What you’ll need:

* baking soda
* distilled white vinegar
* essential oils
* lemon
* olive oil
* plant-based liquid soap
* (ex. Dr.Bronners)

Floor Cleaner
1/8 cup plant-based liquid soap
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1 gallon water
10 drops essential oil (scent of your choice)

Mix all ingredients in a bucket and mop as usual.

Helpful Hint: For ceramic and stone floors, eliminate soap (which leaves film) and use ¼ cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of water. Don’t use water on unsealed wood floors. Instead, combine 2 cups of vinegar with 1 tablespoon of olive or jojoba oil in a bucket. Spread a thin coat over the floor with a mop or soft cloth. Open windows to air out the vinegar smell.

Mold & Mildew
2 cups distilled white vinegar
Pour vinegar into a spray bottle and spray on infected area. The smell will dissipate in a few hours (open a window to speed up the process).
Helpful Hint: For areas with persistent mold problems, use tea tree oil instead of vinegar, combining 2 drops of tea tree oil with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle.

All-Purpose Scrub
½ cup baking soda
Plant based liquid soap
½ of a lemon
Pour baking soda in a bowl. Add just enough liquid soap to make a creamy paste. Spread mixture on a flat side of lemon and scrub. Use a damp rag or sponge to wipe away any residue. You’ll find the paste will stay moist for a few hours.

Window Cleaner
½ teaspoon Castile or plant-based soap
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 cups water

Pour all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake. Spray onto window and wipe clean with newspaper or 100 percent cotton cloth.

Safety note: Always be careful to label containers of home made cleaners intended for storage and keep them well out of reach of children.

We are happy to inform you that we have worked out an arrangement with UNCW for overflow customer parking. Additional Tidal Creek customer parking is available in the UNCW lot facing the Co-op, with teal lines. The passes are available to those customers who shop multiple times a week and don’t mind crossing the green space. Other complex businesses are participating as well, Wilmington Yoga Center students and bakery employees.

If you want to have an ensured parking spot while helping us with the parking crunch issue please come by the customer service desk, contact Jessica Ashcraft or myself. Passes must be displayed in dashboard to make certain you don’t receive a parking ticket.

With additional secured parking we are finalizing our renovation plans for the first floor. This plan includes the possibility of moving the Wellness Department to where our former Community Center, Suite 102. A separate health and beauty boutique would give us the opportunity to provide you with better customer service, a calmer atmosphere to display our products and the opportunity for a customer reference area.

We are planning on rearranging the deli which will increase the selection of deli items to include prepared main course dishes and appetizing sides. Renovation plans for Tidal Creek include expanding the produce and packaged grocery departments as well as a new housewares section.

The board and staff are excited about utilizing more of our first floor space for additional goods and services. We will keep you informed as our plans move forward.

In this edition of the newsletter we are listing all of the things that Tidal Creek has been doing to reduce our carbon footprint. We will continue to research ideas, make changes and keep you informed about what we are doing.

Several requests were received to provide outdoor recycling bins. This fits right in with our goal of ‘greening’ the Co-op! Two large bins are available on the sidewalk for recycling.

Have a great spring!!
Cooperatively yours,
Christine McElwee

by April Marlow

Kerala Curry is a local line of authentic Indian foods and sauces prepared in small batches that Tidal Creek carries not only in the deli but also on our grocery shelves. The dishes are from the gourmet kitchen of Ann Varkey and are her own personal recipes.

The history of Kerala Curry dates right back to those ancient times when on the peaceful Indian coast of Kerala the legendary spices were a part of nature and the fine art of blending them in various subtle combinations was a way of life with people. Time stood still on this tropical paradise – until these exotic spices cast their spell on the taste buds of Europe that brought sailors from far and wide in their quest, thereby marking the beginning of the longest recorded history of spice trade in the world. In the wake of the early Babylonians and Egyptians came the Phoenicians and Romans and the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English in subsequent years. Many a war was fought and many an empire sprang to life and then perished, but the focal point of contention was always the exclusive access to the highly lucrative spice trade. Even as each new trading partner came and went away with the most sought after spices, something equally valuable, namely the unique recipes, each of which was a culinary masterpiece perfected over a thousand years remained the guarded secret of the matriarchs of a few Keralite families.

It is this rich and long culinary tradition of a particular Keralite family – handed down from a matriarch only to the chosen ones in the next generation – that is captured and retained in the authentic South Indian Curries that Ann creates. Rolls Enterprises, Inc., a company owned by Ann and her husband, is a Goodness Grows in North Carolina company. All of their products are 100% natural, gluten free, contain no MSG, artificial colors/preservatives, corn syrup or modified food starches. Try their dishes today!

How many times do you get all the way through the checkout line only to realize that you forgot to bring their reusable bags? Here are several hints to help remember next time:

* Buy a bag that is beautiful or brightly colored – you’re more likely to remember a bag if you’re excited about how it looks.
* The car truck is a great place to stow reusable bags – they’re always handy.
* When you get into the car to head to the co-op, take the bags from the trunk and place them in the seat next to you, since you’re more likely to be distracted and forget to retrieve them from the truck when you arrive at the store.
* Write ‘reusable bags’ on your shopping list so you’ll be sure to remember.
* Add a cloth bag to your mental list of “things I can’t walk out the door without” along with keys, wallet and sunglasses.

Spring Savings Coupon Book!
Spring is right around the corner and there’s no better way to celebrate the season than with good food!

That’s why we’re proud to offer our 2008 Spring Co-op Advantage coupon book. It’s full of big savings on your favorite brands, like Seeds of Change, Biokleen, Equal Exchange and Organic Valley, with a couple of tasty recipes thrown in for good measure.

This coupon book is just one small way for us to thank you — our co-op member-owners and shoppers. Your continued support makes our co-op more than just another grocery store. Your investment, patronage and input help us better serve you, support our local community and build connections with other communities — across the country and around the world. Coupons are valid through May 31, 2008.

Wine discount
Is there a wine you’ve discovered and want to stock the cellar? Tidal Creek offers a value discount on wine. You can receive 10% off when you buy a case, 12 bottles. This can be your favorite or mix and match. If you would like a case of one variety place a special order with Lydia. She is available during business hours or via email at lydia@tidalcreek.coop.

Your Front End Shopping Tip
To maintain quick service during the lunch and dinner hours, please use the Express Lane closest to the sliding doors and Customer Service for your lunch orders, and the center two registers for your larger grocery orders.

Q: A tasting of coffee selections would be welcomed.
A: Great idea! Look for tastings of our coffee varieties offered at the coffee bar.

Q: Baby Spring Mix is almost always bad. Can we get spring mix instead. We had it B-4.
A: We have had a lot of quality issues with the new brand of salad mixes. Newman’s was discontinued. I will try to get Earthbound Farm.

Q: Have ‘close-out’ prices on supplements approaching expiration dates.
A: Our products sell out well before the expiration date. You can take advantage our Feel Good Fridays promotion and receive 5% off health and beauty products.

Q: What about bulk for lotions and shampoo – it would save plastic bottles and the environment.
A: Thanks for the suggestion. It is under discussions and would require a reset of bulk and/or wellness departments.

Q: Upon check out the cashier always ask “Do you prefer paper or plastic bag?” Discussions yielded that in the order of canvas, paper and plastic, is best for the environment. IF that is the true…then the option should now be canvas (or biodegradable material) or paper. Eliminate the plastic!
A: We are please to offer several choices to our customers, both disposable and reusable. We will have a new inexpensive bag option in store by late May for sale at $1. With this cheaper reusable option available along with canvas and string bags we plan to remove the plastic bags from our counters and our routine offer of “paper or plastic.” See all other eco-conscious things the co-op is doing on page 8.