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Store and Department News | Wheatsville Co-op
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The Latest News from Wheatsville

Vendor of the Month: Bawi

FOUNDERS

Victor and Jordan are two friends who met during college in Austin, Texas. As a first generation Mexican immigrant, Victor wanted to bring authentic Mexican flavors and traditions to the USA. Jordan, growing up in Austin, was intertwined with Mexican-American culture and developed a passion for the food & beverage space. Together, they set out to make something they’d both be proud of and enjoy.

The two of them explored traditional Mexican drinks, experimented with different juice combinations, and accidentally exploded a carbonator or two in pursuit of a new twist on a culturally representative Mexican staple. The end result is Bawi. A sparkling agua fresca with the perfect blend of carbonation and traditional Mexican recipes that’s nostalgic for Latinos, and healthier, more delightful, and more flavorful for all.

AGUA FRESCA

What is agua fresca? Well, if you’re anything like our co-founder, Victor, who grew up loving agua fresca in Monterrey, Mexico, then you know it’s a classic Mexican beverage. If you didn’t grow up in Mexico and you’re hearing about agua fresca for the first time, prepare yourself for a tasty lesson in Mexican culture.


Traditionally, agua frescas are made with delicious fruit juices such as pineapple, lime, or passionfruit, but can also be floral with flor de jamaica (hibiscus), or even a blend of spices and strained rice water called horchata. When Victor grew up and left Monterrey, he wanted to sip on something that reminded him of home, but with a modern twist and less sugar than the Mexican drinks already popular in the USA.

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Copper River Salmon

Rising out of the Copper Glacier in the untouched wilderness of southcentral Alaska, the Copper River Delta is one of the last intact watersheds in the world - turbid glacial water flowing through the majestic Wrangell and Chugach Mountains to the central coast where it empties into the Gulf of Alaska. This is where Copper River Salmon’s fishery is located, and where they sustainably harvest the world’s finest salmon.

The 560 independent fishing families of south-central Alaska are, small business owners dedicated to long-term sustainability of wild salmon stocks, the environment and a way of life. Their passion not only preserves our livelihood but also ensures an abundance of future generations of wild salmon. They consider themselves more than fishermen, they are conservationists.

Copper River Salmon is working to preserve the rich, natural legacy of the Copper River. That’s why every fish they pick from the net is treated with the utmost respect and care. Copper River salmon are caught by a small fleet of independent fishermen, on one and two-man boats. This craft has been handed down for generations along with passion, knowledge and perseverance.

The Copper River is the birthplace of three wild Alaskan salmon species. Every year from May through September, King, Sockeye and Coho return to the Copper River to make the arduous 300-mile migration up the turbulent waters in order to spawn. Because the Copper River is so long and steep, gaining an average elevation of 12 feet per mile, these fish must pack on sufficient fat reserves to fuel their epic journey—resulting in salmon that is rich in heart- healthy omega-3 fatty acids and flavorful oils. The distinct regional DNA and lifecycle of these fish yields the world’s finest salmon.

This year Wheatsville is proud to offer their exceptional Sockeye salmon for a limited time.

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Vendor of the Month: Alaffia

Thanks to Robin Michael, Alaffia Western Regional Sales Manager, for answering a few questions about Alaffia.

What is your origin story? Who started the business and why?

Alaffia is a fair trade body care organization that began in 2003 by founders Olowo-n’djo Tchala and Prairie Rose Hyde. The two met when during Rose’s service in the Peace Corps, she was stationed in Olowo-n’djo’s village of Kabole.  Headquartered in Olympia, Washington, Alaffia’s clean, safe, and efficacious products incorporate indigenous, nutrient-rich ingredients handcrafted at our six women’s cooperatives in Togo and Ghana.

Do you have a special tagline or slogan?

Beauty – Equality - Empowerment.

What would an employee say is the best part about working at Alaffia?

“The work is very diversified, and I get to try my hand at many things.  Furthermore, the work feels meaningful, and I think it attracts such great coworkers- talented, smart, and all of whom want to help the business succeed.”  -Matthew Barrett, Marketing Supervisor

“The fact that we empower and employ people across the globe, here and in Africa, to make the world a better place.  It’s all about making the world a better place…through kindness, empowerment, empathy, listening, and sustainable practices.”  -Dane Halter, Alaffia Broker

Anything else we should know?

Our empowerment projects have affected more than 50,000 lives for the better! 

Fair Trade defined

Fair trade is a movement of individuals and organizations working to ensure producers in economically disadvantaged countries receive a greater percentage of the price paid by consumers. While there are several definitions of fair trade, they all include:

Fair Trade Price - base price for raw ingredients or goods is adjusted higher than open market price.

Price Premium - a percentage above the base fair trade price is paid into a separate account for development projects in producer communities. Working Conditions: fair trade operators must adhere to basic human & labor rights, including the right to organize, no child labor, access to health care, and so on.

Environmental Stewardship - fair trade organizations must minimize environmental impact. To Alaffia, fair trade means paying a fair price or wage in the local context, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers & consumers. We believe fair trade should be environmentally, economically, and culturally sustainable and give local communities the opportunity to self-empower.

Fair Trade Unrefined Ingredients:

Shea Butter - Shea butter is the oil from the nuts of wild Shea trees scattered throughout the wooded savanna of West and Central Africa. It’s protective and emollient properties are most valued for skin care. Most shea butter available to the general public outside West Africa is white and odorless: in other words, it has been refined to remove the natural scent and color of natural shea butter. The yellow tint of unrefined shea butter is due to the Vitamin E content. Refined shea butter is often hard and grainy, not smooth and creamy like pure, unrefined shea butter.

Unrefined Coconut Oil - Virgin coconut oil is traditionally extracted oil from fresh fruit of the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. Coconuts have been cultivated in coastal West Africa and been part of the diet and skin care for centuries. We extract our virgin coconut oil by hand using traditional fermentation methods in Togo, West Africa from fresh coconuts grown organically on small farms. We use our virgin coconut oil in its natural, unrefined state for maximum effectiveness.

Handwoven Baskets - Members of Alaffia basket cooperatives receive fair wages and health care for their families in return for indigenous skills and knowledge. The weavers craft the baskets in their own homes, and Alaffia collects the baskets once they are completed. This gives the weaver flexibility to work at a pace that is convenient for her, her farm, family and social community duties. Made with wild-harvested Savannah grass, each basket is completely unique and the leather tag inside is personally signed by weaver

Empowerment Projects - Alaffia’s success is not simply measured by profit. Our success is measured by empowerment. Empowerment Projects are Alaffia’s mission in action, funded by the sales of Alaffia products. Alaffia invests in our communities because it is our moral responsibility and to ensure African resources empower African communities. The goal is to alleviate poverty and encourage gender equality. Our Empowerment Projects include several Education-Based Projects, Maternal Care, Eyeglasses and Environmental Sustainability. All of Alaffia’s projects empower Togolese communities to provide their skills and knowledge to the rest of the world and rise out of poverty.

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State of the Board

The Wheatsville community has been through quite a bit over the past couple of years with the pandemic, ice storms, disrupted supply chains, and all the social turmoil in response to racial injustice. As a community grocer in a highly competitive market, things have been tough. Beyond selling groceries, Wheatsville has a mission focused on transforming society and building thriving a community. Wheatsville’s commitment to the community is the reason why I have made Wheatsville my primary grocery store for the past 30 years and why I initially decided to run for the board. Having a healthy co-op puts us in the best position to do all the great things we aspire to do. I am happy to say that through the hard work of everyone at Wheatsville and all the support from owners and shoppers, the co-op has established a new foundation of financial stability. While there is still much work to do, we believe that we have the foundation upon which we can grow over the coming years.

I am proud to be stepping in for outgoing board president, Rose Marie Klee. Rose Marie has been a true champion of Wheatsville for many years—bringing a wealth of knowledge and working tirelessly in support of the cooperative mission. I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from Rose Marie as well as so many other talented people on the board. The board is in an overall good position to raise our sights from the pressing needs of the day and focus our attention on the future.

It is an exciting time to be on the board. In many ways, like Wheatsville, the board is firming up our foundation. We have a slate of new officers, a growing level of owner engagement and exciting ideas for the years ahead. Our primary responsibility on the board is to oversee the health of the coop. While overall sales have been down year over year, Wheatsville staff and management have made adjustments to adapt to the changing circumstances. Their work has led to modest but consistent profitability. Being in a stable financial position frees our attention to focus on other priorities such as growth and owner engagement. In 2021, the board organized a Community Connect virtual event that featured a panel of local food experts and facilitated some engaging conversations among owners. This was a great opportunity to learn more about local food production and understand how we, as individuals within the community, shape important issues such as food quality and food access. We are looking to host a similar event again this year where we explore a different topic pertinent to Wheatsville. We are also exploring other ideas for strengthening the co-op and bringing the community together.

While board work is work, it is rewarding work. Austin is a special community. And for the past 46 years, Wheatsville has contributed to the fabric of the Austin community in immeasurable ways. Through our celebration of the 45th anniversary I got to learn much about our history—seeing photos, listening to recordings and talking with people who were there when it all started. I do
not know if the folks who started Wheatsville envisioned that their efforts would have such a lasting impact on the community. What I do know is that the work we do on the board today is both in honor of what we have been gifted in Wheatsville from everybody who has worked so hard up to the present, and in an effort to realize the full potential of what Wheatsville can be for
the next 46 years.

Let us know if you are interested in getting
more engaged. There are many opportunities to participate on board committees, join discussions at the next Community Connect, run for the board, or even by shopping at Wheatsville more often knowing that you are playing a crucial part in keeping our community and your co-op strong.

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Potato Salad With Green Chilis and Cheddar

In honor of Wheatsville’s 46th birthday and the arrival of spring,I am sharing a throwback recipe. This potato salad was a big seller back in the old days of the Guadalupe deli, when we still had our full-service deli case. It’s easy to make and a total crowd-pleaser! Whip up a batch for your first spring barbecue and watch it fly!

SALAD:
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
2 tbl salt
1 1/2 pounds shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
1 1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 oz. can Hatch green chilies, drained

DRESSING:
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup neutral oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. cumin

DIRECTIONS:
Scrub potatoes and add to a large pot. Cover with water by about 1 inch and add salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork. Depending on the size of the potatoes,
this could take from 10 to 30 minutes.
Drain potatoes and allow to cool.
Once potatoes are cool, dice potatoes into 1 inch chunks and add to large bowl, Add cheddar, green onions, and drained chilies. Whisk all dressing ingredients
together and pour over other ingredients. Mix well and enjoy. This salad holds up
well for several days in
the refrigerator.

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Local vendor Spotlight: Gourmet Ranch

Gourmet Ranch, a specialty meats division of Jake’s Finer Foods, is a purveyor of custom-cut meats. Texas born and bred in 2000, Gourmet Ranch provides Wheatsville with fresh, humanely raised, antibiotics-free, and local chickens. With full-service butchery capabilities, they specialize in freshly cut chicken products. All products are transported in temperature-controlled packaging to ensure product safety and integrity. Chickens are farmed in Seguin, Texas (we love supporting local) and processed at a state of the art facility in Houston, Texas. Gourmet Ranch chicken is currently used by our Deli and Meat Department for many items.
If you have not yet tried the fried chicken I encourage you to do so. Whether you grill it, bake it, fry it,
or broil it, bird is the word!

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Message from the General Manager - Bill Bickford

This month marks 46 years since Wheatsville’s inception in 1976. We are so thankful for the support of our owners and shoppers these many years!

I had the good fortune to join Wheatsville as both an owner and staff member just a few months after our 23rd birthday. So as of this year, I have been involved with Wheatsville for half of its history—and what a wild ride it’s been! A great deal has changed during that time, and I’m sure a great deal more will change still. But at least one thing will always remain constant: our commitment to serving our Austin community.

One of the more visible ways we do this is through our Community Action Program, which contributed $148,883.29 to area non-profits and community groups in 2021. This month, we continue those efforts by raising money for Let’s Feed Austin, Wheatsville’s own program to help donate food to local groups and persons in need throughout our community. The success of our Community Action Program rests entirely on the generosity of our owners and shoppers, so thank you for your unwavering commitment over the years!

Happy 46th Birthday, Wheatsville! Here’s to another 46 years of great food,
great people, and building a more cooperative and just economy in Austin!

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Sustainable Seafood

Sustainability is one of those tricky words that gets tossed around the natural foods world. We have emotional and intellectual responses and definitions for the general idea that for something to be sustainable it must go on indefinitely without harm to itself or its surroundings. Sometimes what is good for the goose is not good for the gander. It would be impossible to have a unified theory of sustainability because different animals have different needs. In terms of seafood, in order to be sustainable, freshwater fish need to be farmed and saltwater fish should generally be wild caught. But things get more granular still. Not all wild caught fish is the same. How wild caught fish is harvested can affect sea life from the surface all the way to the sea floor via bycatch. Bycatch is the unintentional catch of species other than what is being fished for. Bycatch is typically not sold but thrown away. Additionally, some nets and lines used in fishing can destroy sea life habitats.

Knowledge of seafood industry practices has generally been low, leading to third party seafood sustainability certifiers filling the void. These agencies look at how fisheries (wild caught fish) and aquaculture (farmed fish) interact with the environment they grow and harvest in with care taken to ensure species will be able to maintain themselves, harvests are safe for consumers, and that seafood is handled in a humane way. Wheatsville meat and seafood department utilizes two of these agencies to determine our
seafood selection. 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
program has been around since 1999 and is based out of an actual aquarium. Their program is one of the first resources developed to address seafood sustainability. They use science based, peer reviewed methodology to evaluate fisheries and aquaculture. Monterey Bay provides regional pocket guides as well as a website to raise consumer awareness of the best choices in sustainable seafood. Wheatsville meat
and seafood department only offers “best choice”, “certified”, and “good alternative” choices from
the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch list.

The Marine Stewardship Council is a non-profit organization based in London that use a third-party team to establish the highest standards of traceability and sustainability. Certification under this program is voluntary and standards exceed internationally recognized best practices for fisheries. Products with the Marine Stewardship Council seal can be traced back to a certified sustainable fishery. The Marine Stewardship Council  is the only global wild-capture fisheries certification program that simultaneously meets best practice requirements set by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative, and ISEAL.

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