A Thank You From New Hope For Families

Dear Bloomingfoods Shoppers,

On behalf of the families, staff, and board of New Hope for Families, thank you so much for the recent donation of $6,809.75, which we received on 5/6/2024, along with the matching grant of $1,854.35 from an anonymous donor through the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, making a total contribution of $8,664.10 from the April 2024 Positive Change round-up program at Bloomingfoods.

When children and their families experience homelessness in Bloomington, our community can depend on New Hope for Families to keep them safe, to keep them together, and to help them along their path toward a brighter future. We are truly grateful for Bloomingfoods as a partner in this mission.

Since opening our doors in 2011, New Hope has sheltered more than 300 families, and assisted hundreds more with access to quality child care and other essential services. More than 80% of New Hope families move on to stable housing.

Thank you to everyone at Bloomingfoods. With your help, we will continue to spread hope and stability throughout our community.

Sincerely, 

Emily Pike

Executive Director

New Hope For Families

Dave's at It Again! More New Fair Trade Products at our East store!

SERRV INTERNATIONAL – NEW FAIR TRADE PRODUCT AT OUR EAST STORE!

SERRV was one of the first fair trade organizations in the world. SERRV originally began its work supporting displaced European refugees trade their handmade goods for income after World War II. In 1976, they began importing from artisan groups Asha Handicrafts and Tara Projects in India, and Community Craft Association in the Philippines.

They still work with them today, but since then, they extended their work to 24 countries in the global south (including Kenya, Nepal, Vietnam, West Bank, Bangladesh, and South Africa) working to empower over 8,000 artisans and farmers every year by selling their beautiful products.

In 1989 Serrv became a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), and in 1994 they became a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation in the US. This year marks their 75th anniversary as a fair trade organization.

Bloomingfoods East now carries ceramic dishes from West Bank and Vietnam, bread warmers and sari-wrapped baskets from Bangladesh, trivets from India, Justea teas from Kenya, and spices from South Africa. Product selections from this vendor will hopefully expand as we continue to work with them.

To learn more about Serrv, their work, and artisan groups they partner with, visit:

https://www.serrv.org/category/artisans

https://www.serrv.org/category/sustainability

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.serrv.org/downloads/AnnualReports/2022_Annual_Report.pdf

Learn more about other Fair Trade products we carry!

Even More New Fair Trade Products at Our East Store!

Ganesh Himal Trading - New Fair Trade Product at Our East Store!

We are continuing to bring in more Fair Trade items, and we have a new vendor we are very excited about – Ganesh Himal Trading out of Spokane Washington! They been working with marginalized women and Tibetan refugees in Nepal since 1984. As a member of the Fair-Trade Federation, they ensure living wages, good working conditions, and adhere to all the fair-trade principles.

Ganesh Himal Trading formed the non-profit Conscious Connections Foundation to facilitate the advancement of marginalized individuals in Nepal by promoting access to education, healthcare, skills development, and facilities improvement so they can create strong, vibrant, economically viable communities and to educate North Americans on their ability to positively impact these individuals lives with direct donations.

It is uncommon for rural girls to receive an education and Ganesh Himal Trading is committed to providing scholarships for all girls within their artisan groups.

Around the East Store you will find such items as felted wool dryer balls, trivets, pot holders and oven mitts, traditional Tibetan incense (including rope incense), among other things.

Come check out their beautiful products and support Fair Trade!

Learn more about other Fair Trade products we carry!

Join us for Nutrition Made Easy with Bloomingfoods!

Nutrition can be easy and delicious, and we can show you how!

We are very excited to share the start of our Nutrition Made Easy with Bloomingfoods series! Beginning this month, join us on the fourth Saturday of each month and learn how to create a summer meal plan, cook with a volunteer Chef, and have fun with your kids while learning all about healthy eating! This series is open to all ages 8 & up:

• Saturday, May 25th: Savor summer one bite at a time! – Summer Meal Planning & Dietary Guidelines Review

• Saturday, June 22nd: Nutrition Mission! – Nutritional Grocery Shopping (for kids)

• Saturday, July 27th: Cultures Around the World – Exploring Food Traditions (for kids)

• Saturday August 24th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

• Saturday, September 28th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

• Saturday, October 26th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

These classes are FREE and open to everyone, which is made possible through an Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) grant.

To learn more and register for a class, please visit www.bloomingfoods.coop/nutrition-made-easy-series!

Awarded Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Business from the League of American Bicyclists!

Bloomingfoods has earned recognition as a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Business from the League of American Bicyclists! 

We’ve joined the movement of over 1,300 local businesses, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies across the United States in transforming the American workplace to be more welcoming to our customers and employees who bike. So many more have joined or returned to the bike movement during the pandemic, and we are proud to support the health and well-being of our community by being more welcoming to people choosing to bike.

“With Bike to Work Week on the horizon, it’s great to see how Bicycle Friendly Businesses are not only getting more people biking to work, they are also encouraging more people to bike to the coffee shop, to run errands, and even on their next vacation. With companies like Bloomingfoods at the forefront, we're building a Bicycle Friendly America where life is better for everyone,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “Especially during Bike Month, it’s inspiring to see how local advocates and business leaders are coming together to help others experience the joy of biking.”

Bloomingfoods joins a total of 1,341 current BFBs across the country, all united in a commitment to transform American workplaces to be more welcoming to customers and employees who bike. The Bicycle Friendly Business award recognizes an organization’s contributions over months and years to the movement to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

Learn more about the League’s Bicycle Friendly Business program at bikeleague.org/business. If you have feedback on how we can continue to be even more welcoming to people who bike, don’t hesitate to let us know. 

Bicycle Friendly Business is a Registered Trademark of the League of American Bicyclists; used with permission. 

More New Fair Trade Products at Our East Store!

Conscious Step, Quilling Cards & Lucia’s Imports’ – New Fair Trade Products at our East Store!

Our East store now carries Conscious Step fair trade socks! These socks are made in India, the largest grower of organic cotton. They are made with 80% organic, fair trade cotton, 18% recycled polyester, and 2% elastane. The socks are vegan certified, and non-gmo, pesticide and insecticide free. The paper used for their tags are also made from recycled materials, and the ink used are soy-based!

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Conscious Step is a committed member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and their factory is regularly vetted and audited by independent groups. They are certified by OEKO-TEX Certified, Global Organic Textile Standards, & Fairtrade International.

Not only are they fair trade, but Conscious Step also partners with a variety of non-profit organizations, giving a portion of each sale to those causes. Their partner organizations are chosen in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015. These goals represent a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and planet. Accordingly, Conscious Step donates $1 per pair of socks sold to their non-profit partners. In 2023, they donated more to their 17 non-profit partners than ever before, $365,000 – a 15% increase from the year before, bringing their total donations to $1,486,000 since 2015.

In addition to Conscious Step socks, you can also find fair trade Quilling Cards and Lucia’s Imports’ ceramics, coin purses, scrunchies, & headbands at our East store.

Quilling Card is a brand committed to not only providing beautifully crafted cards but also supporting fair trade practices. Each card is adorned with intricate quill patterns, showcasing both artistry and tradition. Beyond aesthetics, the brand ensures that every step of the production process, from sourcing materials to manufacturing, adheres to fair trade principles. This commitment means that artisans in Vietnam involved in creating these cards are paid fairly and work in safe conditions. By choosing Quilling Card, you not only send heartfelt messages but also contribute to sustainable livelihoods and ethical practices in the crafting industry.

Lucia’s Imports is a brand renowned for its commitment to fair trade practices in the artisanal goods industry. Specializing in handmade products from Guatemala, their offerings include vibrant textiles, intricate jewelry, and unique home decor items. What sets Lucia’s Imports apart is their dedication to ensuring that the artisans behind these products are treated fairly and paid a fair wage for their craftsmanship. By prioritizing fair trade principles, Lucia’s Imports empowers artisans, particularly women, to support themselves and their families while preserving traditional techniques and cultural heritage. Choosing Lucia’s Imports means not only acquiring beautiful, ethically-made products but also contributing to positive social and economic change in communities around the world.

Be sure to join us for EarthFest and celebrate Earth Day & Fair Trade Day!!!

Bylaw Change & Our Democratic Model - A Special Message from Your Board of Directors

Dear Bloomingfoods Owner-Members,

You may recall that last year's elections included a Bylaw change to section 2.7. Thank you for participating in Bloomingfoods’ democratic process!  

As a reminder, the revision of section 2.7 changed the process of reactivating member status once a person has gone inactive. Members now can become active again by simply resuming their payment plan, rather than paying their full, outstanding balance all at once.

It might seem like a small change, but the Board felt it was an important update. We think the revision encourages ownership by being more accessible to all income levels and residency patterns. Plus, it is more manageable for staff at the register. Through our full-membership vote in October, the bylaw change was passed!

This is just one small example of our cooperative’s democratic member control. This model is the second of the seven principles that help guide our co-op. This means that you, as owner-members, have a say in how Bloomingfoods operates! It’s the interests of our own community that drives our work.  

So thank you for your participation, no matter the form – whether it’s shopping at our stores, working with the co-op, rounding up at the register, voting in our annual elections, or stepping up to serve on the board or its committees. Your engagement matters, and it’s what makes us more than a grocery store. 

You can find our bylaws, policies, minutes, and more on our website, under “Board of Directors.” If you want to get more involved in the governance of Bloomingfoods, or if you have any questions, you can always reach the board at directors@bloomingfoods.coop. 

In cooperation,
Isabelle Daellenbach, on behalf of your Bloomingfoods Board of Directors

New Fair Trade Products at Our East Store!

What is fair trade? The Fair Trade Federation gives this brief definition: Fair trade is an approach to business and to development based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seeks to create greater equity in the international trading system. Fair trade businesses partner with farmers and craftspeople in developing countries who are socially and economically marginalized to find markets and customers for their goods. To learn more, visit fairtradefederation.org.

Food Co-ops have supported fair trade since 1984 when Equal Exchange first introduced fair trade coffee to the US market. There is a lot of inequity and exploitation in international trade. When we look at food, some of those items are coffee, cocoa (chocolate), sugar, vanilla, and nuts.

Some of the new fair trade items you can find at our East store:

Just Haiti is a 501c3 non-profit organization that started working with coffee farmers in Haiti in 2008. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and because of recurring natural disasters many companies no longer work with Haitian producers. Just Haiti works with the most vulnerable and economically at-risk communities who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the marketplace. They use a model they call Fair Trade Plus, where they pay farmers a fair trade premium price (about 30% of retail price versus the typical 2-5% mass market price), and in addition, they also give them all the profits from US sales. This means the 100+ farmers in Haiti get 64% of the retail price on average, about double what most fair trade producers get.

Just Haiti collects coffee orders through the week and every Friday they roast coffee to fill those orders, another factor that makes this high-quality coffee stand out. This means the coffee received at the store is fresh roasted like a locally roasted coffee and not a product that was packaged weeks or months ago like most packaged coffees (that aren’t local).

Canaan Palestine supports over a 1000 marginalized artisan family farms across 43 villages living under occupation in the West Bank. These family farms have been nurturing their olive orchards for many generations. The Land of Canaan is the home to ancient olive orchards that are over 3000 years old and is often referred to as the birthplace of agriculture. Our East stores now carries their fair trade, organic, extra virgin olive oils, including olive oils infused with garlic, lemon, chili, and basil.

“Zotter Chocolates is and will remain at the top of the world-best chocolate manufacturers and by far the most innovative chocolatier of all.” ~Chocolate – the reference standard

Josef Zotter has re-invented chocolate: Hand-scooped Chocolates are basically giant bonbons. Featuring wonderful flavor combinations, hand-scooped chocolates are filled chocolate miracles consisting of several layers, brushed onto long lanes – one on top of the other – by hand.

“Not unlike wine, each cacao variety has its own very distinct flavor, shaped by the terroir of its growing region. Sometimes that flavor is nutty, sometimes it has more of a flowery bouquet like the Ecuadorian beans or more citrus notes like the beans from Madagascar.” ~Zotter

Zotter mainly buys cacao in Latin America, the cradle of cacao. They get their fine cacao from countries like Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Guatemala, Brazil, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Togo, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.

Huuuge shout out to our East Store Assistant Manager, Dave Debikey, for being a champion of bringing in more fair trade products! Dave was the Store Manager at the Bloomington Global Gifts for 13 years and their Purchasing Manager for a number of years, and we are grateful to have Dave on our team! Thank you, Dave, for continuing to be an advocate for Fair Trade products and growing our selection of fairly traded and healthful products, produced with care for the land, animals, and future generations!

Be sure to join us for EarthFest and celebrate Earth Day & Fair Trade Day!!!

A Thank You From Sycamore Land Trust

Dear Bloomingfoods Shoppers,

Yaayyyy! Thank you from all of us at Sycamore Land Trust for Bloomingfoods' generous Positive Change gift of $6,299.50 in February to protect nature for the future of southern Indiana and connect more people to our environment. 

The Positive Change program has such a meaningful impact on our community. Your contribution will help Sycamore preserve more than 11,400 acres of beautiful and healthy natural areas for generations to come. Our volunteers and staff have planted over 36,000 native trees over the past two years to create new forests, restored more than 60 acres of diminishing wetland habitat, grown over 17,000 native plants from seed for habitat restoration, and so much more - because of you. 

Your donation will help Sycamore continue to accomplish landscape-scale conservation, acquire more land for permanent protection, restore more habitat on our nature preserves, maintain over 30 miles of public hiking trails, and provide free educational programs that inspire life-long commitments to appreciating and caring for our natural world. Please let me know if you or your employees would like additional information about the preserves, hikes, or volunteer opportunities. 

This work we do is for Forever, and we couldn't do it without our community of caring supporters. You play a vital role in preserving these beautiful, wild lands for future generations. 

Thanks so much to the community for their support, and for Bloomingfoods running this program!

Sincerely, 

Amy Osajima 

Development Director

Sycamore Land Trust

A Thank You From Community Kitchen

Dear Bloomingfoods,

Thank you so much for supporting Community Kitchen with a gift of $7611.36, made on 4/3/2024 through the Positive Change program. We could not do what we do without the generous community support that you and so many others provide.

One program that benefits from your generosity is our Backpack Buddies program. During the school year, Community Kitchen works with school social workers to identify children and their families experiencing food insecurity, delivering a bag of food items to help children and their families with their food needs over the weekend. For the 2023-24 school year, our Backpack Buddies program is now serving over 500 children and families, the highest number of participants in the program’s history. That means that Community Kitchen is using more than 2 tons of food for this program alone, each week! Financial support like yours, along with food donations, truly make this program possible. Thank you!

Currently, across all programs, the Kitchen is providing an average of over 1,039 meals and snacks per day so ongoing community support is vital; please consider becoming a regular monthly donor through our ACH program. We are enclosing a form that you can use to sign up. Know that when you sign up, you help to ensure that we have what we need to provide nutritious food to our neighbors in need.

When you donate to Community Kitchen, you make our community stronger by contributing to the development of young minds and bodies, by making sure seniors are cared for in their own homes, by helping hard-working people make ends meet and by providing the nutrition necessary to help folks manage their health. Thank you for your kind and loyal support of Community Kitchen. Consider becoming a regular monthly donor through our ACH program. We are enclosing a form that you can use to sign up.

Because of your generosity we are able to meet the needs of our community, working together to feed those who need a little extra help! In 2023, we served a record 325,446 meals and snacks to our community’s most vulnerable. Your support makes it possible for them to have dignified access to nutrition on a regular basis. YOU really do make a difference! Thank you!

Sincerely,

Vicki Pierce

Executive Director

Community Kitchen of Monroe County