Community Food Co-op

10/15/2026

10/14/2026

Washington grows great fruit, and these two c***ries put it to good use. This Saturday, Oct. 17, try award-winning c***rs from Offset Ciderworks and Finnriver Farm & Cidery. Tastings will be held at our Cordata store from 1 to 3 p.m., and our Downtown store from 4 to 6 p.m.

Offset Ciderworks in Mountlake Terrace blends apples and pears into off-dry c***rs with no added sugar, including their Cranberry + Spice that we’ll be pouring.

Finnriver Farm & Cidery is located in Chimacum, on the Olympic Peninsula, and makes its c***rs with 100% organic fruit. Sample Bloom — a semi-dry c***r with organic blueberries that won gold at GLINTCAP in 2025. Then try Blush — a crisp, dry c***r infused with black currants.

Save this post and come sample these c***rs!

*Must be 21 or older with valid ID to participate.

10/12/2026

I’m excited to share some big news: We bought the Downtown store building!

One of the things I love most about the cooperative business model is that we make decisions for the long-term benefit of our members and community, not to maximize profits for outside investors. Purchasing our Downtown building is a great example of that philosophy in action. We're investing in our financial health, our staff, our shoppers, and the future of a grocery store that has been part of Bellingham's community for generations.

I'm also especially happy to share that WECU, our local community credit union, is financing the purchase. Rather than sending our financing dollars to a giant, faraway, corporate bank, we're keeping our dollars right here in our community. Building a sustainable and resilient community is a cooperative principle, so supporting local institutions that invest in this area is a natural fit.

For now, I hope you'll join me in celebrating this exciting new chapter. There's much more to come, and I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Thank you for being a Co-op shopper and helping make investments like this possible. This is what cooperative ownership is all about!

With gratitude,

Lisa Sedlar
General Manager/CEO
Community Food Co-op

10/09/2026

Are our bakers really big, or is the new Co-op tote … mini?

We're handing out mini totes to every new member! Also, through Oct. 15, new members get a $10 gift card to start your Co-op journey. That's in addition to our member-exclusive 10% discount on one visit of your choice, good through the same date.

Membership has a $5 yearly fee, and you can split the $90 equity investment — that’s your “share” of the Co-op — into monthly payments of as little as $3. Your $90 investment can be refunded at any time. Members enjoy special sales throughout the year and vote for the Board of Directors, who guide how the Co-op best serves our community.

Want to join? Click the link below or talk to your cashier on your next visit!

https://communityfood.coop/membership/ -plans

10/06/2026

Our housemade Caramel Sauce is back, just in time for Washington apple season!

Made with just five ingredients, it’s the perfect finishing touch for your fall baked goods, or as a delicious drizzle on ice cream. For a classic Halloween treat, use it to make caramel-dipped apples with one of our many varieties of organic heirlooms. Pick up a jar — and try a new-to-you apple — in the Produce Department!

10/02/2026

Doctober has begun! The largest documentary film festival in the Northwest is hosted by Bellingham nonprofit Pickford Film Center, and this year, Community Food Co-op and Sustainable Connections are presenting the film “Green Valley.”

This film was created by Morgan Tams — a longtime resident of a small, off-the-grid farming community in the remote wilderness of Cortes Island, in British Columbia. He follows five of its members as they negotiate the complex intersections of lifestyle, landscape, and the relentless passage of time.

Fellow filmmaker Lisa Jackson has this to say:
"A thoughtful, tender ode to the beauty and the reality of ‘going back to the land’ that makes you think about our impact on the earth and our relationship to all that sustains us … a very strong film with peace and ethics and an underlying hopefulness about our ability to adapt our way of life to something else — which is deeply needed at this time.”

There are two showings: One on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2:45 p.m., which will also feature a virtual Q&A with the director, Morgan Tams. The second will be on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 3 p.m., at which the Co-op will be tabling — stop by and say hi!

Tickets available here:
https://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/movie/green-valley

09/30/2026

Have you ever heard of a Spitzenburg apple? How about a Spartan, or Golden Russet?

If you haven’t, don’t be dismayed — we’ll be sharing free samples this Sunday, October 4! They’re all heirloom apples: older varieties that are often more challenging to grow than common cultivars like Gala and Fuji, but have distinctive traits apple lovers may appreciate. The smaller orchards we buy from can be more selective about the varieties they plant, and we’re so happy to share these apples with you.

We’ll also be sampling King David and Roxbury Russet apples — all of which you can try with delicious Australian cheddar — at both stores from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. And through October 6, all heirlooms are on sale for $2.99 lb, providing a great opportunity to stock up!

The following folks help us bring in varieties you aren’t likely to find elsewhere: Okanogan Producers Marketing Association, Brownfield Orchard in Chelan, and Bellewood Farms in Lynden.

09/25/2026

Reefnetting is a selective fishing method that allows for endangered fish, like Chinook salmon that our resident orcas feed on, to be safely released. It has been practiced by the Coast Salish People for 1,800 years, and even today takes a minimal toll on the environment. The net and boats that support it are anchored in place, and the winches that reel in the net are entirely solar powered.

Salish Center for Sustainable Fishing Methods — located just off Legoe Bay on Lummi Island — maintains this practice. Fishers stand on towers to keep an eye on the net below, and when a school of salmon moves through the waterway, they pull in the net. The fishers manually move the fish into an open-water holding tank, returning any bycatch to the sea. The salmon are then bled — a low-stress way of killing them that also makes the fish taste better.

Reefnet fishing has all but disappeared, falling by the wayside in favor of gill-net fishing and purse seining, which ensnare and kill much of what is caught. There were once hundreds of tribal reefnet setups functioning off Lummi Island. Now there is only one, along with 11 nontribal setups.

Riley Starks and his Salish Center crew are some of the folks keeping this way of fishing alive, in hopes of expanding it. With hundreds of potential reefnet fishing sites in the Salish Sea, reefnetting is massively underutilized, and could help alleviate stress on the Lummi fishery. The Salish Center pursues this goal through education and by organizing restoration work throughout the area.

Our Downtown store just received a delivery of fresh coho salmon from Salish Center. Stop by soon to get this local, sustainably caught fish before it’s gone — but if it is, rest assured that Tim, and Shawn (our Cordata Meat and Seafood Manager), take pains to source responsibly!

*Note: Footage of seine and dragger/trawler nets is stock footage, intended to illustrate examples of these other fishing methods, and is not representative of every instance of such. The referenced "ball of fish" is footage of a trawler net, not of a seine net.

09/22/2026

Dough’s Bakery is going on a well-deserved vacation.

We’ve been over the moon to offer Joey and Britton’s breads at our Downtown store this year. Working with local businesses like this small two-person bakery is baked into Community Food Co-op’s values. Dough’s is the perfect example — they use local ingredients and traditional baking techniques to create truly exceptional bread.

Dough’s will be taking a break from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11. We’ll still receive our order this Friday at our Downtown store (they currently only have capacity to supply that location), where you’ll be able to find their English Muffins and Baguettes, as well as their Seagull Seed, Country, and Sandwich loaves.

Upon their return, they’ll continue with Tuesday and Friday deliveries. Save this post so you remember to swing by and snag a loaf — they sell out quick!

Photos courtesy of Dough's Bakery

09/17/2026

Washington grows more than 90% of the nation's organic apples, almost entirely on the east side of the state. When Griffin Berger and his family planted apple trees at the base of Sauk Mountain, in eastern Skagit County, plenty of people doubted the climate would cooperate.

It did. Griffin's scientific rigor and respect for the land turned that gamble into a thriving farm. Regenerative practices keep the soil healthy, and a zero-waste philosophy puts every piece of fruit to use. Try Sauk Farm's organic Honeycrisp apples, c***r, and dried apples.

Meet the folks from Sauk Farm this Friday, Sept. 18, when they visit both Co-op locations to hand out samples of their organic Honeycrisp apples, and get a taste of how perfect growing conditions can make all the difference in flavor.

Downtown: 12 to 2:30 p.m.
Cordata: 3 to 5:45 p.m.