April showers bring May flowers – and the fourth installment of the Coop Scoop! April was an exciting month for the co-op; new local vendors, new outdoor signage, and our first outdoor event of 2021, celebrating our 20th birthday. If you missed out, it was an amazing day. We have another outdoor event coming up on Saturday May 8th, Impact Earth will be here, live music, free Fair Trade organic guacamole samples, it’s going to be great! We hope to see you here.
Index
GENERAL NEWS
NEW SIGNAGE
Paul installed our new large signs on each side of the building. The signs were printed by our neighbors over at PrintRoc (we LOVE PrintRoc).
The signs read: Your Neighborhood Grocery Store, Main Entrance & Parking in Rear
What do you think of them?
Earth Day Birthday Event
Our Earth Day 20th Birthday event on April 24th was a hit! From 12PM-2PM we served grilled veggie burgers and notdogs, as well as grilled portobellos and zucchini; for dessert, a scoop of our house made Vegan Chocolate Cake! We also had free bananas, apples and water available all day. Field and Fork Network was here representing Double Up Food Bucks and Impact Earth had a tent set up speaking on composting and sustainable, low waste goods. The fruit and vegetables were super kindly donated by Four Seasons Produce, and was very much appreciated by all who stopped by. We had a slew of amazing local vendors: Good Healthy, Kouzini, Mark & Amy’s Pickles, Small World, and The Brown Suga Co. The day was gorgeous, every one had a smile on their face- it was really great to get out (safely)!
tShirts Available
We have a very limited amount of 20 year celebration tshirts available at the co-op, once we run out- that’s it! Make sure to scoop one up next time you are here, and show some support while you’re cruising around the ROC.
Win this BBQ
Enter our Memorial Day Drawing for this cute little blue BBQ. Drawing begins Friday, May 7th and ends Saturday, May 29th.
Ask your cashier for your free entry ticket. One ticket per day.
ROUND UP
April Round Up
April was National Autism Awareness Month, and the co-op supported AutismUP, the leading 501(c)3 autism support organization in the Greater Rochester and surrounding areas.
With all your help we collected $884.87 for this non-profit
May Round Up
For the month of May, the co-op will be supporting Baden Street Settlement! For 120 years, Baden Street Settlement continues to improve the quality of life for children, youth, adults and seniors by providing programs, resources and basic needs which address the effects of poverty while building community. Baden Street Settlement’s caring, committed multi-disciplinary team responds to community needs through numerous programs.
GROCERY
Mothers Day is just around the corner; we’ve got flowers, cards, chocolates, and locally made goodies to help spread some love to someone you love. Memorial Day follows at the end of May and the co-op will be set up with all the fixin’s to make your barbecue a delicious hit!
New CBD Sparkling Water
Locally produced Organic CBD Sparkling Water from Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards at the co-op . Black Cherry 
and Blood Orange 
Fair Trade
Saturday, May 8th, is World Fair Trade Day. The co-op carries many items from Equal Exchange; coffee, tea, chocolates, oils and spices to name a few. Look for the Equal Exchange logo on packages and stickers to support this great initiative.
PRODUCE
Produce Department
As expected, the co-op has started seeing an influx of local lettuces, greens, and herbs coming in. Currently we are boasting local selections of green & red kale, radishes, spring onions, and green & red leaf lettuce. We also scored some wild, local, sustainably sourced Ramps!
Since we opened the co-op (twenty years ago last month!) Bowman-Hill Farm in Kent, NY has been providing the co-op with the most local, delicious produce we have ever tasted. Lyman Hill lovingly runs the farm with his wife Wendy Hill and partner Ken Bowman. We are very lucky and blessed to have such a long lasting relationship with these amazing farmers. Next time you’re in the produce section, keep your peepers out for tags with Bowman Hill on them!
We’ve lots of little organic herbs and greenery available from Light House Gardens to make a cheery little garden for yourself at home. Bags of Light House Gardens Organic Soil are still available as well.
DELI & BAKERY
The Deli & Bakery department continues to grow, everyone seems to love our signature sandwiches, especially our Vegan offerings! The new Vegan Garbage Plate wrap is proving to be a fast favorite, and we have another new exciting wrap to announce. DRUMROLL PLEASE, introducing the new Vegan Bulgogi Jackfruit Cheese Steak Sandwich (pictured). It’s ahhhhhmazing. We will also be rolling out with a new Vegan Bahn Mi recipe very shortly- updating the old recipe with zestier flavors!
The department is highlighting some new Lilac flavored items for May, to go along with the very popular Lilac Fest that happens here in Rochester this month.
BULK
Our Bulk department is always growing, new to the department this month, Turkish Apricots!
CHEESE
This month we would like to highlight Nettle Meadow Sanctuary Farm, locally crafted cheese.
Nettle Meadow Sanctuary Farm is the home to well over 130 farm sanctuary animals and a cheese company in Thurman, New York just below Crane Mountain in the Adirondacks between Gore Mountain/North Creek and Warrensburg.
Nettle Meadow is committed to the principles of natural ingredients, happy and healthy animals, and carefully hand-crafted artisan cheeses. We make several varieties of soft goat cheeses and are well known for our semi-aged cheeses, including our award winning triple crème, Kunik, made from goat milk and Jersey cow cream, Nettle Peaks and Crane Mountain made from 100% goat milk. Our recent award winners include Amber Kunik, Sappy Ewe, Briar Summit and Slate Ridge. Our sheep milk cheeses include our award winning Three Sisters made from sheep, goat and cow milk, Simply Sheep, made from all sheep’s milk, and Penny’s Pride, a hard mold ripened sheep and cow milk combination. We offer a wide selection of chevres and fromage blancs and have a number of new exciting cheeses, including our new washed rind line and our mixed milk Fromage Frais blended cheeses.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Do you have a high anxiety pet? Ever heard of Head & Heal CBD Oil? This company makes a special formula specific for your furry best pals!
The Health & Beauty department is filled with all sorts of options for all sorts of needs. If you have specific questions, Nicole (our buyer) is incredibly knowledgeable and can be found with in the aisles most days.
BEER, CIDER & MORE
Our Beer and Cider selections have really been growing. Our relationship with local brewer Rohrbach is strengthening, Abundance will now be featured on their website as a go to for their new seasonal varieties.
A beer tasting event is in the works!
We are currently stocked up with choices we have not ever carried at the co-op, Young Lion Mexican Lager, Dos Equis, Corona, Pacifico, and Modelo
Keep your eyes out for these new flavors:
NEWS FROM THE BOARD
Board of Directors Meeting
This month the Board of Directors meeting is on Tuesday, May 11th. Meetings start at 6:30PM, and go until about 8:30PM. We will be meeting at the co-op this month; we will be careful and follow social distancing protocols, as well as requiring all to wear their masks.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
COMPOST RETURN: Spring Event
Join us on Saturday, May 8th from 10-6, to celebrate the end of International Compost Awareness Week! Impact Earth will be set up outside, in our lawn area next to the store (on the corner of South and Hamilton) swapping out bins of compost for customers returning their full bins.
The Impact Earth Education Team is going to be hosting demonstrations on using compost in both your indoor & outdoor gardens. This demonstration will be available throughout the day and includes kid-friendly activities.
For music, we will have Eric Manzler, one of our good friends, from Pearl Street Station and Jamric performing from 12PM to 3PM.
May 8th, is also World Fair Trade Day. We will be celebrating by handing out free samples of our Fair Trade Organic Avocado Mango Guacamole with blue corn chips from 12PM – 3PM (while supplies last!). Make sure to compost the leftovers!
