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In this month's newsletter:
- A Word from the General Manager
- A Word from the Board of Directors
- 2023 Owner Election Results
- Moroccan Virtual Cooking Class & Meal Kit
- Kitchen Herb Virtual Class Series
- Vodka & The Cosmopolitan Cocktail Class
- Holiday Wine Up at Analog
- Turkey Preorders
- New Artist Installation
- Special Feature: The Kalyx Center
- Round Up For Good
- Recipe Features
- New Products
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Hello Cooperators!
In this letter I just want to emphasize the importance of being an owner. Historically 70% of our sales come from owners and you are a huge part of our success. Without you all we could not have accomplished everything we have in the last 49 years for this community.
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This is my valedictory blog post. After eleven meaningful years as a member of your board of directors, my final term has come to an end. I was elected to my initial term as a director in 2007. At my very first meeting, our newly hired general manager, Jaqueline Hannah, reported that in addition to taxes not having been paid for the past two years, our landlord, the Illinois Disciples Foundation, was selling the building and we had just over a year to relocate! | |
2023 Owner Election Results | |
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The Results Are In!
We had an amazing voter turnout this year with 14% of eligible owners voting in the annual election! We have the winners for our 10 Round Up For Good Organizations for 2024 and two new Board of Directors members.
Thank you to all of our owners who voted in this election, as well as the many wonderful organizations who submitted project proposals for the Round Up For Good Grant.
Congratulations to the 2024 Round Up For Good Grant Winners!
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Upcoming Classes & Events | |
Moroccan Virtual Class & Kit | |
Kitchen Herb Skills: Salves, Lip Balms, and Lotions Virtual Class & Kit | |
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Saturday, October 21st 2 - 3 pm
Make your own salves, lip balms, and lotions at home with ingredients from your home garden and local farmers market. This class builds on skills learned in our first class: Preserving Herb Harvests (Missed it? Don’t worry! You can watch the class skills video here). Participants will learn how to turn herbal-infused oils into custom lip balms, salves and lotions – giving you the tools to unleash your creativity! Class registration is free with an option to purchase a class kit to use during the live virtual class. This class will highlight how to use lavender, calendula, and rosemary-infused oils and make an Itch Be Gone herbal salve, Chocolate Mint lip balm, Raspberry lip balm, and a Calendula Cocoa Butter lotion.
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Kitchen Herb Skills: Herbal Teas and Steams Virtual Class & Kit | |
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Saturday, November 18th 2 - 3 pm
Learn the secrets behind a truly excellent herbal tea. Make your own loose leaf blend from locally grown herbs or get tips and tricks for crafting creative single servings for great gift giving! This class will discuss tea and steam properties of locally grown herbs, the art of combining herbs into a tea or steam, storage of mixes, and packaging for teas and steams. Class registration is free with an option to purchase a class kit to use during the live virtual class. This class highlights popular tea herbs including lemon balm, rosemary, peppermint, calendula, cloves, cinnamon, ginger root.
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Vodka & The Cosmopolitan
In-person Cocktail Class
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Friday, October 27th 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Join us for our next cocktail class with Katie Carrillo and learn all about vodka & The Cosmopolitan! The cosmopolitan, or simply "cosmo" is a vodka cocktail made with triple sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice. The drink was invented in the 1930s but rose to popularity in the 1990s.
The class will consist of light snacks, a tasting of 3 vodkas, lessons on the history and making of vodka, and a demonstration on how to make the classic cocktail. Students will then make their own variation of the Cosmo using special ingredients from the Co-op.
$40/person. Limited seating available - only 12 seats per class. Ticket includes class plus tasting. Waiting list will be made available once tickets are sold out.
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Holiday Wine Up at Analog | |
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Join us for a HOLIDAY WINE UP!
Analog will be hosting a wine-tasting party at their location in downtown Urbana featuring over 20 wines perfect for end-of-year celebrating! Taste and take home a few bottles at discounted holiday pricing. Tickets are required and Common Ground owners get $5 off using the promo code COOP.
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News-Gazette People's Choice Awards | |
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Thank you to everyone who voted for us in the annual News-Gazette People's Choice Awards! We are so proud to have been voted 1st place in best Vegetarian/Vegan food, and 3rd place in best Health Food Store.
We couldn't have done it without you!
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Our Art Gallery is now featuring the work of Jodi Adams! Jodi has installed a Car Wash series, Cloud series, and Nature series. Stop by the Flatlander Classroom to see it in person. | |
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Help us reach our goal of 150 new owners by the end of October! You can sign up to be an owner online or at the registers. It's a $60 equity investment that gives you equity in Common Ground, 1% accrual when you shop with special deals just for owners, plus you are helping build a stronger local food system.
Refer an owner to ownership and you both receive $10 in Radish Rewards plus a special orzo pasta product pack.
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Last month we raised over $4,200 for Immigrant Services of CU!
Mission: To help immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers to become autonomous, secure and productive members of our community. We do this through a holistic approach supporting our client families with medical, educational, legal, housing, job-related and transportation issues as well as with free furniture and household items that are home-delivered from their warehouse.
Project Proposal: "ISCU will use Round Up For Good funds to provide emergency food, utilities, and rent for clients to help meet basic needs. Federal and state programs to fill these needs have dried up, but many poor immigrant families continue to be food-insecure and at risk of eviction. We are the only organization in our county that helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through comprehensive assistance. Other organizations call on ISCU to help their own clients who need help beyond their own focused programs."
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October's Round Up For Good organization is Courage Connection.
Mission: Courage Connection's mission is to ensure everyone in our community has the education, support, and resources to live in safe, healthy relationships.
Project Proposal: "Over the years, Courage Connection's outreach and education programs have benefited the Common Ground Round-up For Good Grant. This grant has allowed us to buy materials for training on domestic violence awareness and prevention. This gift will help us further our mission by having our information translated into French, Mandarin, and Spanish."
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Special Feature: The Kalyx Center | |
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Written by Maya Bauer
Nestled next to Allerton Park, just outside of Monticello, is The Kalyx Center for Sustainability–a charming rustic oasis in nature. A barn, a gathering place, a fire to gather around, a community gem.
When you visit Kalyx, you drive down a long winding drive until you come across what appears to be an old horsebarn. The barn is, in fact, an old horsebarn dating back to the 1800s, moved to this land in 1990-1991. On the inside, the barn now boasts beautiful weathered hardwood flooring from wall to wall, and stained glass in some windows, including the giant central south-facing window. For more than 30 years this has been the site of hundreds of events, gatherings, nature hikes, bonfires, and community. Bill Taylor, the landowner and heart, mind, and muscle behind the operation, is a long-time fixture of the Champaign Urbana landscape, a founding (and still sometimes on-call) engineer of WEFT radio, a once-runner of the Red Herring and Channing Murray Foundation, a quiet pacifist and naturalist, though quite a talker if you get him going. The Kalyx Center also has a Board of Directors, as an incorporated non-profit 501c3. Over the decades Bill has supported a great range of events and gatherings on the land from mushroom log inoculations to solstice and May Day celebrations, from concerts to bird counts to album recordings and much more. For many gatherings Bill builds giant bonfires whose flames lick the heavens, leaping 30-50 feet in the air. It’s a truly magical natural gathering place. Check us out at https://kalyxcenter.wordpress.com/
With a focus on sustainability and community building, the Kalyx Center welcomes partnership and collaboration. Our seasons of operation are each spring and autumn, avoiding the bitter central Illinois winters and the sometimes punishingly broiling central Illinois summers. Have an idea? Want to host an art installation? A sustainability workshop? A performance? A retreat? Get in touch with us at kalyxcenter@gmail.com
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Butternut Squash Goat Cheese Dip | |
We have officially entered the fall season, and it's all about the squash! We have tons of beautiful local squash in our produce department, so we decided to make a savory, creamy dip using local butternut squash from Miller Produce. We've also added in local goat cheese from Prairie Fruits Farm, local sage and basil from Green Pantry Nursery, and finish it off with a crusty baguette from Central Illinois Bakehouse. The result is a super satisfying snack or appetizer that you can make all autumn long. | |
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Co+op Basics:
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brownie Crust
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If you've been craving a decadent pumpkin dessert, you've come to the right place! This pumpkin cheesecake is combined with a brownie crust for an amazing and fall-forward dessert. Plus, it features 6 Co+op Basics products and comes in at $2.54 per serving! | | |
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Pachamama Coffee is 100% owned and governed by smallholder coffee farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, and Ethiopia. This business model changes the narrative for coffee farmers, they set their own prices for coffee, and all profits made from the business are allocated right back to the farms.
$13.99 - $15.99
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Individually wrapped and free from dairy, soy, gluten, peanuts, and egg, these plant-based treats make a tasty and safe addition to any lunch or snack. Available in cheddar or mozzarella.
$5.99
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Stir up some chocolate decadence with Ghirardelli hot cocoa mix. This gourmet hot cocoa features the same exquisitely full-bodied flavor you know and love, in a finely ground powder that is easy to stir into steamed milk or hot water. Also ideal for incorporating into your favorite chocolate beverage recipes like mochas and frozen hot chocolate.
$4.29
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Prairie Fruits Farm Moonglo | |
Moonglo is a gorgeous and delicious raw goat milk cheese made in the style of a "tomme" (rustic alpine style semi-hard cheese). The rind is created by bathing the cheese wheels weekly in a briny-cultured tea made with Moonglo pear leaves and pear liqueur. Enjoy sliced with your favorite tart jam or salami or pickles. Melts well too!
$13.29
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Deer Creek Bourbon Vanilla Cheddar | |
Try this new Deer Creek specialty Cheddar cheese infused with Madagascar bourbon vanilla! Perfect for cheese sauces, sliced on local apples, or on a charcuterie board.
$9.89
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Our newest muffin is the perfect option for an on-the-go breakfast. It's packed with nutritive wheat bran, mixed berries, and has a dusting of sanding sugar that adds just a little sweetness to the heartier muffin.
$8.50 for 4-pack
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We've got a new sandwich in our grab n' go section! Vegan BBQ pulled seitan, red onion, apple cider vinegar, jalapeno, and garlic all on a Boulart Ciabatta bun.
$7.50
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Felt So Good Autumn Felts | |
Stop by our wellness section and browse our newest selection of Felt So Good fall & Halloween felts! These adorable felts make a perfect gift or impulse purchase for yourself.
$13.99
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Hand of Fate
Scary Dream Ale
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Spooky season calls for spooky beer! Try Hand of Fate's Scary Dream Ale or bring along with you to your upcoming Halloween party. This cream ale is dosed with pumpkin, coffee beans, vanilla and pie spices.
$10.99 4-pack
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Brick River
Autumn Spice Cider
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Brick River's Autumn Spice cider incorporates brown sugar, fall spices, and freshly pressed apple cider that has been brewed to perfection.
$11.99
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Our newest wines come from a cooperative vineyard in France! The winegrowers at Caves de Rauzan are ihn love with the flowers, the wildlife and the vineyards, which is demonstrated in the biodiversity trail, opened at the winery in spring 2017 and the cultivation practices that ensure sustainable production.
$10.99
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