prairie roots food coop… meals, community & more

story by | otmom

Let’s face it…times have changed, right? We’re busy and need to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table NOW. So, maybe there are things in the list of ingredients that we can’t pronounce and it came from a warehouse thousands of miles away—they’re safe, right? Besides, even if we wanted to feed our family more locally grown, organic, healthy meals, we don’t even know where to start, right?

WRONG! Now you have the opportunity to be a part of the Prairie Roots Food Cooperative! Say good-bye to foods from Timbuktu filled with who-knows-what. And say hello to nutritious meats, vegetables, and household and personal care items produced by responsible individuals from right here in the Red River Valley.

Since an initial public meeting in 2010, Prairie Roots Food Cooperative has been dedicated to building a healthy community. By structuring as a cooperative, members actually OWN Prairie Roots…not investors. A lifetime household membership [yes lifetime…not monthly or yearly…LIFETIME membership] is only $300 and there are a variety of payment plans, ranging from $25 every six months to payment in full as a founding member. Each member holds a share of common stock in the cooperative. This local, democratic ownership and governance through an elected board of directors provides member-based decisions which benefit you at the dinner table and beyond: nutrition consciousness As parents we are always trying to instill life lessons that will become second nature to our kiddos. Providing nutritious meals now can ensure our kiddos make those healthy decisions when we’re not around. Prairie Roots Food Cooperative provides easy access to natural, organic, and local foods. It’s a fact that the most nutritious organic food is the food which travels the least distance. Currently Prairie Roots provides items such as meat [chicken, turkey, beef, lamb], seasonal fruit and vegetables, honey, fresh-baked bread, mushrooms, grains, and other specialty items from producers within a 150-mile radius of Fargo-Moorhead. Another benefit of the Prairie Roots Food Cooperative is you know where your food comes from and who produced it because each supplier of the coop has a bio online [www.localfoodmarketplace.com/ prairieroots/Farmers]. choices, choices Unlike a CSA [Community Supported Agriculture], where you pay a fee and receive a box of produce periodically for a period of time, Prairie Roots Coop provides choices. Through the online store [www. localfoodmarketplace.com/prairieroots], members are able to choose weekly the items they want, pay for those items, and then pick them up. The long-term goal is to open a full-line retail store in the Red River Valley. The store will be a place where you do all your weekly grocery shopping from products that are selected with natural, organic, and local producers in mind. community impact The obvious benefit of being a part of the Prairie Roots Food Cooperative is a community fueled on healthy, locally grown and produced food, but it goes further than that. There is an economic impact. Your hard-earned dollars support hard-working local farmers and producers. Statistics show that for every $1,000 spent at a food coop, $1,600 is generated in the local economy. Prairie Roots Food Coop members are supporting a business that provides local jobs and whose profits stay in the community. There is also an environmental impact. The full-line retail store will be very earth friendly, offering items in bulk bins rather than prepackaged quantities, enabling customers to purchase exactly as much as they need and minimize waste. The store will also serve as an education hub, offering a variety of classes.

So there you have it! To learn more and start your membership today, visit their website at www.prairieroots.coop and follow them on facebook [www.facebook. com/prairieroots]. Becoming a Prairie Roots Food Cooperative member is easy and it just makes sense.

Prairie Roots Food Cooperative www.prairie-roots.coop info@prairie-roots.coop www.facebook.com/prairieroots