One of our top priorities in our Produce department is ensuring that local produce is affordable—the way our food system should be. Our Produce Manager, Heidi, has been working with local suppliers to come up with our best possible prices for you, and we are pleased to be sourcing a majority of our local produce from Square Roots Farm and Oasis Gardens as this year. Watch for “local” tags on our produce shelves: orange for Square Roots and Oasis, and green for the rest of our local suppliers.

Square Roots Farm, Fall Creek, WIJake Lau and Briana Odegard share a passion not only for grow-ing delicious vegetables, but for tending the health of our envi-ronment and community. Their farming methods include cover cropping, crop rotation, heavy use of compost, and companion planting, which work together to yield more abundant, healthier crops. These organic practices do something even more import-ant than producing beautiful plants and delicious vegetables—they maintain the health of the soil. Briana and Jake reflect a new wave of young farmers who are dedicated to promoting a sustain-able way of feeding ourselves—one that tends the health of the land, the people, and the larger community. Square Roots also offers a CSA share.

Oasis Gardens, Knapp, WIEdie and Duane’s passion for growing vegetables began when they were young children growing up on their family farms. Lo-cated in the beautiful hills of Knapp, WI, Oasis Gardens is Edie’s childhood farm. They grow gorgeous vegetables, fruits, and herbs the natural way, with NO chemicals. Because soil fertility and structure are so important, they begin every year by taking soil samples. They are diligent about conserving all resources on the over 70-acre farm: even the rinse water used for prepping their fresh produce is reserved for watering the crops. Edie and Duane have plans to expand their farm and hope to be able to add out buildings that will serve as a produce market.

Our other Wisconsin produce suppliers:Moonshadow Gardens LLC, Fall Creek • Miller Produce, Mon-dovi • Xong Her, Eau Claire • St. Croix Valley Produce, Wood-ville • Gone Wild Acres, Osseo • Little Berry Farm, Eau Claire • Blackberry Community Farm, Wheeler • Elise Hochstedler, Gil-man • Katydid Ranch, Fall Creek • Grandpa Glenn, Humbird • Elder Valley Kitchen, Eau Claire • Avenue Orchard, Eau Claire • Hilsgen Family Farm, Maiden Rock • Zebarth Farm, Osseo • Assorted wildcrafters, WI

Just Local Food Cooperative

the rootQuarterly Newsletter | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | Spring 2016

Un-beet-able Wisconsin produceLocal summer produce at fair prices

Just Local Food Cooperative1117 South Farwell StreetEau Claire, WI 54701

715.552.3366

Open Every Day8 am - 9 pm

PresortedStandard

U.S. PostagePAID

Eau Claire, WIPermit No. 1557

OWNER APPRECIATION COUPONS

5Off$

15Off$

35Off$

Must present coupon to receive discount. Limit to one coupon per owner. May not be combined with other discounts, coupons or special offers. Valid only for co-op member owners.

of $35 or more

of $75 or more

of $150 or more

Must present coupon to receive discount. Limit to one coupon per owner. May not be combined with other discounts, coupons or special offers. Valid only for co-op member owners.

Must present coupon to receive discount. Limit to one coupon per owner. May not be combined with other discounts, coupons or special offers. Valid only for co-op member owners.

Expires 9/30/16

Expires 9/30/16

Expires 9/30/16

Inside this Issue:

2Letter from

Management

3Letter from the

Board

4Owner Coupons

Just Local Food Co-op1117 S. Farwell StreetEau Claire, WI 54701

715.552.3366www.justlocalfood.coop

open daily8am-9pm

Mailing List

Join our mailing list to keep up with the

latest news in this busy season! Sign

up in the store or at the bottom of our

website. Follow us on Facebook too.

New Products

Johnny Pops, Brew-ing Projekt beers,

local produce, Soul Brewed coffee,

Water Street Deli hummus, and more.

This Summer

Check out our new Open Air Market on 1st and 3rd Sundays

beginning in July!

We’re ready for Summer!

Thank you, Owners and friends!

Ingredients:

½ cup quinoa, rinsed1 cup red seedless grapes, halved1 handful parsley, stemmed and chopped1 handful cilantro, chopped (stems are ok, they have same flavor as the leaf!)1 small bunch of basil1 handful mint, stemmed and chopped¼ cup olive oil (more if needed)¼ cup fresh lemon juice (more if need-ed)¼ red onion, diced or 4 green onions sliced thinly2 tsp. coriander, ground½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper or aleppo red pepper½ tsp. cumin, ground1 tsp. sumac (optional, but this Mid-dle Eastern spice adds a great lemony flavor)1 tsp. sea salt1-2 tablespoons honey, to taste

FROM MANAGEMENT

We now have over 600 Owners! Thank you for your commitment and your continued support—we couldn’t do what we do with-out you. Just Local Food is all about our community, and we work diligently at serv-ing your needs.

We are doing our best to be the biggest store we can in our current small space, but we have big dreams to grow into a store that will give you everything you’ve been asking for. We don’t have any concrete plans yet, but as soon as we do, you’ll be the first to know. We are working our tails off to find a new space that will allow us to serve you better and still keep our great relationships and products from local farmers and producers. That being said, when the time comes, we will need your help to get there.

Here’s how you can help now:• Keep shopping here. All of our profits from the products you buy go into investing in our community and our future. • Talk about us. Share with everyone you know what it means to be part of a coopera-

tive grocery store and the value of shopping locally.• Bring a friend with you next time you shop. We’re pretty cool to hang out with, and it’s a great way

to share with others what we do.Remember, you vote with your dollar; the more money you spend here, the more mon-ey that goes into all the good that Just Local Food represents. As Nik (The Meat Guy) says: “We aren’t selling food, we are selling a movement.” That’s the truth. We have the power to change our current food system. Let’s change it.

Maria Bamonti, General Manager

“We have the power to change our current food system. Let’s change it.”

RecipeInstructions:1.) Bring 1 cup water to a boil and add the quinoa. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until water is absorbed.2.) It tastes best if you hand chop the herbs—it doesn’t take long. But if pressed for time, you can put all the fresh herbs and pepper in the food pro-cessor and pulse carefully until small (one pulse at a time, or you’ll have paste).3.) Stir the herbs and raw onion into the cooked quinoa. Now the fun begins.4.) Put all the spices in front of you. Start by adding a little salt, olive oil, and lemon juice. Stir it up and taste it. Now add the coriander, cum-in, sumac, and pepper. Taste it again. You may want more cumin (I like the way this tastes with more coriander, but that is a personal preference).

5.) If it is too tart, add honey. If it isn’t “wowing” you or tastes bland, it may need more salt. Too spicy? Add a bit of oil or honey.

Keep adjusting until you get the taste you want. Do not be afraid of spices- they are your friend!

For: “Tastes Like Summer” Quinoa Salad

From the kitchen of: Eileen Immerman

2 | Just Local Food Co-op | the root | Spring 2016 Spring 2016 | the root | Just Local Food Co-op | 3

A LETTER FROM THE BOARD

We’ve reached another milestone: our 600th Owner! From the outside, a cooperative may look just like any other business that provides products and services. But because co-ops are owned by the community and not by an individual, Just Local Food can focus on our customers rather than on the profit we make from them. This dem-ocratic approach to business is enormously beneficial to the owners, the local econ-omy, and the community as a whole. This past month our Owner group reached another mile-stone: our 600th Owner! Consider becom-ing an Owner. Help us get stronger together by sharing your Just Local Food experience with friends!

About Our New Board Members:Jim Deutsch owns Deutsch Family Farm, one of our local meat suppliers, and has lived in the Chippewa Valley for 7 years and has been raising hogs for 10 years. His goal is to help Just Local Food Co-op to grow and thrive in a sustainable manner.

In Jim’s words,“As a small business owner I have a good understanding of the dedication and work it takes to start, grow and main-tain a business here in the Chippewa Valley. I also understand local food and the impor-tance of working with customers and caring about their needs.”

Jim has worked on public policy organizing with The Land Stewardship Project and in

the Osseo Commercial Club. Jim is married, has children, and is a pack leader with the Osseo Cub Scouts. His vision for Just Local Food is to support and expand the mission of our local farmers and producers, grow

the co-op’s membership, and help create a stronger community.

Eileen Immerman has lived in Eau Claire for 35 years. A native of the Chicago area, she is a nurse, graphic design-er and wellness advocate. Af-

ter being diagnosed with breast cancer and multiple auto-immune

diseases in 2005-2007, she began researching why this was happening to her. She found a functional medicine physician who listened to her story and was willing to seek out what was haywire in her system. It was mercury, and had caused a cavalcade of problems. Since 2008, Eileen has been passionate about the role food plays in heal-ing our bodies. Now healthier than ever, she began blogging about it in 2013. She hopes to share more of her story and what she’s learned with her fellow JLF Owners in fu-ture newsletters.

Eileen’s vision is to help support JLF as it evolves and grows to meet increasing con-sumer demands for healthier food options. She also would love to help educate con-sumers in the Chippewa Valley about the importance of investing in food to maintain wellness, thereby increasing both our cus-tomer base and healthier citizens.

Eileen Immerman, Board of Directors

Have a recipe to share?E-mail: leslie@justlocalfood.com

Community, commitment, and change

600owners!

We’re 600 strong!

W E L C O M E N E W O W N E R S !Austin EricksonMollie Jochum

Timothy JochumJedediah DurniPamela WestbyMike Westby

Cynthia VollerGregory Steingass

Joseph Kopacz

Daryll JacoxTrisha Thompson

Michael McHorneyEmilee McHorney

Maria BamontiThomas Folden

Linda BauerGreg BauerJean Pratt

Brendan PrattHeidi SandersTodd Davey

Kathryn SchaufDaniel WiersgallaKaren Wiersgalla

Becky ThurnerCharlie Thurner

Ben Brott

Laurie Jo BrottCharley StranNick Marzofka

Ashley BreySteve Wagener

Michele Wagener

We’ve Heard You!Thanks to everyone who at-tended our Annual Meeting in May and for your contin-ued feedback in the store! We are doing everything we can to implement your great ideas. Here are some of our projects that are currently in the works:

• Open Air Market outside the store

• Online recipes & cus-tomer feedback

• More grab & go foods• Classes, workshops, &

community education• Increased community

involvement

Thanks for helping us grow and improve all the time. We couldn’t do it without you!

Just Local FoodBoard of DirectorsRachel Hart-Brinson, President

Kim Schmidt, Vice PresidentFred Sklenar, Treasurer

Terry Meyer, Outreach ChairEileen Immerman

Jim Deutsch

SuzannaKnowlton

Store KeeperFavorite Foods: Real New Mexican

Tamales, black plums, & good teaFun Fact: Currently cataloging all the

plants in Shakespeare’s plays

Nick LarsonStore Keeper

Favorite JLF Product: Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Lavender Pure-Castile SoapFun Fact: Is a drummer in a local band

called Waldemar

Jen HebertProduce Keeper

Favorite Seasonal Dessert: Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Fun Fact: Belly dances

Welcome New Staff!

Maria BamontiGeneral Manager

Favorite JLF Products: Water Street Deli pita chips & hummus

Fun Fact: Most of her neighbors are cows