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In this month's newsletter:
- A Word from the General Manager
- A Word from the Board of Directors
- CU Folk & Roots Festival on the Porch
- 50th Anniversary Celebration at Prairie Fruits Farm
- Fermentation Virtual Cooking Class & Meal Kit
- Smart Meals In-person Class Series
- Halloween Beer Sale
- Turkey Preorders
- Election Results
- New October Owner Deals
- New Artist Intallation: Carolyn Padget
- Round Up For Good
- Recipe Features
- New Products
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By Gary Taylor
Hello Cooperators!
I am sure that many of us are thrilled that the hot summer months are coming to a close! While I do love summer most of the time, fall is my favorite season. Harvest time, cooler days, comfort foods, and sweater weather (or hoodies if you prefer) are the things I look forward to the most.
We have several classes lined up in the coming months so please check out our calendar for our upcoming classes and events! This past Friday we held our annual Meeting of Owners online and had a great turnout! Congratulations to our new Board Members and to our Round Up For Good organizations as voted on by our members! Click here to see the election results.
I especially want to draw attention to our 50th Anniversary Celebration to be held on October 11th at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery. Small grocery stores such as ours have always had a tough time competing against corporate giants and all I can say is that this is an amazing achievement! We would not be here without many good folks being invested in our success. This all started with a few forward thinking humans and it has continued because our mission has resonated with so many that have jumped on board to continue supporting organic food, local producers, and our fine community!
Thank you all so much!
Take care,
Gary
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By Andrew Muller
It’s the time of year for cooler weather, warm sweaters, and the start of a new Co-op Board year! The Meeting of Owners wrapped up this year's board election. We are so lucky to have had so many wonderful candidates for this year’s election, and we will be welcoming five new directors! Chike Coleman, Julia Cronin, Hannah Darcy, Debbie Karplus, Rudy Leon, and welcoming back Calvin Wang! Many thanks to the owners who voted in this election and showed their support for these candidates.
October will be an exciting month. We are looking forward to an amazing 50th anniversary on October 11th, and will be welcoming our new directors to the October 14th Board meeting. At this meeting the board will select new officers and kick off the new board year!
The Board will also be preparing for our annual board retreat, led by our Columinate board consultant, Todd Wallace. He helps us to come together as a team, build trust between directors old and new and develop a plan for the coming year as part of a larger board strategy.
We will be holding in-person board meetings on the second Monday of every month, at FASS, Inc., 1800 S Oak St, Suite 100, Champaign, IL 61820. We will continue to stream the meetings on Google Meetup to allow remote attendance for owners, and traveling directors alike. All owners are welcome to attend, please Email us at board@commonground.coop for details.
The 2024 Board and their Terms
Calvin Wang (2024-2027)
Chike Coleman (2024-2027)
Debbie Karplus (2024-2026)
Hannah Darcy (2024-2027)
Julia Cronin (2024-2026)
Morgan Montgomery (2022-2025)
Mickey Parson (2023-2026)
Rudy Leon (2024-2025)
Andrew Muller (2023-2026)
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Upcoming Classes & Events | |
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CU Folk & Roots Festival
Old Time Jam on the Porch
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Saturday, October 5th 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Stop by the Co-op's front porch for an Old-Time Jam during the C-U Folk & Roots Festival!
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50th Anniversary Celebration
at Prairie Fruits Farm
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Friday, October 11th 5:30 - 8:30 pm
You are invited to attend Common Ground Food Co-op's 50th Anniversary Celebration! This special event will commemorate our accomplishments as a community food co-op and give us a chance to honor the legacy that has been collectively built together since 1974.
This party will be hosted at Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamy and is free to attend but registration is required. Click the RSVP form below!
Registration includes a free farm-to-table grazing buffet catered by Caprae, Prairie Fruit's on-site restaurant. A cash bar will also be available. There will be raffles, lawn games, face painting, shaved ice, guided farm tours, cheese tastings, a pop-up poetry booth, visits with the goats, and time to mingle with Co-op community members.
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Fermentation Virtual Cooking
Class & Meal Kit
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Saturday, October 26th 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Join local farmer Kaitie Adams and Co-op staff Sarah Buckman for a class covering easy ferments for your winter pantry highlighting peak harvest produce. Kaitie and Sarah will cover the basics of lacto-fermentation and show how easy it is. These powerful fermented foods will keep your taste buds (and gut) happy and healthy through the cold months of winter! The class menu includes:
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Wild Berry Soda made with champagne yeast, berries, and herbs
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Curtido with cabbage, carrots, and chilis
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Chili Sauce made with garlic and peppers
Registration is $50 and includes kit. Co-op Owners can use promo code: OWNER for $5 off their registration.
The class kit comes with preportioned ingredients, mason jars, and recipe cards. Students will be guided through the process of each recipe while cooking along from your kitchen. By the end of the class, you will have made several different ferments!
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Smart Meals: Free Senior Class Series | |
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Common Ground has partnered with OSF Healthcare to offer a free class series for seniors over 55!
Smart Meals is a program designed to provide awareness and education on buying affordable, healthy foods that can be easily prepared at home. OSF dieticians have created Smart Meals Kits with shelf-stable ingredients that can be cooked into a full meal, or supplemented with additional ingredients. Each kit also includes a recipe card, a shopping list, and other educational materials.
Each cooking class in the series will demonstrate how to make one Smart Meal kit, as well as fresh additions and recipes using local and organic food from Common Ground. Students will learn about a different nutritional topic catered to the meal, and then have the chance to sample all the food. At the end of the class, students will receive an additional Smart Meal kit to take home with them.
Register for one or all three classes in the series!
Wednesday, October 16th 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Butternut Squash Soup with Bruschetta
Nutritional Focus: Viamins & Minrals
Wednesday, November 20th 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Autumn Wild Rice Soup with Walnut Goat Cheese Salad
Nutritional Focus: Fiber & Protein
Wednesday, December 18th 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder with Cornbread
Nutritonal Focus: Low-sodium Foods
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Stop by the Co-op October 31st - November 3rd and get 20% off all beer when you buy 3 or more singles, packs, or cases! Support local with a huge variety of brews from C-U favorites like Riggs Beer Company and Triptych Brewing. Stock up on your favorites or try something new, just in time to celebrate Halloween. Sale applies to non-alcoholic beers as well! | |
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We received 9 applications for Common Ground's Board of Directors!
Common Ground's directors play a pivotal role in steering its direction, ensuring adherence to cooperative principles, and representing the diverse interests of its owners.
The newly elected Board of Directors members are:
- Calvin Wang
- Chike Coleman
- Hannah Darcy
- Debra Karplus
- Julia Cronin
- Rudy Leon
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We had 38 amazing organizations submit proposals for the 2025 Round Up For Good Grant!
The 2025 Round Up For Good winning organizations are as follows:
- Daily Bread Soup Kitchen
- Planned Parenthood of Illinois: Champaign Health Center
- Rape Advocacy, Counseling, & Education Services (RACES)
- Eastern Illinois Foodbank
- Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana (ISCU)
- Crisis Nursery
- The Refugee Center
- Prairie Rivers Network
- Hospice Hearts Animal Rescue
- Urbana-Champaign Reproductive Justice
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Owner Deals are bigger and better than ever! We have a brand new set of owner-exclusive deals for October. Over 100 amazing products will be on sale for owners for the entire month of October. | |
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New Artist Installation:
Carolyn Padget
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Stop by the Flatlander Classroom & Art Gallery to see the newest local art installation featuring Carolyn Padget!
Carolyn works in acrylic and/or watercolor, pencil, and ink. Most of the current pieces are of people in the local community.
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Last month we raised over $4,800 for Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana (ISCU)!
Mission: "The mission of ISCU is to help immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers to become knowledgeable, secure and productive members of our community. We do this through a case management system using a holistic approach to support our client families. Our services include depression screenings and mental health referrals, as well as help with food insecurity, medical care, housing, legal needs, transportation, employment and education. We stay in touch with our clients for as long as our help is needed."
Project Proposal: "ISCU will use funds from Round Up for Good to provide emergency food, utilities and rent assistance to clients needing help to meet basic needs. Funds will also be used to provide household items and home appliances--such as stoves, refridgerators and microwave ovens--through our warehouse of donated goods, to make sure that immigrant families in our community are able to store and cook meals properly.
Federal and state programs to fill these needs are woefully inadequate, and many poor immigrant families continue to be food-insecure and at risk of eviction. We are the only organization in our county that helps these vulnerable community members with comprehensive assistance. Other organizations call on ISCU to help their own immigrant clients who need help beyond their own focused programs."
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October's Round Up For Good organization is Urbana Champaign Books to Prisoners.
Mission: "The mission of U-C Books to Prisoners is to provide books to people incarcerated in Illinois at no charge to them, and promote education and awareness in our community about incarceration and prisons."
Project Proposal: "If selected to receive a Round Up for Good grant, U-C Books to Prisoners will use the funds to support three mission-critical projects:
First, it will help us purchase needed library supplies, books, magazines, and newspapers to maintain and hopefully increase our capacity to serve the needs of people detained in the Champaign County Jail where we staff a lending library. Since 2009, our volunteers have been going into the Champaign County Jails (now jail) weekly, to work with residents to provide the books and magazines they want to read. Access to literature that one wants to read increases literacy and can help to develop a habit of reading. Champaign County is one of only a handful of Illinois counties to provide library services in its jail.
Second, it will help us keep our service delivery to people in state and federal correctional centers, at our current rate even with the increase in the cost of postage We ship books to approximately 29 institutions in Illinois, always in response to prisoner request letters. We have been able to ship up to 3.5 lbs of books per prisoner request, with a turn around time of 2-3 months. This is an improvement from five years ago when we only could afford to send 3 lbs per prisoner letter every 4 months. A Round Up grant will allow us to keep our current rate and maybe increase it.
Third, it will go toward keeping an adequate supply in stock of the most highly demanded and necessary texts for increasing literacy, for developing a habit of reading, and for using prison time for rehabilitation: English and Spanish-English dictionaries, up to date G.E.D. Test Study Guides and self-teaching ESL resources). As generous as the C-U community is, for understandable reasons, these reference books are not donated in sufficient numbers to come close to demand, so we purchase them when we can afford to."
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Co+op Basics: Pumpkin Curry Soup
with Crispy Tofu Croutons
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Cozy up with a delicious, comforting bowl of Pumpkin Curry Soup with Crispy Tofu Croutons! This is a warming soup with added protein from tofu with additions of onion, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, and peanut butter. Plus, it features 5 Co+op Basics products and comes out to only $3.00 per serving! | |
Lemony Spaghetti Squash with Burrata | |
Our specialty cheese department now carries Belgioioso Mozzarella Burrata! We absolutely love burrata, so we wanted to share a recipe that features it. This is a super simple spaghetti squash recipe that lets the burrata shine - the only other ingredients are lemon juice, fresh herbs, simple spices, and a drizzle of chili oil. | | |
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With our corner expansion complete, we are thrilled to feature products from our newest brand, Prairie Farms! Prairie Farms is a dairy cooperative based right here in Illinois. Check out our selection of milk, cheese, dips, beverages and more.
prices vary
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We have new eggs from Southern Illinois! Raised in Macedonia, these brown chicken eggs are pasture-raised, antibiotic and hormone-free, and certified humane.
$6.99
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Jaju Pierogi was started by two sisters who used their grandfather's recipes from sixty years ago! Their Potato & Cheese recipe is a classic pierogi, while Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion brings something new to the table.
$11.59
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Our newest Grab n' Go creation features romaine lettuce, marinated tofu, cabbage, carrots, and almonds served with a sweet ginger dressing.
$7.50
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The pastry case has tons of new items to try like this Spinach Feta Pastry! Try it today along with other offerings like Caramel, and Tomato Olive.
prices vary
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English Muffins are such a versatile breakfast option, and now we sell them in a fresh four-pack! Try with one of our many delicious jams or fruit spreads.
$5.00
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Portable, portion-controlled, and neater than a cupcake, this cake in a jar is the ideal dessert for enjoying on the couch or on the road! Available in Birthday Cake and Tres Leches.
$6.79
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Baked from scratch with indulgent icing and no-artificial-anything ingredients, these cupcakes make any occasion twice as nice. Available in Vegan Chocolate Blackout and Lemon.
$9.99
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This fresh cheese resembles a mozzarella ball, but when split open, you will be delighted to discover a rich-tasting soft filling of fresh pieces of mozzarella soaked in heavy cream. Enjoy a sweet, milky flavor that gently fills the palate.
$6.79
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Thousand Hills uses grass-fed beef, which is more nutrient dense and contains fewer calories than grain fed beef. They also source from farms that support regenerative agriculture! Try their newest grass-fed patties, available in Pizza Patty and Smoky Brisket Bacon.
$19.39
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Our newest soup can be found in our frozen meat section and is made with premium all-natural chicken. Available in Grandma's Matzah and Spicy Hangover Chicken Noodle.
$10.89
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Since 1873, Rendleman Orchards in Alto Pass, Illinois has grown the highest quality peaches, nectarines & apples. We're thrilled to carry their fresh apple cider, available in our juice case!
$4.69
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Grab some tortilla chips and dig into this delicious elote dip made with yellow corn, cotija cheese, and hatch chilies! Find it in our produce deparment.
$7.99
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Champ's Stuffed
Portobello Mushrooms
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These stuffed mushrooms are the perfect snack or appetizer for when you're in a hurry! Preportioned and ready to bake, try them in Tuscan Pizza, Buffalo Bleu, or Spinach Artichoke.
$8.99
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Booch Craft Hard Kombucha | |
This delicious hard kombucha is flavored with real, fresh fruit juice and ingredients sourced from small family farms across California. Try Strawberry Lemonade or Pineapple Passion for a refreshing drink!
$15.99 for 6-pack
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Bursting with flavor and sweetness, yet refreshingly light, the assortment of fruits blend together to form a delicately balanced palette of aromas. Flavors of guava, lychee and mango sorbet swirl effortlessly alongside hints of white roses and jasmine, topped off with a fresh citrus acidity and subtle spritz finish.
$10.99
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