April 2023 Newsletter

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The Mushroom Messenger

KCG Monthly Newsletter: April 2023

Bringing you monthly news of the Kennett Community Grocer, a growing Food Co-op committed to local food, community, and culture.

 
Hello to our Member-Owners and Friends!

In this edition: the April 13 Jon Steinman event, a poll - what do you want in your summer co-op box?, and a Special Feature on the Longwood Gardens Community Read and the importance of community.
 

MEMBER-OWNER COUNT: 295, NEXT GOAL: 500

We are happy to report a member-owner count of 295! We are adding approximately 5 new members per month but, as you know, we have increased the goal for the current year. Have you met the challenge to get a friend or neighbor to join?
 
BECOME A MEMBER-OWNER TODAY
 

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO


In March, the KCG Board unveiled a detailed strategy to accelerate our progress in accomplishing our business plan, researching site selection, and financing the store itself. Part of our financing effort is a grant proposal to the Unites States Department of Agriculture to fund site selection feasibility, marketing efforts, outreach to local farmers, and our LIVE BETTER programs at the Kennett Library.

Our skilled and hardworking Board of Directors and some terrific member-owner volunteers make these steps happen. You can volunteer, too! The time commitment is up to you. The more of you who join in the volunteer effort, the sooner we’ll be shopping in OUR store.

To volunteer, fill out the form on the KCG website or send an email to [email protected] grocer.coop


 
 

PLEASE HELP!

What would you prefer in your summer co-op boxes?
Use this link to let us know

 
ONE QUESTION CO-OP BOX POLL
 
LOOKING AHEAD IN APRIL


Thursday, April 13, 6:30-9:00 pm: Jon Steinman, Building a Better Community with a Community Grocer, Presbyterian Church, 211 S Broad St, in Kennett Square
KCG and the Kennett Collaborative present speaker Jon Steinman and Building a Better Community with a Community Grocer. Jon is an internationally recognized expert on improving food ecosystems through promotion of food cooperatives. Local farmers and artisans will join us for a mix-and-meet after the presentation. Seating is limited to 150 participants so sign up now! We look forward to seeing you!
RSVP for the free event here
Live stream on YouTube here


Sunday, April 23, 12 pm: Order deadline for April KCG Co-op Box

Saturday, April 29, 10 am-12pm: Co-op box pick up. Friends Meeting House at 125 W. Sickle Street in Kennett Square
 
Pre-Order Your Co-op Box
 
SPECIAL FEATURE: What do we mean by “community”?

We toss the word community around a lot. It’s in our name. We use it in KCG publicity all the time. But what do we mean by it? Why do we value it so highly? The connotations of belonging, of mutual respect for and support of our neighbors, of cooperation and shared experiences all figure in.

Longwood Gardens is also tuned into the notion of community. For the tenth year Longwood is offering a “Community Read,” a shared reading experince that invites all of us to “belong.” And for those of us working towards the vision of a community grocery store, the current selection is particularly relevant.

The Longwood Community Read this year includes Black Food by Bryant Terry, a rich collection of stories, essays, recipes, and artwork from across the African Diaspora. The beautiful accounts of nourishing traditions, wonderful recipes, and sacred energies reveal the many ways in which food is a connector of people. As Terry honors the food of particular locations and cultures, he draws readers into those spaces. A diaspora necessarily represents the history of people moving and being moved around the world. His book returns dislocated people to a sense of community – and invites everyone else in, too.

A food cooperative is also a connector of the many different cultures and traditions of the shoppers – of the member-owners – who together make decisions about bringing in local food and sharing myriad traditions with each other.

The beauty and strength of a community-owned cooperative grocery store is that the members choose to come together and share with each other and the community food and products that highlight the ethnic, cultural, and local diversities of our region and thus create a space where everyone can belong. We can do this because, as a community-owned grocery store, we are not beholden to corporate owners whose mission is to use the product-line of the grocery store as a way to maximize profit-margin. Though we certainly want to pay the bills, our mission is to serve our unique southern Chester County citizens in a way that respects and nourishes the backgrounds of all while supporting the economic health of our farmers and the land on which we live. Our sense of belonging is grounded in our communal values not in profit requirements for people we have never met.

Let’s come together and belong to this effort of bringing a community food co-op to our area.

 
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