Bloomingfoods Embraces the 8th Cooperative Principle–Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Dear Bloomingfoods Owner-Members,

We’re reaching out with exciting news about an important step forward for our cooperative community.

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)—the global body that defines the principles guiding cooperatives—has declared 2025 as the Year of Cooperatives. Also, this year, the ICA is preparing to adopt an 8th Cooperative Principle: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at its upcoming conference. Because it aligns with our core values, Bloomingfoods intends to adopt this principle as well, just as we have with all other ICA cooperative principles.

While the official language is still being finalized, the 8th Principle recognizes that cooperatives are strongest when they are inclusive, equitable, and diverse. 

• Diversity means actively engaging people from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives in all aspects of the cooperative.

• Equity ensures fair treatment, opportunities, and advancement for all while addressing barriers that prevent full participation.

• Inclusion is about creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed, respected, and valued, allowing them to contribute and benefit fully.

At Bloomingfoods, these values are not new to us—they are embedded in our mission. Our Ends Statement commits us to strengthening the community and ensuring access to healthy, local food for all. Programs like Bloomingfoods for All and SNAP Double Dollars*, which help make fresh food more affordable for SNAP participants, are just one example of how we put the value of inclusion into action. By formally adopting this 8th Principle, our board is reinforcing our co-op’s commitment to these values in everything we do.

We will share more details once the ICA finalizes its wording, but in the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about the cooperative principles:
→  National Co+op Grocers: Cooperative Values and Principles
→  International Cooperative Alliance: Cooperative Identity, Values & Principles

*A brief note–as you may have heard, the SNAP Double Dollars program is unfortunately coming to a close this month. For more information on this program and our plans to continue the work of increasing food access and security for those in need, visit the SNAP Double Dollars page on our website.

As always, we welcome your thoughts and questions. Feel free to respond to this email or contact us at boardinfo@bloomingfoods.coop.

Thank you for being a part of Bloomingfoods and the larger co-op movement!

In cooperation,
The Bloomingfoods Board of Directors

Celebrate Co-op & Fair Trade Month with Us!!!

Celebrate with us all October & enjoy special promotions, local vendor demos, giveaways & events!

Special promotions!
🧡 Get a digital $25 Bloomingfoods gift card when you sign up for a new membership in October!
🧡 Owner-Members who spend $100+ in one transaction throughout October will receive a digital $20 gift card!
🧡 Owner-Members get 15% OFF their purchase every Tuesday in October!

Events!
🧡 Local Vendor Demos will be hosted at our East & Near West stores throughout October!
🧡 Wilderlove Farm Tour for Owner-Members – Saturday, October 12 (National Farmer's Day!), 3-4:30pm! RSVP required.
🧡 Pie Pumpkin Painting Contest for Owner-Members – Sunday, October 13th, noon to 2pm outside our Near West Store!

Giveaways!
🧡 Co-op & Fair Trade Month Giveaway – accepting entries October 1st-31st!
🧡 Name That Produce Game!

To learn more about Co-op & Fair Trade Month promotions, events, & giveaways throughout October, visit www.bloomingfoods.coop/coop-fair-trade-month or click the button below.

SNAP Double Dollars Program Update - A Message from the Board of Directors

Dear Bloomingfoods Owner-Members,

I want to report to you about Bloomingfoods' SNAP Double Dollars Program that started in January, allowing the SNAP participants among our shoppers to have a fifty percent discount on food. We are excited and encouraged by the success of the program so far!

You no doubt have seen it in other Bloomingfoods communications, but I want to take this opportunity to clarify how it came about and how it fits into the overall mission of the co-op. Our belief, as written in our Ends, is that we can be “A market for local, fair, and healthful products” that offers “fair prices for producers and all owner-members.” While economic pressures have caused all prices to go up, we make every effort to provide relief to those who are most affected, particularly those eligible for federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.

In the fall of 2022, an ad hoc committee of Bloomingfoods board members led by board president Isabelle Daellenbach with advisor Annie Eakin wrote and submitted a grant to the Indiana Department of Health. As approved, it provides $583,626.00 to allow SNAP shoppers to receive twice as much food in a “Double Dollars Program.” That means a shopper using SNAP can buy $50 worth of Bloomingfoods groceries for $25. Since January of 2024, this program has served 419 individuals for $132,468.17 in total doubling. An added feature is the Nutrition Made Easy with Bloomingfoods series of classes for adults and children led by Anitra Higgins.

We’re thrilled that this program is allowing shoppers to stretch their dollars at Bloomingfoods, as we understand that sustainably-produced, nutrient-dense food can be, by nature, more expensive than conventional alternatives. The positive feedback we’ve gotten from shoppers demonstrates the importance of this program. To continue the SNAP Double Dollars program beyond the initial funding, the board plans to research future grants and a possible donation procedure. If you have any suggestions or connections for sustaining funds, please reach out to the board at isabelle.d@bloomingfoods.coop.

Since 2017 we have had a discount program for owner-members who receive SNAP and/or WIC, called Bloomingfoods For All, which initially offered 10% off all SNAP-eligible items and allows the owner equity payment to be paid in $3.50 increments over 2 years. Bloomingfoods For All was partially funded by the Positive Change Round Up in October of 2021, which was chosen by the Bloomingfoods leadership team, and allowed the discount to be increased to 20% off all SNAP-eligible items. Thank you for rounding up your total at the register for this program! For more information about Bloomingfoods for All, please visit our website at www.bloomingfoods.coop/bloomingfoods-for-all.

We are a local community with Bloomingfoods at its heart. We take care of each other in every way we can and welcome all suggestions and ideas for the future.

Thank you for your participation in this cooperative adventure!

Nancy Mathews
Bloomingfoods Board of Directors

Dave's at It Again! More New Fair Trade Products at our East store!

SERRV INTERNATIONAL – NEW FAIR TRADE PRODUCT AT OUR EAST STORE!

SERRV was one of the first fair trade organizations in the world. SERRV originally began its work supporting displaced European refugees trade their handmade goods for income after World War II. In 1976, they began importing from artisan groups Asha Handicrafts and Tara Projects in India, and Community Craft Association in the Philippines.

They still work with them today, but since then, they extended their work to 24 countries in the global south (including Kenya, Nepal, Vietnam, West Bank, Bangladesh, and South Africa) working to empower over 8,000 artisans and farmers every year by selling their beautiful products.

In 1989 Serrv became a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), and in 1994 they became a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation in the US. This year marks their 75th anniversary as a fair trade organization.

Bloomingfoods East now carries ceramic dishes from West Bank and Vietnam, bread warmers and sari-wrapped baskets from Bangladesh, trivets from India, Justea teas from Kenya, and spices from South Africa. Product selections from this vendor will hopefully expand as we continue to work with them.

To learn more about Serrv, their work, and artisan groups they partner with, visit:

https://www.serrv.org/category/artisans

https://www.serrv.org/category/sustainability

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.serrv.org/downloads/AnnualReports/2022_Annual_Report.pdf

Learn more about other Fair Trade products we carry!

Join us for Nutrition Made Easy with Bloomingfoods!

Nutrition can be easy and delicious, and we can show you how!

We are very excited to share the start of our Nutrition Made Easy with Bloomingfoods series! Beginning this month, join us on the fourth Saturday of each month and learn how to create a summer meal plan, cook with a volunteer Chef, and have fun with your kids while learning all about healthy eating! This series is open to all ages 8 & up:

• Saturday, May 25th: Savor summer one bite at a time! – Summer Meal Planning & Dietary Guidelines Review

• Saturday, June 22nd: Nutrition Mission! – Nutritional Grocery Shopping (for kids)

• Saturday, July 27th: Cultures Around the World – Exploring Food Traditions (for kids)

• Saturday August 24th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

• Saturday, September 28th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

• Saturday, October 26th: Nutritious can also be delicious! – Cooking with Bloomingfoods

These classes are FREE and open to everyone, which is made possible through an Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) grant.

To learn more and register for a class, please visit www.bloomingfoods.coop/nutrition-made-easy-series!

Bylaw Change & Our Democratic Model - A Special Message from Your Board of Directors

Dear Bloomingfoods Owner-Members,

You may recall that last year's elections included a Bylaw change to section 2.7. Thank you for participating in Bloomingfoods’ democratic process!  

As a reminder, the revision of section 2.7 changed the process of reactivating member status once a person has gone inactive. Members now can become active again by simply resuming their payment plan, rather than paying their full, outstanding balance all at once.

It might seem like a small change, but the Board felt it was an important update. We think the revision encourages ownership by being more accessible to all income levels and residency patterns. Plus, it is more manageable for staff at the register. Through our full-membership vote in October, the bylaw change was passed!

This is just one small example of our cooperative’s democratic member control. This model is the second of the seven principles that help guide our co-op. This means that you, as owner-members, have a say in how Bloomingfoods operates! It’s the interests of our own community that drives our work.  

So thank you for your participation, no matter the form – whether it’s shopping at our stores, working with the co-op, rounding up at the register, voting in our annual elections, or stepping up to serve on the board or its committees. Your engagement matters, and it’s what makes us more than a grocery store. 

You can find our bylaws, policies, minutes, and more on our website, under “Board of Directors.” If you want to get more involved in the governance of Bloomingfoods, or if you have any questions, you can always reach the board at directors@bloomingfoods.coop. 

In cooperation,
Isabelle Daellenbach, on behalf of your Bloomingfoods Board of Directors

New Fair Trade Products at Our East Store!

What is fair trade? The Fair Trade Federation gives this brief definition: Fair trade is an approach to business and to development based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seeks to create greater equity in the international trading system. Fair trade businesses partner with farmers and craftspeople in developing countries who are socially and economically marginalized to find markets and customers for their goods. To learn more, visit fairtradefederation.org.

Food Co-ops have supported fair trade since 1984 when Equal Exchange first introduced fair trade coffee to the US market. There is a lot of inequity and exploitation in international trade. When we look at food, some of those items are coffee, cocoa (chocolate), sugar, vanilla, and nuts.

Some of the new fair trade items you can find at our East store:

Just Haiti is a 501c3 non-profit organization that started working with coffee farmers in Haiti in 2008. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and because of recurring natural disasters many companies no longer work with Haitian producers. Just Haiti works with the most vulnerable and economically at-risk communities who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the marketplace. They use a model they call Fair Trade Plus, where they pay farmers a fair trade premium price (about 30% of retail price versus the typical 2-5% mass market price), and in addition, they also give them all the profits from US sales. This means the 100+ farmers in Haiti get 64% of the retail price on average, about double what most fair trade producers get.

Just Haiti collects coffee orders through the week and every Friday they roast coffee to fill those orders, another factor that makes this high-quality coffee stand out. This means the coffee received at the store is fresh roasted like a locally roasted coffee and not a product that was packaged weeks or months ago like most packaged coffees (that aren’t local).

Canaan Palestine supports over a 1000 marginalized artisan family farms across 43 villages living under occupation in the West Bank. These family farms have been nurturing their olive orchards for many generations. The Land of Canaan is the home to ancient olive orchards that are over 3000 years old and is often referred to as the birthplace of agriculture. Our East stores now carries their fair trade, organic, extra virgin olive oils, including olive oils infused with garlic, lemon, chili, and basil.

“Zotter Chocolates is and will remain at the top of the world-best chocolate manufacturers and by far the most innovative chocolatier of all.” ~Chocolate – the reference standard

Josef Zotter has re-invented chocolate: Hand-scooped Chocolates are basically giant bonbons. Featuring wonderful flavor combinations, hand-scooped chocolates are filled chocolate miracles consisting of several layers, brushed onto long lanes – one on top of the other – by hand.

“Not unlike wine, each cacao variety has its own very distinct flavor, shaped by the terroir of its growing region. Sometimes that flavor is nutty, sometimes it has more of a flowery bouquet like the Ecuadorian beans or more citrus notes like the beans from Madagascar.” ~Zotter

Zotter mainly buys cacao in Latin America, the cradle of cacao. They get their fine cacao from countries like Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Guatemala, Brazil, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Togo, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.

Huuuge shout out to our East Store Assistant Manager, Dave Debikey, for being a champion of bringing in more fair trade products! Dave was the Store Manager at the Bloomington Global Gifts for 13 years and their Purchasing Manager for a number of years, and we are grateful to have Dave on our team! Thank you, Dave, for continuing to be an advocate for Fair Trade products and growing our selection of fairly traded and healthful products, produced with care for the land, animals, and future generations!

Be sure to join us for EarthFest and celebrate Earth Day & Fair Trade Day!!!

New Local Vendor Alert!

Crossroads Kombucha is an artisanal fermented tea-based drink, hand-crafted in Franklin, Indiana made with only 100% real ingredients. Crossroads Kombucha is owned and operated by the Bolin family, long-time residents of Johnson County in Indiana. Samuel and Barry Bolin personally brew every ounce of the Crossroads Kombucha they sell! Learn more at crossroadskombucha.com.

Nativo Cafe is a US/Mexican company based in Bloomington, IN and Tlaxcala, MX. Nativo Café sources the highest quality, small batch coffee in the world through direct farm partnerships - finding expert coffee producers who grow, process, and pack their own coffee with mastery, and deliver it right to you. This also means you’re enjoying a specific strain of coffee, instead of a combination of beans from the same (or even different) regions. Check them out at nativocafe.com.

Irascoffeecards is designed and illustrated by Bloomingfoods West staff member Ira Drummy. Ira says “My rural upbringing can be seen in a lot of my artwork. In many others, such as the snowmen cards, it is more difficult to notice. A lot of thought, time and passion go into each card I create. When I create a card, I’m thinking about what the customer would feel or what kind of things are important to them. Do the same seasonal things that appeal to me appeal to them? Do the same color combinations, or lack thereof, appeal to them as me?” Stop by and see Ira’s cards at Bloomingfoods Near West or check out his Etsy shop at etsy.com/shop/IrasCoffeeCards!

New Local Vendor Alert!

We have a new local milk on the shelves! Twin Springs Creamery is a local dairy collective right here in Bloomington. Consisting of four family farms, Twin Springs practices regenerative farming techniques, with intentional rotation of pastures as they seek to build soil carbon, fertility, and health through grazing practices. Care for the animals is critical to their health and the healthfulness of the milk they give. Twin Springs provide quality forage, water, and non-gmo supplements, along with clean living conditions and plenty of space. The cows are grass fed and the breeds they have chosen are based upon the specific qualities they bring to the glass, like high butterfat and protein, A2 beta casein, and a great taste.

We also have a new local mead! Located not far from here in Gosport, Lost in the Woods Winery & Meadery has been making honey wine (mead) for decades, and have decided to bring it to the public. Along with wine making they also enjoy a wide range of projects including raising honey bees, goats, ducks, and chickens, and cultivating gardens, fruit trees, and mushrooms. But their focus is on mead, and we are very happy to offer several varieties.

So treat yourself and continue to support your community with Twin Springs Creamery milk and Lost in the Woods mead!

Bloomingfoods is a New Member of the City of Bloomington Chamber of Commerce!

We are very excited to become a Member of the Chamber of Commerce for the first time and are looking forward to the new opportunities for collaboration with other local businesses that are working to improve the quality of life for everyone in our community!

If you are a local business and would like to work more closely with us, please contact us at info@bloomingfoods.coop.

Bloomingfoods East

Bloomingfoods Near West