Text 32785, 73 rader
Skriven 2013-01-17 20:42:37 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 32703 av Daniel Torrey (1:132/505)
Ärende: stores  was: soup
=========================
Hi Daniel,

 RH> the moderator's good graces. You can tell us about the
 RH> Brattleboro Co-op--what do you buy there and how do you cook it? Is it
 RH> an organic foods co-op? Inquiring minds want to know. (G)

 DT> The Brattleboro Co-op is actually not as bad as I made it sound,
 DT> although I do find it somewhat shameful to see co-op employees
 DT> shopping at Hannaford because they aren't paid well enough to be able
 DT> to afford co-op prices.

Too bad they don't get an employee discount. Before Steve went into the
Army, we belonged to a natural foods co-op in coastal NC. We could get
our order fee waived by helping to do the repacking (Everything came in
bulk & had to be broken down into individial orders.) or other jobs
within the set up. For about a year I tracked the debits and credits of
the members (who got more/less than what they ordered) and the various
items ordered so my fee was waived. The fee was a percentage of your
total order, saving those few dollars a month was a big help at the
time.

Does the co-op carry everything needed? Ours didn't so we had to go to
local stores for various things. We could get a lot of organic grains,
cheeses, juices, etc but no fresh fruits and vegetables or meats and, of
course, no cleaning supplies.

 DT> The co-op carries both conventional and organic food. One area where I
 DT> think they do a great job is in supporting local (*extremely* local)
 DT> agriculture. You can get fresh eggs, produce, meats and dairy products
 DT> all produced within 25 miles of the store. They have a nice cheese
 DT> counter, and they carry two of my favorites - Vermont Shepherd (sheep
 DT> cheese) and Lazy Lady (goat cheese). In a state where the rule at the
 DT> big grocery stores is that you can have any cheese you'd like as long
 DT> as it's cheddar, a decent cheese counter close to home is a goldmine.

Have you had any really long aged cehddar? One of the folks here has
brought some to several of the picnics; a five year old cheddar that he
brought is a tate that you have to experience if you like good cheese.

 DT> I use the co-op for produce, as most of what I see at Hannaford is
 DT> well gone by - more compost than produce. Also, I buy bread their
 DT> whenever I can, as they stock products from local bakers.

I bake almost all of our bread, pizza crusts, etc. We have a mill and
grind our own flour so it is much fresher than even what can be found in
most natural foods stores. We do not keep white flour or sugar in the
house.

 DT> They also have a pretty good cafeteria, hippy gear (hemp t-shirts,
 DT> angry bumper stickers, incense), and fine selection of foofy new-age

Sounds a bit like Whole Foods markets; I've noticed quite a selection of
alternative products (but no bumper stickers). They have a good
selection of prepared foods you can buy and eat in the store or take
home and maybe just reheat.

 DT> "remedies" - none of which actually work, but the bottles are
 DT> attractive. :-)

So if you like the bottle, buy the "remedy", pour it out and keep the
bottle. (G)


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... If you think you are confused now, wait until I explain it!

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