by Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
September Eat Local Month: Get to Know Your Local Vendors
September is here! For many, it may conjure up memories of back-to-school days. At the Co-op, it signals highlighting and honoring our local vendors. This is a wonderful month to spread the word about becoming an Owner to your friends, co-workers, and family. Not only do you get a $25 Co-op gift card for your referral, but your referred new Owner can also take advantage of all the local Owners-only sales we have going on during this special month. Owners can save up to $100 on local products through our Owner Rewards in addition to the yearly average savings of $100 when you spend at least $40 per week at the Co-op. Below are 10 local vendors whose products will be on sale for part of September.
Vitruvian Farms
5 oz. Chef's Mix and 5 oz. Lettuce Blend on sale 8/29-9/4—a nutritious, clean start to your day!
Vitruvian Farms is an organic permaculture farm in McFarland, Wisconsin, where they focus on local, sustainable, organic farming practices. They pride themselves on their food being grown only 15 miles from their homebase where plant-based goods are harvested, washed, and shipped usually within one day so that your food is as fresh as possible. They do not use any artificial chemicals when maintaining their farm, rather, they use natural minerals and compost to provide a consistently healthy soil. The farm utilizes technology to bring down the cost of organic produce without the use of pesticides and unsafe farming practices. If you have ever wondered what their logo and name refers to, you will have to travel back in time to the First Century BCE where a Roman architect, engineer, and writer named Vitruvias was a pioneer in bringing to light that all human endeavors should incorporate balance and beauty in their work. Around 1490 Leonardo da Vinci brought life to this concept when he drew and created the concept of the Vitruvian Man. Vitruvian Farms believes in bringing stability, utility, and beauty into all farming practices to create a unified balance in products and farm. Check out their website at www.vitruvianfarms.com to learn more about their CSA, farmers’ market presence, and online additional offerings and options.
Salad Girl Dressing
All dressings are on sale 8/29-9/4 —try a new flavor to pair with your Vitruvian greens!
Salad Girl Dressing is produced in East Troy, Wisconsin, about an hour drive from Madison. Here Pam and Jim Powell are celebrating 15 years of producing organic, fresh, refrigerated salad dressings with homemade, artisan, fresh organic vinaigrettes and seasonal, organic ingredients. They produce 11 unique flavors that do not contain any preservatives, cane sugar, soy, or corn syrup. Their dressings are organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, certified kosher, and non-GMO. For additional information and to see their full line of products please visit: www.saladgirl.com.
Wonderstate Coffee
12 oz. Organic Harvest Blend on sale 9/5-9/11 —a morning jolt never tasted so good!
Wonderstate Coffee has multiple cafe locations and a roastery residing in Viroqua, Wisconsin, about a two-hour drive from Madison. Since 2005, they have been dedicated to producing spectacular coffees that spark a connection, inspire curiosity, and build integrity across the communities they serve as an industry leader in fair compensation for farmers. As one of the first 100% solar-powered coffee roasteries in the world, they support resilient agriculture, and in 2017, they paid the highest published minimum price guarantee to farmers, which was more than 80% above Fair Trade conventional minimum price and over 50% higher than Fair Trade organic prices. Your consumer coffee dollars go towards a living wage! Extra credit to those readers who know what their logo “bug” pays homage to...hint: They are a timeless Wisconsin humming choir background to our summer days and evenings. For more information on this caffeinated product, please check them out at wonderstate.com and/or if you live in the Madison area, stop at their Capital Square Cafe which opened in 2020 and is located at 27 W. Main St., Madison.
Potter’s Crackers
All varieties of crackers on sale 9/12-9/18 —it’s a great time to stock up for fall charcuterie boards!
Potter’s Crackers, located in Madison, is a mother/son-created small business with a passion for creating a cracker that highlights abundant flavors unique to Wisconsin and deserving to be paired with high-quality Wisconsin cheeses. This business is now run by a long-time Potter’s employee, with conservation and land stewardship front and forward values as they create small-batch, handmade crackers, crisps, and oysters with the finest local organic ingredients and featuring the best Wisconsin grains and dairy. They work with local producers of whole-wheat flour, milk, and butter to create their award-winning products. Take a closer look at featured pairings and all product varieties at www.potterscrackers.com.
The Quince & Apple Company
All 6 oz. Quince & Apple preserves on sale 9/12-9/18 —pair these delicious preserves with Potter's Crackers for a perfect flavor match!
The Quince & Apple Company produces small batch artisan foods, utilizing all-natural ingredients and traditional methods from their Madison-based kitchen since 2009. The husband/wife team that created this company, prides themselves in offering preserves, syrups, and nuts that are subtle, well-balanced and not overly sweet. They are perfect for pairing with your favorite crackers, yogurt, cheeses, and cocktails. During our sale, try a Good Food Award-winning product that is exclusively crafted in small batches in their kitchen with fresh, all-natural ingredients. Their preserves are made with cane sugar, are 100% non-GMO, and have half the sugar of conventional preserves. It is a subtly sweet staple that is sure to make you smile. To find out a new flavor you would like to try, visit their website before you make your trip to the Co-op: www.quinceandapple.com.
Hook’s Cheese Company
Hook's Cheddar Cheeses on sale 9/19-9/25 —staple award-winning cheeses to add to your burgers, boards, and afternoon power snacks!
Hook’s Cheese Company is a family-run business, producing more than 60 types of cheese. They have been winning awards for their Mineral Point, Wisconsin locally produced cheeses since 1982. Julie Hook is still the only woman to win the overall world champion award for Colby cheese at the World Cheese Championship! This year, they won the top award for the Best Cheese Producer from Madison Magazine’s Best of Madison Readers’ Poll! This team produces high-quality dairy products through rigorous testing and monitoring during the cheese-making and aging processes. They use milk from local cows, sheep, and goats so that you can experience all different tastes and textures. Learn about all their cheeses athookscheese.com and/or visit their booth at the Dane County Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.
Underground Meats
Underground Meats are on sale 9/19-9/25 —traditionally made sausages with unique spice pairing will make any carnivore foodie happy!
Underground Meats is a Madison-based company that provides small batch meats from the very best, ethically sourced ingredients since 2009 by owner Johnny Hunter. Their meats are handmade with pasture-raised and humanely treated pigs, cows, and goats. Some of their featured favorites are: Black Garlic (a 2022 Good Food Award Finalist, made with black garlic and mushroom powder), Calabrian (a 2020 Good Food Award Winner made with Calabrian chillies, prepared three different ways), and Aahleworst (German-style meat made with rum and coriander)—mmmmm! If you are interested in their various monthly subscription services and/or to learn more about all their offerings, visit undergroundmeats.com.
Willow Creek Farms
Willow Creek Pork Shoulder on sale 9/26-10/2
Fox Heritage Farms: Fox Heritage Pork Shoulder on sale 9/26-10/2 —both pork options are great for preparing a special meal during the weekend with friends and family!
Willow Creek and Fox Heritage Farms are located together in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. Here, you will find purebred Berkshire hogs that are raised locally, sustainably, and humanely to produce the best taste and texture for their many products. Their hogs are able to roam freely on green Wisconsin pastures with no genetically modified plants present. This means that the hogs are in an environment that does not ring noses nor are they confined to an animal feeding operation, thus no antibiotics or animal by-product food is used to support these hogs. Additionally, you can be assured that their processing facility is USDA inspected where hogs are custom-processed for each order. They also have their own custom-designed wood smoker to create very moist and flavorful ham and bacon. Feel free to browse their website to look at all their offerings and meat boxes that can be purchased: willowcreekpork.com.
Mango Man
Mango Man Salsa/Sauces is on sale 9/26-10/2—a great addition to spice up and give an extra punch to your meals!
Chef Thony, the Madison-based small business owner of Cafe Costa Rica food cart and catering, created his own line of salsa/sauces which make a great addition to any meal to give it a punch of Latin flavor that will transport you without having to travel. For catering options please check out his website: mango-man-cooks.square.site.
One special note, Chef Thony recently was in a serious vehicle accident, impacting himself and critical business equipment. There is a GoFundMe page (gofund.me/3e43be40) to help support this important local small business.
Free Simply Local Tours at the Co-op
We will be providing a tour at each of our three stores, guided by our seasoned and knowledgeable Owner Resources Coordinators, during Eat Local Month. We would prefer that you register through our class registration form (www.tinyurl.com/WSC-class-registration) so that we can plan our tours appropriately; however, if you see this tour happening while you are shopping and want to jump in, please feel free to do so and learn more about what local means at Willy Street Co-op and how to spot those products as you are making your shopping purchases. Also learn why it is important to buy and shop local, and experience a department-by-department guide on how to make locally minded and informed decisions based upon your shopping needs.
Our tour dates are as follows:
- • West Store: September 7 from 1:00-1:30pm
- • North Store: September 7 from 1:00-1:30pm
- • East Store: September 8 from 1:00-1:30pm
A Parting Benefit: Special Orders
We have decided to end the special order benefit for Co-op Owners as of September 1, 2022 because it is no longer sustainable. The benefit allowed Co-op Owners to work with us to order a limited selection of products that we don’t carry in the store. Very few Owners took advantage of this benefit, and it tends to be easier for Owners to find and order the products online. The benefit was created before ordering products online was a relatively easy option. We will continue to work on adding more Owner-only sales and discounts to replace this service.