#10211

Today I joined a Food Co-op.
Why, you ask?
why not, I reply.
I now own 4 shares of the MW Natural Food Co-Op and it feels good. I got $75 worth of coupons for joining- I can save $.50 on Tofurky hickory smoked deli slices! What a deal!
The main reason why I joined is because I want to be one of "those people". I feel like a 5th grader reading Tiger Beat and dreaming of being a movie star- but really, I want to wear muted tones and lots of North Face. I want to know how to read a trail map and have my daily dose of granola. I want to ditch the sneakers and wear hiking boots exclusively. haha. Ok, the sneaks went to far... writing that feels so tool-y, but really I am enamored with such folk, and I figured the first step in being like-minded was shopping where they shop. I need to get some reusable grocery bags. Just joining the co-op makes me ooze earth consciousness...
OK OK the REAL reason is because I have decided as part of my independent study phy ed class (joy.) I will engage in the 100 mile challenge. That is, I will only eat food that has been made, picked, or grown within 100 miles of my location. (full disclosure: living in the Twin Cities makes this a tad more difficult, so I've agreed w/ myself to allow me to cheat and make it anything raised in the Midwest... but "100 Mile Challenge" sounds much fancier.)
100 miles for 3 months. 50 years ago this wouldn't have even been an issue. Now a co-op is the only way to do it. The nice thing is it is nice an close by and several people from my church volunteer there, so I just went up a notch in their books, no doubt. Plus the people are super friendly. Right after I signed the last membership paper a big dude wearing an apron gave me a half-hug and said, "Welcome to the family, man." My grocery story considers me family... what does your grocery store do?
Right now, my freezer and cupboards are pretty stocked with outside of 100 miles food currently (I'll refer to such food as "outsider grub", as to make it feel all self-conscience and outcasty- thus less appetizing), so I will have to cheat a little bit until its all gone. I'm not going to waste all that money because of a self-imposed challenge. Maybe it'll be once a week I can have something processed. It'll be a chemical treat. :)
OH, that's another reason I'm co-oping. There's some nasty stuff in our food, and more and more I'm starting to think it's not so smart to be consuming it regularly. That means no more Buck Doubles or DQ Blizzards. tragic!! I'm not going to get all freaky-deaky about it, but I'd like to give the organic lifestyle a try. AND, since it's for a class, can you say EDUCATION EXPENSE? that's a tax write-off, brotha! Dave Ramsey would be so proud. I don't want this to be a food bla(h)g by any means, but I'll keep you posted. I know you're all dying to know how it goes. ha!