If you would like to receive the seed each month, email us. To visit our Web page, click on our logo.
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| Heart Day, Co-op Style |
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Build a basket of goodies for your sweetheart at the Co-op. You pick the basket and fill it. Dress it up with our filler, wrap, and ribbons.
You can sample love-themed treats Tuesday, February 13 beginning at 3PM until supplies last. Bring home something delicious this Valentine’s Day!
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| Feb 23: Bradley Free Clinic comes to Co-op |
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Support Dental Health for All!
Help the Co-op and Tom’s of Maine support Roanoke’s Bradley Free Clinic, and you could win an iPod!
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Tom's of Maine is donating 1,000 tubes of toothpaste, and the Co-op is initiating a giveaway to benefit the Clinic’s dental program, which provides dental care to our valley's working poor.
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To learn more about the Bradley Free Clinic's dental services, stop by the Co-op on Friday, February 23 from 10AM-3PM, when Clinic staff members will be on hand..
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A $2 ticket is one chance to win one of 3 prizes.
1st prize: a 4GB iPod® Nano ($200 value)
2nd prize: a basket of products from Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op ($100 value)
3rd prize: a gift certificate to Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op ($50 value)
All proceeds benefit the Bradley Free Clinic’s dental program.
Drawing will be held Wednesday, Feb 28. Winners will be notified by phone.
Contact the Co-op at 343.5652 or info@roanokenaturalfoods.coop for more information and to buy your tickets.
| April 21: Village Green: Earth Day o7 |
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Join us for Earth Day in the Grandin Village on Saturday, April 21 and celebrate local!
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The benefits of supporting local businesses and local food are many – increased local independence, a strong local economy, food security, less fossil fuel waste, the community building power of knowing who grows your food – and Earth Day 2007: Village Green in historic Grandin Village celebrates them all.
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Come down to the Co-op on Saturday, April 21 to celebrate with our local producers in the store from 11AM-4PM. Sample local products, and meet the folks who make them!
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Other free events as of this writing are scheduled throughout the Grandin Village, including:
10:00AM - 12:00PM - Spirituality and Ecology session at Raleigh Court Methodist presents an interdenominational discussion about the creation of a congregational stewardship committee in places of worship.
11:00AM - 4:00PM - Local samples and producers, and RVCCC at the Co-op.
11:30AM - 4:00PM - Exhibitors at Grandin Gardens, sponsored by BREN. Connect with local green groups!
2:45PM - Showing of Kilowatt Ours at Grandin Theater. In this 35-minute documentary about energy consumption in the southeast, Jeff Barrie takes viewers on a journey from the coal mines of West Virginia to the solar panel fields of Florida, as he discovers solutions to America's energy related problems.
4:00PM - 8:00PM - Virginia Heights Baptist Church Courtyard: Live music performed by local groups.
Look for more events in next month’s newsletter!
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| Co-op Supports City Students |
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As part of our mission to support community, the Co-op donated to City of Roanoke’s Mill Mountain Discovery Center, a division of Parks and Rec that brings environmental outreach programs to City students.
We will be sponsoring the programs Habitat Sweet Habitat, We Need These Trees, and It’s a Wormy World.
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Check out our monthly sales flyer! Each month we bring you discounts on select products from grocery, bulk, refrigerated, frozen, and wellness departments.
Click here to download the entire flyer, or stop by the store to pick up your flyer today. No coupons are necessary.
That’s the Co-op Advantage!
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Green & Black's
Organic Chocolate Bars |
Sale price: 2/$5
(Regular price $3.75 ea.)
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Zand
Herbal Lozenges |
Sale price: $1.89
(Regular price $2.59)
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Wallaby
Low-Fat Yogurt |
Sale price: 4/$3
(Regular price $1.19 ea.)
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Lakewood Organic
Pomegranate Juice |
Sale price: $2.99
(Regular price $4.75)
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Traditional Medicinals
Organic Echinacea Plus |
Sale price: $3.49
(Regular price $4.59)
*Some items may not be
available in all stores or
on the same days in February.
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| Copy That: The Cloning Debate Continues |
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| Cloning debate continues – building a stronger case for organic and local foods |
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We told you in the January issue of the seed that FDA has declared, “meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats, and their offspring, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals.” Though FDA is asking producers to voluntarily keep cloned animals from the food supply, it is widely expected that the sale of products from clones will be approved by the end of 2007.
Furthermore, there will no labeling requirement for products coming from cloned animals and their offspring. This has created a blizzard of consumer protests, calling for more research before cloned animals are introduced into our food supply.
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In their “ not milk?” campaign, the Center for Food Safety states that clones should not be introduced into the food supply until more research has been completed.
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There’s also action on the congressional level surrounding this issue. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) has introduced Senate Bill 414, the Cloned Food Labeling Act. |
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If voted into law, the Cloned Food Labeling Act would require that products from clones be labeled “This product form a cloned animal or its progeny.” In a January 26 press release from the senator’s office, Mikulski stated “The public deserves to know if their food comes from a cloned animal.”
Many conventional food producers and clone advocates are concerned about the cost and accuracy of this type of labeling. Because on the molecular level clones are indistinguishable from naturally created animals, the idea of labeling great-great-great granddaughters of clones becomes, in the words of one clone supporter “mind-boggling.”
If the introduction of clones into the food supply occurs, consumers can avoid clones by choosing products with the USDA organic seal – at least for the moment.
At present, most industry experts and the Agricultural Marketing Service (a division of USDA) are united that organic foods prohibit clones. According to a recent AP story, however, cloning companies are contesting that view. The AP story quotes Barb Glenn, director of animal biotechnology at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, as saying “our interpretation is that cloning is not excluded at this time.”
The organic standard prohibits GEs – genetically engineered products – in which genes are manipulated. Since a cloned animal is an exact genetic copy, cloning companies argue that clones are not GEs and are therefore permissible under the organic standard.
In a counter move, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced legislation in the Senate that would clearly ban cloned animals and their progeny from the organic standard. Leahy authored the Organic Food Production Act of 1990, and says on his website. According a press release from Leahy’s office, the Agricultural Marking Service and the National Organic Standards Board will examine the issue this year.
And, as always, buying locally produced foods gives you the most confidence that your food sources are natural and safe. When you know your farmer, you know your food. The more you support local agriculture, the more it’ll grow, and the more choices you’ll have.
For more information about the cloning issue, including recent articles in the news, visit the Center of Food Safety’s blog, at http://truefood.blogspot.com/.
FDA is still taking comments from the public on the issue of clones.
Visit www.accessdata.fda.gov or mail written comments to
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane
Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
All comments must be received by April 2, and should include the docket number 2003N-0573.
| Job Openings |
Cashier and sampler
30+ hours per week, Saturdays required. Seeking exceptional customer service skills, ease with people, and a green thumb for care of potted plants. Must be able to lift 40 lbs without injury. Retail experience a plus.
Cashier, bagger, and floater
15-20 hours per week, Saturdays and Sundays required. Must be able to multi-task and fill in where needed. Seeking exceptional customer service skills. Must be able to lift 40 lbs without injury. Retail experience a plus.
We keep all applications on file and refer to them whenever there is an opening; if you are interested in working at the Co-op, please fill out an application today. Please apply in person; applications are available at Customer Service.
Submit applications/resumes in person to Operations Manager Elizabeth Wilson. |
Roanoke Natural Foods Cooperative is a member owned and operated retail store committed to providing the highest quality organic and natural foods at low cost. We support responsible environmental practices, local organic farmers, sound nutrition, local businesses and our community.
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© 2007 Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op |
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