Last month, our staff visited Mills Family Farm and Back Creek Farm, two of our North Carolina meat suppliers. We learned about animal feed and care, the business of raising meat animals, and the families behind the farms.
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2016
Cabot’s Lactose-Free Mac N Cheese
Did you know that cheddar cheese is lactose free? According to Cabot, “In the cheese-making process, the whey (where most of the lactose is) is separated out from the curd in the milk, and natural aging breaks down any remaining lactose. So aged cheeses, like cheddar, contain zero grams of lactose.” Cabot shared this recipe for easy Mac N Cheese.
Continue ReadingHighlights from the Cabot Training Session
Last month, staff had a training session with Connie, Cabot’s rep in the southeastern United States. As we snacked on samples of the lighter flavored Orne Meadows, named after Cabot’s first cheesemaker, and a sharper vintage cheddar, Connie reviewed Cabot’s history. Many Vermont dairy farmers were lost in the “dairy buyout” of 1986, when prices…
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Fair Trade Avocados Are Back, Again
Fair trade, organic avocados from Equal Exchange are back in stores. If you’re thinking it seems like the season just ended, you’re right: at last month’s Co-op Fair, we chatted with Nicole from Equal Exchange. She explained that PRAGOR, the co-op of small-scale avocado growers in Michoacán, Mexico, has added growers with avocado trees at…
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Fall Produce Is Here
By Carolyn Twesten, Weaver Street Market Produce Merchandiser After a seemingly endless summer in North Carolina, the temperatures and humidity are finally falling. With this blissful weather come many of my favorite veggies and the urge to roast, stew, and bake my way into fall. As the cornucopia–our traditional symbol of fall–suggests, now is a…
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Special Delivery: Nicasio Square
This week’s Special Delivery cheese is Nicasio Square from Nicasio Valley Cheese Company in Marin County, California. Nicasio Square is a washed-rind, Taleggio-style cheese with incredible flavor
Continue ReadingOwners Give Co-op High Marks in Owner Survey
In September, over 2,300 owners completed our two-question “Net Promoter” survey and received a 10%-off coupon. The survey results yielded our “Net Promoter Score”—an index that measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products and services to others; this in turn indicates whether customers will remain loyal as grocery competitors open stores. On…
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RAFI Revisited
In July of 2007, I visited the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) in Pittsboro to learn more about the nonprofit. Last month’s Curds & Crafts Festival raised $4500 for RAFI!
Continue ReadingWin Wine! A Raffle Sponsored by Coastal Federal Credit Union
Win a case of wine! At each upcoming wine show, we’ll sell raffle tickets for $5. Win, and you can fill a case with your favorites from the Fall Wine Sale. The raffle is sponsored by one of our local credit unions, Coastal Federal Credit Union, and all the proceeds go to our Cooperative Community…
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Fall Wine Sale is Here
The Fall Wine Sale is here! From October 5 to November 1, we’ll have 35 wines on sale at deeply discounted prices, up to 51% off. This season’s sale includes 8 organic wines, 5 co-op produced wines, and 4 fair trade wines. Click here for the list of wines on sale. Come to one of our three wine shows to taste…
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