KNFC News October 2007

The 2007-2008 KNFC Board:

President: Andrea Bussinger andrea_bussinger@yahoo.com
Vice President: Rick Hawksley rick@designwithavision.com
Treasurer: Barb Tittle barbtittle@sbcglobal.net
Secretary: Fred Pierre, store employee

Personnel Committee:
Ygraine Willmott grainyday9x9@yahoo.com
Heidi Shaffer hshaffer1@neo.rr.com
Fred Pierre

Next Membership Meeting: Sunday, October 14, 6:30 pm at KNFC.

The bi-annual Policy Meeting was held Sunday, Sept. 16. Members and staff gathered at Fred Fuller to discuss the upcoming expansion and other topics (below). Operational meetings are held every 2nd Sunday of the month at 6:30 pm, and are posted at the store. Members are encouraged to attend on October 14 to discuss expansion, outreach, governance, coffee bar plans, and staff issues.


Expansion Plans Include Coffee Bar, Increased Space, and Garden Architect Rick Hawksley presented a renovation plan, which includes new front doors and windows, floors and ceilings to improve energy efficiency and looks. The rear gravel parking would be replaced by a rain garden, as well as the walk-in cooler which now occupies valuable space in the store.

Pending Health Dept. approval, we will be serving organic coffee at the front counter, creating a place to linger, mingle, or just stop by. Some members would like offer a deli with sandwiches and salads.

The expansion price ticket is roughly $50,000. With the money we still owe on the store, fundraising is top priority, and we are asking members for support. A Fundraising Committee will be formed to discuss fundraising goals, projects and events (did someone say “benefit concert”?).

There are also City grants available to update the façade with energy-efficient glass, leaving enough room for outdoor tables and chairs.

New Household Membership Discount
We approved a $75 rate for two adults living in the same household—a savings of $15 for two lifetime memberships. Individual memberships are still $45, which entitles you to a 5% discount, the opportunity for bigger discounts through volunteering, and a vote at meetings. Pick up a brochure at the counter for details.

News from the Herb Department
Sheila Rombauch, Buyer

Herb Day: Saturday Oct. 13th. 20% off all bulk herbs!!
Sale! Solgar Chewable calcium, 500 mg, 120-ct., $8.59.


Governance: What Structure will Aid KNFC’s Expansion?
The Co-op currently makes all decisions by a consensus process. 2007 president Ygraine Willmott discussed alternative governance models. Switching to a Board majority vote would speed decision making, which Willmott believes would be useful for growth. Currently, there is no General Manager. Daily operation policies are created at staff meetings, and larger policies are voted on at membership meetings. The only enforcement is done by the Personnel committee, which oversees hiring, firing, and staff evaluations. A governance committee was formed to investigate alternative governance models, which will be presented at the next meeting.
Jexo's "What's in Season" Jeff Ingram, Produce Buyer

In working toward a sustainable future, I believe eating locally grown produce is especially beneficial. The amount of oil used to transport food from California, Argentina, or China, will soon figure into the cost, and do you know what that means? High food prices in the not so distant future. We live on land that is aptly suited for agriculture. We can be our own breadbasket. I have a neighbor who produces an amazing amount of food on a small lot right in downtown Kent. So, with that in mind, I offer this column to the Kent Natural Food Co-op newsletter.

So, the question is...What's in season this month? The answer is apples. Thanks to Johnny Appleseed, an oddball pioneer in the early 1800's who traveled all around Ohio planting apple trees with the hope of making this rugged wilderness a little more suitable for white settlers. In northeast Ohio, we've got lots of apples with a couple of great orchards right here in Portage County. Although neither is organic, both are small family farms that offer hope for a sustainable food economy here in northeast Ohio. Beckwith's Orchard on Lake Rockwell Rd. has been around since 1878. Stotler Farms, in Randolph on Laubert Rd. has 113 varieties of apples including heirlooms. If you visit these places, ask them if they would start an organic orchard. If they hear it enough, they just might try it.

For those who are interested in unsprayed apples, I had the good fortune to learn about a tree on Lincoln St. that was abundant with unblemished and sweet-tasting fruit. David Badagnani, who works nearby, noticed the tree and called me up. We approached the students who were living there and they said they didn't mind us picking the apples. They assured us that no one sprayed, or even pruned, this "wild" tree in their front yard. It's a fine source of food and the apples are great for cider, pies, apple sauce, or just raw, healthy eating! We picked about 200 pounds, so if you want to try some, contact Jexo at the co-op.
Website of the Month: http://www.portagefarmland.org

A Brief History of Kent Natural Foods Co-op Fred Pierre, Secretary

Around 1970, a food buying club began at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Gougler St . The buying club was able to obtain better prices for food by buying in bulk. By 1976, the group was formally known as the Kent Food Co-op, and had specific job descriptions for facilitators of specific functions, including buying, composing buying sheets, market day setup, communications, truck delivery, and scheduling.
As it grew, it became part of the Kent Community Project, joining with Peaceable Kingdom Bakery and other cooperative stores, and inhabiting the Kent Town House, or old hotel on Main Street.
By 1979, the Kent Food Co-op had incorporated as Council Rock, “A non-profit corporation, organized and operating for benevolent, charitable, civic and educational purposes.” The Kent Community Project dissolved, but Kent Natural Foods continued.
After a fire consumed the businesses in the old hotel, the Kent Natural Foods struggled to find a new permanent home, existing at 266 North Water Street before moving to 151 East Main in August of 1981. Current members Mike Kreyche and Anne Durkalski were among those who staffed the store. Store hours and pay were surprisingly similar to today. The store was open 10AM to 6:30PM , and workers made about $30 per day.
In 1993, Kent Natural Foods Co-op was reinvigorated with member ownership, and its membership grew rapidly. By 1996, KNFC was able to put $10,000 down on the building at 151 East Main , which was sold to the co-op for $92,000. Since that time, half of the building has been paid off through membership contributions and store proceeds.
Kent Natural Foods Co-op currently has more than 1,300 members, and over $80,000 in assets. Thanks for supporting us over the years. A dialogue between members is helping to finalize plans for store improvements. As we grow, we will need new ideas and enthusiasm, so please lend your voice to the mix. Thanks!
MONSANTO'S BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE BEING DRIVEN OFF THE MARKET
Reprinted from Organic Bytes web newsletter

The Organic Consumers Association has been working to educate and mobilize consumers and retailers (for example Starbucks) to boycott milk and dairy products derived from Monsanto's recombinant (genetically engineered) Bovine Growth Hormone since our founding in 1998. The synthetic hormone is banned in most of the world, due to its links to prostate and breast cancer. Although it is still being injected into thousands of dairy herds in the U.S., grassroots pressure from health-minded consumers and public interest groups, like the OCA, have caused Starbucks, Chipotle, and many supermarket chains to put pressure on their dairy suppliers to stop using the drug. Monsanto is furious that OCA and our allies have educated consumers about the dangers of rBGH, but with recent polls showing 80% of consumers concerned about artificial hormones in their food, there's little that the biotech giant can do to stop rBGH from being driven off the market. Here are some recent marketplace developments:
* California Dairies, which produces 8% of the milk supply in the US, has banned the useof rBGH.
* Food retail giant Kroger recently announced they will be banning rBGH in all of their stores by February 2008.
* All milk produced in Oregon is now rBST-free.
* In May, Publix Super Markets, with 900 stores in the South, went rBST-free in its branded milk products.


Johnny Appleseed Trivia
By Jeff “Jexo” Ingram

The popular image of Johnny Appleseed had him spreading apple seeds randomly, everywhere he went. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. Many of these nurseries were located in the Mohican area of North-Central Ohio. This area included the towns of Mansfield, Lucas, Perrysville, and Loudonville, Ohio.

Appleseed's managers were asked to sell trees on credit, if at all possible, but he would accept corn meal, cash or used clothing in barter. The notes did not specify an exact maturity date—that date might not be convenient—and if it did not get paid on time, or at all, Johnny Appleseed did not press for payment. Appleseed was hardly alone in this pattern of doing business; however, it was unique that he remained an itinerant his entire life.

He obtained the apple seed for free; cider mills wanted more apple trees planted since it would eventually bring them more business. Johnny Appleseed dressed in the worst of the used clothing he received, giving away the better clothing he received in barter. He wore no shoes, even in the snowy winter. There was always someone in need he could help out, for he did not have a house to maintain. When he heard a horse was to be put down, he had to buy the horse, buy a few grassy acres nearby, and turn the horse out to recover. If it did, he would give the horse to someone needy, exacting a promise to treat the horse humanely.

Towards the end of his career, he was present when an itinerant missionary was exhorting to an open-air congregation in Mansfield, Ohio. The sermon was long and quite severe on the topic of extravagance, because the pioneers were starting to buy such indulgences as calico and store-bought tea. "Where now is there a man who, like the primitive Christians, is traveling to heaven bare-footed and clad in coarse raiment?" the preacher repeatedly asked, until Johnny Appleseed, his endurance worn out, walked up to the preacher, put his bare foot on the stump which had served as a lectern, and said, "Here's your primitive Christian!" The flummoxed sermonizer dismissed the congregation.

"Here's your primitive Christian!" Illustration from Harper's, 1871
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Appleseed-primitive.gif