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EDUCATION AT THE CO-OP IS IN FULL BLOOM FOR JUNE
This summer, we're excited to be offering lots of great classes taught by some fantastic educators from our community!
During the month of June, you can learn just about everything you'd want about cooking healthy, gardening, and great summertime
recipes. We're especially excited about a couple of our classes that will be repeating on a monthly basis throughout the summer. If you're a fan of cooking competition shows like "Chopped", sign up for Paul Montador of the Scotsman's Kitchen's "Cooking on the Fly" on June 16th, in which we give him a box of surprise ingredients and challenge him to come up with a tasty recipe on the spot.
If you're a beginner or intermediate level gardener, we hope you'll join us this month on Saturday, June 25th for "The Gardening Year", an interactive discussion led by our local gardening expert Carey Smith. Other one-time-only classes will address the subjects of pickles with Anna Barnes, "Beers of Summer" with Andrea Stewart, anaerobic fermentation with Emilie Franzen, and mead making and tasting with master beekeeper Maggie Wachter. That's just a few of the amazing things happening in the classroom this month, so grab a full brochure in the store to find something to keep your mind and tastebuds occupied this summer!
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CURIOUS ABOUT EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK? 
Our Round Up For Good organization for this month is Eastern Illinois Food Bank (EIF).
EIF serves 17 counties here in Illinois and covers about 14,000 square miles. They focus on feeding hungry neighbors of our Eastern Illinois community by distributing food to 220 agencies including soup kitchens, shelters and food pantries. In 2015, EIF provided 6.25 million meals to local families with 1.5 million pounds of produce. Alleviating hunger here in Illinois is their main priority and they consistently serve our community. EIF provides for 48,000 individuals each month, a third of individuals being children.
Did you know that in Champaign county alone, we have a 22.3% poverty rate and 1 in 6 individuals suffer from hunger and lack of food accessibility? A good start to alleviating this problem is to take an active role to contribute food goods and monetary support to EIFB or food shelters nearby.
Five Ways to help Eastern Illinois Food Bank!
1.All June, round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and see it go to EIFB!
2.Our Ice Cream Social on June 25 from 11am-1pm, all donations will benefit EIF! (Additional donations of grocery goods are always welcome!)
3. Support Sola Gratia Farm because they donate 25% of their produce to Eastern Illinois Food Bank. We carry their vegetables in late summer and they are at both Urbana and Champaign Farmers' Markets.
4. Keep in touch with the Times Center and other local social services agencies that always need volunteers
. Donating time to local shelters that EIF supports is just as important!
5. Drop off homegrown vegetables, unopened food goods, shelf stable items, pet food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.
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ICE CREAM SOCIAL: SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH
The Ice Cream Social benefiting Eastern Illinois Food Bank is happening this month!
Join us on our front porch on Saturday, June 25th, from 11am-1pm. Local Kilgus Farmstead ice cream, non-dairy Coconut Bliss, freshly cut organic fruit and toppings will make a delicious ice cream sundae you won't forget.
Eat a treat to raise money for our local foodbank! Donations will be requested to reach our goal of raising over 10,000 meals for Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Live music from Church Street Ramblers and free face painting for kids will make it the place to be!
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DELIGHTFUL WOMEN, DELIGHTFUL FLOWERS
If you haven't met these three wonderful women yet, you will be in for a special treat!
For it is Maggie Taylor, Holly Curia, and Liz Faermark that are the strong ladies behind the Delight Flower Farm, a primer cut flower operation that flourishes here in Urbana. Working on a small plot within Prairie Fruits Farm, the Delight Flower Farm grows seasonal flowers for bouquets, wreaths, and assorted plants for the community. They offer Community Supported Agriculture (C.S.A.) shares, special event bouquets, wreaths, and other seasonal plants for the C-U community to enjoy. They believe that providing local flowers that are hand-grown and harvested can really bring joy and greater collaboration to the C-U neighborhood.
In addition to multiple jobs and other activities here in the C-U, Maggie, Holly, and Liz are all incredibly hard-working woman who delight in connecting themselves with
organizations including The Land Connection, The Red Herring, and The Channing Murray Foundation. The Farm is committed to land stewardship and excludes all synthetic pesticides or fertilizers from any of their flowers or plants they grow by hand. The farm has taught them how to work with Mother Nature, even with the unpredictable weather patterns. Maggie Taylor has gained insight from these experiences and states, "Farming involves a lot of trust and patience, and willingness to be flexible, creative, and practical."
The three seek to be in harmony with their natural environment as well as with one another. Maggie describes the relationship with Holly and Liz as, "For us, working with each other is really more friendship and mutual respect than anything else. We literally dance in the field while farming, laugh to the point of tears, and spend a lot of time chasing puppies around the farm- it's pretty terrific." They truly encompass what type of outlook you must maintain to be a successful small farm. And success they have had! Starting out in 2011, from the backyard of La Casa Co-op, off of Washington Avenue in Urbana, Maggie Taylor has seen her farm prosper each year. Now in the new location with the help of Holly and Liz, as well as the intelligent and dedicated duo, Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband (owners of Prairie Fruits Farm), the Delight Flower Farm has the support it needs for a prosperous 2016.
The Delight flowers will be featured in the Classroom and dining areas, here at the Co-op for the summer season. The Farm will also be set up at "The REAL Farm Stand" at Prairie Fruits Farm, every Wednesday-Friday from 11am-6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10am-4pm. Delight Flower Farm will also be at the Sip Yard, hosting a potted Hops plant sale on Father's Day
,
June 18th from 4pm-6pm. Although their CSA for this summer is full, they take special orders for arrangements and offer classes on flower arrangements! To contact Delight Flower Farm please email them at
[email protected]
or visit their website.
(Photo Courtesy of Lyndsey Scott)
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SUMMER SUN SAFETY
It's finally warm enough here in central Illinois to start practicing summer sun safety.
Simple habits like seeking shade and wearing loose protective clothing and a hat can go a long way toward avoiding overexposure.
Choose a mineral-based sunscreen containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that is coral reef safe and apply it early and often. Make sure to apply enough to maximize your level of protection-at least two tablespoons to cover the adult body head to toe. Do drink plenty of water and consider after-sun skincare. And don't forget that moderate sun exposure on bare skin without sunscreen, usually 3 times a week for 10-15 minutes, is important for adequate innate Vitamin D production.
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HEAR FROM YOUR BOARD MEMBER:
CHARLES DELMAN
Challenges and opportunities: they go together.
As most people know, change is the essence of life. The universe is constantly evolving, never remaining the same. Organisms evolve in conjunction with each other and with their environments, co-adapting in response to the conditions under which they live at the same time as their activities impact those very conditions. And so it is with cooperatives like Common Ground; we are ever-changing and adapting.
The very success of cooperatives such as Common Ground has dramatically changed the conditions under which we operate. As the demand for fresh, organic, and minimally processed foods has increased- in large part because of our community efforts- many corporate chains have seen the opportunity to profit by providing products. With their enormous buying power for both labor and goods, along with their ability to harness economies of scale, these chains can hold costs and prices down and make tough competition. But supporting of local producers, local vendors, and many local organizations like is where the Co-op does truly shines. Through our education programs taught off-site at many afterschool programs such as Don Moyer Boys and Girls' Club, Douglass Park, Tolono Library, and many others, the Co-op has a strong presence in providing fun ways to learn about how to eat healthy on a budget. Furthermore, now that Common Ground has hugely expanded its owner and customer base, continued growth will depend on reaching new populations and neighborhoods to focus on strengthening the cooperative and local food movements.
How can you help? Talk to your neighbors about the importance of supporting the local food movement and how Common Ground helps. If you are interested in being a contact, please let us know! We are in need of collaborators and enthusiastic individuals that want to help strengthen the Co-op's impact on our neighborhoods.
Here are Common Ground's purpose is defined by our stated Ends:
-The Co-op is the center of a vibrant, inclusive community.
-The Cooperative Movement is strengthened.
-The Co-op serves as an educational resource on food issues.
-Our local food chain is more equitable, robust and environmentally sound.
Coop's have changed the world. We are not done yet!
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Thanks for reading our newsletter! Enjoy your savings and see you next month!
These offers are valid for the stated weeks only. It can be printed or presented on smart device at time of purchase. Limit one coupon per customer. Applies to all store items besides those that are on sale or considered Co-op Basics.
Common Ground Food Co-op
300 S. Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801
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Co-op Deals Featuring:
Coconut Bliss $1.00 off Any Coconut Bliss Item -see Co-op Deals booklet for June!
Garden of Life's Dr. Formulated Probiotics, Save $3.00 off
any probiotic!
Enjoy Summer Savings this June with new Owner and Co-op Deals in store! Pick up your booklet from the entrance when you are in store next or see the Co-op Deals here!
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Upcoming Board Events
Free coffee with the Board on Saturday, June 11th, 10am-12pm in the Flatlander Classroom!
Meeting on Monday,
June 13th,
from 6:15-8:15pm in the Lincoln Square Conference Center.
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Ice Cream Social- June 25th
Saturday, June 25th from
11-1pm on the Front Porch!
All donations will go to Eastern Illinois Food Bank!
We will be featuring the amazing gelato from Prairie Fruits Farm and ice cream from Kilgus Farmstead.
Thank you to Prairie Fruits Farm for donating enough gelato for 300 people! We appreciate your generosity and support to make food accessible for Illinois residents.
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Eastern Illinois Food Bank
June is our month to support Eastern Illinois Food Bank! We were happy to see that the owners voted for this organization to receive a month of donations from Round Up For Good.
Every time you check out at the registers, you have a chance to round up to the nearest dollar and see the change go towards the featured organization.
A little goes a long way.
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Food For All Program
Thank you all for helping to raise over $3,759.83 for Our Food For All Program, a community-funded program that offers free food education and grants to make food accessible for our surrounding neighborhoods. The Grand Total and Bag Incentive total will be coming soon to Facebook!
Want us to reach out to your neighborhood to talk about healthy food or want to volunteer at the next FFA event?
Contact us about Food For All!
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New For Summer!
We will have a bunch of tasty new dishes available in the Deli's Grab & Go for June.
Lemon Basil Pasta Salad will be back! Also look for a Mediterranean Feta and Zucchini Salad; an Orange, Fennel, and Carrot Slaw; a Balsamic Beet and Arugula Salad; and Dill Dijon Potato Salad.
A new entree is coming: Honey Sesame Stir Fry made with chicken or tofu! For cool beverages, try a Sweet Ginger Green Iced Tea--we make a homemade ginger syrup! Discover your new favorite Deli item this June!
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Grilling For Everyone
Grilling season is in full swing and no matter what your favorites are we have you covered. Try our house-made Black Bean Burgers (in the freezer section) or a skewer of local zucchini, mushrooms and colorful peppers for a vegetarian treat.
If you've never tried fruit on the grill, try some pineapple or watermelon slices or peach halves for a sweet side dish or dessert.
And of course our meat department is packed with treats for the grill that you can feel good about. Our new favorite is Bacon Burgers from Moore Family Farm: local grass-fed beef patties with 10% bacon added, on sale from June 8-21, just in time for Father's Day!
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Just In Time For Father's Day
We love all Badger products and we have just the thing to add for a Father's Day gift!
June 15th-21st, all Badger Man Care products will be 15% off, just in time to celebrate.
Badger Man Care products are certified organic, rich in vitamin A, D, E, and F, with made without any synthetic ingredients. All products have a very subtle fragrances with hints of bergamot, black pepper, velivert, and pomegranante extracts.
From After-Shave Face Tonic, Beard Oil, Mustache Wax, Shave Soap, and Hair Pomade, we have the natural grooming products that nourish skin and hair!
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When you step into the classroom, you will see new artwork from Kamila Glowacki from her series titled
Saccharine.
She is a talented local musician, artist, teacher, as well as a Co-op owner. What's not to love! Her work will be in the Flatlander classroom until the end of July, so stop by to see her sugary work! Visit her website,
here!
Common Ground is proud to be a vibrant hub for local artists to share their artwork in a public space.
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Updates to Nutritional Facts!
We are happy to announce that the FDA is now requiring changes to Nutritional Facts labels that will now include enhanced sizes denoting more realistic Serving Sizes and larger sizes to see Total Calories per serving, as well as featuring a separated column for Added Sugar.
We are happy to see that labeling is becoming more transparent and we wanted to keep you updated.
Read more about the new changes the FDA has made
here!
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