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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Produce
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Equal Exchange Bananas
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Saturday, April 24, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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Beginning March 1, 2010
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Tuesday, March 23, 6:30-9 p.m.
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See what's upcoming.
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Staff Pick
March Mangoes
Citrus is winding down, and berries haven’t started in earnest. But mangoes fill the gap quite tastily. Ataulfo come from Mexico, and they taste piney sweet with very little of the fibrousness that sometimes spoils a Tommy Atkins mango experience. A related variety, the Francique, comes from Haiti tasting musky sweet. These mangos are Haiti’s top export crop and, in some areas, represent a solution to the country’s massive deforestation problem – if small farmers can sell export-quality fruit from grafts on weed-mango trees, they won’t chop the trees and sell them for charcoal. We hope to see some this season.
Pick a mango by its smell and feel. A ripe mango will smell exciting, and will give when you press it very gently, like a peach. Ripen mangos by leaving them on the counter in a paper bag or with a banana. DON’T refrigerate them! This discolors the flesh and leaches the flavor out of them. If you cut one that’s gray inside, it’s probably been chilled. Bring it back or let us know – we don’t want to sell chilled mangos any more than you want to eat them, and mangoes are always a difficult import.
- Travis, Produce Manager
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Seward Coop strives to exclusively carry Fair Trade bananas from Equal Exchange, directly connecting us to the courageous banana farmers at El Guabo co-op, Ecuador. They're making history for themselves, and quite possibly for the entire banana industry.
In 1998, 14 small-scale banana farmers transformed themselves into an organization with collective access to the international market.
El Guabo’s spends 80% of the Fair Trade premium on education, health care, environmental projects and other social programs. The remaining 20% is spent on infrastructure improvements such as packing stations and warehouses. A true fair trade operation, they own their land and the means of production.
This month, like knowing your farmer in our local season, you can see who grew the bananas each day. See our grower sign in our banana display and visit: www.equalexchange.coop.
- Travis, Produce manager * * *
JOIN THE BANANA REVOLUTION
Phyllis Robinson, Education & Campaigns Manager for Equal Exchange, writes about changes in the banana industry in Join the Banana Revolution. "When you think about the fact that the average American consumes 26 pounds of bananas a year and that bananas are the world’s most popular fruit, the potential for impact – on the farmers livelihoods, on our environment, our health, and our values – is tremendous," explains Robinson. "We want high quality food at an affordable price, but what if we had a choice? What if we could buy high quality, affordable fruit, and also know, down to the farmer, who grew it, how they grew it, and what impact our purchase had on a local community?" Click here to read more about the banana revolution and the bananas that you find here at Seward Co-op.
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Seward's Co-op's Produce Department is a seasonally focused, information-based department. Our goal is to carry a wide variety of fresh, healthful produce at reasonable prices. We receive multiple deliveries daily and support our local growers as long as the season permits.
In addition to carrying a consistent supply of standards (several varieties of carrots, apples and citrus), we also carry seasonal, specialty items (Treviso radicchio, Cippolini onions and scarlet and golden turnips and kumquats).
At least one of our 15-member produce staff is always available for questions, comments or requests. We begin work each day at 6 a.m., receiving orders, assessing quality and refurbishing displays. The appearance of the department changes daily and seasonally. Combined, our staff offers more than 100 years in produce, grocery retail and farming experience. For the produce buyer, the challenge is clear: Know what to carry for the day and how much.
The vibrancy and aliveness of the Produce Department attests to Seward Co-op’s overall quality and commitment to freshness and quality. Our members appreciate this, and that's what we strive for.
One delightful part of our job is meeting and developing relationships with our local growers. We are in contact with more than 30 local providers, many of whom deliver directly to the store. It’s also not unusual for growers to make appearances in the store, getting to know the people who support them — Seward Co-op shoppers!
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