October is Co-op Month and co-ops are getting major international attention from the UN this year: They declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives! In today’s world where corporate decisions are governed by profits and individualism is the norm, cooperation is truly radical. Now is the time to lift up the people-centered businesses at the heart of our communities and economies.

Under the theme “The Future is Cooperative,” this year’s Co-op Month is an opportunity to envision a cooperative future. The United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC 2025) was launched at the ICA Global Cooperative Conference and General Assembly held in New Delhi in June 2024. The conference attracted around 3,000 delegates from over 100 countries who discussed how cooperatives build prosperity for all.

IYC 2025 highlights cooperatives’ contributions to sustainable development across social, economic and environmental dimensions and emphasizes the unique ability of cooperatives to foster inclusive growth and strengthen community resilience. According to the United Nations General Assembly, the resolution “notably focuses on the capacity for cooperatives to drive inclusive development, particularly in developing countries. It recognizes the role of cooperatives in promoting the economic status and capacity building of women and the wellbeing of vulnerable and marginalized people.”

Co-ops continue to be organized by communities across the U.S. and the world, anywhere people are interested in exercising more control over the kind of products and services they’re able to buy.

• There are more than 30,000 cooperative businesses in the U.S.
• The food co-op communities across the country that own National Co+op Grocers (NCG) work together collectively to strengthen our ability to positively impact our food system and grow the cooperative economy in an inclusive and environmentally regenerative manner.
• Thirty seven percent of food co-ops’ sales come from organic products (compared to 3% at conventional grocers), and 24% of sales at co-ops are from local products (as opposed to 2% at conventional grocers).
• Annually, $9 million was collectively donated to local community organizations by NCG co-ops.
• Co-ops work within our supply chain and industry and with the federal government to advocate for product labeling, disclosure of potentially harmful ingredients or contaminants, and protections for workers within our supply chain.

Want to know more about how to support cooperatives? Here are a few ideas:

• Look for the Co-op Trade signs around food co-ops to find cooperatively owned brands.
• Learn more about the history of food cooperatives.
• Read the Cooperative Values and Principles, which serve as guidelines to provide a democratic structure for co-ops around the world.
• Find a co-op near you and start shopping there!

Celebrate fall with Apple Stuffed Pumpkins — crisp apples, syrup, granola, and cinnamon baked in a pie pumpkin. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for added sweetness!

Two great harvest-time foods bake together for a comforting fall dessert. Buy the smallest mini-pumpkins you can find (about the size of a grapefruit), or substitute small sweet dumpling squash. Pumpkins become lush, edible bowls for apple pie filling, sweetened lightly with maple syrup. For a sweet finish, top with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Total Time: 1 hour; 20 minutes active | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 mini-pumpkins
• 4 large apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup granola
• Ice cream or whipped cream

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly oil a pan large enough to hold the pumpkins upright.
• Slice the off tops of the pumpkins, creating little caps to put on top of the pumpkins once they’re filled. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard. Place the pumpkins in the prepared pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix the apples, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and granola. Stuff the apple filing into the hollowed-out pumpkins. If they are not completely full, top off with a bit of extra granola.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pumpkins are tender when pierced with a knife.
• Cool slightly on a rack before serving with ice cream or whipped cream. Top with reserved pumpkin caps.

Serving Suggestion

• Serve for dessert after any autumn meal that needs a fun finish!

Nutritional Information

370 calories, 2 g. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 250 mg. sodium, 85 g. carbohydrate, 14 g. fiber, 8 g. protein 

Total Time: 50 minutes; 20 minutes active | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 6 large carrots
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon finely-chopped fresh ginger
• Zest from 1 large orange
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation

• Heat the oven to 400°F. Slice the carrots lengthwise into thin planks, then stack and slice into sticks, about 1/4 by 1/4 inches or thinner. Place the carrot strips on a sheet pan with a rim and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the ginger, and half of the zest. Add coarse salt and toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring after 15. The carrots are done when they are tender when pierced with a knife and lightly browned on the edges. Cooking time will vary according to thickness.
• While the carrots cook, mix the remaining olive oil, orange zest, parsley and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. To serve, toss carrots with the olive oil mixture.

Serving Suggestion

• Serve on top of or alongside cooked salmon fillets for a main dish, or place leftover cold soba noodles in a bowl, add the carrot “noodles” and drizzle with Thai peanut sauce.

Tips & Notes

• Buy the widest carrots you can find for this dish, because they will be easiest to slice.
• If your co-op sells a spiralized carrot “noodle,” or even spiralized squash, you can use it for this recipe; reduce the roasting time if you’re using summer squash “noodles.”

Nutritional Information

170 calories, 11 g. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 370 mg. sodium, 20 g. carbohydrate, 7 g. fiber, 2 g. protein

As a local, community-owned grocery co-operative, we're committed to promoting food equality and accessibility in our community. We believe that everyone should have access to an inclusive and welcoming store, where they can shop for healthy, nutritious, quality food and products, regardless of their income.

That's why in 2018 we became an industry pioneer by launching our Low-Income Membership Program (LIMe for short) for members of our community needing additional assistance.

To help make shopping at the Co-op more accessible, LIMe Members receive a 15% discount on their purchases every day. To date, we have more than 250 individuals and families benefiting from our LIMe Program!

In addition to providing access to healthy, nutritious food and products, we are also committed to breaking down the income barrier to full ownership and participation in the community co-op.

That's why we're excited to announce some big changes to our LIMe Program with the introduction of LIMe+, a LIMe membership with the added benefits of full co-op ownership.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Fund for Democratic Communities, we're able to offer a fully paid equity share to any LIMe Member who opts to accept the benefit. That's a $100 value that extends all the lifetime benefits of a full-share equity ownership to all LIMe Members, current or future.

Current/active LIMe Members just need to click the button below to complete the online opt-in form and accept the fully-funded ownership share. That's it, we'll handle the rest from there! You'll need to continue to qualify and pay your $15 annual membership fee to continue to receive the LIMe discount, but you will remain a co-op owner for life, regardless of LIMe membership.

If you are not currently a LIMe member, or your LIMe membership has expired, you will need to come into the store to complete an application, provide proof of program qualification (active EBT card), and pay your $15 annual fee.

...or, if you're not a current/active LIMe Member...

For the past year, I have had the pleasure of serving as board president for Deep Roots Market. The experience was invigorating, challenging, and rewarding. I want to thank the board of directors and our owners for investing their trust in me. Our structure of nine owners as board members taking on different tasks, yields tremendous results. The board and the store ownership exude democratic action!

Each year, your voting in elections ensures that all Deep Roots’ owners have a say annually in who oversees operations and finances, establishes policies, and monitors the activities of the general manager.

Then, the board elects its own officers, annually — president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. This year, we had a very smooth transition with some new and returning faces holding officer positions.

Please welcome your new board president, Drew Dix, when you see him in the store. He has served faithfully on the board for years, most recently as vice president, and has deep knowledge of sales and food. More importantly, his interest in being inclusive and learning with others ensures that he puts democracy to work in his everyday actions.

Brittany Peters continues for a second year as secretary, Debra Smith El Al takes on a new role as treasurer, and we elected Mollie Blafer as co-vice president. Other board members were elected to officer positions as well: Lisa Hinton as assistant secretary, Khaila Daye continuing as assistant treasurer, and me, Spoma Jovanovic, serving as co-vice president.

As I turn over presidential duties to Drew Dix, I do so with full confidence and appreciation for his friendship and leadership. My hope is that Drew will enjoy the role as much as I did, and that I will have a little more time for tennis (anyone want to play???) and family time Democracy…I love it because we all continue to be in this together—owners and board members in changing roles but always supportive of our co-op!!