Chicago Market Newsletter
February 2017
______________________________________________________
Celebrate Health and Wellness with us!
 One of Chicago Market's #reasons2own has always been the interest of our Owners in supporting healthy food and healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. Co-ops uniquely support health and wellness because they are mission-driven to:
- offer foods that are fresh, raised organically and sustainably, minimizing environmental harm;
- provide transparency around growing, producing and distribution, for full understanding of your food's path from field to table;
- provide programs and education that make healthy eating easier and more affordable for our entire community;
- be responsive to our Owners' unique dietary and lifestyle needs;
- support other local businesses, organizations and co-operatives who share our values and also make our Owners' health and wellness a priority
We're focused on health and wellness this month to make good on this part of our mission, and to help YOU introduce us to YOUR health-oriented friends and neighbors. We need more Owners to make our brick & mortar store a reality. So invite your friends to join you at an event, introduce them to Chicago Market and tell them why you're an Owner with your own wellness story and #reasons2own. Last week, we were delighted to partner with Jenny from Noktivo and her beautiful new salon in Ravenswood Manor, Lena Rose Natural Beauty. Jenny took over our Facebook and social media feeds with some great tips about keeping your beauty routine and products healthy and green. We hosted a green beauty cocktail hour at Lena Rose - the boutique and organic spa features vegan, non-toxic, and organic products from local artisans, and donates 20% of profits to local charities every month. Check it out! February 14 - On Valentine's Day, we'll be popping up at Swedish Covenant Hospital between 11:30am and 1:00pm to share information about Chicago Market with employees and visitors there. Stop by and see us! February 18 - We'll be at Business Owner #582, Wellbeing Personalized Healthcare, in Ravenswood between 8am and 11am. Bring a friend to see us, and to learn more about their approach to holistic natural healthcare for the whole family. February 25 - Run for your own health and also help others! Join us at the Mardi Gras Chaser 5K/10K run at Montrose Harbor. The event supports Back On My Feet, an organization that uses the power of running to help change the lives of those experiencing homelessness in Chicago. Some Chicago Market Owners will be running and we'll also be manning a table there to share snacks and co-op information with participants.
March 2 - Bring some friends to dinner at healthy and delicious new vegan restaurant Kal'ish, owned by Andy and Gina Kalish, Chicago Market Owners #670. Bring your Chicago Market Owner's Card or mention us, and receive 20% off your meal!
March 12 - Mark your calendars for the "Knowledge Swap" between 2:00pm and 5:00pm at the Women's Health Center at Swedish Covenant Hospital! What's that, you say? Community members will teach 3 rounds of 20-minute crash courses on 6 topics: kombucha brewing, bread baking, intro to essential oils, bau biology, workplace yoga, and using herbs for teas and tinctures.
Bookmark this page on our site as we'll be posting more health and wellness events for February and early March. Got an idea of your own to add? Let us know!
______________________________________________________
February Board Meeting and Potluck
 Chicago Market Board meetings are open to all Owners to bring questions or just to see us in action. This month, you can also join us for a special pre-meeting potluck dinner, cooked up by the Board! No need to bring anything buy yourselves and your appetites -- enjoy dinner and conversation with us from 6:30pm to 7:30pm, and then stay for the meeting to follow. More details and RSVP are here -- location is at a home in the Lincoln Square area and we'll provide the address via confirmation email.
______________________________________________________
Our Top Volunteer Opportunities right now!
Volunteers are what makes our engine run, and we have these needs especially right now:
Volunteer Coordinator - Are you a Connector? Be our friendly first point-of-contact with other folks who are looking to volunteer time and talent for Chicago Market. This involves monitoring and responding to emails; holding volunteer information sessions 1-2 times each month (at your convenience); and communicating with Chicago Market's team leaders to connect volunteers with needs that fit them best.
Graphic Design/Web Design - Project-based or ongoing team member, we are always looking for folks with graphic & web design talent to help our events and communications reflect Chicago Market's special voice and community.
General Manager Search - Do you have experience in grocery or co-op management, or in hiring/human services? A small team is working to define the job description and search strategies for our eventual General Manager and we'd highly value your participation.
Event "Do-er" - We've got lots of ideas and plenty of plans, but we're often short on team members who can commit to simple but time-specific tasks such as making phone calls/visits to potential event spaces or partners, distributing flyers or posters, pulling materials together. Patience, persistence and a flexible schedule are the only requirements!
Outreach - We're especially interested in identifying and reaching out to organizations in our area who represent or work closely with diverse communities. Chicago Market takes seriously the co-operative values of equality, equity, solidarity and social responsibility. In particular, we know that we can do better in attracting people of color and economic diversity to our programs, to co-op Ownership and into our leadership. If you're connected to such an organization or you're willing to help lead efforts to help us improve in this area, we'd love to hear from you.
Email [email protected] to let us know of your interest in any of these opportunities, or if you'd like to learn more (or have an idea!) about other ways to get involved.
______________________________________________________
Open Seats on our Board of Directors
Chicago Market's Board of Directors is made up entirely of volunteers. That means that, occasionally, other obligations get in the way of Chicago Market, and individuals need to step down from the Board before the end of their term. It is with gratitude (and a little sadness) that we acknowledge the departures of Board Members Mark Ahlheim and Lizzy Appleby.
Both Lizzy and Mark have done great work for Chicago Market. Mark worked primarily on our Site Selection team, helping them set our criteria, identify partners, visit and evaluate sites. Lizzy has been Chicago Market's Volunteer Coordinator for the past two years, and on the board, worked primarily on our Marketing and Owner Engagement team. They will be missed, and their enthusiasm and contributions are greatly appreciated.
Every co-op Owner can help Chicago Market reach our goals and open our dream grocery store. As a member of the Board of Directors, you can have an even greater role in defining strategies and partners, planning and building our community, and moving us forward.
Click here to learn more about our plans for these two open Board seats, and please email b[email protected] if you have any questions or interest in joining our leadership. You'll learn a ton, spend time with some terrific and dedicated people, and you'll have a real impact.
______________________________________________________
At the Movies with Chicago Market
We screened the documentary film Food Patriots with our co-op friend and partner REI Chicago in January and had a great afternoon. Our vendor friends Tiny But Mighty Popcorn and Karma Kombucha shared food and drink. Filmmaker Jeff Spitz, Chicago Market Owner #542, joined us for discussion. In addition to telling the Spitz family's own compelling story of a battle with a food-borne superbug, the film encourages and empowers viewers to make a manageable 10% change in the foods they eat. Board President Grant Kessler pointed out that buying and eating popcorn and kombucha from local farms and producers is a great step in supporting the kind of food system you want. Tiny But Mighty itself was once less than a mason jar's worth of kernels and now, because people eat it, the variety has been saved from extinction.
We were lucky enough to have a surprise guest, Ken Dunn, who runs the Resource Center and City Farm Chicago. Ken is one of the folks featured in the film and he and Jeff led an inspiring post-film discussion that focused on ways individuals in their own communities can make a difference. Choose your foods wisely; save scraps, compost and garden; and of course, join your local co-op! Thanks to all who made the day a success.
______________________________________________________
2017 Good Food Festival - Seeking Micro-Workshops
FamilyFarmed and its Organic Valley Good Food Commons partners are seeking proposals for micro-workshops to be presented at the upcoming Good Food Festival & Conference. As part of the event, the Organic Valley Good Food Commons was created to encourage attendees to cultivate their curiosity by attending multiple informal micro-workshops throughout the day. The workshops are organized thematically by Resource Centers, each focusing on important topics within the Good Food movement such as growing and preserving food, raising animals, learning culinary skills, and building and strengthening the Good Food movement in our communities.
Event Date: Saturday, March 18, 2017, 10:00am - 5:00pm (workshop hours 10:30am - 4:00pm)
Event Location: UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL
Length of Workshops: 20 minutes
For further details and to submit your proposal please click here.
|
