Food Margins

Lessons from an unlikely grocer

Our theme for 2024 is "Re-Membership," as we reflect on our first decade at 12 North Main and our partnership with Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. This month we have a special way to look back on those years, via a new book being published by the University of Massachusetts Press by local author and former board chair Cathy Stanton.
The book traces the start-up phase of the North Quabbin Community Co-operative (our legal name) and the exciting and bumpy early years of our expansion into a storefront operation. It also tells the story of Orange's own ups and downs, including through the history of the Minute Tapioca Company and its role in the industrial food system that provides most people in the US with their food.
There are two special events planned to celebrate the book launch, as well as additional events around the area later in the spring and summer:

• Launch party at Honest Weight Brewery, Thursday, May 23, 4-7 pm - Pre-event tour of the old Minute Tapioca Company factory (aka the Orange Innovation Center) at 3 pm - Everyone who attends will get a bonus "missing" chapter about the original Honest Weight campaign. Facebook event here.
• "Food Margins: A Story in Bits & Bites" special fundraiser for Quabbin Harvest at Revival Wheeler Mansion, Saturday, May 18, 6-8 pm - Book-themed tasting menu, author talk, musical interlude, and more - Tickets are $60 per person and all ticket proceeds benefit the co-op. Facebook event here. Tickets available here.

Books will be available at both events for a special event price of $20, or in the store after May 23. For more about the book, a trailer, and info on future events, click here.