Proud to Give Back to our Community

As we continue to celebrate Co-op Month in October, we would like to share our pride in giving back to our community. That is only possible because of YOU! Our staff, owner-members and loyal customers who support the co-op provide the means for us to help so many others.

In our last fiscal year we were able to put $5,027,444 directly back into our community through payments to local farmers and vendors, staff employment, and Positive Change donations!

What we are able to do here has a ripple effect that touches thousands of lives. Co-ops everywhere play an important role in their communities, and the power of Co-operation should not be understated. Collectively, people are able to do amazing things, and the co-op is all about people. That’s what makes us so resilient!

As we move forward into a future that is as uncertain as ever, we are confident that our Co-op will continue to thrive and be a valuable asset to our community.

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of it!

Sycamore Land Trust Provides Environmental Education

Sycamore Land Trust was our Positive Change recipient in September. It is with much thanks to our customers who rounded up last month that we are able to present them with $10,773.56!

Sycamore Land Trust has been protecting land, restoring habitat, and connecting people to nature in southern Indiana since 1990. They protect 10,070 acres and counting.

Sycamore protects land by owning and caring for nature preserves, and by holding conservation easements that protect privately owned properties. They acquire land through donations, purchases, and bargain sales (partial donations). Stewardship of their nature preserves includes restoration projects to improve natural habitat, and building and maintaining trails for free public use.

As of August 2020, Sycamore has protected 117 properties totaling 10,070 acres in southern Indiana.

Sycamore operates an Environmental Education Program that connects people of all ages to nature, including more than 6,800 people in 2018. They plan to use some of the money raised to continue their education program, as well as support their conservation and habitat restoration work.

Sycamore’s Communication Director Abby Henkel was thrilled to receive notice of this donation saying, “Thank you for that wonderful news! It's absolutely incredible. Our community is so generous! We are so thrilled to be a recipient of Positive Change this year and to continue our partnership with Bloomingfoods.”

To learn more about Sycamore Land Trust and their Environmental Education Program, visit their website at: sycamorelandtrust.org.

Bloomington Community Orchard Teaches Others To Grow

Bloomington Community Orchard was our Positive Change recipient in August. It is with much thanks to our customers who rounded up last month that we are able to present them with $11,616.69!

Bloomington Community Orchard is an organization devoted to growing fruit for the community and growing their orcharding skills through educational opportunities. The publicly owned orchard is maintained by volunteers, and the harvest is available to everyone in the community.

BCO has big plans to use some of the donated money to expand their educational materials and help others grow.

We received the following note from Bloomington Community Orchard Board Chair, Josh David:

“We are currently refocusing our efforts to invest more in the development of the Orchard flagship site (e.g., with the rainwater-harvesting system we installed this year), while compiling more on-demand educational resources to put on our new website to help individuals and communities with their growing efforts.  We’ve also seen a spike in other communities around the country asking us how they can create something like the BCO in their own regions, so we’ve started advising others on how to cultivate their own community or campus orchards, and are in the process of writing a “How to Start a Community Orchard” handbook that we can hopefully get published and distributed to libraries around the country, to help others learn from our experiences, and turn the BCO into a sustainable model for other communities around the country (and world) to replicate. 

 From all of us at the Orchard, thank you again for nurturing the local food movement and always finding more ways to give back to the community!”

Visit their website to learn more about BCO, ways you can become involved, and how your continued donations can support this organization and our community.

http://www.bloomingtoncommunityorchard.org/

Thank You From Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County

Dear all our friends at Bloomingfoods,

Thank you for helping build Positive Change in our community. It is hard to put into words the emotions we are all experiencing as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our work and our daily lives. As we face the challenges ahead, we are so grateful for the impact made by Bloomingfoods’ patrons through your Positive Change program. As we restart our construction program, we will put this gift right to work helping families seeking safe and affordable shelter in Monroe County. We feel doubly blessed for the anonymous matching gift in our benefit during the first week of June - we are so happy to be part of such a kind and caring community! Habitat for Humanity has always been a community-based organization, and we will continue to offer our hand to the hardworking families in Monroe County who need it most. With your partnership, we stand ready to accelerate efforts to build strength and stability with renewed energy and commitment. Thank you to everyone at Bloomingfoods for helping Habitat families to move forward in the face of challenging times.

In partnership,

Colleen McKenna Development
Director, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County