Community Conversations

Come join with other Provender community members for monthly peer-to-peer, Community Conversations. We meet on Zoom on a Tuesday each month from 1:00pm- 2:00pm PCT. Hear from and share with your peer group as together we share our knowledge, experience, and best practices for each topic. These are educational gatherings as well as an opportunity to network across our community with others who share your concerns. These are lively, stimulating events, and a great way to connect with both new and familiar faces.

 

Come back soon for our next Community Conversation topic! We are gathering at our Annual Educational Conference in October and at our fundraiser “How a Mycologist Helps a Community Thrive” with Paul Stamets in November!

 

SEPTEMBER 2025 COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

Your Cup, Your Values: Exploring the Ethics of Coffee

Celebrating 35 years sourcing organic and fair trade coffee from small-scale producers in Chiapas, Mexico, Café Mam is opening up the conversation. With new photos from their February 2025 trip to Chiapas, you’ll hear what the producers themselves want us to know about the strength of the cooperatives, mitigating climate change, skyrocketing coffee prices, and the future of ethical coffee in the mountains of Chiapas.

Grab a cup of your favorite afternoon java and bring your questions and experiences to share with our community as we gather on September 16th from 1:00 – 2:00pm PST for a FREE Community Conversation into the heart of the ethical coffee question.

AUGUST 2025 COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

Let’s Give them Something to PROP About!

Join us on Tuesday, August 12th at 1:00pm PST for a FREE, candid Community Conversation focused on the ongoing challenges and confusion surrounding California’s Proposition 65. Whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or supplier, Prop 65 compliance is something that touches nearly every corner of the natural products industry—and it’s not getting any easier to navigate.

Provender is pleased to welcome Rebecca Robinson, Quality Standards Manager for PCC Community Markets in Seattle, WA and Steven Yeager, VP of Quality & Regulatory for Mountain Rose Herbs in Eugene, OR to help lead us through this timely discussion about the challenges of complying, seeking exemptions, customer perception of risk, and the unintended consequences of over-labeling.

This is your chance to:
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– Share your experiences and concerns
– Learn how others are interpreting and managing compliance
– Connect with peers in an open, supportive environment

This will not be a formal webinar or legal briefing. Instead, it’s a space for our community to speak openly, ask questions, and crowdsource ideas from folks facing the same issues, particularly when it comes to supporting your customers’ confusion about the labeling and questions they bring to your front line team members or product’s end-users.

If Prop 65 has ever left you scratching your head, you’re not alone—and you’re not without support. Let’s figure it out together.