August 2020 Newsletter

Sharing Summer’s Bounty!

https://mailchi.mp/fce3ef822440/aug2020-newsletter?e=a01e5b5a17

Sharing the summer season
August (and always) member rewards
Mount Grace: Aug 12 Local Food System Conversation
From the board of directors
Co-op calendar for August

Sharing the summer season

Our birthday is coming up (it's August 12, if you're wondering) and we always like to highlight this photo of some of our founding members at the very first share distribution day under a pop-up tent in the Orange Innovation Center parking lot back in 2009.


A lot of things have changed for the co-op since then, but the flexible produce share program that we launched with is still going strong, and in fact it's headed in some new and exciting directions.
Regular sharesare still $18 for a half veggie share (enough for a two-person household for the week) and $5 for a regular fruit share. You can order once, occasionally, or every week--it's your choice! Find out more on our website, including how to order securely online.
Since 2017, we've been a part of the state-funded Healthy Incentives Program, which reimburses SNAP participants for the full cost of a biweekly vegetable and/or fruit share. HIP is a year-round program. You can find the enrollment form on our website - send or bring it to the store to sign up anytime.
And we're collaborating with other organizations to bring low-cost and fully subsidized shares to more people in our community. During COVID-19, we've been expanding our partnerships and working to bring healthy food to the people who need it most.
These efforts go on year-round, but in summer they feel particularly rewarding and delicious!

Local Food System Conversation Aug 12

The MA Food System Collaborative, an advocacy group created to monitor progress on the 2015 Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan, is sponsoring a series of conversations around the state about how to help the local food system recover and move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greater Quabbin Food Alliance, a project of Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, will participate in one of those conversations from 1-2:30 pm on Wed, Aug 12. Contact Farmland Conservation Manager Rocio Lalanda at Mount Grace for info on how to join the Zoom call.

From the board of directors
We're thrilled to report that this summer's sales--always lower than the rest of the year--are maintaining our COVID-moment boost and are well above previous summers' numbers. We still need to return to our fundraising efforts to make up the remaining shortfall, but it's smaller than we originally projected. Watch for updates on fall fundraising plans in the September newsletter, along with a preview of our soon-to-be-updated website and a link to a member survey. We'll be holding our annual summer planning retreat on Aug 9 and look forward to sharing the results of that conversation with members soon!

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