CONTENTIONAND COMPROMISE Our World and Co-op Product Policy By Josh Little John, Board Member
With the cyclical changing of seasons and the simultaneous political chaos and contention I find myself in a very reflective space. I have been thinking about how we as individuals and institutions find understanding, compromise, and compassion where there is argument that we feel challenges our most deeply held values and convictions. Especially when we perceive that those convictions and values are under attack.
Recently, a local and dear friend of mine has been attacked based on her views about food. Her beliefs support the consumption of local humanely raised meat for both environmental and health reasons and she provides very holistic education around this and other topics. Some vegans found her opinions threatening, and rather than creating dialog they created a campaign against her as an individual and a class she was to teach. She received death threats because of her beliefs precisely because, to some, they are so threatening that they felt the need to in turn threaten her. While I know our food systems can be contentious I found the instance baffling. There are so many important places we can choose to place our energy but directing it in anger at individuals is entirely unproductive. As a dynamic and local grocery store, the Co-op offers individuals the privilege to shop for foods that suit many dietary needs and lifestyle choices. Creating a diversity of product options in the store is an ongoing conversation and compromise. It is a compromise both to prioritize what is offered based on the space available and a compromise around many oft competing values around food. The Co-op’s Ends Policy is a document that provides guidance and illustrates this compromise in many ways. It provides structure on things like the GM’s responsibilities, the board’s role and limitations in governance, financial conditions, and staff treatment, among other things. The Ends Policy also ensures that there is consistency for cooperatives should there be changes in leadership or dramatic board turnover. Within the Ends Policy, the Product Policy for the store represents what I consider to be a carefully considered administrative example of compromise in several ways. continued on page 2
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Bobby Sullivan General Manager
Sage Turner
Finance & Project Manager
Clare Schwartz
Outreach Co+ordinator
Ryan Prenger
Grocery Manager
Darren Stroupe Produce Manager
Greg Mosser Deli Manager
Melissa Fryar
Health & Body Care Manager
FBFC Board of Directors Danielle Goldstein Vice President
Jennifer Gustafson Secretary
Bob LeRoy Treasurer
Alanna Hibbard Kelly Fain Pauline Heyne Josh Littlejohn Daav Wheeler Josh O’Conner Paul Gallimore Stephanie Swepson-Twitty Jean Karpen Board Assistant
French Broad Food Co-op 90 Biltmore Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 Tel:828.255.7650 info@frenchbroadfood.coop www.frenchbroadfood.coop
Monday-Saturday 8am to 9pm Sunday 11am to 7pm
For instance, there are some products that the policy outright bans and some that it dictates shall be de-emphasized yet not excluded entirely from the store. Both lists are here: PRODUCTS TO BE DE-EMPHASIZED • Non-organic fresh produce. • Food products known to contain genetically modified organisms. • Products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup. • Beer and Wine. • Non-organic dairy products. • Products containing refined sucrose (ie: white sugar.) • Products containing refined fructose. • Products containing fractionated oils and/or fats. • Products that contain 1) hydrogenated or 2) partially hydrogenated oils and/or fats. • Products containing synthetic preservatives. BANNED PRODUCTS • Products that are tested on animals. • Products containing artificial sweeteners. • Products containing nitrites or nitrates. • Irradiated foods and food products known to contain irradiated foods. • Products containing artificial coloring or flavor. • Products produced from endangered species. • Cigarettes (does not disallow other tobacco products.) • Foods containing or consisting of meat from juvenile animals (does not include pet foods, gel caps, homeopathics, glandular products, fish oils, and other health supplements.) You will notice that things to be de-emphasized like non-organic produce, is an attempt to both honor what the organic standard means for our environment and for human health and at the same time not explicitly forbid the Co-op from carrying a product like local sustainably grown pears, that may be essentially organic yet for a struggling WNC farmer’s ability to extend the capital to achieve organic certification. This allows the Co-op to focus on supporting local start up products and producers in a way that no other grocery store in the area does. It also provides the opportunity to offer products that are priced more reasonably to increase food accessibility for all the members of our community. Another section of the Product Policy dictates the types of animal products for human consumption that the Co-op may carry. MEAT, FISH, DAIRY OR EGGS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION • All animals must have access to the outdoors, direct sunlight and pasture and/or space suitable for the species at all stages of their lives. • All animals must have access to adequate shelter, including shade. • No intense confinement, for example: hens in battery cages, overcrowded fish, cattle feed lots, etc. • Animals must have access to clean water and food of good quality (no fecal matter, newspaper, ground up animals, cement dust, etc.) The policy regarding animal products defines and offers assurance that the Co-op will offer no animal products that create inhumane conditions for them. Whether we choose to eat these products or not, the assurances institute a regard and empathy that is not found in other grocery stores. It does not place judgement on the consumer yet it helps to inform socially and environmentally responsible choices by choosing compassion over strident conviction. The Co-op as an institution in our community has been much more than just a store over the years. It has been a joyful place of gathering and a place where both contention and compromise coexist. It is in many ways a microcosm of the Asheville community and the world as whole. As individuals and a community, we must all choose how we respond to things that challenge or attack our beliefs. Whether our views on politics, sexuality, race, food or anything else feel threatened we can meet those challenges with anger, or we can choose to meet them with empathy. We can choose not to take on and embody fear as so much of the world seems to do. I find the community in and around the Co-op reassuring. Co-ops by design are organizations that strive to embrace diverse truths and I find it reassuring to know that no matter what our choices or beliefs we have built a dynamic and representative organization that will seek to respond with care and compromise.
FBFC WINTER CALENDAR DECEMBER
5
5% on the 5th: All owners get 5% off their purchases
6
Living Web Farms presents: 2nd annual Make It Don’t Buy It Skill Share, Mills River, NC
MONDAY
TUESDAY
1
SUNDAY
5
THURSDAY
10
TUESDAY
10
Living Web Farms presents: Vegetable Plant Breeding for Market Gardeners, Mills River, NC
SATURDAY
12
THURSDAY
11
The Co+op will be closing at 7pm for our staff party
SUNDAY
15
Herbal Gifting with Melissa Fryar, 5:30-8:30 pm in the MLC
THURSDAY
21
JANUARY
14
SATURDAY
Winter Solstice
WEDNESDAY
24
The Co+op closes at 6pm
SATURDAY
25 SUNDAY
Christmas Day The Co+op is closed
MONDAY
The Co+op opens at 10am
5% on the 5th: All owners get 5% off their purchases Living Web Farms presents: Atomizing Waste Oil Burners for Clean Heat, Mills River, NC Teas for Wellness with Melissa Fryar, 6-8pm in the MLC 1pm New Owner & Worker Bee Orientation Living Web Farms presents: Living Home Free: The Skills & Philosophy of Choosing Homelessness, Mills River, NC
16
Martin L. King Day
28
Living Web Farms presents: Understanding Biochar, Mills River, NC Chinese New Year
MONDAY
SATURDAY
26
Happy New Year! The Co+op opens at 12 noon
FEBRUARY
2
THURSDAY
Make Your Own Herbal Aphrodisiacs with Melissa Fryar, 6-8pm in the MLC Groundhog Day
5
5% on the 5th: All owners get 5% off their purchases
7
Living Web Farms presents: Hot Water Harvest from your Wood Stove, Mills River, NC
9
1pm New Owner & Worker Bee Orientation
10
Herbal Aphrodisiacs demo with Melissa Fryar, 3-5 in the Co+op
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
12
Lincoln’s Birthday
14
Valentine’s Day
20
Presidents’ Day
22
Community Appreciation Day! 10% off the Entire Store, For Everybody!
25
Living Web Farms presents: Principles of Apitherapy: Sting Therapy, Mills River, NC
28
Mardi Gras
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
• March 2017: Blue Ridge Naturally presents: Bring the Spring Natural Products Networking • March 10-12: Organic Growers School presents :24th Annual Spring Conference, Practical. Affordable. Accessible • March 23: Living Web Farm presents: Kitchen Hacks for Better Cooking @ the FBFC
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
SATURDAY
CLASSIFIEDS:
TUESDAY
Up to 50 words free for current Co+op Owners. The Buzz will run for three months with editions in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Deadlines are:Feb 10 for Spring, May 10 for Summer, August 10 for Fall & November 10 for Winter. Please send all submissions to: outreach@frenchbroadfood.coop & moonstonekelly@gmail.com. Please write: BUZZ SUBMISSION in the subject line. All submissions are subject to approval. Current Co+op Owners can also submit articles (subject to approval) and paid ads. Please contact: outreach@frenchbroadfood.coop & moonstonekelly@gmail.com for pricing.
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LEAF LOVE
Got the LEAF blues? Need good music and festivities in your life right now? Here is the rest of what LEAF is up to this Winter season! Contact LEAF directly with questions - theLEAF.org. •
12/9 - Enter the Earth Holiday Party : A Benefit for LEAF Location: AVL Music Hall | Time: 9pm-1am
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1/20-1/25 - LEAF Cultural Expedition: Guatemala $835 per person (land only) | Deadline: 12/31 to reserve!
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2/3-2/11 - LEAF Cultural Expedition: Costa Rica $985 per person (land only) | Deadline: 12/31 to reserve!
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LEAF Community Arts | Connecting CULTURES & Creating COMMUNITY through MUSIC & ARTS
Winter Nourishment by Melissa Fryar
Winter hibernation is here! It is often a difficult time healthwise for so many of us ... colds and flu, lack of vitamin D, less activity, and sometimes the seasonal blues. So, I thought I would pass along some of my favorite recipes and tidbits to nourish you through the darkest days.
goodness of a decadent bath. It can be as simple as mixing some herbs together in a small muslin bag and creating a bath tea, or you can mix epsom salts with a variety of herbs and essential oils to use as a medicinal bath.
Teas -- What I can say except that this is the tea season! Nothing like a hot cup of tea on a cold winter day. Personally, I have never met a tea that I did not like ... Black, Green, Herbal ... Yes please! In our bulk herb section we have so many options! One of my all time favorites is the Russian Caravan Tea. It has that smoky lapsang flavor with warming and tasty spices. If you are a green tea fan, I must recommend the Mountain Rose Jasmine Pearls, and if you try to stay away from caffeine, the Vanilla Rooibos is decadent! So delicious on its own or with a bit of cream and honey. Herbally, the options are endless! I recommend having some medicinal teas blended up, as well as some warming tasty blends (sometimes they can be one and the same). I do add more warming herbs and spices this time of year, such as ginger, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon. Consider some of these to start: • Hawthorn berries, orange peel, cardamom, and holy basil • Tumeric, ginger, dandelion • Chaga with chai spices: fennel, cardamom, anise, pepper, allspice, etc. • Elecampane, astragalus, cinnamon, and ginger
• 2 cups epsom salts • 1 cup sea salt • 1 tbsp. mustard powder • 1 Tbsp. ginger powder • 10 drops of warming essential oils ( i love fir and ginger) Mix all together in a bowl and let sit for an hour or so, to let the essential oils blend well. Add a handful or so to a hot bath when chilled or when feeling the symptoms of cold or flu.
Warming Winter Vanilla Tea • •
1 cup coconut milk Add a dash (or more to your taste): cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne, nutmeg, ginger • 1 tsp. vanilla extract Heat all together in a saucepan and, if desired, sweeten with honey or stevia. Enjoy hot! These are terrific to have on hand and also great gift ideas! If you want to learn more, check out my herbal giftmaking class in December! Another favorite for winter wellness is the blissful bath! There have been evenings when I have spent hours soaking in the hot herbal
Cold Buster Bath
Bath Bombs
1 cup baking soda 1/2 cup epsom salts 1/2 cup citric acid 2 tbsp. coconut oil 3 tsp. water or hydrosol 4-10 drops of essential oils of your choice and optional -- beet juice or natural food coloring to tint Instructions: Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. SLOWLY add the wet to the dry while stirring. The texture should be like wet sand. Oil the mold of your choice with olive oil (to ease bomb removal) and press in the mixture. These will expand slightly...so leave a bit of head room. Let these dry 3 hours to overnight. The dry time will depend on the size of your mold. When finished, the bath bombs should feel hard and dry. Pop out of molds and store in a glass container. Drop one in the bath for a fizzy and fragrant soak! And of course, don’t forget the herbs that help keep us healthy during this season ... elderberry in a syrup or tea is tasty and a powerful anti-viral, echinacea and astragalus are also great additions, goldenseal can help with infections of the mucous membranes, and those
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e
d
medicinal mushrooms are terrific immunomodulators. Think shiitake, maitake, reishi, chaga, and turkey tail.
rodesiac demo again this year: Friday February 10th from 3-5. Stop by for some love inspiration!
For the holiday season, we have so many great gift ideas: Herb themed and local clothing Fair trade hats, gloves, and scarves Seasonal soaps from Zum and Pacha Soaps make great stocking stuffers Assorted body care products make a terrific gift gathered in a Ghana-made fair trade basket Consider making a first aid kit, stocked with a few essentials such as tinctures, essential oils, and salves, for a wonderful gift idea Fermenting supplies for your favorite kraut maker Books on farming, food, herbal medicine, and more! 2017 Calendars are here ... including the ever popular We’Moon and Moon calendars.
Damiana Love Tea
As we move into February, we come towards the end of winter, and of course, we have Valentine’s Day. Yes, I know ...it can be over sensationalized, but in my opinion, any day is a good day to celebrate love! Of course we have a fine selection of chocolates to woo your sweets, as well as many ideas for terrific gifts to make. I will do an herbal aph-
• 2 cups water • 1 tsp. damiana • 1/2 vanilla bean • 1 tsp. oat tops • 1 tsp. rose petals Pour hot water over herbs and let steep for 15 minutes. If desired, add a bit of honey and cream. Share with someone you love! May your winter be filled with big love, candlelight, and a bit of cheer!
Community Medicine Gardens by Jennifer Flynn
The WNC region is full of community gardens that are free and open to the public for use. While government management of some of the gardens has caused upset, as with the cutting of mature producing fruit and nut trees at Dr. George Washington Carver Edible Park, gardens operated by individuals, and nongovernmental groups of volunteers are thriving. Area herbalists and medicinal herb growers are joining in to encourage greater public awareness of plant medicines that can be grown as easily as summer vegetables. Some of the below locations may be near you! While some of these gardens offer fruit and veggies, they also offer herbs commonly used in alternative medicine, herbalism, and Chinese medicine. Often the herbs reside amongst the sprawling squash, beans and tomatoes. Incorporating herbs in these edible settings offers opportunity for public outreach. Adam Bigelow in Jackson County oversees gardens in Cullowhee and Sylva. When giving tours of the gardens, visitors and volunteers often query about the unknown, unfamiliar medicinal plants interspersed in the plots. The simple placement of an herb in such a setting opens the door to learning and teaching opportunities. As a public health employee with the county he considers these “gardens for public health.” Community members are encouraged to adopt a plot and medicinals are always welcome. If you’d like to get involved, email adambigelow@jacksonnc.org. As a volunteer with the Marshall Native Gardens Initiative at the Marshall branch of the Madison County Library, I am the “champion” for the folk medicine garden which highlights medicinal plants and their traditional Appalachian folk uses. Something as simple as a demonstration garden helps us to remember how these plants have been used by humans for centuries. Library visitors are guided to additional reading materials for further information on the plants. As the garden thrives, plants will be divided and made available to the public at the library’s annual plant sale. Similarly, the site includes a forest farm demonstration garden which offers the public learning opportunities to incorporate valuable edibles and medicinals into a forest farm setting. Just outside of Asheville, the Lord’s Acre in Fairview is another site that hosts a bevy of veggies, but also beneficial medicinals. These medicinals are also used in educational opportunities and are crafted into preparations to be used in the community. In Hendersonville, Veterans Healing Farm raises perennial and annual foods, as well as medicinals, including hops. And central to Asheville is the Bountiful Cities program which has championed area community gardens, while promoting permaculture principles, including at the Pearson Community Garden in Montford. If you’re a member of the community who would like to get involved and learn more about how to support community herbalism by helping to grow the plants, please contact a local group, or even start your own community medicine garden! The NC Natural Products Association would love to hear about your local efforts to bring herbalism to your neighborhood or community. Please get in touch via email: seal@blueridgenaturally.org and get involved to learn more about our education and outreach efforts to promote medicinal herbs and their uses across the state.
Visit us at the new AHG Store webpage! Thrill the herbalists in your life - or yourself - and support the Guild by shopping at our new on-line store. Here you will find extremely beautiful mugs, T-shirts featuring our new “Rooted” logo, fabulous books, cool stickers and, if you can’t decide, gift certificates. Proceeds from your purchases support the mission of the Guild. http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/store/products.
Save the Date! The American Herbalists Guild Annual Symposium will be held October 5-9, 2017 in Silverton, Oregon. Get to know us better! The American Herbalists Guild will have an information table at The Medicines from the Earth in the spring of 2017 and a table at the Mother Earth News Fair spring of 2017
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
F E AT U R I N G :
SATURDAY & SUNDAY MARCH 11-12, 2017
Pre-Conference Workshops Friday, March 10 UNCA CAMPUS | ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
PAT FOREMAN
Chickens & You: From Egg to Table
GABE BROWN
Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem
More than 70 Classes Each Day
Gardening • Permaculture • Mushrooms • Herbs Cooking • Livestock • Sustainable Living • Soils Sustainable Forestry • Farming • Poultry & More! Including a trade show, seed exchange, and children’s program!
BEGINNING FOREST FARMING Cultivating Crops Under the Canopy
Register by January 31st for Early Registration Pricing!
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O R G A N I C G R O W E R S S C H O O L •
O R G
ORGANIC GROWERS SCHOOL
ONE-ON-ONE
SUPPORT SERVICES
Organic Growers School (OGS) announces the launch of their new Coaching & Consulting program to serve home-owners, farmers, backyard gardeners and sustainability seekers in Western NC. The program is designed as a one-on-one, site-specific, education and support service to help home growers move forward more quickly and easily on their land-based and food production projects. OGS Consulting & Coaching services focus on the design and planning of all manner of projects from new gardens,orchards and off-grid systems, to green-building projects and design for farm-based production. Because each person is unique in their experience, vision and physical capacity, and each site is unique in its climate, topography and soils, the services are personalized. OGS helps farmers and homesteaders assess their time, skill and budgets and guides them into realistic next steps. “Our goal at OGS is to grow growers,” says Brandon Greenstein, Director of the Home Grower Programs at OGS and the lead coach and consultant for the new program. “To create more personal and regional food security and literacy, we all need to be growing food and be more connected to our energy, water, and land. For western NC residents who are interested in a land-based life but desire some extra support and encouragement, the OGS Coaching and Consulting service will help them become more confident, empowered and excited about their skills, knowledge and health.” Greenstein’s background is in renewable systems, alternative energy, water, homesteading and permaculture, specifically providing consulting, design and technical services for the creation of integrated systems. He has been homesteading, including off-grid living and food production, in the western NC mountains for 20 years. He co-founded and co-managed the Forestry Cooperative, a land-based, value-added sustainable forestry cooperative and has also managed a heavyequipment-based earthworks company. Brandon specializes in design systems for the home and land, including garden and landscaping, construction projects, and most everything having to do with the practicalities of ecological design. Clients who seek out the OGS Coaching and Consulting services will work directly with Greenstein, as well as other regional experts. By connecting those aspiring towards more food and energy self-sufficiency with the customized resources they need, OGS is facilitating both the success and self-reliance of western NC residents and growing the regional small businesses that are providing products and services for these projects. Visit www.organicgrowersschool. org for more information.
Site Assessment • Landscaping • Water Catchment Renewable Energy • Garden Design & Installation Orchards • Soil Testing • Animal Systems • Ponds Barn & Shed Construction • Sustainable Forestry Earthworks • Pasture Management • Food Storage Herb Gardens • Farm Planning • Land Design
Comprehensive Assessment A great way to start. Overall site design & planning assessment for your farm, homestead, or garden project. $275 Includes: • Detailed intake survey • 1.5 to 2 hour visit • Plan of Action • Recording of the Visit • Customized Referral List • Follow-up Phone Call • Info Transfer to a Service Provider
Hourly Support Services One-on-one mentoring, support, coaching, and guidance for farm, homestead, or garden projects. $75 per hour and can be on the phone, in person, on your site, or at a local farm or homestead. outreach@organicgrowersschool.org or (828) 214-7833
w w w. o rg a n i c growe r s s c h o o l. o rg
Workin’ Like a Bee for the Co-op by Daav Wheeler
I first participated in the FBFC’s worker/owner (affectionately referred to as Worker Bees) program three years ago doing whatever needed to be done in the warehouse every Wednesday morning. I learned a great deal about the Co-op in those days. It’s not easy keeping an old building and much-used equipment operating consistently day after day. There are constant disruptions – mostly minor, but sometimes serious – that threaten to block the flow of goods and people through the store. Our staff people are great. They stretch themselves and their job descriptions to do whatever needs to be done to keep the scene under control, and the people moving through the checkout lines never know how much buzz is going on behind the scenes. I made some good friends as a worker/owner. There is a strong level of mutual support – and some outrageously funny humor – that goes on in the back end of the Co-op. Even though I came in only once a week, the staff welcomed me and offered tips and help whenever it was needed. My experience of the FBFC has been changed entirely. Sure, it’s a fully-functioning store (offering the best food in town), but when I step inside now, I am part of the flow. If there is trash in the parking lot, I pick it up on the way in. If another customer comes in bearing a load of tension or negativity, I tune in – perhaps that person might need calming, redirection, or group support. Sometimes I can answer other customers’ questions. I’m still a customer, but I’m also hanging out with friends. It’s great getting a 15% discount for two hours of labor. But the best part of the worker/ owner job is the experience. After being a worker/owner, the Co-op means much more to me.
Any FBFC owner can be part of the worker/owner experience. Dates for the 2017 Worker-Owner Orientations will be posted to our website, social media sites, communication boards, in our flyers & newsletters, and emailed to owners.
One and Done:
The Only New Year’s Resolution You’ll Ever Need By Eve Adamson
It usually goes something like this • • • • • • • • • • •
I will lose 20 pounds! I will finally get in shape! I will eat better! I will be more environmentally conscious! I will cook for my family more often! I will spend more time with my family! I will stop ordering pizza and eating fast food! I will save more money! I will enjoy life more! I will be better about helping others! I will be a better person!
Whether you scribble your resolutions into a journal or post them on the refrigerator or just repeat them to yourself in your head as the New Year approaches, you have probably made New Year’s resolutions before. According to the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, and although 75% of resolutions are maintained through the first week, the number drops significantly with each passing week, so that by six months, barely anyone is sticking to it. A lot of people don’t even remember what their resolution was anymore by June. Bummer. Yet, I love New Year’s resolutions. I think they are sweet signs of optimism. They prove that people still want to better themselves, and believe they can do it, no matter how many times they fail. I even think my own New Year’s resolutions are adorable. Lose 20 pounds? Aww. That’s so cute, the way I keep thinking I’m going to do that! But every year’s experience begs the question: Why is it so hard to execute a perfectly reasonable decision to do something good for yourself, like get healthier or spend more time with people you love? The problem, says many an expert, is that our resolutions are either too various, and/or too lofty. We set too many goals and we lose track. We also set goals that are a little bit too difficult—just outside the realm of reasonable. But what if I told you that just one simple resolution could accomplish just about every resolution I’ve listed at the beginning of this article, all in one fell swoop? Eleven resolutions in one? And what if I told you that one single resolution could actually be easy? When you focus on one resolution instead of many and that one resolution is something you can actually do, you are about a zillion times more likely to stick with it (that’s the official statistic—a zillion). What could this magical and powerful resolution be? Are you ready for this? It’s kind of radical, so maybe you should sit down. Here goes: This year, I will eat mostly whole food. Wow. I know, right? You have to admire the simple elegance. This one resolution is powerful because you don’t have to think about
all those other things you want to do, and yet, they will all start to happen, just because you are eating whole food. Let me explain:
I will lose 20 pounds! The number might not be exact, but whether you need to lose 20 pounds or 10 pounds or 5 pounds or 50 pounds, you’ll start moving in the right direction when you eat mostly whole food. Whole food fills you up faster than packaged food. It’s also more nourishing, so your body feels like it actually ate a meal and you aren’t as hungry later. The more you get into the whole food habit, the more your bad eating habits will fall away; you’ll feel better, and your weight will normalize. Sure, there are overweight whole food eaters. If you eat too much whole food, then you might remain a bit broader around the middle. But while you can probably imagine eating too much candy or too many doughnuts, not very many people binge on apples or carrot sticks or home-roasted chicken with brown rice. Try it. You might find it’s the easiest way you ever lost weight.
I will finally get in shape! When you eat whole food, you are better nourished, so you feel better, you have more energy, and you are more likely to feel compelled to move your body the way nature intended. Simple.
I will eat better! Whole food = eating better. Done and done.
I will be more environmentally conscious! Whole food, especially if it’s locally produced and/or organic, is much kinder and less invasive to the environment than packaged food churned out in a factory and packaged up in lots of cardboard and plastic.
I will cook for my family more often! You can eat a lot of whole food raw, like fruits and vegetables, but you’ll likely want to cook some of it, especially in the chilly weather. Roast meat, boil and mash potatoes, steam veggies, stew fruit or bake it into pies. You don’t have to spend hours every day. Cook on the weekends and store foods for the week, or just whip up simple things during the week—a big salad, turkey soup, rice and peas. It doesn’t take long to throw a few potatoes in the microwave and broil a couple of steaks. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it, and it really can be fun. Consider it your new hobby (you were thinking of adding, Start a new hobby to your list, weren’t you?).
I will spend more time with my family! Eating dinner at the table with your family is one of the nicest ways to bond. Even if the teenagers complain, all you have to do is say, “No, Junior, you are not eating your dinner in your bedroom while playing that video game. Your mother needs to be able to look you in the eye for at least 15 minutes per day to make sure your brain isn’t fried.” Meanwhile, teenagers are always hungry because it’s exhausting battling all those virtual aliens and doing homework and friending people on Facebook, so they might even gulp down the vegetables. It’s win-win.
I will stop ordering pizza and eating fast food! The more you gain a taste for real, whole food, the more the taste of cheap fast food loses its appeal. Sure, we all order a pizza every now and again, but it’s what you do most of the time that counts.
I will save more money! Whole food is cheaper. They say it’s not, but it is. Fresh veggies and fruits are cheap in season and frozen veggies from the off season can still be your friends. Whole poultry and roasts are cheaper than pre-made frozen dinners when you figure how much meat you get for your dollar. Buy staples in bulk. Rice, beans, nuts and seeds, oatmeal, flour, even special treats like local honey and maple syrup and almond butter— the bulk bins are bargain central.
I will enjoy life more! When you’re feeling better, losing weight, exercising more, eating better, and spending more time with your family, not to mention saving money, how can you not enjoy life more?
I will be better about helping others! Feeding your family whole food is a great way to help others. Buying local, organic, and/or fair trade products helps others in ways you might never even consider. It’s a ripple effect.
I will be a better person! Define better: Happier? Nicer? Healthier? If that’s what better is, then sure. Whole food will do you right. So there you have it: One resolution. You can do that, right? Just the one. It’s all you need, and it can and will transform you if you let it. Whole food is that powerful. Best of all, you can really stick to this one. It’s reasonable and realistic. Let’s do it together. We’re going to have a great year. I can already tell.
Each year the Asheville Grown Business Alliance launches a new Go Local Card through the Love Asheville - Go Local campaign. The card costs $16 (plus tax), half of which goes to our city public schools and the bearer receives discounts all year long at over 400 locally owned businesses. This year holds exceptional excitement as they release a brand new website along with the 2017 card. Your French Broad Food Co-op has participated in this program since inception and, in 2016, through selling the Go Local Card, we’ve helped raise over $18,500 for our public schools and have saved our community over $40,000. This powerful little card makes a thoughtful gift for people you care about and gives back to the community you love. Put your money where your heart is, become a card-carrying local this holiday season! The new website launches early December, the 2017 Go Local print guide comes out in every Mountain Xpress on December 7th. The card will be available for purchase at the Co-op and online the first week of December. Franzi Charen Director Asheville Grown Business Alliance