FRONT END CHATTERBOX
The Cashiers and Customer Service Staff of Tidal Creek hear everything you, the shopper, has to say about our products. It was brainstormed that the Front End Team would like to vocalize these comments, and so this column was born. Our mission is simply for us to hear what products you love, and then share those opinions with everyone.

For those struggling with that left-over holiday weight, we’ve been told that “…the Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Chips and Black Bean Dip are so delicious, and a single serving of both the chips and the dip is only 3 grams of fat! The girls at my Weight Watchers meetings go crazy!”

Many of Tidal Creek’s Owners can find their favorite allergen free foods here as well. “The Sami’s Flax and Millet bread is the best bread ever made!” The Sami’s isn’t truly Gluten Free because it is baked in the same oven as wheat products, but the ingredient listing is Gluten Free. Another large luncheon food allergy are nut-butters. Sunbutter, a nut-butter substitute made from sunflower seeds, has been noted “…makes me happier then I’ve been in a long time.”

If you’re anything like me, you could eat cereal for all three meals of the day. “Barbara’s Bakery Organic Wild Puffs are awesome. Finally, there’s a children’s cereal I hide from the children!” That customer missed their call for advertising. And if it’s not cereal for me, then it’s some form of pastry or cake-like dessert. In fact, “The muffins made fresh each morning in the kitchen are delicious!”

Now that we’ve worked up an appetite, let’s get some food, and be sure to let us know how it is!
Stephen & the Front End Staff

PRODUCE NEWS
Spring is here are so is the local produce. We now have several more local producers bringing in product, so expect to see some great items on the shelves. Butterhead lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes from Black River, strawberries and melons from Southwest Berry Farm and beans, summer squash and greens from Cottle’s Tip Top Farm.

Look for the Downtown Farmers Market, which restarts on April 19th. This market provides an opportunity to not only buy fresh local produce and other goods, but also meet and speak with the folks who actually grow or make the product. This provides a unique way to connect on a personal level with the people who sustain us.

To grow your own food offers an even deeper connection. We offer plants from three local sources – Peachtree Gardens, Shelton Herb Farm and Black River Organic Farm. Let us know if you are looking for something specific and we’ll try to track it down for you.
Trace, Brad and Nicole

GROCERY NEWS
Lots of news and lots of new products. In our Beer and Wine area we arestill waiting to find out when we will get Wolavers Organic Beer but we have finally gotten Daily Red back. We also have added a tasty gluten-free beer called Green’s Discovery. In our bulk area we are out of local honey until probably May when the bees get busy. Due to popular demand we did add organic Mung beans and a new cereal called Save the Rainforest. Profits from the sale of this cereal do go to preservation efforts for our invaluable rainforests.

In our Grocery area we have added some new snacks from Roberts called Tubes, that are a combination of potato rice and corn that are fabulous as well as a snap pea snack from Calbee. We also are very excited to be bringing in spring water from North Carolina. The prestine water will come from Table Rock in an area that due to the 1964 Wilderness Act is guaranteed to be preserved. The 10,900 acre tract has no roads, logging, mining, or development. Table Rocks certified hydrologist states that “its the purest water I’ve ever
tasted”….yuummmmy. In our Meat department I am very excited that we have added a buyer just for this department. Please welcome and congratulate Alison Baxley who will give this department some extra attention. As always thanks so much for your support and patronage.
Craig, Lydia, Sean, Rob,
Mike, Karla, Brandon, Alison

WELLNESS NEWS
Please join use in welcoming Mary Lehman to Tidal Creek and the Wellness Department. We look forward to benefiting from her wealth of knowledge.

New in the Wellness Department in April, you will find Daily Foods Organic Greens and Organic Pure Food by MegaFood. The Organic Greens are gender-specific greens powders with formulas for women, women over 40, men and men over 40. They contain barley grass extract, spirulina, chlorella, and raw hemp protein that gently cleanse, nourish and alkalize the body. Milk thistle seeds, kale, broccoli and parsley promote enzymatic activity that detoxifies the liver. The revitalizing process of body purification and whole food nourishment naturally restore energy levels. Organic Greens contain a probiotic blend to support the balance of good bacteria in the digestive system and encourage regular intestinal elimination. This balance of probiotics also improves the body’s natural defenses. Spirulina, hemp protein, astragalas, shiitake and schizandra all contribute their immune-boosting activity. The formula also contains ashwagandha, eleuthero, and holy basil that improve the body’s stamina and help it adapt to various types of stress. Organic Greens can be mixed with water or juice. It is gluten free, contains no artificial sweeteners, fructose or sugar alcohols. At only 35 calories per serving, it is low in sodium, low in carbohydrates and vegetarian.

In addition to Organic Greens, MegaFood presents Organic Purefood. It is a healthy weight management shake in four flavors, cocoa, vanilla, chai, and berry vanilla. Using raw hemp seeds for the protein base, it provides a complete source of protein and fiber with no soy protein or whey protein. Because of the fiber blend Organic Purefood reduces hunger and manages cravings. It supports normal blood sugar levels with guar gum and GTF chromium. In addition to supporting healthy blood sugar levels, it also supports a healthy heart with vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, and folate. The heart also benefits from the Omega 3-6-9 balance from hemp seed, soluble fiber, and polyphenol antioxidants. These ingredients maintain cholesterols levels already within normal range. The digestive system receives support from the probiotic blend. This assures regular intestinal elimination and boosts the immune system. Organic Purefood is a complete and low-glycemic whole food nourishment in a meal replacement shake that provides energy and support for an active lifestyle with only 100 calories when mixed with water. It is dairy-free, gluten-free, low in carbohydrates, and is suitable for vegetarians.

Also in April we will feature three additional products from MegaFood, Balanced B Complex, Men’s One Daily, and MegaFlora.

In May, United Natural Foods, one of our main distributors will promote their beauty and body care products. We will participate in this program. Look for many of your favorites at deep discounts. Also in May, you will find select Source Natural products on sale.
Renee, Kelly, Mary, Stephanie, Luke

DELI NEWS
If I had to choose one word that I am focusing on these days, it would be MINDFULLNESS. Spring approaches with all its promises of new beginnings, or at least, honest re-evaluations of our existing practices. In the background there are lots of discussions of how a renovated Tidal Creek Deli can serve our community better. But until these larger plans come to fruition, the Deli staff is concentrating on smaller plans that can improve both products and services for our valued customers.

We take seriously our responsibility to make each vote you make “with your fork” count toward something larger than just your lunch. Local, organic or wild caught are the primary descriptors we look for when purchasing food. We are mindful of the need for freshness and variety in your food choices. I hope you have noticed the consistent line up of new spring salads on the bar.

As a staff, we are searching for more environmentally sound ways to package the prepared foods. We compost most all of our kitchen trimmings. For the first time, we have planted our own culinary herbs.
(I am hoping this will result in a lemon verbena pound cake and some rosemary shortbread cookies.) We are using more and more local products as their availability increases.

I am a great believer in the energetics of cooking and strive to offer the best working experience that I can for our staff. All the many positive comments from customers go a long way toward encouraging positive experiences for the people who work at the Co Op. I firmly believe that this results in food that is more flavorful and regenerative for everyone.

We are hopeful that you are enjoying the fruits of our labor and are spending the time saved in your own busy lives in ways that are enjoyable and gratifying.
Deb Lovan & The Deli Staff

Tidal Creek Co-op’s ends statement includes a goal “Concern for the Environment: The Co-op will promote conservation of resources and wise stewardship of the planet’s natural systems in its operations and product selections. We will encourage the use of alternate transportation and renewable energy whenever possible.” We work to accomplish this piece of our mission and ends statements, operationally every day.

While we are definitely not perfect (I don’t know how a grocery store as we think of them, could be), we do many things that the average business does not to further our mission and be less harmful to the environment.

Operationally, we do a lot each day to make better choices for the environment. Earth Day is a chance for us to reflect on the ways that we try to minimize our impact on the environment:

Throughout the store:

* We recycle internally generated paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum. We actually spend about $1,500 a year in order to recycle and keep items out of the waste stream.
* We order environmentally friendly office and store supplies when possible and reuse most paper or recycle.
* We use rechargeable batteries and recycle printer ink cartridges.
* We are currently switching to the CFL light bulbs (compact fluorescent energy saving bulbs) in offices.
* We maintain energy saving settings on the temperature control in offices.
* We have a bike to work program and bike to the co-op for customers that offers incentive for multiple trips to the co-op by bike.
* Garden of Life, a quality digestive aid and nutritional supplement company, is matching Tidal Creek’s current electric bills with renewable energy certificates. Purchase of the credits go to supporting wind power. The beauty of this plan is that by increasing the market for renewable energy, we are reducing the demand for fossil-fuel generated energy.
* In 2008, we will begin to purchase carbon offsets or “Green Tags” from an electric co-op in North Dakota for all air travel done by the co-op. When we send our staff and board of directors to conferences, we will use green tags to offset this travel!

In the deli, specifically:

* Most of our plastic containers are #1 and #2 plastic.
Our paper Co-op printed material is made using vegetable-based inks and an elemental chlorine-free bleaching process.
* Almost all of the ingredients used by our Deli and Bakery are organic. The amount of organic product that we use is actually quite high and more rare than you might think. Look closely at the other delis in town, or ask them what’s organic to see for yourself.
* We compost our food wastes in the kitchen.

At the registers:

* We give shoppers an incentive to bring their own bags and refillable containers by donating 5¢ for each reused item to a charity of the quarter (located at the registers). In the last year, Tidal Creek owners and shoppers kept over 3,000 pieces of plastic and paper out of the waste stream by bringing their own bags and containers! That’s about 8 bags and other containers per day being reused!
* Our small plastic bags are #2 plastic, printed with water-based ink, and are a minimum of 25% recycled content.
* The large plastic bags are #2 plastic, made with at least 60% recycled content.
* Our paper bags are made from 100% recycled content (excluding handles), the entire bag is recycleable, the bags are made of 60% post industrial and 40% post consumer fibers and manufactured in North America.
* We recycle register tape and cut up scrap paper for notes rather than use Post-It notes.

In the aisles:

* We advocate local products whenever possible and carry a wide selection. Anything that you can get closer to where it’s produced is almost always an environmentally better choice than products shipped from away. Look for our “Local” tags throughout the store that indicate local or regional products that you can choose.
* We advocate for customers to use less packaging by having bulk items available. The tare weight is taken off at the register.
* We also offer many reusable bag options for sale under $10 including our extremely popular Chico bags that we sold at the incredibly low price of $4.99 (buy 4 to get a 5th one free). We will continue in the coming year to try and find ways to encourage reuse whenever possible.
* We offer better environmental choices for cleaning supplies, bodycare and other items all throughout the store.

As you can see, Tidal Creek does a lot to be a conscientious business and we continue to look for new and better ways to minimize our impact on the environment.

By Raven Bruno, Coordinator SENCFS

Food impacts many aspects of human life. Most people do not realize that the systems associated with food commodities are related to their personal lives. Local environments, economies, policies and socialization are all areas in which food systems have a vast impact. This is being compromised as farms are quickly becoming institutionalized, small family owned farms are disappearing, and food is exported across the nation and globe. However, with a food system that relies on locally grown food, we would have a lower environmental impact and boost our local economies. One important component of local food systems is food security, ensuring not only that there is fresh and healthy food available, but also that it is equitably distributed and affordable to all people.

The Southeastern North Carolina Food System (SENCFS) Program is a partnership of public and private institutions and agencies among six counties (New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Bladen, Columbus, and Robeson) along and adjoining the I-74 corridor east of I-95 who have come together in order to address our current food system and create a local food system. The partnership includes members who hold a wide range of perspectives on food issues. The goal of the Food System Program is to develop market opportunities for local farm products for both local and regional markets, and to enhance community access to local foods.

Southeastern NC is a prime area to begin a local food system because it contains large agricultural counties who have deep roots in farming as well as urban counties who provide a large demand for food. It is also the most ethnically diverse region in North Carolina and one of the three major regions of persistent poverty. A local food system can help small and limited resource farmers, who are threatened by large agribusinesses, and create jobs through local food distribution which are vital to the regional economy.

In order to understand the needs in our local food system, the SENCFS Program is conducting a community food assessment to find out what foods are grown in our region, who is interested in buying local (local institutions and restaurants), and how food is distributed throughout our communities. By understanding these key components, we will be able to systematically match farmers with buyers and bring greater amounts of fresh, local foods into our communities. Conducting a community food assessment will also examine current markets for local foods and seek to expand farmer’s markets, community gardens, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and roadside stands. The goal is to have a system where fresh food is accessed in all parts of our communities and farmers are being paid a livable wage. Public awareness and education are also important as they help create demand and support for local foods. The SENCFS Program hopes to implement a decal for people to identify businesses that sell local products in their communities.

A local food system is sustainable. It helps to create relationships between the consumer and the farmer, which can be nourished over time. It has a smaller environmental impact and money is kept locally, enhancing the economy. Environmental sustainability and keeping food dollars in the regional economy are not the only positive outcome of a local food system. Unlike large agribusinesses that supply most of the foods in the American diet, small farmers tend to grow bio-diverse crops which demand smaller amounts of chemical inputs as they are able to naturally ward off pests. They also tend to use heirloom seeds rather than those that have been genetically manipulated. Locally grown food is not only fresher because it travels a shorter distance to get to the consumer, but it also has greater nutritional value. Fresh, nutritious foods are critical to our health especially with the rise in food related diseases.

The community is important to the local foods movement. Community demand for local foods will bring them into your favorite restaurants or you child’s school. Community purchases from local farmers through a Co-op, farmer’s market, roadside stand or CSA and community involvement in neighborhood gardens will support our farmers and our vulnerable communities. Not only is the body nourished with fresh foods, a farmer’s livelihood and existence is assured. Ask where your food is grown when it is served in a restaurant or in school, examine how food is distributed throughout the community and who has access to what, and confront your local politicians about what they are doing to make the local food system better.

As we celebrate the fruits of the Earth this Earth Day, think about where your food was grown, how your food was grown, and who grew it. Please visit http://people.uncw.edu/hossfeldl to learn more about the SENCFS program and what we are doing. Be an advocate for local foods in your community.

Overall Best Tasting:
Dana Tart

Overall Best Looking:
Cassidy Mintz

Best Tasting Dessert:
Stephen Raeburn

Best Looking Dessert:
Dana Tart

Best Tasting Appetizer /
Side Item: Deborah Flora

Best Looking Appetizer /
Side Item: Cassidy Mintz

Best Tasting Vegan Dish: Deborah Flora

Best Looking Vegan Dish: Suzanne Thatcher

Best Entrée: Dana Tart (Perfect Score!)

Our Judges for the Sweet Potato Cook off:
Andrea Houlihan, Customer Service Cashier
Amy Fleming, Finance Manager and
Mack Fleming, the owner and Farmer at 52nd Street City Farm, a Year Round U-Pick. Gourmet Lettuces, Heirloom tomatoes, and more! Visit him at 5203 Oleander Drive

Best Looking Vegan Dish:
Vegan Vichyssoise
Suzanne Thatcher

Olive oil spray or a little veggie broth for sautee
4 leeks, white part sliced thin
½ medium to large onion, sliced
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 cups veggie broth
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp white pepper (or less)
1 cup plain soy milk
1 Tblsp or more fresh chives, fine chop
white dry wine

Sautee leeks and onion in olive oil or veggie broth, just enough to cover the bottom of a large pot. Cook over low heat until tender but not brown, stirring often. If you use veggie broth you may need to add more along the way, or some white wine, as it cooks so the bottom doesn’t burn. Add sweet potatoes, broth, salt and pepper. Cook on medium high until tender and liquid cooks down to about half. Remove from heat, cool a little, and blend until smooth. A stick blender works well because soup will be very thick at this point. Let mixture cool. Add soy milk and blend with a whisk. Add more soy milk if you want it thinner. Stir in the chives and chill. When you serve, garnish each soup bowl with edamame on top and a sprinkling of chives. The colors are beautiful, the flavors delicious. Enjoy!

PS-This is good at any temperature so vary it with the season. It’s also high in nutrition and low in fat.

by JoAnn Fogler

Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I usually review books for the Tidal Creek newsletter about nutrition and/or the environment, but this time I have chosen a book from the shelves of the Co-op that is very popular and has much to offer the Co-op reader in a very different area of interest.

Ms. Gilbert, author of The Last American Male, has written a memoir about a year that she devoted to “balance her life and find herself.” She was married and living in the suburbs of New York and thought she wanted a child. She got divorced, and embarked on a year-long trip of recovery with three main stops: Rome, for pleasure (mostly gustatory, with special emphasis on gelato); an Ashram outside of Mumbai, India for spiritual searching; and Bali for “balancing” and love.

Before she left, she discovered God and really made an effort to change her life and her way of thinking. In addition to a really bad divorce, she has a love affair that haunts her throughout this journey. Everywhere she went her personal problems were foremost in her thoughts.

In Rome, with all that Italy had to offer, all she did was eat the tasty, tempting Italian cuisine. She did not see the horrible poverty and corruption, because her tears were for her nasty divorce and her latest affair.
However, she does give out some interesting food for thought. When she got to India and the Ashram, which was the most interesting part of the novel, she learned to meditate and see inside her own soul. “Prayer is the act of talking to God, and meditation is the act of listening to God.” She talked about meditation and how it is both the anchor and the wings of yoga.

I ask you, the reader, the same questions she asks in her book: “How much do you love me?” and, “Who’s in charge?” She says that these are the two questions human beings have fought over throughout history. This is one of her biggest contributions to her spiritual journey.

This book is composed of 108 short chapters (based on the beads in a traditional Indian japa mala prayer necklace) that function like scenes in a movie. At times the author gets obsessed with one person and constantly talks and dreams about her ex-husband, ex-lover, or a swami.

In India, Gilbert says everyone has to take action on their own. She relates a special Italian joke that I think is worth retelling in this review:
“A poor man goes to church everyday and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging ‘Dear saint–please, please, please… give me the grace to win the lottery.’ This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, ‘My son–please, please, please …buy a ticket’.”

Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries between realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. After 18 months of self-imposed celibacy, she finds a mature, truer love thanks to a charming older Brazilian businessman. By the time she and her lover sail into the Bali sunset, she has finally won me over. To me, Gilbert is a gutsy gal. I envy the wonderful trip of “running away” into the sunset and finding not only yourself but new love. This makes it a great travel book that is filled with humor and lots of things to think about. Her search for enlightenment is everyone’s search. Only some of us find it at home and right in our own back yard.
The author learned many lessons about people and about caring and gratitude. It may be said that it is a fairy tale ending. Gilbert says (quoting Zen Buddhists), “An oak tree is brought into creation by two forces at the same time. Obviously, there is the acorn from which it all begins, the seed which holds all the promise and potential, which grows into the tree.” From nothingness to maturity, it is the oak tree that creates the very acorn from which it is born.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love is more than a travel book. This book is about relationships, caring, gratitude, forgiveness and enlightenment. It is also a book that explores the author’s heart and soul and may explore your heart and soul, too.

U. of NC students Pushing for ‘Fair Food’ on Campus in the Land of Hog Factories
Last year, a bunch of students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill got tired of the industrial dreck served up in the cafeteria. They discovered that the landscape around them was producing some amazing, chemical-free meat and produce and set about figuring out how to get some in school dining halls.

Led by seniors Sally Lee and David Hamilton, they declared themselves FLO Food (FLO = fair, local, organic), and began negotiating with Campus Dining Services in earnest. CDC took them seriously and negotiated respectfully, but a key gap in understanding between the two groups quickly emerged.

CDC, it turned out, had listed Smithfield Foods — the world’s largest hog grower and pork packer — as a “sustainable” company. That’s because Smithfield runs the globe’s largest hog-processing plant — 32,000 hogs meet their end there daily — in Tar Heel, N.C., 110 miles away. CDC defined any producer within 150 miles as “sustainable.”

The students found out that CDC was spending $20,000 per month on Smithfield products. That inspired the FLO students to research exactly what sort of company was benefiting from their food dollars, giving rise to an extraordinary event on campus March 5 called “People, Power, and Pork.”

The event took place on a warm evening on the main quad of UNC’s leafy, attractive campus. It opened with a free barbecue, sponsored by the Slow Food’s Triangle convivium. The barbecue featured a hog raised by Cane Creek Farm, a small farm located just outside of Chapel Hill specializing in pasture-based pork, chicken, and beef. But this was no local-food-rocks, let’s-feel-good-about-ourselves event. After dinner, the gathering moved to a large classroom indoors, where the FLO-Fooders had managed to bring together players in Smithfield’s global hog chain that the company would prefer remain invisible: workers from the Tar Heel plant, and people who live in Duplin County, a predominately African-American area where Smithfield and its suppliers raise nearly 2.2 million hogs each year.

Duplin resident Devon Hall testified to the horror of living close to knock-you-over stench and toxic hog waste. Smithfield workers including Marvin Steele told of the pork giant’s abysmal disregard for worker safety and ruthless, ongoing union-busting effort. While these speakers delivered devastating indictments against industrial meat production, two others offered a different vision for pork: Eliza MacClean, owner-farmer of above-mentioned Cane Creek Farm; and Jennifer Curtis, of NC Choices, a group trying to break down market obstacles to pastured hog production in an area dominated by Smithfield. Several hundred students packed the hall, engaged and ready to take action. (Tom Philpott, Grist Magazine, 3/8/08)

GM Crops Have Not Reduced World Hunger, Study Concludes
Genetically modified (GM) crops have led to a large increase in pesticide use and have failed to increase yield or tackle world hunger and poverty, reveals a new report by Friends of the Earth and Center for Food Safety. The report coincides with the annual release of biotech industry figures on GM crop cultivation around the world.

“The biotech industry tells Africans that we need GM crops to tackle the food needs of our population. But the majority of GM crops are used to feed animals in rich countries, to produce damaging agrofuels, and don’t even yield more than conventional crops,” said Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International’s GMO coordinator in Nigeria.

“For years, the biotech industry has been trumpeting the benefits of GM crops, but this report shows the true emerging picture,” added Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. “These crops really promote greater use of pesticides, and cause direct harm to the environment and small farmers. More and more, foundations and international aid and development organizations are recognizing the dead end that GM crops represent.” (www.centerforfoodsafety.org, 2/08)

North Carolina Legislative Roundup
North Carolina had a session with important victories for working families, but the hands of energy and insurance lobbies ended up diluting the environmental and health-care reforms passed in the end.

While the state became the first legislature in the Southeast to mandate that 12.5% of energy used to produce electricity come from renewable sources, the bill was amended to allow greater profits for those utilities when they build new coal and nuclear plants as well, a very mixed bag for environmentalists. The state did approve a bill effectively banning new hog farm “lagoons,” offering help to farmers installing new technologies to deal with hog waste. (http://www.organicconsumers.org/state/NC.cfm)