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This is Living Naturally |
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For more information on our community outreach, contact us at info@valleynaturalfoods.com. Please download our Community Donations Request Form (Word document, 82 KB) when seeking support for your group. Please note that we need at least 6 weeks advance notice.
Giving Back Builds Relationships
Giving back to the community remains a hallmark of Valley Natural Foods' success. Over $25,000 went to a variety of local fundraisers, charities, and programs this past year.
Valley Natural Foods, the sole sponsor of the Midwest Food Connection south of the river, donated $20,000 to cover teacher expenses for 189 lessons last school year. The co-op's sponsorship allows local districts to offer these lessons at no cost to the schools. The program also addresses our schools' growing diversity. One teacher wrote, "I have a diverse class and each child was so proud of their own heritage and family traditions."
Another key outreach recipient is the Minnesota Valley YMCA. As a Y-Partner, Valley Natural Foods annually contributes $1,500 and supports Minnesota Valley YMCA events. The YMCA's support of local youth and families helps foster a healthy community. 
The greatest relationship of this past year has been with the Will Steger Foundation. The story of this relationship shows how giving back to the community builds many strong ties.
The relationship began in an indirect way with the Dakota County Environmental Practices Workshop and a no-waste catering opportunity. While attending the event, Valley Natural Foods staff heard John Stetson speak about the Will Steger Foundation's Global Warming 101 initiative. They were impressed by how the global message Stetson presented matched with the co-op's local message and sought Stetson as a speaker at the next annual meeting. Stetson asked if Valley Natural Foods would contribute to the Global Warming 101 Expedition. Stetson's request was met with support. Valley Natural Foods donated organic dry goods to the training camp and the actual expedition. This expedition put a cultural face on global warming by focusing on the Inuit people of Baffin Island just as the co-op strives to put a face to the local farmer. Their stories are a reminder of why our mission of a healthy community extends to support sustainable practices like building a strong local food system. 
Valley Natural Foods also became involved with the School of Environmental Studies (SES) and the Baffin Island Student Exchange, which included one of our staff. Students hosted a sled-dog fundraising event at the co-op and one student even developed our 30th anniversary logo and theme: "Save the Polar Bears, Buy Local Food." This led to a student mentorship that focused on our Earth Month events and eventually to a student summer internship which resulted in some of the articles in this newsletter (see story on page 8 by Chris Schneider).
Following the Global Warming 101 expedition we continued to support the educational outreach of the Will Steger Foundation. The co-op offered a low-waste catering for the Will Steger Foundation Summer Institute, which brought us in contact with local educators and furthers the potential for our relationships with schools. The relationship will come full circle with the annual meeting. John Stetson did agree to be the co-op's speaker. As can be seen with our work with the Will Steger Foundation, there is more to our contributions than gift baskets or donation checks. We work to be an active part of the local community we serve. Whether it's water for a school sports team or dry goods for an artic expedition, we carry on with our mission of a healthy community, spread our FRESH values, and enrich the lives of those around us by giving back. Keep posted on Steger's educational adventure by visiting www.globalwarming101.com. Anyone interested in the Baffin Island Student Exchange can visit: http://www.arcticspeak.blogspot.com/. Valley Natural Foods Co-op Fund
In 2005 the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation selected Valley Natural Foods to sponsor a Community Co-op Fund (CCF). The Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation administers this fund that also contributes to the growth and creation of cooperatives. Including Valley Natural Foods there are now 18 sponsor food co-ops across the nation.
Valley Natural Foods CCF is an endowment fund wherein the interest earned each year is donated by the sponsor to nonprofits and cooperatives in their community. Your tax-deductible, charitable donation to the Valley Natural Foods CCF can help grow the endowment and increase the amount of funding available to support community non-profits and cooperatives. Our goal is to grow this fund at a minimum of $5,000 a year while maintaining and growing our existing community outreach. Each year the member-owners of Valley Natural Foods vote for the local non-profit of choice to be the recipient of fund earnings. The MN Valley Humane Society (MVHS) received $418 as the first recipient of the CCF. Lynae Gieseke, Executive Director of MVHS responded to the award saying, "What a pleasant surprise to receive your letter and e-mail. We are honored to be the first recipient of Valley Natural Foods Co-op Community Fund. I, too am a member of VNF, so I was touched that my fellow members voted MVHS as the organization they most wanted to contribute to. " To help raise money to give where we live, consider donating to the Valley Natural Foods CCF. If you need a tax deductible receipt, please call Charli Mills at 952-891-1212, #239. Direct inquiries to info@valleynaturalfoods.com. Nominees for 2007 Award Members can vote for the next recipient of Valley Natural Foods' CCF on ballots that will be direct mailed to each household mid-September. More information on our nominees will be listed at www.valleynaturalfoods.com. This year's nominees are: Minnesota Valley Human Society Minnesota Valley YMCA Capital Campaign Will Steger Foundation Burnsville Performing Arts Center |
