Special Events
Village Green: Earth Day 2008, Saturday April 19
All day at Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op (8 am to 8 pm), there will be an organic seedling sale of plants from Dennis Dove and Tenley Weaver, who run Full Circle Farm of Floyd, and local vendors will be at the store (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) to provide samples and information. You can taste the goodies from a variety of local vendors, such as Homestead Creamery dairy products, Brush Creek Buffalo meat, Better Than Roasted raw nut butters, Café Kelepa fair trade coffee, Bread Craft artisan breads, Blue Ridge Baby Cheesecakes, and more. You can meet the people who make these products. Price's Piece will have sample sizes of natural, handmade soaps. Our own Happy Belly Deli will have samples of delicious baked goods for you to taste.
The kids will have fun, too! They can have their faces painted by Katherine Devine (11 am to 2 pm), and they can meet the chickens from Malu Aina Farm, who provide the co-op with fresh eggs.
Also, you won't want to miss the free, short film “Climate of Change,” presented by Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, at 11 a.m. in the co-op's Community Room, with a brief discussion to follow. (At noon, across the street, the Grandin Theatre will be showing RVCCC's "Energy Crossroads," just as the earlier film concludes. There's time to see both!)
At 3 p.m., nutritionist Jeanie Redick will present a free talk, "Know Your Food," also in the co-op's Community Room. Please sign up for both co-op events at the customer service desk.
Buy a ticket to win a mountain bike in the co-op raffle, the proceeds from which will benefit Sharebike, Roanoke's grass-roots, free community bicycle program. Second prize is a season of fruit shares from Good Food Good People in Floyd, and third prize is a basket of goodies from the co-op (includes cleaning products from Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, an organic cotton T-shirt from Green Label of Floyd, Equal Exchange fair trade teas and chocolate, a mug from Down To Earth Basics, and a cotton shopping bag from FishyFishy Quilts, handmade by our own wellness staff member Ellen Knight!).
At Grandin Gardens up the street, the non-profit Grandin Institute will offer talks on composting, bicycling, and eco-driving that day. There's much more on other days in April (see www.grandininstitute.org for details). From 11 am to 4 pm, the Blue Ridge Environmental Network will host a variety of environmental exhibitors, who will have displays and information at Raleigh Court United Methodist Church. A Native American ceremony will be held there at 3 pm, and green awards will be given there at 4 pm.
There'll be music and giveaways at Plan 9 Music, a clothing donation drive at New To Me (donors get a store discount there, too), samples of Star City Coffee at Pop's Ice Cream and Soda Bar, and a sale at Black Dog Antiques and Architectural Salvage.
Come celebrate the growing green efforts of your community, and join in this important event!
Free “Food for Life” Classes
“Food for Life” is a series of eight free nutrition and cooking classes that introduce you to a delicious, healthy lifestyle designed to keep cancer at bay. Launched in 2001 by The Cancer Project, a program of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the classes were designed by physicians, nutritionists and dieticians to help cancer survivors take advantage of the healing power of foods. Each class includes information about how certain foods and nutrients work to discourage the growth of cancer, along with demonstrations of simple, healthy recipes that you can make easily at home.
The classes are taught by local registered dietician and Cancer Project instructor Julie Wimmer. The classes will be held 4 Saturday mornings (4/26, 5/3, 5/10, and 5/17) from 9:30 to 11:30 am in the Community Room. Originally designed for 8 classes, we've condensed the spring series into 4 classes that will still cover all the material of the original series. The accompanying cookbook and nutrition guide is available for purchase at the co-op ($19.95) but is not required for participation. The book is also available online free at the class website (see address below).
Whether you are a cancer survivor or just want to boost your health, these classes will offer great “food for thought.”
Space is limited, so sign up now: info@roanokenaturalfoods.coop or call RNFC at 343-5652. For more information, see The Cancer Project and “cooking classes” at www.cancerproject.org.
Board of Directors election and annual owners meeting
May 4, 6 pm
Owners: Cast your votes in our election! We have three positions open on our Board of Directors. The five candidates running are: Julia Collins, LeeRay Costa, Caralee Eicher, Laura Holbrook, and Micki Patrick. Our election will be held on Sunday, May 4, at the Annual Owners Meeting (see below). We can accept ballots any time from now until 7 pm that evening. The ballot box is located at the customer service desk at the store. If you did not receive a ballot in the mail, please stop by for one or call and one will be sent to you.
Please join us for our Annual Owners Meeting at the co-op on Sunday, May 4, at 6 pm. We will have good food (lasagna, salad and bread from our own Happy Belly Deli), good music (John Smiley, “The Urban Hobo”), and lots of good information. Also, we'll hold our annual Board of Directors election then, and the deadline to submit your votes for three of the five candidates will be due at 7 pm. For more information and candidates' bios: info@roanokenaturalfoods.coop.
