Last year we tried to put together an order of nuts and dried fruit from Rancho Vignola, but didn’t have enough interest to make the minimum order of $500. We have more members this year, so here’s hoping that we can make this work.
Here are the basic facts:
Rancho Vignola makes their product list available only once per year, when the nuts and fruit are at their freshest;
The deadline for our order to go in is September 28;
They will ship to us in November;
We need to make a minimum order of $500;
Shipping is free;
Skookum will be adding 11.11% to each member’s order, so that of each dollar spent, 5¢ goes to the coordinator (that’s me), 2.5¢ to Skookum, and another 2.5¢ to the benefit of the community.
What you need to do:
Take a look at Rancho Vignola’s price list.
If you want more information on Rancho Vignola’s products, you can find a downloadable PDF here.
If you have questions, please contact David as soon as possible at skookum@skookumfood.ca.
Otherwise, print out the order form, mark the products you wish to order,calculate the total price. Don’t forget to add 11.11% at the very end.
(If you prefer, you may simply email me with the list of products you want and a final tally. I’ll verify the total amount and get back to you.)
Get the order form and payment (cash or cheque only) to Kingfisher Books at 4468 Marine Ave. in Powell River no later than 12:00 noon on Monday September 26. No money means no order!
If we get enough people interested, we might be able to find a way to manage splits. For example, I would like to order some of their dried tart cherries, but I might not want the whole ten pounds. Maybe someone else would want to split that amount? Let me know if you’re interested in splitting items and we’ll see if we can deal with that. No promises, though, since time is tight.
Any questions? please get in touch with me ASAP at this email address.
Here we are at the end of August already with the harvest upon us. I thought it high time to share what has been happening over the last months at our fledgling co-operative.
The new board has met twice since the annual general meeting and will continue to do so once a month on the first Tuesday. The meetings are at once focused, informative, jovial and delicious as we go through each meeting’s agenda attending to the business of the co-op. About halfway through each meeting we break to enjoy scrumptious potluck food to carry us through the rest of the evening. Members are welcome to attend these meetings (please contact us to ensure enough seating), the minutes of which are posted on our website.
One of the new Skookum projects is the “Abundant Pantry Bulk Buying Club”. Wendy Pelton, the project coordinator, and Barry Bookout have been working hard to bring this into existence and I am thankful for their dedication. Their volunteered progress is very encouraging and appreciated as they build a solid framework with which we, as members, can engage in. Many hours have been spent setting up an on-line ordering system and engaging in meetings aimed at fitting the BBC into our community in a way which will enhance local businesses rather than compete with them. The on-line ordering system we’ll soon be able to test with a trial “guinea pig” run involving just a few people, the aim here being to iron out as many bugs as possible before inviting all Skookum members to begin filling their pantries. Once the trial run has happened and the system is ready to go I’ll keenly share the news.
There are some outstanding challenges to be resolved with regard to the BBC AND I AM NOW APPEALING TO YOU, THE MEMBERSHIP FOR ASSISTANCE. Is there a member who is versed in accounting principles, or at least good with numbers, who would undertake overseeing the accounting for the BBC, and whom Wendy can ask for advice on financial issues. Also, while negotiations for supply are ongoing, there might be a need to transport our order from the delivery site to our distribution site. Are there members with a van or truck who would undertake this task which initially would happen every two months. Please remember that the more we can do for ourselves the better off we’ll be.
Skookum Gleaners, formerly ‘The Fruit Tree Project’, is up and running again. There is a small and dedicated group of volunteers meeting every two weeks organizing and doing their best to overcome the many obstacles to making this a successful undertaking. My thanks to those folks for their ongoing efforts. Although this is again not a great fruit year, there are some places where fruit has set with abundance. If you see a fruit tree bearing fruit, please ask the owner if he or she knows about Skookum Gleaners and direct them here if they are interested (phone (604) 485-4366 or email gleaners@skookumfood.ca. Also, we have made an application to the City of Powell River’s ‘Grants In Aid’ program for funds towards this project and hopefully this application will bear fruit this year.
It’s harvest time, with ripening tomatoes, beans, peas, beets, potatoes, carrots and more. Much of this food needs to be stored for the winter either canned, pickled, or dried. Perhaps in a root cellar and certainly some form of pantry. Last year, there was a canning event and an apple pressing event which Skookum members were invited to attend. I would like to encourage any member with interest and willingness to share these skills to undertake an event while there is food to preserve. These events have always been enjoyable and provide participants with knowledge and nutrition while enhancing friendships. We, the board, are here to assist you in making your event a success. Please contact us with your ideas and let’s make it happen.
Well, it’s been several weeks since Skookum’s most recent Annual General Meeting and it’s time we announce the directors of the of the Society for this year!
First, though, Skookum Food Provisioners’ Cooperative owes a big thank-you to out-going directors Nola Poirier and Julie Thorne, for all their hard work and great ideas throughout the past year. Julie is continuing on as part of the steering committee for Skookum Gleaners, and on Transition Town Powell River, while Nola reigns as Spoken Word Director for CJMP: Powell River Community Radio and myriad other projects.
(l-r) Jan, Sharon, and Pete
Our new elected board members are:
Pete Tebbutt, who takes over as President of the Cooperative,
Jacqueline Huddleston
The rest of the board elected on June 22, 2011, is made up of returning directors David Parkinson (now Treasurer), Jonathan van Wiltenburg (returning as Vice-President), Jan Burnikell (returning as Secretary), Sharon Deane, and Giovanni Spezzacatena.
But let’s not forget that cooperatives are about the members. As always, we encourage all members to participate as project coordinators and as blazers on the local food trail any way you can. Propose a project, participate in our upcoming events, accept our open invitation to our monthly board meetings, help organize and fund-raise for Skookum, spread the word, etc. Keep reading this blog for the latest news and opportunities.
Hello all Skookum Gleaners pickers and harvesters! The 2011 picking season has begun! This year, we need to clear up our picker’s list and start anew, as many of you have changed address/phone number. If you want to appear on our 2011 list of gleaners, you must sign up by Monday August 1, 2011 by filling this short online survey (click here). Don’t forget to click the “done” button at the end!
(This post brought to you by Wendy Pelton, the coordinator of Skookum’s soon-to-be-launched bulk-food buying project. Please read it carefully and help us out by responding to the online survey. We want your input!)
Great News! Thanks to Skookum, the opportunity to participate in a Bulk-food Buying Club (BBC) is returning to the Upper Sunshine Coast. Or, more accurately, it soon will be with your help.
What’s special about this new BBC? Ours may be a little more high-tech and easier to use than prior clubs, thanks to online ordering. Over time, this club will be able to directly connect its members with local farmers’ products online, making buying and selling locally easier than ever.
Why does Skookum want to organize a BBC? Well, through the availability of bulk food orders, we hope to increase people’s individual and household food security by encouraging and facilitating food storage. We want good food to be more affordable to all. We seek to increase the food independence of our local community by establishing our own systems of procurement and by increasing our involvement with local producers. We anticipate bringing members together as a community, as we work together and celebrate together in the management of the BBC. Lastly, we believe a local BBC will provide economic support to our community through employment, increased local farm production, and contributions to local charities and other valuable community projects.
Why might you want to participate in a BBC? Well, when used regularly, a BBC makes organic and healthy food more affordable, encourages healthier eating, promotes cooking from scratch, and lets us spend our money more wisely. Regular use results in an automatically full pantry year-round, which can prevent a minor panic at dinner time or a major panic during a strike or natural disaster. Vegetarians, vegans, non-dairy & gluten-free folks will thrill to the extensive choices available to them. A full pantry means fewer trips to town, less gasoline consumed, and cleaner air. What’s not to like?!?
We hope to begin ordering by the end of July. However, first, we need solutions to some important questions, which you can help us answer. We want this BBC designed to work best for you, our members, so we need to know:
What do we call it?
What should be our slogan?
What should we use for a logo?
Should we offer only organic items?
Should we offer refrigerated or frozen foods?
Should we offer non-food items?
How often do we want to order?
Whom do we want to use as suppliers?
Who will volunteer to be on our steering committee?
Who would like to be part of our advisory group?
Please help us race toward a launch, by first learning more about these issues on our webpage, then sharing your answers to these questions at our super-simple online survey.
Have ideas that didn’t fit on the survey?Please send them to me at wendy.pelton <at> shaw dot ca.I have a list of what I would like to have seen changed at my old food coop — maybe you have one, too, that could help us now.
Looking forward to re-building my own abundant pantry, alongside you, Wendy
