by Glenda Bissex, Editor
“The Everything for Everybody Store” is our theme this issue.
On Facebook, somebody raved she could find anything in the new Co-op store. And that’s just about true as shelves full of grocery items, a cooler full of fresh produce, a freezer full of ice creams, and more have been added to the Plainfield Hardware Store. We invite you to walk up and down the aisles, discovering everything you can buy here now. You might not need to take that trip into town!
In this Newsletter David Ertel shows us around the hardware department, Theis Bergstrom talks about wines, and we get a look at the bulk foods section of the grocery department. Michael and Lisa are opening the greenhouse for the season, and we get a tour of what’s inside. Future issues of this quarterly newsletter will give a close look at the comprehensive grocery department and the well-stocked pet section.
Whatever the department, the new Co-op aims to be a store for everybody in our community. That’s the message from Board member Jan Waterman in her article “Everyone Is Welcome.” It’s clear from the President’s and the General Manager’s reports. For everyone who loves good food (and I think that’s everyone) this newsletter regularly features yummy, not expensive, seasonal recipes. This time it’s cheese blintzes, frittata, and braised white beans.
The Co-op is a store not only for the shoppers in our community but for the farmers and other local producers to sell their products to. Historically, both the Plainfield Hardware and the Plainfield Co-op have made supporting local producers a priority. That’s true for the greenhouse as well as the grocery. Check out the amazing array of locally baked breads! Now, after the floods and with the cutbacks in federal funding, local farmers need our support more than ever, as you can read in Gail Falk’s article.
Recently I visited the Buffalo Mountain Market in Hardwick. Three years ago the Buffalo Mountain Co-op bought a conventional grocery store in town whose owners wanted to retire. Some customers feared that meant the hippies were taking over. However, the store has become an inspiring example of a hybrid market that serves the whole community. When the Co-op moved into the conventional store, they thought they would finally have ample parking. It turns out their new parking lot can be full to overflowing. Inside, bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups hang happily beside a row of Equal Exchange organic chocolate bars. Reaching out into the community, the store gives working member discounts to volunteers, like fire fighters, who contribute essential services to the whole community.
From City Market to Buffalo Mountain Market to the Plainfield Co-op, the meaning of co-operative is growing to include the whole community.
The Newsletter Committee:
- Glenda Bissex, Editor, songboat@vtlink.net
- Gail Falk, Staff Writer
- Elizabeth Mathai, Design & Layout, and Ad Coordinator
- Debra Stoleroff, Recipe Editor