Skin Friendly by Lou
Two locations – 1566 West Mason Street or Hwy 29 & County P
$15.00 off any spa facial
920.619.5163
www.skinfriendlybylou.com
No other discounts can be applied & must show member-owner card

December 3 & 17, January 14 & 28, February 18 & 25

We have over 70 vendors with a wide variety of products. There will also be live music, food, and Santa will be there in December!

Theresa Marquez Keynote Address (one hour)

Session: Local Food Economy in Health and Wellness (45 minutes)

Session: Connecting Farmers, Food, and Community (45 minutes)

Plenary Panel, Featuring Margaret Krome (one hour)

December 3 & 17
January 14 & 28
February 18 & 25

Over 60 vendors will be there featuring local meats, cheeses, produce, jams, jellies, pastries, breads, and local arts and crafts. We will have live music, too.

Depending upon product type, vendor space is still available. Vendor Application here.

I thought I would share with you my experience from a recent trip to Decorah, Iowa. I went to Luther College which is located in Decorah, a small town of about 8,000. Oneota Co-op is their local co-op market, so I went inside to check it out since I hadn’t been in Decorah since 2007. I remembered it being a little pricier than the regular supermarket, but with a good variety and quality of products.

The co-op has been more successful it seems since 2007 than when I used to go there (2003-2007), although I was told they felt the recession dearly before they turned the business around. They were previously located on the main drag but have moved to a new, BIGGER location on the main drag. They now employ some 40 people and not only have the typical grocery store setup, but a window-side deli as well. The variety was AMAZING! Produce, wine, beer, organic meat, soymilk, bulk foods, a pharmacy with natural and alternative remedies, ethnic foods, PLUS THE DELI! They prepare the sandwiches/salads/dishes and you just pick what you want (coffee too), check out and take it to a table to eat right in the store.

The produce section was much improved too. Before, they used to stock mostly local produce and it was arranged neatly–so “O.K.” This time I went, it looked even more colorful and clearly marked: each product had a color-coded sign that had written on it either “locally grown” or “organic” or another one I’m forgetting so you could buy based on quality and/or environmental impact (and to support local farmers). They had a little taste-tester station right by the entrance with samples of mango to grab. I asked one of the cashiers about their suppliers and she said that most local farmers belonged to their own cooperative farmers’ organization, and it is with this organization that Oneota does business. And of course they stock other “natural foods” brands that are larger distributors to natural foods stores.

All in all, I was pleased to see all the hustle-and-bustle going on inside and the new innovations. The cashier says Iowa has a handful of co-ops but more are being opened this year. It was still a bit on the pricy side, but the way in which it looked like a smorgasbord for everyone’s tastes explains why it still garners so much support. I share all this in the hopes that New Leaf members can see a great example of what a co-op can become–a hub of delicious business that can bring a community closer–and to think about adopting any of their ideas for the store when it goes up.

Thank you for all you do!

Sarah Guzmán

P.S. For Christmas, I am putting on my “Wish list” for people to make a donation to New Leaf as their gift to me!

This event is open to the public, so tell your friends! We hope to see you there!

Theresa Marquez, the Executive Marketing Director for Organic Valley Cooperative, shared with us the history and mission of Cropp Cooperative (the parent company of Organic Valley and Organic Prairie). Theresa talked about how the cooperative sold a piece of equipment for the down payment on the first building and how the farmers/owners of the cooperative put a lot of their own sweat equity into remodeling that building. She stressed how important it is to Organic Valley to help revitalize small towns.

We then had our choice of three different break-out sessions. The first session was NEW Farm and Value-Added Food Businesses as Economic Drivers. The panelists included Dale Johnson, owner of Sun-Century Organic Sunflower Oil and Century Farms Eco-Market near Pulaski; Mary Pat Carlson, founder of the Algoma Farm Market Kitchen, and Tom Lutsey, Owner of Waseda Farms, an organic grass-fed beef operation in Door County. Dale shared his experience in repurposing dairy equipment for use in his sunflower oil business. Mary Pat talked about the small and fast-growing businesses started in the commercial kitchen and the opportunities she has had to help other people start commercial kitchens and business incubators. Tom spoke of his awareness of how foods affected his health after having been ill and how concerned he is with providing a healthy, organic, and safe product.

The second panel was Local Food Economy in Health and Wellness Programs. The panelists included Dr. Debra Pearson, UW-GB Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Food in Community and Culture; Bill Hafs, Director of Brown County Land and Water Conservation Department, and Regina Young, a Clinical Nutritionist at Bellin Health. The panelists helped everyone understand the connection between “how we grow our food” and health. We are fortunate that people are not just making this connection but acting on it as this session showed. Dr. Debra Pearson from UWGB showed study results demonstrating the connection between organic growing methods and increased nutrition in food. Healthy farm practices do create healthier people. “It’s all about the nutrients.” Bill Hafs from Brown County Land Conservation showed the connection between farming practices and water quality, linking intensive agricultural and row crops such as corn and soybeans to soil run-off into streams, and excess manure and nutrients to algae. He also pointed out our area is unique for its high number of cows and thus manure and excess nutrients in the soil. Also of particular concern was groundwater contamination due to shallow and cracked bedrock in eastern Brown County. Last, Regina Young from Bellin health showed the wide range of programs they are implementing to endorse and provide healthy food to their employees and to the Northeastern Wisconsin community they serve. Just one of their many achievements was that 30% of their food served in the Green Bay hospital was locally grown. They really showed what a committed and dedicated organization could do.

The third session was Connecting Farmers, Food and Community. The panelists included Fred Depies of Trust Local Foods, Teresa Engel of the Wisconsin Department of Ag, Trade & Consumer Protection, working on the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program, and New Leaf Market’s president of the board of directors, Lynn Walter. Fred shared how he and his wife had started publishing the Farm Fresh Atlas for Northeast Wisconsin and now he is working on Trust Local Foods which will connect farmers to local markets. Lynn talked about the goals of New Leaf Market Cooperative and how we will be more than just a grocery store, we will work to educate as well. Teresa Engel talked about the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program and how DATCP is there to help even the very smallest of businesses and provide information to those looking to start a business.

After a delicious local lunch, Margaret Krome, Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, talked about the local food economy. Margaret spoke about how Northeast Wisconsin is a “hot spot” for growth in the local food economy. She said that we should not dismiss someone, particularly our political representatives, just because we think they wouldn’t agree with us. Finally, Margaret shared information on a bill just introduced by a Congresswoman from Maine and a Senator from Ohio called the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act. She encouraged us to call our representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this bill. According to the handout from Margaret, the “goal of the bill is to advance the development of local and regional farm and food systems from farm to table.” If you would like more information, the bill number is HR3286.

New Leaf Market commissioned a study of the local farm and food economy of the Green Bay area. This study was completed by Ken Meter of the Crossroads Resource Center. You can find the full document from this study here.

· December 3 & 17
· January 14 & 28
· February 18 & 25
· March 10 will be reserved for a snow date

Download the application here. Completed apps can be mailed to:

Jeanette Newhouse
Downtown Green Bay, Inc.
130 E. Walnut Street, Suite 501
Green Bay, WI 54301

Notifications will go out November 4. Please share this message with anyone that may have an interest in submitting an application and please feel free to contact Jeanette with any questions you may have at 920.437.3425.

NEWfare Agenda