Date: October 9th 2009

Dear Cooperators,

Our busy summer & fall seasons have finally wrapped up with a very successful Fall Fair we held on October 3rd at Rodstol Lane Farm and our first membership drive at our 4th Semi-Annual Public Meeting on Sept. 14. This works out well for me, as I am going to be taking a hiatus from communicating with you all until the new year, as I am about to have my first child and am taking a maternity leave from co-op work until then. But don't worry -- the rest of our Board and committees have pledged to be working hard in my absence on setting their goals for the next year, and working on ideas about how to achieve them. This is an exciting time for our developing co-op, as we begin to grow our membership and are finally able to begin seeing our store become a reality, rather than just a "movement" as it has been so far.

First -- the Fall Fair update. October 3rd brought us almost ideal weather, with just a brief passing shower in the morning. As soon as we rang the cowbell to signify the opening of the fair, the skies opened up, and the sun came out. And so did the fairgoers! We had an attendance of over 700 at this year's event, which more than tripled our count of last year's fair at 200! Certainly the nice weather helped us out, but the increase in press we received thanks to the efforts of our amazing PR Committee (headed up by Jennifer Green-Mitchell) helped immensely. I also can't neglect to mention our hard-working Events Committee (headed up by Rodstol Lane Farm resident Cynthia Mora) who coordinated all other aspects of the fair, from the pumpkin carving and kids art activities, to the raffle, the vendor-wrangling, live music, and more. We received so much positive feedback from vendors, volunteers and fair participants, and will be working hard to continue this annual tradition next year. If you attended the fair and have any kudos or suggestions to send our way, please feel free! All in all, we grossed over $4,000 based on our efforts this year (almost 70% more than last year!), which will all go toward helping the co-op with expenses in the following year. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your generosity, and your participation in helping make the Fall Fair a huge success!

Our first membership drive at our Public Meeting was also a big success. We opened the doors to a line of anxious supporters hoping to become members right away. We gained our first 48 members at this meeting, and had a great time getting to know you all. We hope to see you at a future event or public meeting, or better yet, on one of our committees or Board!

Speaking of committees, the winter and spring is when the co-op committees and Board hunkers down and carves a path for the next year. Some of our goals are shaping up to be very ambitious for 2010 -- we are all anxious to get a store open as soon as possible, one that will be based on a solid foundation and will stay open for decades to come. That being said, one of our biggest challenges to achieving these goals, especially as we get further along in our process, is the availability of talented and dedicated volunteers on our committees. Right now, our all-volunteer work force is 30+ strong, but we are still in need of more people who are willing to put in the hours to make things happen. Although our goals are not yet final, I can tell you with certainty that some of the tasks we will need to take on in 2010 include: Launching & attending multiple membership drives, adding 200+ members to our organization, continuing our Farmers Market presence with volunteers to take o n coordinating the Bremerton and Port Orchard market booths, scouting for potential locations, and taking on an even bigger and more successful Fall Fair next year. Do you think you can help? If so, please don't hesitate to contact one or more of our committee liaisons directly -- they can let you know when the next committee meetings are, and what needs we currently have. Current committee contacts are:

Events Committee: Cynthia Mora (cynthia@rlf1916.com)
PR Committee: Jennifer Green-Mitchell (jennifer@kitsapfoodcoop.org)
Membership Committee: Kristina Kruzan (kristina@kitsapfoodcoop.org) or Alison Loris (asloris@gmail.com)
Site Selection Committee: Meg Simans (drmegandron@comcast.net)
Board of Directors: Laura Moynihan (laura@kitsapfoodcoop.org)

We hope you will join us -- it's a lot of fun, and very meaningful work that feels great.

Here's to More Cooperating in 2010,

Laura Moynihan, Board President
Kitsap Community Food Co-op
laura@kitsapfoodcoop.org
(360) 813-1301
www.kitsapfoodcoop.org


Co-op Fundraisers, Events & Announcements:


Care about City Chickens in Bremerton?
Come to Council Member Roy Runyon's District 4 Community Meeting!
Thursday, October 15, 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Cora’s Diner (602 4th Street in Downtown Bremerton)

Topics include:
- Car Tab Fee (Proposition 1), Phil Williams, Dir. Of Public Works
- City Chickens, Discussion led by Council Member Roy Runyon and numerous citizens

For more information please contact Council Member Roy Runyon at: (360) 440-0620


Check out the A-Mazing Fall Fun at Local Farms!
(Taken from the WSU Kitsap Farm Calendar, compiled by Diane Fish)

- CREEK HOUSE FARM PUMPKIN PATCH, 6060 E. Collins Rd. Port Orchard, WA 98366, Phone: (360) 871-7267, Email: pumpkins@creekhousefarm.com. Pumpkin Patch Open Weekends in October. Friday, Noon to 6 PM; Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM; Sunday: Noon to 6 PM.

- MINDER FARM CORN MAZE, 1000 Gluds Pond Rd. NE, Bremerton (360) 692-9271. Open Wed. through Fri., 4 pm to dusk; Sat., 9 am to dusk; Sun., Noon to 6 pm. Groups must reserve in advance. $8 adults, $6 children 5 to 17, under 4 free. Military with active card, $6.

- PHEASANT FIELDS FARM, 13274 Clear Creek Road NW, Silverdale, (360) 697-6224. Open noon to 6 pm daily for corn maze, farm tours at 11 am and 1 pm on Sat., 1 pm on Sun. Groups by arrangement mid-week. $5 adults, $3 per child under 15.

- SCANDIA VALLEY FARM, 16624 Scandia Road NW, Poulsbo, (360) 779-3353. Open Mon. through Sat., 10 am to 6 pm. Admission: $5

- SUNRISE HILL FARM CORN MAZE AND PUMPKIN PATCH, 11033 NE Tulin Road, Kingston, (360) 509-5378. Open Wed. through Sun., 11 am to 5 pm, with "flashlight maze madness" on Fri. and Sat. nights from 8 to 10 pm. Admission: $5 adult; $3 children 6 to 11; 5 yrs. and under free.

- SUYEMATSU / BAINBRIDGE ISLAND FARMS, 9229 Day Road E. Bainbridge Island, 206-842-1429. Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; Monday through Friday, noon to 6:00 pm.

Other Fun Local Events this Fall:

Poulsbo Farmer's Market 2009 Harvest Dinner, October 11
Annual Harvest Dinner fundraising event at MorMor Bistro in Poulsbo. Contact us now to secure your tickets for this special event. Market Manager: Jackie Aitchison - Phone: 360-779-6720 - Email: info@poulsbofarmersmarket.org.

Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins October 3 to 31
The month of October is the time to hit the fields in Snohomish County! This year’s festivities kick off October 3rd with the infamous "pumpkin hurl" -- Medieval trebuchets throwing 8 pound pumpkins over 1,866 feet. Throughout the month, you'll find all sorts of special events, family days; pumpkin patches corn mazes and haunted Halloween fields of screams. www.festivalofpumpkins.org

Local Farmers Markets Still Open!

Kingston - Until Oct. 11. Mike Wallace Park at Washington & Central on Saturdays, 9am-2pm.

Poulsbo - Until Oct. 11. Poulsbo Village Medical/Dental Center on Saturdays, 9am-1pm.

Suquamish - Until Oct. 14. corner of Suquamish Way and Division Ave, across from the Shell Station on Wednesdays, 3-7 p.m.

Bainbridge Island - Until Oct. 18; Winter Market - Nov. 22 - Dec. 21. City Hall Park, Madison Avenue on Saturdays, 9am-1pm.

Port Gamble - Until Oct. 26. Hwy 104 & Puget Way on Sundays, 11am-5pm.

Keyport - Open year round! Located in the Island Jamz Caribbean Restaurant, 1783 NE State Highway 308, Keyport on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


Seeking Co-op Book Club Leaders

Do you have a passion for food-related authors and topics? Ever participated or lead a book club? We've had some requests to start a book club for books like "Food, Inc," "Omnivore's Dilemma" and others. This would be a great way to help the co-op, meet other cooperators, and help educate our community on these important issues. If interested in leading or joining a co-op book club, contact Jennifer Green-Mitchell at jennifer@kitsapfoodcoop.org.