From the General Manager

By Lindy Bannister

May the bluebirds of spring be singing and the flowers be peeping through as you read this (I am writing this after a late February snow storm).

I have just returned from the 20th annual Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, WI. What an invigorating event! Over 2,600 people attended and I would venture to guess that one third of them were young people. If the future of organic farming is in the hands of these bright, energetic people we are in a good place. The keynote speakers were outstanding. Dr. Vandana Shiva spoke on Agriculture for Life. She has pioneered the organic movement in India and established Navdanya, the country's biggest network of seed keepers and organic producers.

Dr. Alan Greene's topic was "Why Farmers are My Heroes." He is a clinical professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. If you want to read a great book about looking after your baby, pick up his new book, Feeding Baby Greene.

I always come home from this conference with a renewed sense of why we do what we do at our co-op. This is the time to connect with our farmers, talk to our vendors, and meet many new people whose mission is similar to ours. The connection is real and the excitement is high. This is where it starts and this is where you get to "smell the dirt."

Speaking of smelling the dirt, the farm crew at Gardens of Eagan is well under way getting ready for another busy year. The equipment is ready and waiting, the seeds are ordered, the staff is coming back, and the greenhouses are being readied. The crew is just beginning the long hard journey of a farmer's summer (like the rest of our heroes), but for those of us anxiously awaiting the rewards of the plantings, it can't come soon enough! Check out their website and join in on Twitter.

As we get ready for the season, a group of our farmers from southern Wisconsin are realizing the potential of our wholesale arm, Co-op Partners Warehouse, to help them get their product around the region. The growers will bring their products into the city on one truck, unload at CPW and prepare the individual orders right there. Their products will ride along with our loads to our customers, saving the farmers both diesel fuel and the time of driving to accounts we regularly visit.

It's been a great week at the store already, and it is only Tuesday. On Monday we rolled out our new credit card with SPIRE Credit Union. If you haven't had a chance to apply for yours yet, there is not a cut off. Just go to your local SPIRE Credit Union office and let them know you want the Wedge credit card. Every time you use it, anywhere, a percentage of the interchange fee comes back to the Wedge. This will help offset high the fees that other credit cards cost us. Try our newest co-op to co-op venture.

Today, March 3, we held a well-attended press event for our 2008 WedgeShare recipients. We wanted to thank all the great organizations that received funds that you, our members, voted to allocate at our last election. Everyone had a wonderful time networking with folks from groups around the area that hold the same values that we do here.

In these tough economic times, we want to reassure you that your co-op is doing fine. We recognize the need to keep our prices stable and to offer you ideas for budgeting while still cooking great food. Look throughout the store, in the newsletters, and on the website for new classes, recipes, and cooking tips.

We'll weather the storms together. Our community is strong and full of dedicated, creative people.

Have a great spring!