Member News

For the second consecutive year, Blue Lotus Chai has received the Specialty Food Association’s 2020 sofiTM Award for innovation and taste in the 48th annual awards — dubbed by Bloomberg as “the Oscars of Artisanal Foods.” Amongst many entries, their delicious and unique “Star Anise Masala Chai” received the bronze within the tea category. Blue Lotus Chai will be attending the virtual Fancy Food show in September, where the Star Anise Masala Chai will be featured in the sofiTM Winner’s [Read More]

GloryBee recently made the decision to permanently close their Factory Store at Highway 99 and Airport Road in Eugene.  As of July 7, GloryBee is happy to announce a new partnership with Down To Earth Home, Garden & Gift, which will carry GloryBee beekeeping supplies in their Eugene retail store. Alan Turanski, GloryBee President and Beekeeper, says ‘We are thrilled that Down To Earth has agreed to partner with us to ensure that our community’s beekeepers have a local resource [Read More]

Eugene, OR- June 16, 2020 – GloryBee has made the decision to permanently close their Factory Store at Highway 99 and Airport Road in Eugene on Saturday, June 27.  RaeJean Wilson, daughter of GloryBee founders Dick and Pat Turanski, says “This decision was not made lightly.  My parents began selling to customers out of their family garage in 1975, and the Factory Store grew and evolved over the years to what it is today.” The GloryBee Factory Store has been [Read More]

BOB’S RED MILL COVID-19 TRADE UPDATE Updated 6/2/20 We are sad to report that 14 employees at our production facility in Milwaukie, Oregon, have tested positive for COVID-19. All are home to rest and quarantine with full pay. We are hopeful for mild cases and speedy recoveries. Upon positive testing, we immediately implemented contact tracing. Out of an abundance of caution, additional employees who may have been in contact despite social distancing are also at home to quarantine. The health [Read More]

PORTLAND, Ore. To help meet the surge in demand for food assistance during the COVID-19 response, organic produce growers donated more than 46,000-lbs of nourishing fruits and vegetables for five Northwest-based hunger relief agencies. Organically Grown Company (OGC), based in Portland and Eugene, organized this mass donation. In early April, OGC, an organic wholesale produce company, launched a giving initiative called “Project HOPE” (Healthy Organic Produce for Everyone) with 15 vendor-partners who quickly and generously responded with product donations. Project [Read More]

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22, and we’ve been searching for ways to embrace it (at a safe distance) in the midst of coronavirus. Sometimes, we need to look back for hope, inspiration and a smile. As a business founded in the late 70s by a group of rag-tag, small-scale farmers drawn to counter-culture living, we get a little nostalgic for OGC history when Earth Day rolls around. While much has changed in the world, we’ve [Read More]

In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, Cordelia Software + Design recently launched its online ordering platform, Cloud Co-op, at the Moscow Food Co-op. Previous to launching, the Co-op was accepting curbside pickup orders through email (as many Co-ops are currently) and Cordelia’s app has greatly streamlined the process for them. The response from the co-op community has been overwhelmingly positive. Because of this, Cordelia wants to help other Co-ops and their communities as much as it can. They are [Read More]

by David Bronner – Cosmic Engagement Officer, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap As you may know, I have long been a strong supporter of drug policy reform in general and a huge supporter of the psilocybin therapy program proposed by IP 34 in Oregon. Everything they’re doing — bringing a healing approach to depression and anxiety, prioritizing training and safety in developing their program, leaning on the great research that shows that psilocybin therapy is a breakthrough treatment for those in [Read More]

Eugene, Oregon—Hummingbird Wholesale was honored to receive the National Co+op Grocers (NCG) and Climate Collaborative Award for Outstanding Value Chain for their innovative container deposit, return, and reuse program. This program, developed and facilitated by Organic food wholesale manufacturer and distributor, Hummingbird Wholesale, is unique in the food industry. In collaboration with its customers, Hummingbird has successfully surmounted many of the barriers to reusing packaging for their bulk products, rather than relying on disposable containers in much of their bulk [Read More]

from Sarah Brown – Education and Advocacy Director, Oregon Tilth Presented on Thursday, April 2 at 12:00pm PST Right now, your employees and customers’ safety is top priority for your food or farm business. Adapting new practices into your workplace to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is a challenge. Lean manufacturing tools like “Gemba Walks” and “Poka Yoke” can be used to quickly evaluate your operation, and identify the most effective ways to integrate specific practices. Our upcoming webinar will [Read More]

Research & Education Pre-Proposals Applications for the Research and Education Pre-Proposal program is now open. Read the full Call for Proposal for criteria and directions for applying. The deadline for applying is May 22, 2020. Notification of status of the 2020 Research and Education Call for Pre-Proposals will be in late July 2020. This grant program involves scientists, agricultural producers, and others using interdisciplinary approaches to advance sustainable agriculture at local and regional levels. With the collaboration of producers, projects must integrate rigorous research [Read More]

Mark Mulcahy is an award-winning retail consultant, educator, and organic advocate. He consults for co-ops, independent retailers, farmers, and produce distributors worldwide, and has presented numerous workshops at the Provender Alliance Annual Educational Conference over the years. Mark is the co-creator and presenter of the acclaimed Rising Stars leadership development course for natural food retailers which has trained over 2,500 managers, and Roots & Relationships, a fun, thought-provoking, interactive and inspiring journey into the unique legacy of food and its relationship and connection with [Read More]

Dr. Bronner’s debuts its first Regenerative Organic Certified product: Virgin Coconut Oil. A founding member of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, alongside Patagonia, Rodale, and other leading NGOs, farms, and brand partners, Dr. Bronner’s was among the 19 brands that participated in the Regenerative Organic Certified pilot program in 2019. Working in close partnership with Serendipol, the company’s coconut oil supplier in Sri Lanka, Dr. Bronner’s Virgin Coconut Oil achieved the Silver level of Regenerative Organic Certification. One of the first [Read More]

by Geoffe Weibe – Regional Account Manager, Sprague Pest Solutions As we collectively work to mitigate risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our customers have inquired about Sprague’s ability to perform commercial disinfectant services. In response to this need, we have expanded our service offering to address this need. Our goal at Sprague has always been to work with our customers and communities to provide safer food, and protect the safety of the environments in which we all live [Read More]