Feeding the Environment: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are

Colleen Berg is a long-time local environmental and community activist, a 27-year member of the Community Food Co-op and a new Co-op employee.

If we want to support the environment, one of the first things we can do is consume less. We can also conserve energy, use alternative transportation, reuse what we can and recycle and compost almost everything else. But consume we must, and the most frequent purchases we make are at the grocery store. Fortunately, there is a way to consider the environment — by shopping at the Community Food Co-op.

There are several ways in which the Co-op considers the impact its products have on the environment: from selling 100 percent post- consumer recycled toilet paper to promoting local organic farmers and producers and implementing innovative waste management and conservation practices in their stores.

A “zero waste” storewide policy transformed the way employees and shoppers handle waste. Recycling and Food Plus! composting bins are located throughout both stores, the deli features compostable cutlery and biodegradable to-go containers, and the bulk section offers many opportunities to purchase items using your own reusable containers from home. Equally important, the sale of products made from recycled content helps sustain viable markets for the materials we recycle.

Organic produce is one of the hallmarks for sustainable environmental stewardship. Organic is unaltered food grown and processed chemically free. The Co-op prides itself on selling fresh, local and organic produce whenever possible. There are also organic prepared foods, made locally and elsewhere, on the shelves throughout both stores.

Purchasing bulk foods and household products eliminates packaging and reduces your grocery bill. The Co-op has the largest bulk selection of healthy foods, cleaning products and personal care items in Whatcom County. Slice off a one-week supply of hand soap in the wellness department or refill your own container with dish soap, olive oil or raisins. Grind your own peanut butter from salted dry roasted or raw peanuts. You can find a wide variety of products and local producers in the bulk sections of both stores.

Another important issue to the Co-op is that of Fair Trade. Fair Trade products are items that take into account social conditions of workers, economic equity and environmental safeguards in international trading. Coffee, chocolate, mercantile and even flowers are some of the fair trade items sold at the Co-op. In addition, the Co-op’s Membership Advisory Committee is working to promote local fair trade right here in Whatcom County.

Energy efficiency, conservation and alternatives are other ways the Food Co-op’s ethics are demonstrated. At the downtown store, solar panels provide emergency power back up in case of power outage, and when not in use the excess power generated is sold to Puget Sound Energy. New efficient refrigeration units were recently installed to help conserve energy consumption.

The Cordata store was built to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) criteria. Fulfilled criteria components include proximity to public transportation, showers for bicycling employees, low-flow water conservation technology, certified wood cabinetry, accessible daylight and energy saving devices for lighting and refrigeration. Both stores have native plant landscaping and the downtown store boasts a beautiful “backyard” wildlife habitat garden, which the Co-op hopes to have certified by the National Wildlife Federation this year.

Shopping at the Community Food Co-op supports an ethic of shopping that goes beyond food. Shop on the third Saturday of each month and help support local environmental and social justice organizations. The Community Shopping Day program annually selects 12 local nonprofit organizations in areas of community health, the environment, social justice, education, food and agriculture, health and well being, and peace and human rights. These organizations earn 2 percent of the Co-op’s sales one Saturday of each month.

The Farm Fund is another program contributing to the farming community. This program helps to foster environmental stewardship while supporting our local food economy.

The Food Co-op also shares information with members on current farming and consumer issues via an informative newsletter, alerts on in-store bulletin boards, and on their Web site (http://www.communityfood.coop.)

The Community Food Co-op opened in Bellingham in 1970. You don’t have to be a member to shop there, but it’s definitely to your advantage. Your $90 lifetime membership (payable in increments as small as $3 per month) is fully refunded if you ever decide you no longer want to belong. §