Co-Op Buying Groups

Food and agriculture are essentials in the sustainability and resilience of our community.   Many of the early Europeans to visit our valley documented the abundance of existing and potential food sources, practices and systems.  Today many of us ponder whether the simplicity of those ways would be more healthy and sustainable than the conveniences of today.  As we continue that quest for personal, family and community well being let’s survey some of our options including some newer additions.  

Certainly the Silverton Farmers Market and the Wednesday Farmers Market should be high on your list of opportunities not only to get locally grown fresh food, but also to meet the producers and get first hand information about how the food was raised and processed.  There is often a selection of meat, eggs, and bread as well as abundant seasonal fresh produce and local fruits.

Yes there are also chain grocery stores in town, who carry a wide variety of food products.  But even with major national brands available, you may not find a full range of food and merchandise you are comfortable with.   Many of us consider the minimized use of synthetic additives, protection from pesticides, low environmental impact and ethical production methods, when we make food purchasing decisions.  

One of the major values driving the Silverton Food Co-op is being able to offer sustainable, ethically sourced food to all.  In line with that objective, the Food Co-op has started buying groups offering on-line purchases from Azure Standard and Frontier Co-op (to owners).  

In 1971 the Steize family broke away from the chemical fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide cycle to push their farm to chemical free soil regeneration.  While they saw their own health improve with more natural food, they also gained a growing customer base who also wanted to reap the benefits of better nutrition.  They organized Azure Standard to support more farmers and home gardeners adopt healthy growing practices, and provide as many organic products to the public as possible.  Today you can access their broad selection of carefully sourced products through the Silverton Food Co-op buying group.  Although they carry a broad variety of products some of our favorites include Bulk dry goods, baking supplies

Frontier Co-op was started and is still run by the stores and organizations that buy and sell their products.  Silverton Food Co-op is one of those organizations.  This structure allows Frontier to focus on; Community Building, Business Building, and Responsible Sourcing.  This gives Silverton Food Co-op members a food supply chain with a focus on responsible sourcing, environmental stewardship, and compassionate practices.   Like Azure they offer a variety of items, but some of our favorites focus on the teas and spices in household and bulk quantities.  The link through wholesale.frontier.com offers a glimpse into the full range of product offerings, but you must sign into the member portal to see the significant savings offered to members.

Silverton Food Co-op is not about owning buildings, or employing staff at this point. They are a collective community maintaining communication and supply channels with farmers, food producers and our Silverton community.  To build the channels volunteers are needed, especially to keep efforts like these buying groups going.  Owner emails have highlighted several specific volunteer needs of the buying group efforts.   Please support them through your patronage, and your time.