Addressing Meat Shortage Concerns

Dear Bloomingfoods Owner-Members & Shoppers,

Over the past few weeks, concerns about the US food supply chain have made national news as several large meat processing and packaging plants suspended operations due to COVID-19 outbreaks within their workforce. With this uncertainty, we want to take a moment to share what Bloomingfoods is doing to maintain a safe and stable meat supply.     

We Value Local!

Most of our meat products are sourced locally. By local we mean that these products are sourced within the state of Indiana. This results in less miles traveled and fewer handoffs between farms and your table. This also means that we have largely been unaffected by the closures of these large processing and packaging plants, because we work primarily with local producers who in turn work with local processing and packaging companies.    

Our Suppliers

Our two biggest suppliers are Miller Poultry for poultry and Fischer Farms for beef and pork. Both are local. Throughout the pandemic we have been in close contact with both producers, along with our other producers and distributors. All have indicated that they’ve added new protocols to further protect their workforce, their products, and their customers. Thus far, any shortages that Bloomingfoods has experienced have been attributed to inflated customer demand and not to the closures of large packaging and processing plants that have been featured in national news stories. 

However, we do want to let our customers know that on May 4th, Miller Poultry paused operations at their plant in Steuben County, Indiana. This was done for precautionary reasons as they awaited COVID-19 test results for their employees. Production resumed on Tuesday at 70% capacity and will continue at this capacity through Saturday. Full production is expected to resume again on Monday, May 11th as long as employees currently in quarantine are able to return to work.  

With that said, we will continue to closely monitor this situation and will remain in close contact with our producers and distributors. Like us, they too are focused on keeping their staff, products, and customers safe. In the event that our supply chain becomes compromised, we will quickly pivot to alternative sources that allow us to maintain our commitment to providing healthy, high-quality, and sustainable products.  

Thank you for your continued support and trust in Bloomingfoods!

Sincerely,

Jordan Maxedon, Bloomingfoods East Deli Manager & Jim Meehan, Bloomingfoods Near West Deli Manager

Grocery Shopping in the Time of Coronavirus

As coronavirus spreads globally and across the US, Bloomingfoods wants to ask our community to move through this uncharted territory with us and each other as respectfully and safely as possible. Grocery shopping is necessary and to help prevent the spread of the virus, we are asking you to help us by following the below advice:

1. Shop only when you need and for what you need.

   Limiting your exposure not only keeps you safe but it keeps our staff and other shoppers safe too. During this difficult time it’s hard to not panic but please keep your neighbors in mind, meaning don’t over buy, be kind to one another, and limit your grocery trips to once a week.
   

2. Come with a list and be flexible.

   Meal planning and list making can help cut costs but it’s also important to be flexible during this time due to any out of stock items. Trying a new alternative for your meals is a great way to exercise this flexibility too. Check out some of our favorite recipes on our website here.
   

3. Unable to prepare your meals?

   Be sure to check out our deli section! Since the temporary closure of our hot/cold bars, our dedicated deli teams have been hard at work preparing delicious, pre-made meals located in our grab and go section and our made-to-order deli menus are still available too.
   

4. Be prepared for out of stock items.

   We are doing the best we can to keep our shelves stocked and ready for you but as we have seen, panic-buying and shipping has hit most, if not all retailers hard. One more reason to buy what you need and be flexible where you are able to be.
   

5. Shop alone if you can.

   Limiting the amount of folks in our doors keeps all of us safe. If you are able to please come in to shop alone, maybe family members wait in the car while you shop or you shop for a few friends or family to help out. Help take care of each other!
   

6. Practice social distancing in and out of the stores.

   The suggested social distance is 6 feet away from those around you. Our stores are small enough that this can be a bit of a challenge but this is an important part of prevention. Keep your distance but still say hi or smile to your neighbors, we are in this together, even at 6 feet apart! We have marked x’s on the ground at the cash registers to serve as a reminder of this space for times when there is a queue.

7. Enjoy the opportunity to cook something new and support a local vendor.

   While staying home can be frustrating and scary, it can also be a wonderful time to try some new things! How about a new recipe? How about supporting a new local vendor? We’re all in this together.
   

8. Be safe, mindful, and please stay at home!

A few safety updates from our team to further limit the spread of COVID-19:

1. We are temporarily halting the acceptance of any returns to protect staff and other customers.

2. To avoid outside contamination, we are asking shoppers to no longer use outside containers -- including reusable grocery bags and bulk containers

2019 Election Results

The results are in!

We had an amazing turnout this year. Thank you to all of our owner-members who took the time to make their voices heard! Below are the results:

Board of Directors

Congratulations to our newly-elected board members:

Bobbi Boos (term ends 2022)
Corbin Baird (term ends 2022)
Guthrie Taylor (staff director - term ends 2022)
Nancy Mathews (term ends 2021)
Michelle Robison (term ends 2021)

Positive Change

Organizations were placed in months based on total vote count and respective sales totals for each month. In other words, the organizations that received the highest number of votes were placed in months with the highest forecasted sales.

Here’s the Positive Change roster for 2020:

January - Indiana Forest Alliance
February - Area 10 Agency on Aging
March - Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard
April - Interfaith Winter Shelter
May - Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County
June - Bloomington Meals on Wheels
July - Bloomington Community Orchard
August - Sycamore Land Trust
September - Hoosier Hills Food Bank
October - Shalom Community Center
November - Bloomingfoods Cooperative Community Fund
December - Community Kitchen of Monroe County

Double the Positive Change

The success of our Positive Change program has been noticed by an anonymous donor in the community, and thanks to that anonymous donor, every dollar raised in the first week of September will be 100% matched, up to $10,000!!

This is an incredible opportunity to raise huge for Bloomington Meals on Wheels from September 1-7! We are consistently blown away by the generosity of our community members. THANK YOU to our shoppers and staff for continuing to help us give back in such a big way.

Welcome to the new Bloomingfoods website!

We truly hope you love it.

This page will serve as your destination for all the latest news and information from our Board of Directors, GM Team, staff, and owner-members.

Are you passionate about or an expert in a topic that is relevant to the co-op? Consider writing a blog article about it! If you’re interested in contributing content for the co-op, please email info@bloomingfoods.coop. We’d love to hear your perspective and expertise!

August 2019 Board Update

A big thank you to all who came out to our East side farmers’ market this past Saturday. I have been reflecting on the shared history of the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market and Bloomingfoods. The Farmers’ Market opened in July 1975, just a year before Bloomingfoods opened its first store down the alley off Kirkwood, and featured many of the same movers and shakers who were making things happen in the local food scene. The Farmers’ Market and Bloomingfoods are both centered around the buying and selling of food and they both also stand for much more. Some of the larger goals are captured in Bloomingfoods’ ends statement – providing a market for local products, building a sustainable local food economy, and educating about the interconnectedness of food, health, and the environment. There are also less tangible benefits provided by both institutions that I struggle to put into words. Both provide a place for people to gather, to share ideas, to strengthen relationships, and to celebrate life in community.

More and more I see the value in simply providing a place for human interactions. The Internet now allows us to order almost anything we need and have it delivered to our doorstep without ever talking to another human being. It is powerful technology and yet ultimately we all require human touch, human smiles, and the chance to interact face to-face with our community members.

I believe that has been the hardest part about the suspension of the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market for many of us. I am hopeful that our community will find a long-term solution to allow the return of a market that provides a place to buy and sell local food but also a place where people come together to talk, to laugh, to touch, to celebrate and yes, even to debate, to protest, and to disagree. It needs to be a place where we can all feel safe and welcome and respected. It is a hard thing to do but in this day and age we need to make an extra effort. I am proud of the role that Bloomingfoods has been able to play in meeting that need through the presence of our existing stores and through supporting a temporary alternative farmers’ market venue. I am grateful for everyone who chipped in to make the alternative market happen and for all the community members who were enthusiastic and patient with the inevitable hiccups. It takes a huge amount of work to organize a market and Bloomington has enjoyed one of the best farmers’ markets in the country for many years. I look forward to Bloomingfoods and the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market providing gathering places for our community to grow and thrive for another 40 years.

Maggie Sullivan
Board President
maggie@bloomingfoods.coop
812-345-1592