MARSH Food Cooperative Newsletter 5/24/20

New Members – a brief orientation (and reminder for “old” members) Regular orders for the co-op occur every other week. The next order is due Monday, May 25, at midnight. It is preferred that members pick up their orders from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Saturday following the order deadline (next week’s pickup will be May 30.) It’s extremely helpful if you can text or call us about an hour before you would like to come (574-238-4577). Most catalog items (excepting MARSH ON HAND) are listed as CASES or EACHes. When you add an item to your cart, the CASE amount and price shows up. If you don’t want a whole case (or bag or box), simply click on “unit”, change CASE to EACH, and select the number of items you want. Inevitably, a few items just don’t come. Credits are now all online and should be visible on your account by Saturday’s pickup or very soon after. Any are all of your account credits can be applied to your next order. If you are missing items in your order that DON’T show up as a credit, we probably made a mistake, so please let us know. Members may order MARSH ON HAND items any time between regular orders – we aim for a 24 hour turn around. We are doing our best to keep that list updated and apologize if you occasionally order something that has sold out. ALL items on the ON HAND list are shown as EACHes since these items are almost never available as a whole case. Feel free to multiply, but be aware that supplies may be limited. We wish we could be having monthly IN PERSON orientation gatherings around food and good company. Since that is not possible right now, please don’t hesitate to direct any questions to us via phone (574-238-4577) or email (bioculturalist@gmail.com). Speaking of Local Produce . . . As the growing season progresses, we hope to be offering a lot more local produce in the MARSH section of the catalog (be sure to check there for local products from Green Door Farms, Butter Love by L.C., and Three Spring Farms). The weird irony of this period of time is that local produce is turning out to be difficult to source. Many local farmers are at capacity with the increased demand of people cooking more at home, and selling what supplies they do have through (mostly full now) CSAs and farmers markets. Though we will absolutely continue to seek out local produce as it becomes available and have put the word out through many avenues, (let us know if you have or know of someone who has produce to share!), the co-op can rely on good supplies of many items from our own extensive garden here at MARSH.  And, of course, we can continue to trust Albert’s Produce for an extensive list of regionally-grown products whenever possible and certified organic products ALL THE TIME. This week’s MARSH selection includes radishes, romaine lettuce, pak choi, spinach, and more. The beautiful pea blossoms (below) should start producing just in time for the order due on June 8! MARSH In the Community Since mid-March, we have prepared a total of 515 grocery bundles for mutual aid; huge thanks to all who have provided past (and, we hope, ongoing) financial support! While the levels of need, hunger, sickness, and unemployment can feel completely devastating, we’ve enjoyed a few bright spots of community connection as well (in addition to waving at you all through the windows and trying to have just a brief conversation through masks and traffic!) This last photo shows an example of the kind of “growing” project that MARSH is lucky enough to participate in even during a pandemic. On April 8, (co-op member) Lynn Peemoeller adapted her Wash U Foodscapes class, originally intended to include a visit to MARSH, to an online Zoom session with me (Beth) and a MARSH Case Study assignment focused on the garden space. Lynn was kind enough to share her students’ final projects with me and I was blown away by the tremendous amount of thought and care the students put into their beautiful designs. Several of the proposals included elements we’ll want to explore further, but one student, Victoria Eckinger, suggested the use of hugelkultur, a “compost mound” concept I’ve been anxious to incorporate for awhile. Below, you’ll see how we applied Victoria’s advice and converted last year’s compost pile (mounded with leaves, wood, and more compost) into a home for this year’s winter squash plot. Expect to see a bumper crop of butternut, delicata, and buttercup squashes in our catalog this fall!