Team,
On a cool Wednesday evening last month, our Board of Directors hosted a farm-to-Co-op dinner event at the Culinary Learning Center, our popular food and education hub nestled in a nook behind the Co-op Cafe in our Lebanon store. The dinner was a celebration of the harvest season, attended by a buzzing collection of members, Board members, community leaders, food producers, and employees.
To put it mildly, the event was a packed house and a huge success. Board members facilitated discussions on member engagement, Board work, education, food waste, and building a better food system. Marketing, Member Services, and Outreach teams worked tirelessly behind the scenes to plan, coordinate, and promote the event. And our Food Education Specialist, Lindsay Smith, prepared the delicious 3-course harvest dinner solo.
Food brings people together. We should never forget that this is part of what we do and how important it is. We live in a world that is increasingly divisive, driven by issues that are pushing people apart. Bringing people together may be more important now than ever.
I believe people are thirsting for this sort of connection with one another. As I’ve written about before, food is more than just a trip to the grocery store. It is a basic human right and an important social experience. While others may look for ways to make grocery shopping faster, easier, and more profitable, we look for ways to serve, educate, and connect.
My thanks to all of our members for being part of these connections every day. Want to talk more about it? Reach out to me anytime. My door is always open.
—ed
NOURISH. CULTIVATE. COOPERATE.
Ed Fox
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