Mississippi Market

This is the fifth 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 posts on shopping bulk, the Wedge Co-op vs. Cub Foods, Eastside Food Co-op vs.

Author Wendell BerrySpring, glorious spring! As our farmers’ markets start to ramp up for the season, our Simple, Good, and Tasty book club pick reminds us to stay in tuned with the who, what, where, and how of our food.  Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food, by Wendell Berry, is a collection of essays about farms, farming, and eating throughout our modern history with food.

It's book club time again! Tonight we're gathering to discuss My Life in France at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op’s Selby location from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and near Harmony Co-op in Bemidji from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

New year, good intentions, resolutions. So, how are YOU doing?

Nearly a month into 2011, I’m thinking a bit about the intentions I had way back at the start of the new year (experiment with more vegan recipes, eat more veggies in general, and understand more about the food system and related politics), and checking in with myself on how things are going. One of the best things about working with food on a daily basis is that I don’t have to make an excuse to set aside time for these things. With little effort, I can get right to the core of the subject.

Selfishly, I found myself super excited when this month's book club pick was announced. I'm a huge Molly Wizenberg fan -- she of the successful blog Orangette and the amazing, go-to recipe collection, and she of the blogger-turned-author fad that has swept the nation these past few years. I guess I just love her natural, homey, chefy, and Frenchy vibe -- and apparently I'm not alone. Wizenberg's practical. She's cheeky. She leads with her taste buds. She seems like someone I'd enjoy sharing a bottle of wine with. And, to be completely honest, I've also got a girl crush on her for parlaying her blog into a book deal. I bought this one the week it came out. You go, Molly!

Continuing our bookclub this month, we'll be diving into the gap. The food gap, that is. September’s Simple, Good and Tasty book club pick. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty, by author Mark Winne addresses a vast array of political, social and economic issues around food.

I'd like to get something out of the way right from the start: I'm a member at Linden Hills Co-op in Minneapolis (and they are Simple, Good, and Tasty partners). For the past couple of years, I've watched as other area co-ops have redesigned, refurbished, and rebuilt their own spaces beautifully, offering their customers more products, more selection, and more space to shop. I've been both jealous and -- at times, yes -- unfaithful to my own co-op. I've talked about the "quaintness" of Linden Hills Co-op's old space, telling my friends I prefer its cramped neighborhoody-ness to other co-ops' vast open aisles.

I was lying.

Poverty. Food insecurity. A racist, classist, sexist food system. Issues of food justice. Urban supermarket abandonment and food deserts. And the overlapping and connecting of obesity, hunger and poverty. Tricky, complex and difficult issues. Wondering how to jump into the conversation? Or where to even begin? I was too, until I picked up September’s Simple, Good and Tasty book club pick. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty, by author Mark Winne is turns out to be an enlightening place to start.

Told from Winne’s personal experiences as a boy growing up in rural (read: farm-filled) New Jersey and as a new adult resident in Hartford, Connecticut, the book allows readers to connect to these food issues in a truly personal way. And challenges you to learn more and act accordingly.

Full market basket, check. Overflowing CSA share, check. Hideously prolific garden, CHECK WITH THE ZUCCHINI ALREADY! Yes, this time of year is chock-full of local goodness. So much so, at times, that you might just move from happily local-foods-rich to utterly overwhelmed. Fear not, The Minnesota Table: Recipes for Savoring Local Food Throughout the Year is here to help. Author Shelley N.C. Holl  and chef/recipe creator B.J. Carpenter have culled out some of the most delicious tips, tricks, stories and concoctions imaginable.

One of the only (slightly) disappointing things about living in the city center is the lack of nearby space to grow my own garden. I'm lucky to have a mother who lets me help rock out a serious amount of produce from her garden each year; many others turn to garden matchmakers, modular gardens, rooftop farms, and other urban gardening projects.