Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Bizarre Market + Richmond Food Co-op: Give the Gift!


Bizarre Market Holiday, Richmond's month-long local/handmade pop-up shop, is in its ninth year at Chop Suey Books in Carytown! Featuring all things sparkly, snuggly, modern, functional, delicious and supremely crafty, the market has become a favorite spot for holiday shoppers across the city. Find handcrafted toys, modern jewelry, artisan-made cutting boards, screen prints, ceramics and much more from 60 selected artists.


Making this year particularly special are the third annual TINY AUCTION, a fundraiser for the Richmond Young Writers scholarship fund AND Richmond Food Co-op gift memberships! The auction is comprised of one-off items made by artists in the community, a very special gift-getting opportunity for those who love rare finds. And for the food lovers and community builders in your life, there's the option to purchase a Richmond Food Co-op membership, complete with a rosemary-adorned burlap gift sack of Co-op goodies to stick under the tree. The gift of the Co-op is not just a local gift, it is an investment in making our local even better.

Details:
Bizarre Market Holiday
November 29th-December 24th
Chop Suey Books, 2913 W. Cary St. (across from the Byrd Theater)
Open Mon-Thurs 10-7, Fri-Sat 10-8, Sun 12-7


-Bird Cox, Co-op Supporter

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Cooperative Thanksgiving Donation, Part 2: Thank You!

No matter how you say it, grace can transform an ordinary meal into a celebration—of family, love, and gratitude. -Anne Lamott

The Lovely Lockhart Family
This Thanksgiving offered the Co-op community the opportunity to come together and form a few new traditions - a potluck celebration and social, and the start of the Cooperative Donation. Like all things Co-op these came together because of a group effort to take action around shared values. Gratitude is a core value for this community.

The three recipients of the Cooperative Donations came from across the city (Northside, East End & SouthWest) and feasted with their families after a hard year. A single mother and PTA Vice-President, working multiple jobs while getting her degree; a great-grandmother whose house tragically burned down last Christmas; a single mother who has struggled with housing security for years; the common thread between these families is that each nomination stressed the ways that the nominee took great responsibility for caring for their families despite hard circumstances. Being able to provide a cooperatively created meal for these families is a testament of what this community can do together. We even had a sponsorship for one of the families to become Co-op Member/Owners. This Co-op is your Co-op - so thank you.


A very special thank you to Lockhart Family Farm (turkeys!), Shalom Farms (potatoes, kale, salad greens, carrots), Origins Farm (acorn squash), Milton's Local Harvest (pork belly) WPA Bakery (pies) and Costello Personal Services (sweet potato casserole) for making these meals possible. 

A Lockhart turkey prepared by Tim Vidra Eats

Milton's Local Harvest Pork Belly


Origins Acorn Squash
WPA Pecan Pie