Just Food Co-op

There is no better time to try to eat more locally-produced foods than during the Eat Local Challenge! From August 1-31, Just Food Co-op encourages you to take the challenge to eat 80% of your food (that’s 4 out of 5 ingredients) from the 5-state area. Folks that sign up on our poster in the store receive a free Eat Local America button (limited quantities available- ask a cashier for your button).

We’ve got lots of fun things to going on to keep you in the mood for local treats! Here are some of the highlights (a full list of events is located here):

Cooking Local with Chefy Girl: Wednesdays in August, learn how to cook delicious local meals with Martha Jirovec from Chefy Girl! Spots are still available for these great classes. Stop in at Just Food to register. Cost is $15 per class or $50 for the series.

Eat Local: Just Food: Our community local food blog is a great place to get recipes, read about people producing and preserving their own food, and get inspired to think about where your food is coming from! Check it out at www.eatlocaljustfood.wordpress.com

FRESH the Movie: You don’t want to miss Fresh, a recent documentary about the current food system and the folks that are making it more sustainable. The film, showing at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater on Friday, August 7 at 7 p.m., will be followed by a panel discussion. Tickets are $10 and are available at Just Food Co-op or at www.freshthemovie.com. We expect to sell out, so get your tickets in advance!

Food Drying 101 with Mary T. Bell: Learn how to preserve food by dehydrating from expert and author Mary T. Bell. $12 for Just Food owners, $15 for nonowners. Please preregister at Just Food Co-op.

Local Cheese Tasting: Spend a decadent evening in the Just Food Event Space with deli manager Miller Rogers as he takes your taste buds on a journey through some of his favorite locally-produced cheeses. Preregistration is required at Just Food by August 14 at 12 p.m. Tasting is Friday, August 14 from 7-8:30 p.m. $15 Just Food owners, $20 nonowners.

Harvest Festival: This free party is open to everyone! On Saturday, August 29 from 11-2 join us in the Just Food parking lot for tasty local samples, live music, and steamroller printing with ArtOrg. Don’t miss it!

Join us in the Just Food parking lot for the Eat Local Challenge Kickoff on August 1 from 11-2. We’ll have a good old fashion Corn Roast, complete with the sweet sounds of guitar and mandolin thanks to the musical stylings of Mandomarie and the Rockitranger. Other local foods will be on sale along with the corn on the cob, and we’ll have local samples in the store for you to taste. Don’t miss it!

Just Food Co-op shoppers: You are invited! Kick off the Eat Local Challenge with a Farm Tour. If you’re planning to stick around Northfield instead, don’t miss our Corn Roast at Just Food from 11-2.

Gardens of Eagan and Cedar Summit Farms Tour
Saturday, August 1 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Meet at 9:30 a.m., in the NCGA parking lot (across the street from Court West, 2610 University Ave. W., St. Paul); bus leaves promptly at 9:45. Or, meet at 10:15 at Valley Natural Foods, 13750 County Rd. 11, Burnsville for 10:30 departure on morning of tour.

Join us for a tour Gardens of Eagan, one of the area’s oldest organic vegetable farms, followed by Cedar Summit Farms, a grass-fed dairy farm. The tour price of $25 per person includes air-conditioned bus transportation to and from two pick-up locations (NCGA’s office and Valley Natural Foods) as well as a boxed lunch. Space is limited to 55 people and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your space, email lauren.zamorano@ncga.coop by July 15. Or, call her at 651-379-1480, ext.2212.

We hope you will tune in to KYMN Radio (1080 AM) or streaming at http://kymnradio.net during Paula Granquist’s cool program “Art Zany: Radio for the Imagination.” We will be on tomorrow (Friday, Feb 27) at 9 a.m. to talk about local food and the upcoming Winter Eat Local Challenge.

We’ve got some new posts on Eat Local: Just Food. Stop by for your daily dose of inspiration, and leave a comment while you’re there!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Friday, March 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for Feeding Minnesota in Winter: A local farmer panel discussion. It’s free, but seating is limited so stop in or call the Co-op (507-650-0106) to reserve your seat. Hear from three larger local producers, moderated by local farmer David Hougen-Eitzman from Big Woods Farm.

The Winter Eat Local Challenge is just around the corner (March 7-13), and after a long, strong winter, we needed a little inspiration. We needed a reminder about why supporting local farmers is important, and some ideas on how to support and build our local food systems here in the Northfield area.

And so was born Eat Local: Just Food, a brand-new blog authored by five community members and focused on local food.

We hope that you will be inspired too, as you read about their stories of local food and farming, their practical ideas for going local, their meals and recipes, and much more. So stop by eatlocaljustfood.wordpress.com soon, come back often, tell your friends, and leave your comments!

It is estimated that our food travels an average of 1,300 miles from field to fork. Eating food produced locally is often better for you, the environment, small family farmers and the local economy. But where do you start if you’d like to adopt a more regional diet? You can begin by taking the Eat Local Challenge from August 15-September 15.

How do I do it?
For the third year in a row, Just Food Co-op is challenging community members to eat 80 percent of their diet –that’s four out of five ingredients–from food produced in the five-state region for four weeks. Those taking the 80% challenge are Leading Locavores. Folks not quite ready to do 80% can still take the Challenge by becoming Local Learners. Local Learners pledge to eat five local meals per week. Anyone taking the challenge at either level can sign up at Just Food Co-op. The first 150 people to sign up will receive a free “Eat Local America” button.

Who else is participating?
This year, nearly 70 natural food co-ops across the nation are hosting their own Eat Local Challenges based on Just Food’s model. You can find more information on the Eat Local America Challenge at www.eatlocalamerica.coop. Just Food Co-op labels its locally produced foods to make them easier to find, and the Farmers Market and CSA farms are other great places to find local fare. Many local restaurants are also seeking local sources for their ingredients so they can support local farmers. Ask at your favorite restaurant to find out if they have local ingredients.

I need suggestions and inspiration!
In order to help inspire those who accept the Challenge, Just Food will have menu ideas available at the store and host a variety of events throughout the four weeks. You’ll find a complete schedule of events below. The Eat Local Challenge will kick off with a free showing of the documentary “Tableland” on Friday, August 15 at 7 p.m. in the Just Food Event Space, 516 Water Street S. in downtown Northfield. Please preregister by stopping in at the store or calling 507-650-0106. Those attending the film showing will enjoy a sampling of local treats available at Just Food.

FREE EVENTS DURING THE CHALLENGE:

Film Showing: Tableland
Don’t miss this beautiful documentary that celebrates the relationships that flourish around local food. Local snacks provided to those who preregister. Film runs approximately 75 minutes.
When: Friday, August 15, 7-8 p.m.
Cost: No charge. Please preregister at Just Food Co-op
Location: In the Just Food Event Space, 516 Water St. S.

Class: (Preregistration required- ask a cashier for details)
How to Eat Locally and In Season All Year Long
Olivia Frey will discuss how she prepares fruits, herbs, and vegetables by drying, freezing, and canning so they will last all year.
When: Wednesday, August 20, 7-8:30 p.m.
Cost: No charge. Please preregister at Just Food Co-op
Location: In the Just Food Event Space, 516 Water St. S.

Presentation: (Preregistration required- ask a cashier for details)
Local Longer: What can Northfield do to extend the growing season?
Join Angel Dobrow, Mary Ellen Frame, and Kathy Zeman as they provide information on the status of the Community Kitchen, the future of hoop houses (a structure that works as a greenhouse), and a model community root cellar. Facilitated by Erin Barnett.
When: Tuesday, August 26, 7-8:30 p.m.
Cost: No charge. Please preregister at Just Food Co-op
Location: In the Just Food Event Space, 516 Water St. S.

Book Discussion: The End of Food
Read the book “The End of Food,” then join Azna for a lively discussion.
When: Thursday, September 11, 7-8 p.m.
Cost: No charge. Please preregister at Just Food Co-op
Location: In the Just Food Event Space, 516 Water St. S.

Harvest Festival: September 13!
Celebrate fall and your success in taking the Eat Local Challenge in the Just Food parking lot on Saturday, September 13 from 11-2 for our Harvest Festival. You’ll enjoy live music, meet local producers and taste their delicious products, make your own crop art, pet a goat and more!

Local meat producers Mike and Linda Noble of Farm on Wheels and Todd Churchill of Thousand Hills Cattle Company were featured in an article in Minnesota Monthly called Pasture Prime. The article talks about the benefits of local, grass-fed meat. Read the article here. Farm on Wheels meat is available in our frozen meat case. Thousand Hills beef and hot dogs are available in our fresh meat case.

Congratulations to all who took the Winter Eat Local Challenge! Today is the last day of the challenge- you made it! Please use our contact form to tell us how it went for you.

Meet your farmer! One Sun Farm makes frozen pizza mostly from items that they grow on their farm. You can learn about their farming practices and how “value added” products like the pizzas can really help small farms succeed, today from 4-6 p.m. in the aisles of Just Food.

It’s day 6 of the Winter Eat Local Challenge, and I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to wish the challenge was longer than just one week! There are so many delicious meals that contain at least 50% local ingredients. You can find the recipes here.

Meet your farmers! CSA farmers are in the aisles of Just Food today until 2 p.m. You can learn about their farms and even become a member today- don’t miss CSA Day!

Then from 4-6 p.m. stop in to meet the local honey producer Homestead Apiaries. They produce the raw honey we carry, plus supply us with our bulk honey. Talk with them in the aisles today starting at 4.