If you’re interested in joining us as a vendor or have a non-profit you’d like to promote, please follow the link:

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2zpeihna54cc773

If you would like to participate as a musician, please follow this link:

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2zpwdn912a23f9a

Stay tuned…more details to follow!

We are fortunate to be located in the center of a broad range of ecologically minded suppliers, both urban and rural. And since we work directly with most of our growers, these relationships also provide our Co-op with a uniquely grounded and intimate connection to our food system and agricultural conditions.

Our locally grown offerings begin in the spring, from within the Columbus city limits: fresh herbs and rhubarb, grown by Bill Johnson, and lettuce and strawberries from Lanum family farm. For most of the summer and fall, certified organic farms Shade River (Athens) and Mainstream (Plain City), and chemical free farms Sycamore (Piqua) and Elizabeth Telling (Barnsville) keep us regularly supplied with most of the staples, including tomatoes, beets, corn, eggplant, greens, leeks, cucumbers, blackberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, summer and winter squash, kohlrabi, cabbage, onions, peppers and potatoes. Other suppliers may include occasional leftovers from community gardens, farmers’ markets or CSAs.

As experienced localvores know, eating with the seasons demands flexibility and creativity. We try our best to maintain regular supplies, but variability in weather and quality is inevitable. To help you with seasonal meal planning, we have posted a season chart with approximate availabilities for our growing region.

Stop by and grab some fresh produce from your local co-op today!

Laurel Valley Creamery. Check out their website : http://laurelvalleycreamery.com/index2.php

Laurel Valley Creamery is located in southern Ohio. It is a small, third generation, family farm. Their cheeses speak for themselves- fresh, creamy and delicious. I hope everyone has a chance to try them. There is a small video at the website: http://laurelvalleycreamery.com/index2.php which shows their great near organic practices.

Nestled in Delaware county, Fulton Creek Jersey Cheese makes a great local cheese. Owner Sylvia Zimmerman owned her own herd of Jersey cows until 2007, but is now is focusing just on her cheese. Local farmer John Van Gundy and his family are now owners of the Fulton Creek Jerseys  which provide all the high quality Jersey milk for the cheese. We stock a variety of Fulton Creek Jersey Cheese including a semi-hard, smooth and mild “Hans Havarti” as well as an English hard cheddar called “Moor or Leicester”. Leicesters are tight and flaky in character and exhibit a range of complex flavors including savory, nutty, and citrusy. A third variety is a delicious Monterrey Jack with peppers.

Blue Jacket Dairy is a family owned and operated business on the forefront of the revival of cheese making in Ohio. At Blue Jacket the whole family is involved in the operation. They are  a fully-licensed Ohio creamery that transforms high quality milk into fresh (non-aged) and aged cheese. Using fresh wholesome milk, small-scale equipment, and with great attention to detail, the Kings consistently create great-tasting, high quality artisan cheeses. The Co-op offers Blue Jacket Feta, Arrowhead herb chevre (light and creamy goat cheese with special blend of herbs and a touch of garlic), and Houtz (a medium hard, aged goat milk cheese with a tangy, mildly sharp flavor). Blue Jacket Diary will  be joining us on June 11th for our wine tasting with Yorkville Cellars. Learn more about Blue Jacket Dairy here.

Stop in check out our excellent selection of local, organic, gourmet and raw cheeses today!

With increasing concerns of the purity of tap water and overwhelming waste of plastic, we have taken action! We have installed a water purification and oxygenation system from Mountain Fresh Water. One machine dispenses reverse osmosis water and the other reverse osmosis super oxygenated water.

The reverse osmosis process removes bacteria, crypto, chlorine, fluoride, lead, mercury, nitrates, odor, sediment, sodium, mtbe, pcb’s thm’s and pesticides from tap water.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be “selective,” this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely.

Oxygen is an essential nutrient and effects the human body in every aspect. Oxygenation of water increases the bioavailabilty of oxygen to the body. Room air only contains 21% oxygen, increasing the fraction of oxygen in water can increase the amount of oxygen in the blood.

Our machine was custom built for our store by Mountain Fresh Water, a small company based in Kentucky doing business for over 27 years. We are the only place in the city to offer super oxygenated reverse osmosis water produced on site. We offer a variety of bpa free containers for the filling. Stop by and grab a drink!

Eden Foods started out small in 1968 as the Eden Foods Co-op, placing small orders from small farmers. Eden Co-op became a full blown natural food store, providing its customers with a full line of natural and whole foods. Gaining great popularity  Eden moved into it’s first warehouse in 1972. Eden quickly established itself in the natural foods industry. Today Eden is the oldest natural foods company in North America and the largest independent manufacturer of dry grocery organic foods. Just because Eden is big, doesn’t mean they cut corners or lost their core beliefs.
Eden believes in local first whenever possible. Most ingredients are grown within a few hundred miles from it’s headquarters. Eden stands strong against genetically modifying and irradiating food. Eden is the only brand to offer BPA free canned foods. For these reasons and many more, we have decided to make Eden products more affordable to our customers.

Muir Glen, an award winning tomato company offers premium organic tomatoes grown only in California. When growing organically sometimes harvest is unpredictable. Muir Glen has built a special cannery specifically to run organic tomatoes when the fruit fully vine ripens. This cannery also uses a boil and vacuum technique to remove the skin, rather than the harmful sodium hydroxide or lye used by most other tomato manufactures. For this reason we now offer to you Muir Glen tomatoes at a new lower price.

Pacific Natural Foods is committed to the environment. In the past decade Pacific has purchased and restored three wetlands in Oregon state. Pacific regularly donates food to the Oregon Food Bank through their “no one should go hungry campaign.” Respect for animals and a strong belief in environmental sustainability is why you can purchase Pacific Natural Food products at the Clintonville Community Market at a new lower price.

These are just three examples of the many, many companies and products we feel good about supporting. Next time you are at the co-op, take a little more time, poke around a bit, ask a question or two.

We believe in the products we sell. We want the best for our members and customers. With these price decreases, we have made it easier for you to shop healthier.

To your health!

Learn more about the story behind IS4C here: http://www.wedge.coop/is4c/

See you at the Market!