A Word from the Board of Directors
Greetings fellow owners and welcome to November!
Recently I returned from a trip to Japan with the last week being in Hokkaido, the northern island. It is incredibly beautiful. Hokkaido is smaller in area than the State of Illinois. In addition to the natural beauty of the island, there is also a fierce dedication to local food. Everywhere I went the shops and restaurants touted their goods were made from local Hokkaido vegetables, grain, meat, and their very impressive dairy producers. I have to say the food was awesome and the ice cream was some of the best in the world.
Being there I was reminded each day of our Co-op end that “the local food movement is equitable, robust, and environmentally sound.” I thought of walking around our store and seeing the tags identifying our local products and the towns they come from. We have vegetables from Urbana, grains from Ashkum, meat from Stewardson, and dairy from Fairbury among many, many others. I wonder how many of us highlight the fact that we are using local products when we make meals for friends and family? I’m guessing a good amount. With Thanksgiving later this month, I hope many of you give our local producers pride of place in your meal planning!
Your Board of Directors is starting a new board year with our annual retreat this coming weekend, where we will set our priorities for board work for the next year. That work is always focused around our four ends. The Co-op being the center of an inclusive, vibrant community was successfully celebrated at our MOO in September with fantastic turnout. We look forward to having more events with such great turnout and be able to have more board and owner interaction. The store continues to arrange spectacular classes that help us serve as an educational resource and a place for discussions. All of this strengthens our Co-op and the overall movement. We will continue this journey.
Happy Thanksgiving from your Board of Directors and we hope you have a great meal full of our beautiful local foods!