Linda Draffin (left) and Co-op Outreach Coordinator Lori Friedli (right) during a food donation.

Feeding Our Community

One of the 7 Cooperative Principles that all co-ops adhere to is “Concern for Community”. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of people experiencing food insecurity has gone up exponentially.

Over the past year, our Outreach Coordinator, Lori Friedli has been focusing on collecting our edible food waste and donating it to organizations that serve people in need. Since she’s taken on this responsibility, she has been able to spot opportunities for donation that would have otherwise been thrown away.

We’re able to donate baked goods and deli grab-and-go items that are past their “sell by“ date and slightly damaged grocery items. With this responsibility, Lori has also connected with more community organizations that benefit from perishable food donations.

Linda and Lori loading food donations into a vehicle in the Co-op parking lot.

“We plan to continue our tireless work transforming our community and bringing nutritious food to the people who need it most!” — Lori Friedli, Co-op Outreach Coordinator

Food InfographicIn fiscal 2022, we’ve donated over $59,000 worth of food to organizations like Waking The Village that serves unhoused LGBTQ+ youth, our neighbors at River City Food Bank and local free fridges.

We wouldn’t have been able to do this much work without the help of Linda Draffin who picks up food from us 5 days a week and drops these items off to the places that will have the most impact. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Linda found herself in a position to be of service. She provides a much needed link in the chain—transportation from businesses that have food to donate to organizations that serve folks in need. In order for this service to have an even bigger impact, Linda is working to make this service a nonprofit organization, Daisychain Edible Food Recovery, and offer it to more businesses.

We are so proud to be able to feed our community in the form of food donations and that these efforts are supported by our core Co-op Principles. We acknowledge that it takes many hands to do this work effectively, and we appreciate the cooperation from everyone involved.

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