 19th): Hors
d’oeuvres, Nut Pate,Veggie Dip,
Raw Vegan Cheesecake; Class II
(March 24th): Soups and Salads! In
addition to receiving recipes to take
home, the instructors will lead a discussion on the benefits of raw living.
Sundays through March 25th
4:00pm–5:30pm. Based on the
programs designed by the Northwest
Earth Institute, this purpose of this 8week discussion course is ultimately:to understand the meaning of voluntary simplicity; to explore the material
and psychological distractions that
prevent us from caring for the earth; to
acknowledge the connection between
our lifestyle choices and the condition
of the earth.
Topics discussed in the course will
be:
• The Meaning of Simplicity: The
concept of simplicity, as a religious
practice or philosophy of life, has
a long history. Inner simplicity and
outer simplicity are both involved.
What are some common misconceptions about a simple life?
•Living More with Less: Accumulating material possessions is part
of the American Dream. For some,
the dream has become a nightmare.
When do material possessions add
meaning to our lives and when do
they detract?
•Your Money or Your Life: A
growing number of people wish
to resolve the conflict between the
desire to make and spend money
and the desire for a simple life. Why
is that so difficult in our culture?
•Do You Have the Time?: In modern society, our minds are focused
on the “busyness” of the day, our
current problems, and our future
challenges. Are there alternatives
to the fast pace of our mainstream
culture?
•How Much Is Enough?: As a society, we engage in patterns of material consumption that are damaging
the environment. How much do we
really need?
• Swimming Against the Tide:
Our country’s current guiding
economic principles push growth,
consumption, and technological advance as inextricable and desirable
goals. In our efforts to live simply,
we may feel like we are swimming
against the tide.
• The Practice of Simplicity: There
are countless practical benefits in
moving toward simplicity. What
steps can be taken to move toward
a life simple in means, rich in
ends?
The course is one of six sustainability courses offered by Sustain
Dane. In Dane County alone, over
1,000 community members have
participated in one or more of the
courses. The courses provide an enjoyable, supportive setting in which
to examine personal values and
habits, engage in stimulating discussion, and make personal changes if
desired. Registration for the course is
free and is limited to 12 participants
per course. The required supplemental book costs $20.00. To register or
for more information, contact Sustain
Dane at (608) 819-0689 or email
[email protected]
Healthy Food Choices
Sunday, March 25th, 11:00am–
1:00pm. Discover many of the
healing foods available at the Willy
Street Co-op with Katy Wallace,
M.S., Nutritionist of Human Nature,
LLC as she conducts an informational tour of cleansing foods and drinks,
sugar, gluten, and dairy free options,
healthy fats, nourishing dried goods,
fermented food, and unpasteurized
food. We will also cover the value
of reading labels, avoiding synthetic
and highly-processed ingredients,
and eating food provided by local
farmers/vendors. Fees are $5.00 for
members; $8.00 for non-members.
To register, please stop in or call
Customer Service at 251-6776.
Individual Nutrition
Consultations
4:00pm–7:00pm. A nutrition
consultation is your opportunity to
learn how food choices affect your
well-being. A one-on-one session
with Katy Wallace, M.S., Nutritionist of Human Nature, LLC, includes:
a consultation regarding your health
goals and lifestyle, a health assessment survey, food choice suggestions geared towards addressing
health goals and developing sustainable change (may include tour of
most appropriate Co-op foods/products). Participants must complete
and return confidential health history
forms prior to the session. A limited
number of sessions are offered. Fees
are $5.00 for members; $8.00 for
non-members. To register, please
stop in or call Customer Service at
251-6776.
Complimentary Shiatsu
Saturday, March 31st, 3:00pm–
6:00pm. Madison’s Tao Shiatsu
Center practitioners and students will
offer complimentary shiatsu treatments of 10 minutes. With a combination of tsubo (pressure points) and
assisted stretches, a shiatsu treatment can release stagnated energy,
making way for our own internal
healing powers to help us recover
from stress, injury, and ailments.
The treatments are free, however
non-perishable food items for a local
food pantry will be accepted. Please
pre-register at Customer Service or
try your luck and drop-in.
IN THE GALLERY
Michael Hecht
Through March. Hailing from
Brooklyn, NY, Michael now resides
in Madison and practices a number
of artistic modalities. The gallery in
the Community Room will feature
several of the artist’s “Knife
Drawings.”
Community Room Information
The Community Room is available to you! Do you need a space to hold your
next meeting or gathering? Are you an artist who would like to exhibit in our
gallery space? Do you need a room with a kitchen to hold your kid’s next
birthday party? Would you like to teach a class and have it be available to
our 11,000 members? The Community Room is available for gallery space,
private rentals, as well as public functions and classes. If you would like to
submit a class proposal, or for information about fees and availability, please
contact Lynn Olson, Cooperative Services Manager, at 251-0884 ext. 320 or
[email protected].
Refund Policy
If we must cancel a class for any reason, we will contact you by phone and
refund your tuition. If YOU must cancel a class, notify us at least 5 days in
advance for a full refund. There will be no refunds less than 5 days prior to
class.
7
OFF-SITE KITCHEN NEWS
TIPS FOR HEALTHY COOKING
by Josh Perkins, Off-Site Kitchen Manager
W
ell, really, what does
“healthy” mean when
we say it about food
and cooking? It’s one
of those words that makes many of
us cringe, fraught with associations
of impossibly impalatable imbroglios
at the childhood dinner table—the
overcooked Brussels sprouts, the
leaden loaf of homemade bread, the
cookies made without refined sugar
that seemed to belong at the end of
a hockey stick. “Healthy” is a word
that no upstanding citizen should feel
conflicted about, but many do. Let’s
look at what can be done to remedy
this in the kitchen.
Back in my mother’s day, there
wasn’t a lot of thought given to what
was healthy in the way we now know
it. If there was food on the table,
that was healthy and it was a kind of
health not everyone could take for
granted. For many, the sins of overprocessing and overrefining that now
typify “fast food” and caloric overconsumption just weren’t available.
My parents were farmers and lived
about 90 minutes from the Kentucky
line, so fried food, dairy and sugar
were no strangers and no enemies.
That said, much of the food they
ate was grown or raised within 30
yards of the back door and received
no more processing than trimming
and washing. And, needless to say,
exercise was not hard to come by in
the form of work and play.
Now, of course, we all know that
Americans, in particular, have access
to more food than anyone else in
the world and have eaten ourselves
into a national state of panic over
various body issues, some cosmetic
and some substantive. Obesity has
become a full-blown panic button,
reaching across social and financial
strata and, increasingly, down the
age ladder as well. We’re supposed
to have the tightest controls on food
safety of anyone in the game, and
yet our faith in our dietary practices
is, to say the least, shaken. As an
omnivore and occasional outright
glutton, I have a vested interest in
staying alive as long as possible so
I can eat as much buttered popcorn,
fried chicken and German chocolate
cake as time will allow. So I’m here
to tell you how I think you can do
the same.
# 1: Cook with unprocessed organic food
This is the single most important
trick there is and cannot be underestimated. It is the key to the “mystery” of the famous French inability
SALAD BAR NEWS
The Willy Street Co-op Deli
has been committed to keeping our
salad bar stocked with as many
organic items as possible while
still keeping the price reasonable.
With a few exceptions, like pickles
and Parmesan, we have succeeded
in finding items that are organic
throughout the year in a variety
that fills our huge bar. Sure, there
were times throughout the year
that the veggies cost us a bit more,
but we were able to balance that
during the summer with the help
of our local vendors. We are still
committed to the use of organic
produce on our salad bar, but unfortunately years of price increases
for produce, transportation, labor,
and packaging are forcing us to
raise the price. The good news is
that we are only raising it 50 cents
per pound (and a pound is a fair
8
amount of salad)!
The other good news is that
before reaching this difficult decision, we took a good, hard look at
our pricing on other items. We’ve
always believed that staple Deli
items should remain affordable, so
we looked at our top sellers. We
thought that since the quantity and
variety on the salad bar was forcing
us to raise prices there, then maybe
we could find some popular items
for which prices have remained
stable or even fallen. We’re pleased
to announce that we’ve found three
popular items that we were able to
lower the price on-Emerald Sesame
Kale, Curried Chickpeas, and our
Tuna Salad. We sell around 250
pounds a month of these three salads, putting all three in our top 10.
So come on down and give them a
try at their new lower prices.
to get fat—although some of them
do anyway. It is because they devote
serious effort to it. Without going
too deeply into it, I posit that the
fewer “interruptions” there are to the
body’s perception of food, the less
likely it is that said food will be misused by the body, i.e., not metabolized properly or stored as fat when
fat was not present. By “interruptions,” I mean additives, preservatives and chemical structures resulting from processing and refinement,
things that do not occur in nature,
as did the earlier preservatives—alcohol, salt and fat (ironic, isn’t it?).
While it is certainly possible to
simply overeat oneself into a state
of poor health, it’s my belief that
doing so while maintaining a diet
comprised mainly of unprocessed
food would involve more physical
discomfort than most people are up
for. So that’s step #1.
# 2: Learn how to cook
More unnecessary fat ends up in
food due to poor cooking technique
than for almost any other reason. If
you look at the great classical cuisines, you’ll see that dishes that are
meant to contain fat contain plenty
of it and usually for a good reason—again, often as a preservative,
as is the case in terrines or fat added
to rich bread doughs that helps retain
moisture and extends their shelf life.
But often people end up putting fat
in their food by doing things like
putting meat or fish into a pan of oil
that isn’t quite hot enough, thus failing to caramelize the natural sugars
and seal the hot fat out. Another
trick that chefs often use that home
cooks don’t usually know about is
skimming and “defatting” soups,
stocks and sauces. This entails using a spoon or ladle to skim off the
froth that accumulates on a slowly
simmering stock or soup and also
skimming the fat that rises to the surface of a stew or broth after cooling
it. This is how you end up with an
incredibly rich and satisfying broth
or sauce full of flavor without ending up with a lot (or sometimes even
any) fat in it—indeed, fat in such a
broth often emulsifies and clouds
both the appearance and flavor and is
a sign of poor technique or neglect.
Needless to say, commercially available organic broths contain very low
percentages of fat, in case you don’t
feel like making your own.
#3: Use the best ingredients you can afford
A subset of #1. It’s a simple fact
that really good, wholesome food
is more satisfying than cheap food
and satisfying on a deeper level.
It’s also quite a bit more expensive.
This should, properly applied, have
the dual effect of making you eat
less and also making you feel better
after you eat. Good sea salt seasons
more effectively and has a deeper
flavor than cheap table salt, so you’ll
use and absorb less salt by making a habit of using it. Use organic
unsalted butter and your favorite
extra-virgin olive oil; they are pure
fat but they will add depth and flavor
to your food far beyond what is to be
expected from less expensive substitutes. Cheap food is like anything
else that’s cheap—you get used to it,
you don’t expect any better for yourself, and because it isn’t satisfying
you end up using more and more of
it—which you think you can justify
because it didn’t cost very much.
It’s a vicious cycle. Pay what it
costs for really good food and enjoy
it in moderation with the occasional
celebratory binge thrown in. That
formula is a thousand years old and
still works today.
#4: Don’t follow miracle
diets
Here’s the secret: there are no
secrets. There’s no magical combination of ingredients, techniques or
supplements that will allow anyone
to stay slim and healthy over the
long haul. If you eat a balanced diet
of high-quality food, get some exercise and don’t fret yourself into an
early grave (my personal weakness),
you may not look like someone out
of the pages of InStyle magazine,
but you’ll be healthy. The effects of
drastically varying your diet and/or
being monomaniacal about one food
or group of foods can range from
mild delusions of grandeur to fullblown apoplectic evangelism. Just
realize that the generations preceding you didn’t know it all (any more
than you do) but they probably
didn’t have it all wrong (any more
than you do). Don’t try to reinvent
the wheel or fall for plays to your
vanity. Cultivating good habits that
make room for a “normal” range of
foods is much better for you.
#5:Yeah, don’t buy the
fry-daddy
This is my one concession to dogma and it isn’t even because I think
deep-frying itself is especially problematic, health-wise. It’s because
people buy the things on a whim and
never change the oil—which breaks
down viscosity, which speeds the
transfer of heat, which encourages
both burning of food and also dirty
oil getting in your food. They’re also
incredibly dangerous, all things considered, so I think this legitimately
falls under the heading of healthy
cooking. Besides, you should be buying doughnuts at a donut shop.
So, in sum, the best way to cook
healthy is to make more out of less.
Invest in yourself and your health
by spending what it costs to buy
the best and enjoy it. Steam food if
you like to; it’s great for texture and
color—but don’t worry that a good
stew or rich casserole every now and
then is going to do you in. The main
thing is to approach food in the spirit
of enjoyment and reverence and eat
what satisfies you—but no more than
is satisfying.
Deli Platters
See willystreet.coop/Departments/deli.html
for photos. Order forms available at the Deli.
Fruit & Cheese Platter
$40.00 + tax
A selection of seasonal organic fruit perfectly complimented by our
favorite cheeses from around Wisconsin and around the world.
Southwest Platter*
$45.00 + tax
A collection of soft tortillas filled with southwestern-inspired dips
and spreads, surrounding our own freshly made salsa.
Domestic Cheese Platter
$30.00 + tax
This combination features Wisconsin-made cheeses including mild
yellow cheddar, Colby, Gouda, and goat cheese.
Imported Cheese Platter
$40.00 + tax
An exquisite display of imported cheeses including Brie, chèvre, and
other seasonal specialty cheeses from our own delicious selection.
Middle Eastern Platter*
$35.00 + tax
A sampler platter highlighted by our versions of the Middle Eastern
classics —tabouleh, hummus, and baba ganouj—arranged with sliced
cucumbers and tomatoes accompanied by lightly toasted pita bread.
Spinach Bowl*
$40.00 + tax
Freshly baked La Brea bread stuffed with Willy’s Own amazing spinach
dip. Served with plenty of bread and veggies for dipping.
Meat & Cheese Platter
$30.00 + tax
A pound of Lange’s Farms ham and roast beef as well as Applegate’s
oven-roasted turkey share top billing with Wisconsin-made Swiss,
provolone, and cheddar.
Crudités Platter*
$40.00 + tax
Arranged into a colorful mosaic, this mouth-watering array of veggies
is hand-selected from our own exceptional produce department and
accompanied by the Deli’s own veggie cream cheese or spinach dip.
Willy’s Wrap Platter*
$40.00 + tax
An assortment of ham, turkey, and veggies rolled into a four tortilla
with lettuce, tomato, and cream cheese. A hit at any party.
Mediterranean Platter*
$35.00 + tax
Feta-stuffed pepperoncinis, kalamata olives, big juicy grapes, and chunks
of Asiago cheese surround a trio of the deli’s own Mediterraneanthemed dips.
*Vegan options available
All platters serve 10-12 people. 48 hours notice is required for all
platter orders. 50% deposit required on orders over $75.
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PRODUCE NEWS
The California Freeze and Farmer
Appreciation Dinner
by Andy Johnston, Produce Manager
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DAVID AUSTIN
ATTORNEY
Co-op member, parent,
homeowner, and lawyer.
• Wills
• Revocable living trusts
• Estate planning for samesex couples
• Pre-nuptial agreements
• Probate
AUSTIN LAW OFFICE
242-7671
In mid-January, a Siberian air
mass made its way into central
California. Temperatures in the San
Joaquin Valley reached record lows,
destroying most of the citrus crop.
At the time of the freeze, producers reported that only 10 percent of the crop
had been harvested. The industry is
reporting over a billion dollars in loss.
Temperatures in the Yuma and El
Centro desert regions fell below freezing as well, damaging crops and making harvesting nearly impossible. This
area produces much of the country’s
vegetables, both conventional and organic. Although not as devastating as
the citrus crop, farmers are reporting
damage as well as limited supply due
to difficulty in harvesting.
How will this effect the Produce
department at the Co-op, and ultimately, your purchasing abilities? At
the moment, it’s hard to say. I would
expect that as warehouse inventories
tighten, wholesale prices will go up,
and distributors will have limited
supplies. Currently, our suppliers are
looking for sources from other areas.
Florida will have some good quality
products available, however, it will
not be able to supply the demand.
Farmers will boost production in
Mexico, though supply will not be
available for some time.
The Willy Street Co-op remains
committed to supplying our customers with the highest quality and best
selection of fresh fruits and vegetables
available. We are working with our
suppliers to maintain this level of
service. At times, certain everyday
products may not be available. We
will do our best to keep our shelves
10 Willy Street Co-op Reader, March 2007
The Farmer Appreciation Dinner scene.
full and direct you to substitutes and
alternatives.
This is a horrible tragedy for
California’s agriculture sector. With
the loss of crops comes the loss of
jobs, many thousands of jobs. Farmers and businesses can file insurance
claims to recover up to 75 percent of
their losses. There is no unemployment compensation or insurance claim
to be made for the farm workers. They
lose everything!
The impacts on the industry will
last into April and May, long after the
freeze in January is forgotten. Please,
be patient and understanding through
this challenging time, and trust that
we are doing the best job we can do to
keep you supplied and informed.
and chat with farmers, their families
and friends, who provide the Co-op
and the Eastside Farmers’ Market
with some of the finest quality, locally
produced foods available.
The Co-op broke tradition and
served spaghetti (with meatball option), instead of lasagna for a main
course, with blueberry coffee cake for
dessert. It was delicious! Nice job to
the staff at the Off-Site Kitchen for
their culinary contributions!
Providing locally-produced foods
Farmer Appreciation
Dinner
The 2007 Farmer Appreciation
Dinner was a relaxing evening of
great food and conversation with a lot
of great folks! Co-op staff and Board
members had the opportunity to sit
Produce Manager Andy
Johnston shares a meal with
farmers and friends.
has been a niche of the Co-op for
years. It has helped us grow into the
successful business we currently are.
Whereas many retailers prefer to work
with a few distributors that supply
them with everything, the Co-op has
created systems that allow us to efficiently work with dozens of local
producers. In the Produce department
alone, we work with over 25 individual producers through the peak growing season. Their products contribute
to over 90 percent of our vegetable
product line! At any given time, you
can find hundreds of locally produced
products in the store. Every section
Co-op staff members Brendon
Smith and Lucas Barraza serve
the meal.
Board member Nina McGuffin,
her husband, and Board and
staff member Tamara Urich
dish up their dinner.
of the store offers local goods! For
us, it’s an easy choice: we supply the
products our customers want!
Our local farmers and producers
are truly the ones to thank for our success. They have allowed for the Co-op
to grow into one of the most unique
grocery stores around. As consumers, their commitment to quality has
enriched our lives and helped build a
strong, healthy, eastside community.
As businesses, their commitment to
sustainable and organic practices is
building a strong local economy while
minimizing the negative impacts on
the environment.
From everyone here at the Co-op,
thank you, thank you, thank you! We
look forward to many more years of
working with you!
Steve Pincus of Tipi Produce
chats with Paul Maki of Blue
Skies Berry Farm.
The Bunn Family of YesterYear
Farm enjoy dinner with Brandy
Boyle of the Co-op.
The kids at the Farmer Appreciation Dinner display their art.
11
HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS
Working at the Co-op
by Ariel Timon, Assistant Human Resources Manager
F
irst off, let me say that I think
our staff is pretty rad. When
I was just out of high school,
some of my friends were in a
punk band they dubbed “It Takes All
Kinds,” and I think my co-workers
here sort of exemplify that sentiment.
We have vegans and carnivores. We
have lots of different personalities;
gregarious and shy, Republicans and
anarchists, autodidacts and officially
degreed folks. The only consistency
we try to enforce is that we all serve
you to the best of our abilities.
Staff trainings
DAVID ROSENTHAL
Years with the Co-op: 1
Current department/position:
Off-Site Kitchen Baker
What do you do in your free
time?
I like to skateboard, read, hang out
with my friends. Skateboarding
is a big one, do that pretty much
every chance I get. Watch movies,
listen to music.
How have other jobs you’ve had
compared to the Co-op?
Oddly enough, it’s less laid back
than other kitchens I’ve worked in.
Overall, though, it’s more of the
same, cool people and stuff like
that. It definitely seems more conscientious about food safety and
being a well functioning kitchen.
What have you learned from
working here?
Just in the few required training classes, I learned more about
organics and natural foods, and
how community-oriented the Coop is. I’ve also learned a lot about
baking.
To support answering customer
questions with alacrity, we offer
staff trainings regularly. All staff
members are required to attend three
trainings in our first six months. The
Natural Food Training Overview
gives everyone the base idea of what
natural foods are compared to organic
or conventional. It covers the kinds
of products that we offer and why.
The Customer Service Introduction
explains different methods for interacting with people and why some of
those methods are more desirable than
others. The Big Picture training is
something of a history of co-ops crash
course with an emphasis on our Coop in particular. Between the trainings
and the exposure to the products and
the general knowledge of others, we
quickly find ourselves more capable
of helping shoppers, regardless of our
previous work experience.
Benefits package
One of the ways we attract people
who already have a good attitude and
Any plans for the future?
Get as far away from Madison as
possible; I’m hoping to transfer
from MATC to Evergreen College
in Olympia, Washington to learn
about film. I’d like to do photography and cinematography for
skateboarding.
work ethic is our competitive benefits
package. Between a staff discount,
paid time off, the potential for health
and dental insurance and the opportunity to start a 401K retirement plan,
our staff members can feel well taken
care of.
Strength in numbers
One of the best supports that we
offer our staff, however, is each other.
You may have noticed that there are
a lot of bodies in the aisles. The main
reason we have such a large staff is so
that there is always someone available to help you—we direct you to a
new product that your doctor, sister,
or rabbi recommended; we get your
special orders, we answer questions
from how to prepare foods to what a
food even is. Our numbers also help
prevent theft, thereby protecting your
investment. Lastly, our backstock area
is tiny compared to our floor space—
we need enough staff to keep up with
how much the customers buy, bring
product out to the sales floor, and get
deliveries from distributors six days a
week.
Our staff is pretty great. They
are the reason I wanted to work here
in the first place, they were why I
shopped here before they put me on
the payroll, and they are the main reason I’m still working after four years.
Staff profiles
As part of this article I chose to
profile four different Co-op staff
members. Each has been at the Co-op
for a different amount of time—one
person for a year, one for six, one for
nine and one for 15 years.
AMY DRAPER
Health & Wellness Buyer,
Manager On Duty
Other positions held:
Cashier, Shift Supervisor, Front
End Manager, Health & Wellness
Assistant Manager, Health &
Wellness Manager
time?
Enjoy life with my family, knitting. “Free time” is a myth when
children are involved.
Why do you work for the Co-op?
Well, back in ‘92 it was purely the
convenience of location but now
I attribute a lot of the way I live
to what I’ve learned from, in, and
around the Co-op.
What do you like best about
working here?
I’m grateful for the exposure to
new products and the familiar
faces of the community. I live on
the northside now, and it’s nice
to keep in contact with my “old”
neighborhood.
working here?
I’ve learned just how much ingredients matter. Try reading a cereal
box sometime... it’s amazing the
junk that’s put in mainstream
products that one might perceive
as “healthy.”
EVAN COLEMAN
Grocery Receiver and Buyer
Dairy Stocker, Bulk Buyer, OffSite Kitchen Driver Coordinator
time?
I play guitar in a hard core punk
band called Discider. I sew, listen
to records, read, plan for the revolution, and try to be in the present
moment.
working here?
Having a boss that cares about me.
Four weeks of vacation a year. But
the BEST is being able to make
change in your job and workplace.
Plus, the benefits kick a**!
working here?
A good knowledge of food allergies. I became certified in food
handling safety. The importance
of organic and sustainable food
growing.
Keep playing music, travel, have
babies with my beautiful wife, and
live a simple life.
ANDY JOHNSTON
Produce Manager
Produce Stocker, Produce Assistant Manager, Maintanence, Grocery Stocker, Cheese Coordinator,
a little of this, a little of that.
time?
Cook, clean, garden, help take care
of three horses, two goats, and a
dozen or so cats, work on at least
10 years worth of projects around
the farm, and spend as much time
as possible with my wife and
three-year-old son.
Why do you work for the Co-op?
They were hiring! I love what I do!
working here?
The challenge of making the best
food available to everyone!
How have other jobs you’ve had
compared to the Co-op?
I’ve had a lot of agricultural-related jobs in the past. At this point,
I enjoy the air conditioning when
it’s hot, and heat when it’s cold.
Restrooms are a bonus, too!
Farm with my family!
13
JUICE BAR & BAKERY NEWS
Wheatgrass
SPOTLIGHT ON…
by Dan Moore, Prepared Foods Manager
Dubliner Cheese
What is it?
Dubliner is a cheese made in
the style of traditional Cheddar,
but it has a unique flavor—somewhat nutty like a Swiss cheese,
tangy like a good Italian hard
cheese, and with an interesting
almost sweet finish. The cheese
is aged 12 months. Dubliner is
made from the milk of pastured
cows and is free of hormones,
GMOs, artificial colors, flavors
and additives. It is pale golden
in color, reflecting the higher
beta-carotene levels found in the
milk from grass-fed dairy herds.
Occasionally you will see small,
white areas in Dubliner cheese.
These are naturally occurring
calcium lactate crystals. They are
a rich source of calcium.
Who makes it?
Dubliner is made in Ireland
by Kerrygold, a dairy co-op operated by the Irish Cheese Board.
Where do you find it
in the store?
You will find Dubliner near
the middle of the cheese case,
third shelf up.
How do you use it?
Let slices of Dubliner come
to room temperature and serve
with your favorite cracker or
bread. Try it in a grilled cheese
sandwich! Add a bit to your
favorite casserole. Celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day with Dubliner on
traditional Irish soda bread to accompany your favorite colcannon
recipe. And, try our Willy Street
Co-op Dubliner scones at our
sampler. See the ad on page 5.
Q
uick, what’s the healthiest thing you can buy at
the Co-op? I don’t know
either, but if you guessed
wheatgrass shots from the Juice Bar
you’re probably pretty close. There
are a lot of claims regarding the
health benefits of wheatgrass, and
this month I’d like to address some
of them including some of the more
controversial.
What exactly is
wheatgrass?
Grown from the Red Wheat
Berry, wheatgrass is a sprout that
contains high concentrations of vitamins, chlorophyll, enzymes, and
minerals. Wheatgrass grows up to
be wheat, but if you have wheat allergies it should be safe—the grass
is a completely different animal
than the wheat stalk. Many wheat
allergies are due to the gluten in
the wheat. This isn’t present in the
grass, which has a makeup much
closer to leafy veggies like chard
and kale.
What makes wheatgrass so healthy?
It contains over 80 active
enzymes, including a great concentration of chlorophyll and bioflavonoids. Chlorophyll helps detoxify
the liver, aids in digestion, and
because of its similarity to hemoglobin can help folks with anemia.
Bioflavonoids are powerful antioxidants that can help with blood
health, absorption of vitamins, and
prevention of inflammation. Wheatgrass is also high in Vitamins C, E.
K, and B9 (folic acid). Add to that,
wheatgrass is an excellent source of
calcium, copper, potassium, iron,
magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, 20
different amino acids, and essential
fatty acids. The reasons these are
good for you have filled many a
book, so suffice to say wheatgrass is
mighty healthy.
There have been a lot of claims
regarding potential health benefits
of wheatgrass, and while my nature
is to stick to purely what I know to
be true, the lack of definitive studies
on these benefits leads me to feel
that it is worthwhile to present some
of these claims as well as some of
the claims that have been proven
bogus.
2.2 pounds of fresh
vegetables
The quote most often seen in
books and on websites regarding
wheatgrass is that one ounce of
juice has the nutritional value of
two-point-two pounds of fresh vegetables. While this may very well be
true, one would presume it depends
on the veggies you choose. I’d still
recommend that you eat your veggies, as diversity in your nutrient
sources is always in your best interest. I traced this quote back to the
“founding mother” of wheatgrass,
Ann Wigmore. Ms. Wigmore began
promoting wheatgrass many years
ago and claimed it cured everything
from gangrene to anemia to infertility to cancer to AIDS. While claims
of helping gangrene and tooth decay
can be backed up by wheatgrass’
anti-bacterial qualities, and it has
been shown to help anemia due to
its cell structure and digestion because of its fiber content, there has
been no shown benefit in the use of
wheatgrass in fighting AIDS nor in
fighting cancer of the liver or any
other cancer. My thought is that it
can’t hurt, though.
It can’t hurt
And that’s really the bottom line
with wheatgrass. We know it has a
ton of vitamins. We know it contains minerals, beneficial enzymes,
and bioflavonoids. We know it’s
good for us. At some point maybe
more of these claims will be backed
up, but in the meantime we know
we’re benefiting from all the known
contents of wheatgrass. So, you can
stop by and grab one at the Juice
Bar.
The best way to drink it
Once you’ve taken the leap and
have decided to join the many that
do their daily shot of wheatgrass,
you have to learn the best way to
drink it. I recommend starting off
with one of our Green Zingers. It’s
our most popular juice at the Co-op,
and mixes wheatgrass with apple,
ginger, and lemon. You’ll find that
starting off with a straight shot of
wheatgrass can be a little overwhelming to your system. The apple, lemon, and ginger help soothe
the stomach and prepare your blood
stream for the wheatgrass. You’ll
also find that the straight shot may
be likened to the taste of fresh
grass, or the underside of a lawnmower to quote a not-so-big-a-fan
I know. I’ve always loved the taste
myself, but getting it in a combo
might be best for the newbie.
Things to remember
After your body has become
acclimated to the wheatgrass, you
can start a more regular regimen.
Things to remember are to only
drink the shots in small quantities,
never more than two ounces at a
time. For best results, you should
also drink it on an empty stomach—
slowly swish the juice around your
mouth to immediately absorb nutrients through the gums and to get
the antibacterial benefits for your
teeth. If you still feel nauseous, cut
back a bit and build up your body’s
tolerance.
Our new juice menu
If it’s still not quite what you
were looking for, may I recommend
one of our new juices or smoothies? Ok, not the best transition I’ve
ever used, but I wanted to take one
last moment here to make sure you
all get a chance to look over our
new juice menu and try one of our
13 new made-to-order juices and
smoothies. All of these items were
created by our dedicated Juice Bar
staff, although none of us are too
sure yet if we’re willing to take
credit for the names.
grocery
P.J.’s Organic
Organic
Burritos
Chicken, Beef, Breakfast
6 oz
1.75
$
non-member $2.74
bionaturae
Organic Fruit
Spreads
Ten Flavors on Sale!
9 oz
organic
produce
ma
h
c
r
Spinach
Cheese
Calzones
2.49/ea
7 oz
$
non-member $6.04
Frontera
Tortilla Chips
Yellow Corn, Blue Corn,
Cracked Pepper
9 oz
1.79
$
non-member $2.85
Organic
Frozen
Waffles
8 Grain Sesame, Flax Plus,
Buckwheat Wildberry,
Mesa Sunrise, Hemp Plus,
Pomegran Plus
11 oz
$2.49
juice bar
$
non-member $5.04/lb
Shickerts
Organic
Button
Mushrooms
2.69/lb
non-member $3.62/lb
Willy Street Co-op
Pear Pecan
Bread
Ingredients include: pears,
pecans, pastry flour, evaporated
cane juice, cinnamon, nutmeg,
sour cream and more
1.75/tx
1.29/slice
$
non-member $2.59/tx
deli
non-member $1.64/slice
Organic
Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
Willy Street Co-op
Willy Street Co-op
25.4 oz
Ingredients include: eggs, milk,
cream, cheese, flour, butter and
more
1 piece
$
$
Vegan and Non-Vegan
Ingredients include: spinach,
Vegenaise or mayo, vegan sour
cream or sour cream, scallions,
sea salt, dill and more
Random Weight
9.49
non-member $15.57
Nancy’s
Organic
Yogurt
Plain Nonfat, Vanilla Nonfat,
Plain Whole Milk
32 oz
$2.99
non-member $4.24-$4.50
Lifestream
3.89/lb
Random Weight
$
2-ply, 120 sheet
Spectrum
Organic Garlic
Random Weight
Paper Towels
Organic Valley
4.29
non-member $3.95/bag
Seventh Generation
non-member $3.73
$
$
non-member $3.47/ea
$2.29
With Pulp, No Pulp Added,
Calcium Added
64 oz
2.99/bag
3-lb bags
Nature’s Bakery
$
Organic
Orange Juice
Organic
Granny Smith
Apples
Imagine Foods
Organic Soup
Seven Flavors on Sale!
32 oz
2.75
$
non-member $4.28
non-member $3.84
These specials are valid until March 31st, 2007
Quiche
2.49/piece+tx
non-member $3.29/piece+tx
health &
wellness
Spinach Dip
5.99/lb
$
non-owner $7.03/lb
Floradix
Simplers
FloraVital Iron+Herbs,
Iron+Herbs
17 oz
Chamomile
2 ml
Liquid Extract
Formula
$32.99/tx
non-member $41.79/tx
Organic
Essential Oils
13.99/tx
$
Clary Sage
5 ml
6.99/tx
$
All Specials Subject to Availability. Sales Quantities Limited
ma
h
c
r
march 2-15
Willy Street Co-op
Grasshopper
Brownie
Ingredients include: chocolate
chips, butter, cocoa powder, eggs,
vanilla, peppermint and more
1.29/ea
$
was $1.49/ea
Co-op Shares
Spinach
Feta Turkey
Burgers
Ingredients include: turkey,
spinach, feta, egg, bread crumbs,
garlic and more
Random Weight
$8.99/lb+tx
was $9.99/lb+tx
Soy Delicious
Non-Dairy
Frozen
Desserts
Six Flavors on Sale!
32 oz
3.49
$
was $4.75
Co-op Shares
Kalamata
Olive Spread
Ingredients include: kalamata
olives, neufchatel, feta, roasted
red peppers, dillweed, garlic
and more
Random Weight
7.99/lb+tx
$
Choice
Organic Teas
Eight Varieties on Sale!
16 ct
$2.29
was $2.85-$3.79
was $8.99/lb+tx
Thai Kitchen
Instant Rice
Noodle Soup
Lemongrass & Chili, Garlic
& Vegetable, Spring Onion,
Bangkok Curry, Thai Ginger
1.6 oz
49
¢
Similasan
Eye Drops
Dry Eye Relief, Allergy Eye
Relief, Computer Eye Relief
.33 oz
8.99/tx
$
was $11.35/tx
Squash &
Lentil
Salad
Ingredients include: squash, lentils, parsnips,
9.49/lb
was $10.39/lb
Annie’s
Homegrown
Bunnies
Cheddar Bunnies, Sour Cream
& Onion, Whole Wheat
7.5 oz
1.99
$
bioAllers
Six Flavors on Sale!
3.5 oz
Pollen Hayfever, Mold,
Yeast & Dust, Nasal Spray
.8 oz-1 oz
99
was $1.45
Organic
Soy Feta
Mediterranean Herb,
Tomato Garlic
6 oz
2.49
$
was $3.49
Natural Choice
Organic Frozen
Full of Fruit
Bars
Coconut, Orange, Raspberry,
Strawberry, Mango
6 pc
3.49
$
was $4.89
Willy Street Co-op
Rumpledethumps
was $5.49/lb+tx
Kitchens of India
¢
Sunergia Soyfoods
2.99
$
was $5.39/lb+tx
was $2.85
Curry Pastes
was 69¢
beet juice
Ready to Drink
16 oz
onions, cardamom, cumin, walnuts, and more
4.79/lb+tx
$
49
¢
The Apple
Jack
Juice
Ingredients: apple, lime, ginger,
Ingredients include: potatoes, cabbage, leeks,
broccoli, butter, mace, salt, pepper, milk,
cheddar cheese
$
Random Weight
Grape, Strawberry
.4 oz
Willy Street Co-op
march 16-29
Willy Street Co-op
Irish Dubliner
Cheese
Organic
Smoooshed
Fruit
Apple, Apricot, Raspberry,
was $3.49
was 75¢
These specials are valid until March 15th, 2007
Kerrygold
Fruitabu
Allergy Relief
.99/tx
$7
was $9.19-$11.19/tx
4.49/lb+tx
$
Dagoba
Willy Street Co-op
Willy Street Co-op
Eleven Varieties on Sale!
2 oz
Ingredients include: pastry flour,
yeast, milk, butter and more
8-pack
Ingredients: mango, pineapple,
orange juice, spirulina
16 oz
Organic Dark
Chocolate Bars
1.79/tx
$
Clover Leaf
Roll
5.49
Green Dream
Smoothie
4.49/tx
was $2.65/tx
$
$
Soyakaas
Boulder
Wholly Wholesome
Hickory Barbecue, Totally
Natural, Malt Vinegar & Sea
Salt, Jalapeño Cheddar
5 oz
Apple, Blueberry, Cherry
26 oz
Cheese
Alternatives
Monterey Jack Style,
Mozzarella Style, Jalapeño Style,
Mild Cheddar Style
12 oz
.79
$3
was $4.79
These specials are valid until March 29th, 2007
was $5.99
Potato Chips
1.49/tx
$
was $4.99/tx
Pies
5.29/ea
$
was $6.89-$7.95/ea
was $2.15/tx
basic products at basic prices
cheese
Cedar Grove
Eden Foods
Organic Beans
Black Soy, Pinto, Garbanzo,
Aduki, Black, Kidney, Navy,
Cannellini White Kidney, Small
Red, Black Eyed Peas
15 oz
99
Cascadian Farms
Mild Yellow
Cheddar
Cheese
$2.99/lb
Random Weight
was $3.59/lb
Barbara’s Bakery
Organic
Frozen
Fruit
Harvest Berries, Blueberries,
Cereal
Shredded Spoonfuls,
Shredded Oats
15.3-16 oz
2.49
Sliced Peaches, Raspberries,
Strawberries, Blackberries,
Cherries
10 oz
$2.49
$
Pacific Foods
Silk
Muir Glen
Mushroom, Vegetable, Free
Range Chicken, Free Range
Chicken Low Sodium, Vegetable
Low Sodium, Beef
32 oz
Shelf-Stable
Unsweetened, Plain, Vanilla
32 oz
Eleven Varieties on Sale!
14.5 oz
¢
was $1.65
Organic Broth
was $3.99
was $3.19
Silk
Annie’s Naturals
Cultured Soy
Yogurt
Vanilla, Strawberry, Blueberry,
Peach, Raspberry, Key Lime,
Banana Strawberry,
Black Cherry
6 oz
59
¢
was 75¢
Annie’s
Homegrown
Macaroni &
Cheese
Five Varieties on Sale!
6-7 oz
$1.25
was $1.75
Organic
Tomatoes
Organic
Soy Milk
$1.49
$2.29
was $4.25
1.25
$
was $1.75-$1.89
was $2.29
Dressing &
Vinaigrette
Roasted Red Pepper, Honey
Mustard, Tuscany Italian,
Raspberry, Balsamic, Gingerly,
Shiitake & Sesame, Goddess,
Cowgirl Ranch, Lemon & Chive
8 oz
$1.99
was $3.39
Stonyfield Farms
Organic
Yogurt
Whole Milk Flavors: Wild
Blueberry, French Vanilla,
Vanilla Truffle, Strawberries &
Cream; Lowfat Flavors: Plain,
Blueberry, Vanilla, Mocha
Latté, Maple Vanilla, Raspberry,
Strawberry, Just Peachy,
Luscious Lemon
6 oz
69¢
health & wellness
ma
grocery
h
c
r
Nature’s Gate
Lotion
Seven Varieties of Herbal
Moisturizing, Skin Therapy
and Moisturizing Lotion
18 oz
4.89/tx
$
was $6.25-$8.55/tx
Alacer
Emer’gen-C
Raspberry, Super Orange,
Cranberry, Tangerine,
Tropical, Lemon Lime
36 pc
7.99/tx
$
was $12.99/tx
was 95¢
These specials are valid until March 31st, 2007
Ann Wigmore
The Wheatgrass
Book
Subtitled How to Grow and Use
books
ma
h
c
r
Wheatgrass to Maximize Your Health
and Vitality, this book contains all the
practical information you’ll ever need to
grow and use your own wheatgrass for
only pennies a serving.
Save 15%!
tea of the
MONTH
Rishi Tea
Scarlet
20%off
was $33.99/lb
The Scarlet blend is our most
popular signature caffeine-free
blend. Scarlet has a rich and fruity
flavor from all natural dried fruits
and gourmet quality botanicals.
Scarlet has a deep red infusion
that’s tart with notes of blueberry
and cherry.
The Willy Street Co-op and Rishi Tea
are working together to offer our members a discount on a different variety of Rishi teas each month. Want to try a sample before
purchasing? The Juice Bar will be offering free samples of the sale
tea on weekends. If you want to buy some made-to-go, the Juice
Bar will also be carrying that variety of tea (if not already) for the
month of the sale.
supplements
was $9.95/tx
Sweet Leaf
Manitoba Harvest
Plus Packets, 100pc;
Shaker, 4 oz;
Liquid Clear, 2 oz
12 oz, 60 ct
Stevia
9.99/tx
$
was $14.59-$14.65/tx
5.49/tx
Plus Packets, 50pc
$
bodycare
Kiss My Face
Lemon & Eucalyptus, French
Lavender, Rosemary & Mint
12 oz
Lavender Shea Butter,
Fragrance Free, Cool Mint,
Peaceful Patchouli
11 oz
Hand Soap
4.99/tx
$
was $7.39/tx
Hylands
Teething Gel
5.49/tx
.33 oz
$
was $6.85/tx
Calms Forté
5.39/tx
For Kids, 125 tab
$
Moisture Shave
4.29/tx
$
was $5.49/tx
Weleda
Massage Oil
10.99/tx
Arnica, 3.4 oz
$
was $13.89/tx
Wild Rose, 3.4 oz
15.99/tx
$
was $20.39/tx
8.99/tx
$
was $11.99-$12.19/tx
Hemp Protein
Powder
11.99/tx
16 oz
was $7.85/tx
$
Willy Street Co-op
New Chapter
Vitamin C
250 ct
Multivitamin
Ultimate Capsule, 60 cap
10.99/tx
was $14.39/tx
One Daily
Vitamins
Every Man’s, Every Woman’s
90 tab
32.99/tx
$
$
Nature’s Gate
Preserve
was $14.49-$14.59/tx
EO
Hemp Seed Oil
Rainwater
Tea Tree Oil
Shampoo &
Conditioner
18 oz
4.99/tx
$
was $7.35-$7.39/tx
Tea Tree Therapy
was $49.45-$49.99/tx
Toothbrushes
Ultrasoft, Soft, Medium, Junior
Ultrasoft
2.79/tx
$
was $3.35-$3.69/tx
Next
Wellness Wednesday
March 7th!
Toothpaste
3.49/tx
Whitening Tea Tree, 3 oz
$
was $4.59/tx
3.99/tx
Tea Tree with Baking Soda, 5 oz
$
was $4.85/tx
was $6.75/tx
T hese specials are valid untll March 31st, 2007
ASK THE MIDWIFE
Vitamin D in Pregnancy and Lactation
by Ingrid Andersson, CNM, Willy Street Co-op Member
Why an “Ask the
Midwife” column in
The Reader ?
Because the food choices
we make go right to the
source of human health.
Everything women take into
their bodies goes into forming the first ecosystem for
human life. As embryologist
Sandra Steingraber puts it,
the fetus sits at the top of the
food chain. As a midwife, I
help protect the ecology of
the first human ecosystem,
for the sake of women, their
babies, and our collective
quality of life.
Defining
True Health
But this column might
also be called “The Midwife
Asks.” I am not an expert
with answers in nutrition,
biochemistry, embryology, or neonatology. I am
a Certified Nurse Midwife
with a culturally diverse
private practice and personal
background that has taught
me to question health care
norms and assumptions.
Despite local, state, and
national policies of health
care, I believe there is no
one true definition of health.
It is neither fair nor effective
to leave the responsibility
for our health to experts,
be they obstetricians or the
FDA. Together we can ask
questions, share research,
and tell stories toward defining true health and wellbeing for ourselves and our
communities.
TERMS
CONTINUED NEXT
Question: I just brought my three-week-old baby to a pediatrician and was
told that I should supplement my baby with vitamin D every day. The clinic
nurse said that vitamin D levels were insignificant in breast milk, and that if
my baby was exclusively breastfed, she could get a vitamin D deficiency, which
could cause rickets. If I supplement myself or increase my dietary vitamin D,
would my baby get enough vitamin D through my milk?
I
ngrid’s answer: Your pediatrician is following 2003 American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) guidelines recommending 200 International Units (IUs)
daily of vitamin D for breastfeeding
infants beginning within the first
two months of life.
Unfortunately, the AAP dismisses maternal vitamin D intake during
pregnancy and lactation and sunlight exposure as important sources
of rickets prevention, even though
these sources have sufficed for a
very long time! Natural sources
were scientifically proven decades
ago to protect against rickets.
The majority of rickets cases today
involve dark-skinned children living in urban environments who do
not consume fortified milk products
due to economic, cultural, ethical
or health reasons. New cutting-edge
research has shown that we cannot
afford to ignore the maternal/fetal
vitamin D link, not only for lifelong
bone and skeletal health, but also
for possible protection against heart
disease, lung disease, cancer, type
1 diabetes, high blood pressure,
schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis,
tuberculosis, skin wounds and
conditions, chronic pain and the
common cold.
What is rickets?
The meaning of
guidelines
As I discussed in a previous
Reader article on vitamin D, rickets
is a bone disease commonly caused
by vitamin D deficiency from a
D-deficient diet, lack of sunlight, or
both, which results in soft bones and
skeletal deformities. Rickets that
develops in breastfed infants during
the first six months of life is likely
to be related to maternal vitamin D
and/or calcium deficiency during
pregnancy, which is often not discovered until the child is walking.
Because I receive so many
questions regarding pregnancy and
infant care guidelines, let’s consider
for a moment what “guidelines”
mean. The first definition of “guideline” in Webster’s unabridged
dictionary reads: “any guide or indication of a future course of action.”
This is a pretty good description of
how we use the word medically. It
is a pre-determined logarithm or set
of rules for professionals and par-
ents to follow toward achieving an
accepted health goal. Hopefully the
committee that writes the guidelines
examines worldwide systematic research reviews, real life clinical and
consumer contexts, and includes
diverse professional and consumer
participants free from profit-making or litigation-minded motives.
In this way, guidelines can promote
evidence-based practice.
By definition, then, guidelines
serve a concept of greatest good,
and those who interpret or define
this concept in the first place play
powerful roles in our health care
system. In addition, guidelines are
based on population data and target
populations, rather than individuals.
Yet in practice, in our homes, clinics, and hospitals, we apply guidelines to individuals, and individuals
too often end up feeling dismissed
or invisible or worse when they
question guidelines, or when guidelines actually work to undermine
their own health. A genuine attempt
to individualize national guidelines
continued next page…
PAGE…
19
can make Webster’s third definition of “guideline” seem more apt:
“a rope or cord that serves to guide
one’s steps, especially over rocky
terrain, through underground passages, etc.”
Risk factors for vitamin
D deficiency
Now back to vitamin D…
Anyone with inadequate sunlight
exposure is at risk for vitamin D
deficiency. Risk factors for nurslings and their mothers overlap
and interact, and include indoor
confinement during the day (e.g.,
due to exclusively indoor daycare, unsafe neighborhoods, indoor workplaces), living at higher
latitudes, darker skin pigmentation,
living in urban areas with pollution
and/or buildings that block sunlight,
sunscreen use, covering much or all
of the body when outside (e.g., due
to custom, fear of skin cancer, cold
climate), increased birth order (e.g.,
a mother’s sixth child has a higher
risk of vitamin D deficiency than
does her first child), and exposure
to lead (due to lead’s inhibition of
vitamin D synthesis).
The AAP states that the typical
25 IU/L of vitamin D in breast milk
is insufficient, without discussing
who exactly classifies as “typical,”
how a mother can make sure she
achieves optimal levels of vitamin
D during pregnancy so that her
newborn begins life with optimal
stores, or how a mother can increase
the vitamin D content of her milk.
While sunlight can be an important
source of vitamin D for infants, the
AAP advises that infants be kept out
of direct sunlight and wear protective clothing and sunscreen when
exposed to sunlight. Professionals
and parents who conscientiously
follow AAP guidelines are left with
little recourse—formula-feeding or
pharmaceuticals for all Wisconsin
latitude babies!
Maternal vitamin D
status
The National Institutes of Health
(NIH) conducted a longitudinal
study on the effect of maternal
vitamin D status during pregnancy
on childhood skeletal growth. The
following interpretation of the research was published in The Lancet
in January 2006: “Maternal vitamin
D insufficiency is common during
pregnancy and is associated with
reduced bone-mineral accrual in the
offspring during childhood… Vitamin D supplementation of pregnant
women, especially during winter
months, could lead to longlasting reductions in the risk of osteoporotic
fracture in their offspring.”
A current prospective NIH study
(still recruiting new subjects!—go
to http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/
show/NCT00292591) aims to determine the required levels of maternal
vitamin D (as related to ethnicity
and UV exposure) in the prevention of vitamin D deficiency in both
mother and child: “We hypothesize
that darkly pigmented mothers will
require substantially higher oral
supplementation with vitamin D...as
compared to their Caucasian counterparts.” The ongoing NIH study
hypothesizes 2000-4000 IU/day
for pregnant women safely protects
mothers and babies. The current
Daily Recommended Intake (DRI)
is only 400 IU/day.
Vitamin D in human
milk
The concentration of fat-soluble
vitamin D in human milk varies
from 5 to 136 IU/L, depending on
how its activity is measured and
on maternal vitamin D status during lactation. This concentration
provides less than the 200 to 400
IU/day commonly recommended
for infants under one year of age.
A 1986 Finnish study showed that
between January and April, when
sunlight is very limited in Finland,
supplementing mothers with 1000
IU did not raise the vitamin D levels
of their nursing infants. However,
supplementing mothers with 2000
IU was just as effective at raising
the vitamin D levels of the infants as
was supplementing infants directly
with 400 IU/day.
Getting your vitamin D
Two-thousand IU/day of vitamin
D3 (the recommended fish/animal
form of vitamin D) can be obtained
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE…
safely and effectively through a diet
rich in high quality cod liver oil
and other fish oils (herring, sardines, eel, salmon, trout), grass-fed,
full-fat animal foods (if you like
blood pudding or sausage and organ
meats, all the better!), fermented
foods, naturally raised duck and
chicken eggs, D3-fortified foods,
and, of course, direct sunlight.
Up until the Industrial Age,
exposure to sunlight was the main
source of vitamin D for most
mothers and infants, an estimated
10,000-20,000 IU/day. A limited
amount of vitamin D can be produced in any given area of skin
before it reaches equilibrium,
meaning that the amount of skin
exposed will determine the amount
of vitamin obtained from the sun.
The World Health Organization
states, “Two hours is the required
minimum weekly amount of sunlight for infants if only the face is
exposed, or 30 minutes if the upper
and lower extremities are exposed.”
This guideline is based on a 1985
study of exclusively breastfed Caucasian infants under six months old
at latitude 39°N (Cincinnati, Ohio,
USA). Darker skinned infants may
require a longer time outside (three
to six times the sunlight exposure)
to generate the same amount of
vitamin D.
Parenting, even when supported
by official guidelines, is often a
rocky terrain filled with unknown
passages. I hope this discussion has
guided you in making informed
choices about vitamin D, as well
as in nurturing yourself at the same
time you nurture your child.
This column offers an ongoing forum for your reproductive
and family health questions. It is intended to promote informed choice, not
to give medical advice. Please email all
questions and topic suggestions to Liz
Wermcrantz, l.wermcrantz@willystreet.
coop.
And the Winners Are...
Results From Our Recent Taste Test
by Kathy Humiston, Newsletter Writer
sometimes seasoned and used as a
table olive. We provided cubes of
sourdough bread for our tasters to dip
in the two oils for tasting. The Aptera
Oil was the favorite of the evening
garnering 50 votes, compared to 24
for L’Estornell. The L’Estornell Olive
Oil has a distinctive flavor that some
tasters really enjoyed, but a few others
characterized as “peppery,” “harsh,”
or “bitter.” Aptera’s flavor was described as “smooth,” “mellow,” and
“mild,” but a few folks also thought it
was “bland” or “insipid.”
Vicolo All-Natural Four
Cheese Frozen Pizza vs.
Chicago Avenue Four
Cheese Frozen Pizza
H
ow often, as you
shop, have you
found yourself
standing in front
of two similar products and
wondering which to choose?
There are several factors to consider
when making a choice—nutrition,
cost, brand, texture and flavor. Is the
product organic or not? Usually the
hardest question to answer is which
brand tastes best—that answer normally requires spending a little cash,
but recently Co-op shoppers had the
opportunity to try some products at
our expense.
In January, our monthly Friday night sampler took the form of
a blind taste test of four types of
popular food items. We pitted four
organic products against their conventional counterparts and let customers vote for their favorites. Our
tasters were self-selected shoppers
of all ages. Some of them tasted,
voted and left fairly quickly, others
took more time, alternating tiny bites
of each food, thinking, comparing,
and then adding specific comments
to their ballots. We had a total of
88 completed ballots by the end of
our tasting, and appreciated every
one. Some people did not choose to
taste every item and a few customers
voted for both products in some categories, which affects the vote totals
listed below.
because the conventional soup uses
flavor enhancers that our recipe will
never include.
Willy Street Co-op’s
Vegan Minestrone vs.
Progresso Minestrone
L’Estronell Organic Olive
Oil vs. Aptera Olive Oil
Round #1 of the taste test featured
Aptera Olive Oil and L’Estornell
Organic Olive Oil. These are both
imported, low acid, extra-virgin olive
oils. Aptera Olive Oil is produced by
a farmers’ cooperative on the Greek
island of Crete. It is made from the
Koroneiki variety of olives, which
are quite small and oval in shape.
The L’Estornell Oil is made with
Arbequina olives, grown, pressed,
and bottled by the Vea family in the
Catalan region of Spain. Arbequinas
are small, round olives that are also
In Round #2, tasters tried minestrone—a canned version from
Progresso and Willy Street Co-op’s
Vegan Minestrone recipe prepared
by our staff at the Off-Site Kitchen.
The Progresso Soup featured a large
percentage of broth with some vegetables, beans and pasta. Our Minestrone, by contrast, was packed with
pasta, vegetables and beans but a little
light on the broth. This is a common
phenomenon with homemade soup—
the broth tends to be absorbed by the
pasta after the soup has been cooked,
turning it into more of a stew than a
soup. No extra salt, pepper or other
seasonings were made available to
our soup tasters. The Progresso Soup
edged out our homemade, 43 votes to
36. Some folks who commented liked
all the texture in our vegan minestrone, but many wondered what had happened to the broth. A few people said
the Progresso Minestrone reminded
them of soup from their childhood
and many people thought the higher
salt level in the canned soup made it
more flavorful. Other voters felt this
was not a fair comparison—because
of the textural differences, but also
Round #3 had tasters comparing Chicago Avenue Four Cheese
Frozen Pizza and Vicolo All-Natural
Four Cheese Frozen Pizza. Vicolo
Pizza was originally created in San
Francisco by a restaurant of the same
name. The Vicolo Pizza is made on
a rustic, cornmeal-blend crust and
topped with whole-milk mozzarella,
fontina, provolone and Parmesan
cheeses. Vicolo’s label says its pizza
is all-natural and contains no preservatives. Chicago Avenue pizza comes
from a specialty frozen food company
in Illinois. It has a more typical thin
crust and no organic ingredients. Its
toppings include part-skim milk mozzarella cheese, as well as Cheddar,
provolone and Romano cheeses. Both
pizzas have a tomato-based sauce
with the Chicago Avenue sauce being
more typical of frozen pizzas. Fortyfour customers rated the Vicolo pizza
tops and 31 preferred the Chicago
Avenue brand.
Kathy Humiston helps a
customer interpret his ballot.
21
tally. The Chocolate Shoppe ice cream
was the favorite of twice as many
people with 47 votes to Sibby’s 23.
Nutritional information
Sibby’s Organic Vanilla
Ice Cream vs. Chocolate
Shoppe Old Fashioned
Vanilla Ice Cream
Round #4 of the evening provided
dessert. This round, along with the
pizza, seemed to be the favorite of
the under-20 age group! Madison’s
own Chocolate Shoppe Old Fashioned
Vanilla Ice Cream squared off against
Sibby’s Organic Vanilla Ice Cream
made in Westby, Wisconsin. Both
companies use real Madagascar vanilla, cream and cane sugar. Chocolate
Shoppe adds milk, whey solids and a
stabilizer while Sibby’s recipe includes non-fat dry milk and egg yolks,
but no stabilizers. The ingredients in
Sibby’s are all organic. The Chocolate
Shoppe Ice Cream is lower in sugar
but higher in calories and fat than the
Sibby’s Ice Cream. Like the olive
oil, this was another category with a
sizeable point spread in the final vote
So what about the nutritional aspects of the products we tested? Since
most of the products were processed
convenience foods, we decided to get
a health practitioner’s opinion. Dr.
Chad Oler, N.D. is a naturopathic physician in practice at the Natural Path
Health Center here in Madison, and he
agreed to comment on the products in
our taste test.
Dr. Oler thought both of the olive
oils we tested looked great. He notes
that both are extra-virgin oils, meaning that they are cold-pressed and
from the first pressing of the olives.
This process retains the most nutrients
and does not damage the oil by heat
created in processing. Dr Oler says,
“Organic, extra virgin olive oil is a
great source of monounsaturated fats,
which are good for the circulatory
system, skin health, respiratory health
and digestive health.” He reminds us,
“Because olive oil is sensitive to high
heat, light and oxygen, it should be
stored in an opaque or dark container
with a tight fitting lid. Olive oil can
be stored in the refrigerator. It will solidify in the cold, but is perfectly fine
to use. Olive oil should be used at low
to medium heat for cooking.”
The commercial minestrone did
not fare quite so well with Dr. Oler.
He points out that the Progresso minestrone “has many potential allergens,
including wheat, egg and milk ingredients as well as soybean oil, which is
high in omega-6 essential fatty acids
which can increase inflammation (and
therefore allergies/sensitivities and
other conditions related to inflammation); it is very high in sodium with
almost half the daily allowance in one
cup, and most people will eat more
than a one-cup serving.” Dr. Oler did
like our Homemade Vegan Minestrone because it contained “only whole
food ingredients (no extracts or artificial anything) and olive oil—a much
better alternative to soybean oil.”
Dr. Oler prefaced his analysis of
the pizzas tested by pointing out with
a smile that “Neither is going to be
very good for you!” He went on to
say, “This is a good example of the
need to read and understand labels. At
first glance, it looks like the Vicolo
Pizza has more calories and about
the same amount of sodium; however
this is for one-third of the pizza. The
Chicago Avenue serving is for onefourth of the pizza, so it actually ends
up having more calories (1520 per
pie) than the Vicolo (1380 per pie).
The Vicolo has more calories from fat
and specifically saturated fat, which
isn’t good in general, but a person can
have their pizza and eat it too as long
as they don’t eat more saturated fat
during that day. The Chicago Avenue
Pizza has more calories from carbohydrates and protein as well as more
fiber, which is going to be healthier
for most people. The fiber content of
the Chicago Avenue Pizza is much
better, having 12 grams per pie vs.
three grams per pie for the Vicolo. I
would bet, however, that the Vicolo
pizza tastes better because of the
increased fat—we (humans) like the
taste of fat!”
And as for dessert, Dr. Oler was
emphatic, “Dairy products should
definitely be organic for optimiz-
A customer casts her vote.
ing health. The hormones, pesticides
and herbicides used on the feed and
antibiotics and other drugs used on
these animals can be transferred
through milk and other dairy products.
These compounds can have a dra-
matic impact on our health over time,
especially the hormones. Therefore,
the Sibby’s would be, hands down, the
‘better’ treat.”
Future tastings
While our taste test was completely unscientific and the results
won’t change the course of history,
the participants and staff had an
enjoyable time. Many people seemed
truly surprised, and sometimes disappointed, when their winning choices
were unveiled. Many people thought
we should schedule additional tastings
in the future. It could happen—keep
an eye on the Reader!
Friendly Faces
Neighborhood Places
www.danebuylocal.com
23
PRODUCER PROFILE
Queen Bee’s Earthly Delights
and Baby Moon Products
THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
by Lynn Olson, Cooperative Services Manager
“Our plan was to be together as a family
as much as we could and just live our ideal
joyful life.” -Rachel Wolf, owner Queen Bee’s
Earthly Delights and Baby Moon Products
R
achel Wolf, owner of
Queen Bee’s Earthly
Delights and Baby Moon
Products, has intentionally nurtured her young family
and her livelihood under one roof
in Viroqua, one of Wisconsin’s
fastest-growing progressive communities. After an exhausting first
five years, Rachel, her husband
Pete, and their two children, Sage
and Lupine, are finally settling into
their version of sanity—an in-town
home (close enough to bike to the
Viroqua Co-op) with ample room
Pete.
for their growing family as well as
production, shipping and offices for
their all-natural bodycare products
company.
Rachel started her soap sojourn
while studying environmental education at UW-Stevens Point. Later,
while working for the International
Crane Foundation, a devoted following for her rich, emollient soaps
was building and orders began
coming in from friends and friends
of friends from around the state and
the U.S. Since 2002, when Rachel
officially launched her company,
demand for her handmade soaps
and other baby products has continued to spread.
Further development
Rachel credits her own need for
quality products as a prime motivator in developing the company. All
testing and product development
focus has been largely perfected
through her own uses. Rachel explains, “Before my business really
took off, it was all lotion bars, lip
balm. And when I was pregnant myself, I started making my own belly
balm and massage oil for when
I went into labor. When [Sage,
now four-and-a-half] was born, he
was really diaper rash-prone, so I
definitely got to perfect my Booty
Balm. I’d go to playgroups and
people would just say, ‘You’ve got
the best smelling kid!’ and it was
just the smell of the Diaper Wipe
Juice that I made and Booty Balm.”
Soon after, Rachel started producing these items separately under the
name Baby Moon.
Filling a niche for parents and
babies everywhere, Rachel recognized the significance of her work
early in the process. “[It’s] great,”
she says, “because there’s not a ton
of local baby care products available, and so it filled a need for folks
in that way, but it’s also so good
and effective.” Now that new baby
daughter Lupine was born just a
few short months ago, Rachel’s
delighted to have the chance to use
her own special blends again.
With a nod to one of her mentors, Jane Hawley-Stevens, herbalist and owner of Four Elements,
Rachel gives credit where credit is
due as she describes some of the
challenges she’s faced on the road
to becoming a professional soap
maker. “For a long time I felt like I
Rachel Wolf, the queen of Queen Bee’s Earthly Delights and
her family.
was on my own figuring it all out.
I found a billion hobbyists and not
a lot of professional soap makers
to tap into,” she says. “So I just
got comfortable with picking up
the phone or shooting an email off
to Sundog or Jane and looking for
help.”
Fair ingredients
Ever mindful of responsible
production and consumerism, Rachel recognizes the importance of
purchasing Fair Trade ingredients as
they’re available. She thoughtfully
designs products intended to give
great results while following a philosophy of sustainability. She says,
“I always work with a Fair Trade,
women’s, worker-owned cooperative in Togo for my shea butter.
They’re really an incredible operation, and I’ve been working with
them for years. And their shea butter
[is] the best shea butter I’ve ever
had. It’s unbelievable. The way they
process it is a lot of hand-cooking
and hand-stirring—a really artisan
process—and they’re doing it right
because they are passionate about
what they do. It’s dreamy.”
Procuring local raw ingredients
whenever possible, some of Queen
Bee’s soaps feature Minneapolis-based Peace Coffee, Wisconsin-grown essential mint oil and
beeswax. For other non-indigenous
ingredients, olive, coconut, and
avocado oils are purchased through
a Midwest supplier, but Rachel
admits she’s always searching for
even more local and Fair Trade
sources as a core goal of her company.
Lotion Bars, Baby Wipe Juice,
Booty Balm and a growing list of
local body care products made with
100-percent essential oils are complimented by minimal packaging
and labeling using post-consumer
recycled paper. Rachel developed
the lotion bars as an alternative
to liquid soap to minimize the
packaging in largely unrecyclable
plastic bottles and to reduce the
cost of shipping water-based freight
around the country. And because
there’s no water added, the cakes,
which are sold in refillable tins,
also do not require any of the preservatives routinely added to waterbased body care products to prevent
bacteria and fungus from forming
in the bottle.
Movin’ down the road
Only this past fall, Rachel and
her family had been living their
“ideal” existence in rural Reedsburg in an active/passive solar
continued next page…
home on 25 acres, but a lengthy daily
commute to Madison for her husband
had begun to make less sense to the
couple. Therefore, the decision was
easily made to move to Viroqua, a
growing community of greater sustainability including a K-12 Waldorf
School. “There was this feeling of
isolation. We had our dream house,
we were living off grid, and it was
we couldn’t be happier. So it’s really about who’s around you rather
than being in a pretty place.”
Growing up
As with any dynamic company,
change is inevitable and Rachel
expects to announce a name change
for the company in the coming
months that will combine both lines
Rachel cutting bars of soap.
just this amazing place but we had
this realization that we were this
little island,” she remembers. “We
were totally alone.” But the most
significant reason to move was based
on their goal to combine the business and their home into one location
in order to maximize the amount of
time the couple could spend parenting their growing family. “We
wanted Sage and Lupine, our kids,
to grow up where they fit in, where
they weren’t sort on the fringe of the
norm. It was important for us
to be around people who were not a
monoculture but to have people in
our community, who maybe ate
like we did, or thought about the
world, or parented the way we
did, and so Viroqua was really
appealing.”
Making the move to a house in
town wasn’t much of a sacrifice for
the couple. Rachel describes, “When
we moved to Viroqua, one of our
prerequisites was that we found a
home that could house our family
and our business. To have [the business] at home has been great because
it gives us more flexibility and it allows us to be parents and work at the
same time. We joke that we won the
lottery by moving here. We thought
we were in paradise in this solar
house and wooded acres, and now
we’re in a ranch house in town and
(Queen Bee’s and Baby Moon)
under the same name. Prompted by
trademark complications and still
subject to approval, a new name
combining the first two letters of her
children’s first names will likely be
released in spring or early summer
of this year.
Asked about what’s most important to her about her craft and
company, Rachel responds, “Creating something that is delightful and
pleasurable and made with a really
wonderful ethic behind it. So our
goal is to provide something that is
so great you really wouldn’t want
anything else. Just for the sake of
how it relates your body, but in the
same way we’re doing something
even better than that.”
Available at Willy Street
Co-op
You can find a variety of their
products in our Health & Wellness
department including Moonbelly
Balm, Booty Balm, Cheek and
Chin Balm, Mama Massage Oil,
Handcrafted Soaps, Lotion Bars,
Baby Wipe Juice Concentrate,
Sleeping Potions Essential Oils,
Baby’s Bath Bundle. For more
information on the company or to
check out their complete line of
products, log on to www.queenbeesoaps.com.
25
RECIPES AND DRINK RECOMMENDATIONS
DRINK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAR LIQUOR, 1209 WILLIAMSON STREET, 255-8041
Take 10% off recommended beverages… Just show your member card at Star Liquor!
Pasta e Fagioli
Recipe adapted from EpiCurious.com
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small rib of celery, diced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable
broth
1 16-ounce can white beans,
rinsed well and drained
1 14-ounce can tomatoes, drained
and chopped
1/3 cup small tubular pasta, uncooked
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
leaves
Freshly grated Parmesan as an
accompaniment
Directions: Heat olive oil in
heavy saucepan, add onion, carrots and celery and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook another
minute. Stir in the broth and simmer, covered, for five minutes.
Add the beans and tomatoes and
continue to simmer an additional
five minutes. Stir in the pasta and
simmer, covered about 8 to 10
minutes longer or until pasta is
just done. Let soup stand off heat
and covered for five minutes,
then stir in the parsley and serve
topped with Parmesan cheese.
Star Recommends: Promessa
Rosso Salento—This red
is from Puglia in southern
Italy which is the “heel of the
boot.” It is a blend of mostly
Negroamano and Primitivo
grapes grown in the sunny
southern climate. It shows
tart plum flavors and just a
whiff of allspice, making this
an excellent wine to drink
with food. An easy drinking
red that should be enjoyed
by all.
Irish Soda Bread with
Bran and Oats
Recipe reprinted with permission from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah
Madison
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
5 Tbs. cold butter
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 Tbs. molasses or honey
Directions: Preheat the oven
to 400°F. If you have a baking
stone, preheat it for 10 minutes,
otherwise lightly butter or oil a
baking sheet. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, and then cut in
butter until it’s crumbly and fine.
Stir in the buttermilk and molasses
until everything comes together
in a ball. Turn the dough out onto
a floured counter and knead until
smooth, but still soft, no more than
a minute. Shape into a disk 7 or 8
inches across, then slash an X in
the center. Set the loaf directly on
the hot baking stone, or on the pan
and bake about 35 minutes or until
brown. Best if cooled on a rack for
30 minutes before eating.
Star Recommends: Smithwick’s
Irish Red Ale—A fantastic
representative of this style of
Irish brew that goes exceptionally well with this hearty
Irish bread. Sweet and malty
this beer has a nice medium
body and a really pretty dark
walnut color. Tip a pint with
your bread and toast the Sons
on Erin.
Please drink responsibly.
Colcannon
Adapted from Sundays at
Moosewood Restaurant
5 large potatoes (2-2 1/2 pounds)
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
2 leeks, washed and sliced
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
4 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. mace
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Directions: Scrub potatoes
well, or peel, cut into chunks
and boil in salted water until just
tender. Drain potatoes and mash
with 2 Tbs. butter, milk and the
mace. Melt 2 Tbs. butter in large
skillet and add cabbage, leeks and
broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
Stir in mashed potatoes and season
with salt and pepper. Spread the
mixture in an oiled 2-quart baking
pan, and sprinkle with the cheese.
Place under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
Star Recommends: Falesco
Vitiano Rosso—This red wine
is a blend of one-third Merlot,
one-third Cabernet Sauvignon,
and one-thirdSangiovese. It
may be one of the most versatile red wines around. The
body is big and hearty but
the Sangiovese rounds out the
flavors and makes this bottle a
treat to drink. Plum, berry, and
choclate flavors are evident in
this rosso from Umbria.
Vegetable UpsideDown Casserole
Recipe from The Vegetarian
Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. Used with permission.
3 to 4 cups cut-up vegetables of
choice
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt or
soy yogurt
4/4 cup low-fat milk, soy milk or
rice milk
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup grated cheese or nondairy cheese, optional
Directions: Preheat the oven
to 375°. Lightly oil a shallow
2-quart casserole or 9 by 13-inch
baking pan. Sauté the vegetables
in the 2 Tbs. oil until just tender
and set aside. Combine the flour,
wheat germ, baking powder, soda
and salt in a bowl. Make a well in
the center of the dry ingredients
and add the yogurt, milk and 1
Tbs. oil. Stir together until well
mixed. Pour the vegetables into
the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle
with cheese if using and then
pour the batter evenly over the
vegetables, gently smoothing it
out with a spatula. Bake 30-35
minutes, or until the top is golden
and firm. Let stand about 10
minutes, then cut into wedges or
squares to serve.
Star Recommends: Cambria “Katherine’s Vineyard”
Chardonnay—This chardonnay which is named for the
proprietor’s daughter is from
the Santa Barbara area. For
those who have grown tired
of chardonnay this is the
wine to change your mind.
Bright with flavors of citrus,
peach and vanilla that give
way to and excellent balance
of sweet and spicy oak. A real
winner.
Supplies and prices limited. Not valid with other offers or discounts.
Spinach with
Chickpeas
Recipe adapted from FoodFit.
com
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can peeled diced tomatoes
1 lb. spinach, stemmed, washed
and coarsely chopped
1 15 oz can, or 1-1/2 cups
cooked, garbanzo beans
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
Feta cheese or soy feta cheese
Hot, cooked basmati rice
Directions: Heat oil in large
skillet over medium heat. Add
onions and cook until soft and
translucent. Add garlic and spices
and cook two minutes, stirring
occasionally. Stir in tomatoes
and heat through. Add spinach a
few handfuls at a time, stirring
until just wilted. Stir in garbanzo beans and cook about five
minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over rice, garnished
with crumbled feta cheese.
Star Recommends: Adelsheim
Pinot Gris—This is a fantastic and versatile Pinot Gris
from the Willamette Valley
in Oregon. It is bright and
crisp with just a hint of spice.
Flavors of pear, white peach
and apple come through
on the palate and the body
is smooth and creamy. An
extremely versatile food wine
that is an all-around treat.
Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Recipezaar.com
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 bell pepper, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
3 15 ounce cans black beans
3 cups water, chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
4-6 Tbs. sour cream (optional)
1/3 cup scallions, chopped fine
(optional)
3-4 cups cooked rice (optional)
Minced cilantro for garnish
(optional)
Directions: Heat oil in soup
pot over medium heat. Add
onion and bell pepper and cook
until softened. Add garlic, cumin
and oregano and cook another
minute. Add 2 cans of beans, bay
leaf and water or broth. Puree the
third can of beans in a blender, or
mash well with a fork and add to
soup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer 10 minutes. Add vinegar and cook five minutes more.
If you want a creamier soup, add
the heavy cream now. Remove
bay leaf. Season with salt and
pepper and serve over cooked
rice if desired. Garnish each bowl
with sour cream, scallions and/or
cilantro if desired.
MARCH 7TH
is this month’s Wellness Wednesday.
Get 10% off all Wellness items.
Next month’s Wellness Wednesday is
April 4th.
Star Recommends: Altos Malbec—This Argentine Malbec
is a gorgeous medium bodied
red wine. It shows flavors of
berries and black cherry on a
lush, velvety texture. Malbec
is a great and versatile food
wine that will please you immensely.
SEND US YOUR RECIPES!
You could win this great new canvas tote when you share your
favorite recipes with your fellow Willy Street Co-op members. We
would love to print your recipes and give you the credit. We will
select a random member recipe submission each month to win a
tote. Other submitters whose recipes we print will also receive a
token of our appreciation.
Recipes should be for main dishes and use a minimal amount of prepared convenience ingredients.
Recipes MUST be original! We like to include ideas for
using seasonal, local produce whenever possible. Email your recipes to Kathy: k.humiston@willystreet.
coop or drop them off at Customer Service. Be sure
to include your name and your member number.
Friendly Faces
Neighborhood Places
www.danebuylocal.com
27
Paper or Plastic?
Think About What’s in Your Wallet
by Rick Bernstein, Willy Street Co-op Member
I
t’s no secret, but most Co-op
shoppers don’t know that how
they pay for groceries makes a
big difference to the Co-op’s
bottom line—some $128,000 annually. The costs of using plastic may
be invisible to the average consumer, but they are real and growing.
Nationally the use of plastic (i.e.,
debit or credit cards) overtook paper
(i.e., cash or check) in 2003. It did
the same at the Co-op the following
year. That trend has continued to this
day. Most credit and debit card users
are unaware that with each swipe
of the card, the merchant is charged
a “discount.” That term may sound
friendly, but, in fact, represents an
increasingly costly part of doing
business.
A long history
First envisioned by Edward
Bellamy in his utopian novel Looking Backward (1887), it allowed
the holder to purchase “whatever he
desires, whenever he desires it.” The
credit card’s utopian roots gave way
to the need for convenience after
World War II, when, in 1950, Frank
X. McNamara finished a New York
City meal only to find he had no cash
to pay his bill. Forced to wait while
his wife rushed to the restaurant
with cash, McNamara and a partner
founded Diners Club to save others
from experiencing a similar fate.
Today, who doesn’t have
a credit card?
Because of their convenience,
introductory 0% interest come-ons,
ridiculously low minimum payments and an avalanche of direct
mail advertising, we have become
a consumer society increasingly
dependent on plastic. If it’s a “no annual fee” card and you don’t carry a
balance then it doesn’t cost anything,
right? Wrong! You may think the
airplane tickets are free, but it’s clear
that the costs of the “free rewards”
plus much more are rolled into the
price of everything you buy. These
fees are becoming the fastest rising
and most uncontrollable cost for
retailers.
Here’s how the fees work
At the Co-op, each point-of-sale
debit card purchase results in a 32¢
fee. Credit card fees are usually
much higher, since they include a
fixed fee plus a percentage of the
purchase. These fees can vary from
bank to bank, merchant to merchant,
and from time to time, but at the
Co-op, they are about 13¢ transaction
plus 1.7% of the purchase. 1.7% may
not sound like much, but in a business with a tight margin, such as a
grocery store, that can be significant.
In 2004, the average U.S. household paid $230 in hidden credit card
fees. In 2006, the Co-op paid over
$128,000 in credit and debit card
fees.
Two things you can do
To help the Co-op defray some
of these costs, there are two things
you as an educated consumer can do.
First and foremost, pay with cash or
with a check, especially
for purchases under $5 or $10.
(The cash only lane open 11:00am–
7:00pm each day is added incentive.)
Believe it or not but a 32¢ debit card
charge for a small purchase (newspaper and muffin) could actually result
in a financial loss for the Co-op.
Secondly, whenever possible
avoid using credit cards, especially
for the larger purchases. Yes, credit
cards are convenient and we have
grown to love them, but this convenience comes at a price. For those
who can’t give up their plastic
altogether, think about using a debit
card instead. It might be all the same
to you, but it could help the Co-op
improve its bottom line.
Doing so may be forgoing points
toward that airplane ticket you had
been hoping for, but think of it as
an invisible “CHIP” to the Co-op.
Following the publication of this
article and other outreach, Co-op
staff will be watching to see if our
efforts make a measurable difference. It may not reverse the trend;
but it should make a dent. Any
money we can keep here at the Coop could be made available for other
uses, chief among them neighborhood improvements, such as to the
Marquette/O’Keeffe playground and
other neighborhood public spaces.
So remember that the small change
you make in your payment habits
could make a big change here in the
neighborhood.
NEWSBITES
Reprinted with permission.
Customer survey results
indicate strong interest in
a grocery cooperative for
Stoughton
Stoughton and other area residents
who completed a survey from the
Yahara River Grocery Cooperative
exploratory group (YRGC) have indicated a strong interest in an additional
grocery store in Stoughton, particularly
in a cooperative grocery store.
Seventy-one percent of respondents
indicated they would shop at a grocery
cooperative at least once a week, and
nearly two-thirds said they’d be interested in becoming members.
“The response was amazing,” said
Eric Borchardt, chair of the exploratory
group’s marketing communications
committee. “Three-hundred-andseventy-nine individuals, or about
eight-percent of Stoughton households, responded to the non-random,
self-administered survey that gauged
interest in a grocery cooperative. Such
a high response from potential custom-
ers would seem to indicate substantial
interest in a grocery cooperative in
Stoughton.”
Borchardt was surprised to find
that 36-percent of respondents drive
more than 10 miles to shop for food,
some as many as 40 or 50 miles. “The
loss of Main Street Market is being felt
by many in our community,” Borchardt said. “Clearly, not all of the
area’s grocery needs are currently being met. YRGC is interested in developing a grocery that meets the diverse
needs of all community members,
offering them the convenience of shopping in Stoughton and the ability to
invest in Stoughton’s future by keeping their dollars in our local economy.”
Anyone interested in helping
create the cooperative is invited to
join YRGC at its bi-weekly board
meetings. The next board meeting is
scheduled for Tuesday, February 13th,
at 6pm at the EMS Building Training Room, 516 South Fourth Street in
Stoughton.
Organic grain farms
more profitable than
conventional
Findings from a four-year study at
the Agricultural Research Service’s
(ARS) 130-acre Swan Lake Research
Farm near Morris, MN, indicate grain
farmers can be more profitable if they
switch to organic crops. In the study,
ARS economist David Archer and soil
scientist Hillarius Kludze compared an
organic corn-soybean rotation and an
organic corn-soybean-spring wheat/alfalfa rotation, half grown with conventional tillage and half with strip tillage,
with a corn-soybean rotation using
conventional tillage. Records from the
study showed that organic soybeans
earned up to $14 more per bushel,
organic corn up to $3 more per bushel,
and organic wheat up to $5 more per
bushel than their conventional counterparts. Researchers said the Sawn Lake
Research Farm is representative of
typical corn and soybean operations in
Minnesota. -O’Mama Report
EU to remove thousands
of toxic chemicals from
consumer products
The European Union has passed
one of the most far-reaching consumer and environmental protection regulations ever. EU’s REACH
(Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) law, based
upon the “Precautionary Principle,”
will force chemical companies and
consumer product manufacturers to
prove that all of the synthetic ingredients in their products are safe, or
else replace those chemicals with
safe alternatives. The rules will take
effect in mid-2007, at which time
companies will be required to lay out
plans to gradually replace the most
high-risk chemicals. Some 13,000
substances deemed of high concern,
face automatic testing and possible
removal from the market. A number
of U.S. cities and counties, including
San Francisco, have recently passed
laws based upon the precautionary
Think Globally, Buy Locally.
You Have Nothing to
Lose…But Your Chains.
Our entire inventory of books is now
available on-line.
(608) 257-6050
www.rainbowbookstore.org
I focus my financial planning and investment practice on people who want
environmental and social value sensitivity reflected in their investment
holdings. Free, no-obligation consultation.
29
principle. -Organic Consumers
Association
Frankenwines to hit U.S.
this year
Consumers beware: the Frankenwines are coming. As with other
genetically engineered food, there
will be no labeling required on wines
that, for the first time, will contain
gene-altered yeast. The FDA has carried out no studies of its own on the
experimental yeast, and yet has approved it as “safe,” based completely
on data provided by the company
selling the product. According to Dr.
Joseph Cummins, emeritus genetics
Professor at the University of Western Ontario, wine yeasts are unstable,
and genetically altering them can
lead to unexpected toxicity in the
final product. Genetically engineered
yeast is banned in every nation in the
world, other than in North America,
so the use of the controversial yeast
by a few large domestic wineries will
likely damage the entire U.S. wine
industry. -Organic Consumers Association
Weird science: genetically engineered “cannibal”
cows
Experts have long agreed that
the fatal brain-wasting disease called
Mad Cow is spread by the routine
practice on industrial farms of feeding cows to cows—essentially turning natural herbivores into cannibals.
(This practice of course is banned on
organic farms.) Now a group of industry-friendly scientists have come
up with a “solution” to the problem.
Instead of discontinuing the practice
of force feeding bovine herbivores
blood, manure, and slaughterhouse
waste, scientists claim they have
successfully genetically engineered a
new cow that will not contract Mad
Cow Disease, even when fed infected
meat from mad cows. Scientists have
genetically engineered the cows to be
born without normal nervous system prions, which go awry when an
animal catches the disease. According to the researchers, the animals
appear to be doing fine, so they
apparently don’t really need those
prions anyway (even though they are
there as a result of millions of years
of evolution). -Organic Consumers
Association
2006 is warmest year on
record in U.S.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in
January that 2006 was the warmest
year on record in the United States,
nearly identical to the previous re-
cord set in 1998.
“No one should be surprised that
2006 is the hottest year on record for
the U.S.,” said Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel,
a climate scientist with the Union of
Concerned Scientists. “When you
look at temperatures across the globe,
every single year since 1993 has
fallen in the top 20 warmest years on
record.”
The burning of oil and other fossil
fuels results in additional atmospheric
carbon dioxide that blankets the Earth
and traps heat. The amount of CO2 in
the atmosphere has increased greatly
over the last century and global temperatures are rising as a result. The
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
is the highest it has been in the past
650,000 years.
“Heat-trapping global warming gases remain in the atmosphere
for decades or centuries,” said Dr.
Ekwurzel. “Realistically, we have to
start fighting global warming in the
next 10 years if we want to secure a
safe environment for our children and
grandchildren.” -Union of Concerned
Scientists
Soy foods may lower the
risk for ovarian cancer
A new study from the American
Journal of Epidemiology finds that
soy foods may lower the risk for
ovarian cancer. Dietary factors
and incidence of ovarian cancer
were analyzed among 97,275 women
from the California Teachers Study
cohort. Those who consumed 3
milligrams of isoflavones (a phytoestrogen found in soy foods) per
day had a 44 percent lower risk than
women who consumed less than 1
milligram. Typical soy foods such as
tofu or soymilk contain, on average, about 20 to 50 milligrams per
serving depending on processing.
Other than isoflavones, no significant evidence linked any other foods
or nutrients with ovarian cancer risk.
-Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Quick food facts
E.coli, food safety and your food
source
• 80 percent of non-organic beef
in the U.S. is slaughtered by four
companies.
• 75 percent of non-organic pre-cut
salad mixes are processed by two
companies.
• 30 percent of non-organic milk is
processed by one company.
• Depending on the time of year,
up to 70 percent of the produce
sold in the U.S. comes from other
countries. -Organic Consumers
Association
LISTING INFORMATION
We welcome your submissions
to the Community Calendar.
Please send via mail or via email
to l.wermcrantz@willystreet.
coop. Submissions must be received by the 8th of each month
for inclusion in the following
month’s issue. If space is constrained, priority will be given
to those pertaining to food and
farming, health and wellness,
environmental, and neighborhood events.
Dane County Farmers’
Market
Every Saturday through April
14th, 8:00am–noon at the Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin.
Breakfast served 8:30am-11:00am.
Come and join us where your favorite
local farmers offer cheese, veggies,
potatoes, apples, meat, bakery, cider,
yarn, plants and more! Know where
your food and drink comes from and
meet the farmers who produce it. Free
admission, free music. Each Saturday
a savory breakfast is made with local,
fresh, scrumptious products for only
$6.50. Vegetarian options and children
portions are available.
Michael Fields Pre-Season
Workshops
March 2nd, 9:00am–noon. Apple
Orchard Management with Bob Willard, Ela Orchard; 1:30pm–4:30pm.
Soft Fruit Production with Dale
Secher, Carondale Farm
March 8th, 9:00am–noon. Free
Range Eggs and Pastured Poultry with
Petra Zinniker: 1:30pm–3:30pm.
Bees and Bee-Keeping with Dan
O’Leary
March 9th, 9:00am–noon. Raising Sheep on Pasture with Bob Vandeboom, VDB Organic Farm; 2:30pm–
5:00pm. Raising Dairy Goats with
Dela Ends, Scotch Hill Farm
March 15th , 9:00am–noon. Organic Certification 101 with Harriette
Behar, MOSES; 2:00pm–5:00pm.
Tractor Safety I
March 17th, 10:00am–4:00pm.
Maple Syrup Production/Tour Sunny
Hill Farm
Designed for interns, beginning farmers, urban farmers, and
experienced farmers. Visit www.
michaelfieldsaginst.org for details and
registration or contact Janet Gamble at
[email protected] or
call 262-642-3303 x127.
17th annual Marquette
Neighborhood Scholarship Chili Dinner
Saturday, March 3rd, 5:30pm
at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center,
953 Jenifer St. The sumptuous dinner
with veggie and meat chili and side
dishes provided by neighborhood (and
beyond) restaurants will be served
starting at 5:30pm. The entertainment, starting at 7:00pm, will be
provided by The Dang-Its featuring
Tom Waselchuk. All proceeds from
the event will fund two Marquette
Neighborhood Scholarships given to
graduating high school seniors residing in the Marquette neighborhood.
There will be a $10 charge for adults
and $6 for pre-teens at the door. For
more information or to volunteer call
241-7143.
Celebrate Leopold
Discovery Day
Saturday, March 3rd, 6:00–
7:30pm at the Aldo Leopold Nature
Center, 300 Femrite Drive in Monona.
Nature activities, a Shadow Play of
Aldo Leopold’s life and refreshments.
Free event. Pre-registration is recommended; call 221-4038 or visit our
website at www.naturenet.com/alnc.
Aldo Leopold Nature
Center Black Earth Land
Steward Work Days
9:00am–12:00pm and 12:00pm–
3:00pm; and Saturday, March 10th,
9:00am–12:00pm and 12:00pm–
3:00pm. Volunteers are welcome to
come to one or both sessions. Activities are seasonally based but focus
mainly on land management projects
and invasive species removal. Workdays may be cancelled due to inclement weather, or planned activities may
be modified. Anyone with an interest
in participating should call or email
the Nature Center at (608) 221-0495
or [email protected].
Still Juicy: Enjoying
Sexuality and Intimacy
Through and Beyond
Menopause Workshop
Thursday, March 8th, 6:30–
8:30pm held at A Woman’s Touch,
600 Williamson Street. Join Dr.
Myrtle as she explains what goes on
in the body during and after menopause, and offers tips and tricks for
getting through the transition with a
minimum of medical interventions.
She’ll also offer strategies for enjoying sex after the transition, and
discuss resources and techniques to
make sure that you enjoy a long and
healthy sex life as long as you wish.
Come prepared to ask questions and
open your mind to the possibilities
that exist as you inhabit this next
phase of your life. All women are
welcome, and your partner (if you
have one) is also welcome to attend.
$25 per person, pre-registration is
required to hold your space, contact
us at [email protected] or 250-1928.
“The Spirit of Community”—All Ages Benefit
Variety Show/Silent Auction for the East Madison/Monona Coalition of
the Aging
Sunday, March 11th, Silent
Auction: 12:00–2:45pm, Show:
1:00–3:30pm at Monona Grove High
School Auditorium, 4400 Monona
Drive. Headlining is Ken Lonnquist,
other musicians, dancers, clowns, and
karate demo and police dog demo.
Seniors and children 12 and under:
$3; adults: $7; families: $10. Tickets
available at EMMCA at 4142 Monona Drive, the Monona Senior Center
at 1011 Nichols Rd. and the day of
show at the high school. Call 2233100 for more info.
FERMENT—Monthly Local/Sustainable Food &
Agriculture Happy Hour
Monday, March 12th, 5:30pm
(Second Monday of every month).
FERMENT is an informal social
gathering dedicated to providing all
the good folks involved in local food
and sustainable agriculture efforts a
place to meet others, cultivate connections and have fun! Please see
www.fermentmadison.org for details
and location.
Simple Chinese Cooking
Class
Tuesday, March 13th, 6:00–
8:30pm in the Community Room
of Willy Street Co-op. The heart of
Chinese cooking is simple - combining everyday ingredients according to
their Yin and Yang energies, flavors,
textures, and colors. This class teaches you exactly that with healthy, fast,
and easy to cook recipes. All supplies
included in the course fee - just bring
your appetite and a container for any
leftovers. Class fee is $30. Please
pre-register by sending a check or a
money order to: Pu Yong, PO Box
2404, Madison, WI 53701. Make the
check or money order payable to:
Pu Yong. Please include your name,
your current phone number, and
your email address on the check. For
further information, contact 608-2371375 or [email protected].
Madison Area CSA Annual
Open House
Saturday, March 24th,
1:00–4:00pm at Olbrich Botanical
Gardens. An opportunity to learn
more about Community Supported
Agriculture and meet 20 CSA farmers who will share information about
their 2007 CSA membership opportunities. For more information, log on
to www.macsac.org or call 226-0300.
Maple Syrup Fest
Sunday, March 25th, 1:00–
3:00pm at the Aldo Leopold Nature
Center, 300 Femrite Drive in Monona. Visitors will participate in handson activities and see demonstrations
of various methods by which Native
Americans, pioneers, and people
today tap trees for the production of
maple syrup and sugar.
Cost is $6 per person or $20 per
family ($5/person or $15/family for
ALNC members). Pre-registration
is recommended; call 221-4038 or
visit our website at www.naturenet.
com/alnc.
Weston A. Price Foundation—Madison Chapter
Meeting
Monday, March 26th, 7:00pm,
Wil-Mar Center, 953 Jenifer St. The
public is invited. For more info, call
Carolyn at 221-8696 or see www.
geocities.com/madison_wapf.
Dane County Food Council Planting Seeds for Our
Future Conference
Monday, March 26th, 8:30am–
4:00pm at the Exhibition Hall at the
Alliant Energy Center. Come together to celebrate local food, network,
learn, strengthen collaborations, and
sow the seeds for future action. More
detailed information is available at
www.co.dane.wi.us/foodcouncil or
call 266-4540.
31
Transformational Intuitive
Bodywork in Action
Attend a complimentary
seminar offered monthly
and discover what
makes TIBIA unique
100 Hour Transformational
Bodywork Course
Exceptional
Continuing Education
Course Offerings
Step onto the path you've
been looking for... become
a certified massage therapist
700 hours / 10 months
$6,000.00
Approved by the Wisconsin
Educational Approval Board
6225 University Ave. Suite 202, Madison WI 53705
Phone: 608.238.7378 Fax: 608.238.7379 Web: tibiamassageschool.com
MARCH 7TH
is this month’s Wellness
Wednesday. Get 10% off
all Wellness items.
Next month’s
Wellness
Wednesday is
April 4th.

IN THIS ISSUE - Willy Street Co-op

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