linden hills coop

This is the fouth post in our Co-op on a Budget series, which explores the different ways that we can shop co-op effectively and affordably. Also check out the first post, on shopping bulk, the second post, on the Wedge Co-op vs. Cub Foods, and the third post, on Eastside Food Co-op vs. Rainbow.

This is the first post in a new SGT series exploring the different ways that we can shop co-op effectively and affordably. Check out or other posts in this series here.

Now that the weather is turning cooler and school is back in session, the SGT Book Club is back, with not one but two books. In Minneapolis, the book club will be discussing Marion Nestle’s Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition & Health; in Bemidji, the book club will be discussing David Agus’s The End of Illness.

Meetings are open to all, whether you finish the whole book or just have fresh ideas about our food or health system that you want to discuss. So come on out and join us for a lively discussion!

Its July and yes, we all know its been hot. Minnesotans are notoriously aware of the current state of things, especially when they are not in the realm of perfect, sunny and 70. It is appropriate then, that for July, our book clubs have been reading a book by local author Atina Diffley, who is well connected to the weather extremes that effect our lives and our food. However, she might have a bit of a different perspective:

This month, the book club gets ambitious with Oran Hesterman's Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All. I say this because if you know anything about Hesterman and his Fair Food movement, it is no small deal. He is out to change the whole system. Well, perhaps not even change, but start over and build something new. When something is as dysfunctional as the American food system, indeed, it makes very little sense to try and fix it from within. There are times when something should just be thrown on the scrap heap...according to Hesterman, this is the time for action, our food system isn't going to fix itself.

Everytime I think about the SGT book club, one thing that amazes me is that there is always more to read. You would think that every issue about food might one day be used up, but so complicated is our relationship to food, there is a never ending stream of interesting and useful reading within our grasp. So is this month's pick, American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half Its Food (and what we can do about it) by Jonathan Bloom. 

With all of our midwestern talk about sustainably raised land animals, thinking about the fishing industry can often draw a big fat blank. Perhaps the answer is to just eat fewer fish, don't eat those fish which are endangered, look for sustainably caught fish or possibly assume that the ocean is so vast that we could never really deplete it.

Take one look into Four Fish by Paul Greenberg and the issue becomes much more complicated and fascinating. It is one thing to think about trying to control how a herd of cows or a flock of chickens is managed. Consider the vast seas, international borders, politicians, scientists and of course, global demand. Its complicated.

This month, the Simple, Good and Tasty book club is tackling Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel. Get ready to dive into the global food system and begin to think in new ways about how it serves or fails to serve humanity. Instead of focusing on individual choices, Raj Patel asks questions about how food is delivered to people, whether it be big box stores in America or third world farmers growing crops for the industrial world. Patel also gives us new insights on why the food system fails to equally to all. Perhaps one of the best qualities of his writing is that what is offered here is not simply a book for the Western world.

Only one mouth to feed in your house? If you’re one of the 31 million people living by yourself in the United States you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43% of Americans over age 18 are single. It’s more important than ever for those of us choosing the solo life to take control of our diet since there’s no one around to nag us about eating healthy. I was lucky to grow up in a household where my mom believed in getting a home cooked meal on the table for dinner and my dad demonstrated good eating habits by making breakfast every day.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I hate it when I invent something that’s already been invented. Maybe I’m not very original, or maybe I’m just a classic Johnnie-come-lately, but I seem to have a penchant for coming up with the best best BEST ideas only to be smacked down by the cool unforgiving hand of Google. I won’t get into the specifics of my past inventions, because I’m afraid I’ll start getting a reputation around here, but this last one, the invention that I invented specifically for you... well, we’re just going to have to sit down and talk about this because it really is good, and just because someone else invented it first is no reason to deprive you of my genius.