Fireweed Food Co-op
1338A Clifton street

Gift basket deets coming at ya!! SAUCES, SPICES & SPREADS GIFT BASKET ... Introducing our ALL-STAR LINEUP, this basket features 5 long time SOFM vendors and their best selling products that you know and love! This basket features: Mango Habanero hot sauce from 1885 Fruit Based Hot Sauce - This medium heat hot sauce is just hat you need to spice up any meal. Pineapple Mango Jam from Jaya’s Preserves - All of Jaya’s Preserves are delicious, and this best selling jam is no exception. Smear it on your sourdough toast to add some fruity goodness to your morning! Cacoa Maca Almond Butter from Spreads by Cede - this almond butter is infused with fair trade organic cacoa powder, maca powder and cinnamon. Perfect on toast or as a dip for fruit!! Raw creamed honey from Sweet Makers Honey Co - a South Osborne staple since day one, this honey is produced using sustainable beekeeping practices that help keep the bees and the flora happy Manitoba Medley All Purpose Seasoning from the Burch Tree - Last on the lineup but certainly not least, this seasoning is made with locally grown herbs and veggies. Use it on your meat, your veggies, your soups and more! Orders open until April 30th for pick up on May 9th! Order your basket today by visiting our website and clicking BUY, or visiting https://fireweedfoodcoop.square.site/ [ID] a photo collage of hot sauce, a jam, a spice mix, a jar of honey, and a jar of almond butter with text that reads Sauces, Spices & Spreads. Following slides show individual photos of each of the photos from the collage

HEAR YE, HEAR YE! We are extending the application deadline for our Food Hub Sales Coordinator by 1 week, now open until April 23! This is an incredible seasonal position with potential for long-term leadership and growth with Fireweed. If you have project management acumen, people skills, and a passion for food systems and food justice, this is the role for you! ... Don't hesitate to in touch if you have any questions! https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/job-postings

Gift basket ordering is NOW OPEN!!! Follow the link below, or visit our website and click BUY to shop our Mothers + Others day gift baskets https://fireweedfoodcoop.square.site/ Brunch baskets and gift baskets, full of local goodness that are perfect to show your loved ones just how much you care ... Swipe right to get a glimpse of the baskets we’re offering! Orders are open until April 30th. And don’t forget, our in-person plant sale will be happening at the time of gift basket pick up on May 9th from 10am-1pm at the Lord Roberts Community Centre. Pickup and the plant sale will both be held outdoors. [ID] graphic reads: South Osborne Farmers’ Market presents: (M)other’s Day Gift Baskets Ordering OPEN NOW until April 30th Basket pickup + in-person plant sale: Sunday, May 9th, 10am-1pm, Lord Roberts Community Centre | 725 Kylemore Ave.

We are accepting vendor applications for our Online Holiday Market until Nov 8! Apply now: https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/holiday-application

Fireweed Food Co-op stands in solidarity with Stella's workers at the Sherbrook location, who have been on strike since September 21st. Their demands: a 25-cent pay raise for workers that have been at Stella's for over a year (in line with the increase to minimum wage) guaranteed 30 hrs/week for senior staff ... ending the practice of forcing workers to take breaks in the middle of serving a table, causing them to lose out on those tips Our work at Fireweed is guided by a vision of a democratic local food system that is sustainable for the planet and for people. We stand against the exploitation of food system workers of any kind. The public can play a crucial role by putting pressure on an employer that has refused to come to the table. Fireweed Food Co-op board members and staff have been and will continue to boycott all Stella's locations until further notice, and we call on our members and the public to do the same. You can also review Stella's Strike and Boycott Menu to learn what else can be done to help Stella’s workers receive a healthier and more fair work environment. (images from the @notmystellas and @solidaritywinnipeg Instagram pages)

REPOST: A very kind and generous farmer, has donated 20,000 lb of potatoes. As I write to you, they are being bagged (50 lb bags) on his farm by some wonderful volunteers from Canadian Yazidi Association. The potatoes will be available for pick up as follows- Freedom International School 771 Sargent Ave. Backlane... Monday, October 26 12:30-1:30 PM Thank you in advance to Francine and her team at Freedom International for allowing us to use their space! Bring vehicles and take as many bags at you would like. Please invite community members who can use them as well. Wear masks of course and be prepared to socially distance as we will form a line and let each agency take what would like. 20,000 lb is a lot so please do spread the word. We have worked hard to get these bagged and into Winnipeg and I want them to all go to homes that can use them. Any questions please email me. Wendy Erlanger Head of Operations (MB, SK, NT), FoodRescue.ca [email protected]

We’re honoured to receive this year’s Cooperative Achievement Award from the Manitoba Cooperatives Association. We want to give a big shout out to MCA for this opportunity and your ongoing support; our co-op members for providing direction and for your loyal commitment; and the Manitoba cooperative community for helping foster a culture of cooperation and creating an environment for small co-ops like us to succeed.

We're looking for some rad folks to join our board & fill two vacant positions! FFC’s Board of Directors currently consists of seven members (soon to be nine!) coming to the table with a range of experiences including community development, business and economics, policy, research, farming and more. What do we need help with? It is always twofold for us. Making the food hub distribution centre an economically sustainable operation, as well as helping inform and refine our far...mers’ market operations, which typically run from June to September. Both of these projects also seek to find ways to contribute positively to decreasing regional food insecurity. This means we’re looking for Folks with industry experience! Folks with time, energy and passion for local food issues! Folks who want to see change in Manitoba’s food economy! If this sounds like you, check out our website for more information or to apply: https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/join-our-board If you have any questions or would like more information, you can contact Board Co-chairs at [email protected] or our Projects Coordinator at [email protected]. DEADLINE TO APPLY IS NOV 6.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU on how we can make our spaces safer! This summer, Fireweed Food Co-op participated in a two-part anti-oppressive Safe(r) Spaces workshop hosted by @redtentwpg. Since then, we’ve started to draft our policy, however, in order to be the most effective, we want to incorporate input from our community, starting with this survey! What is a safe(r) spaces policy? A safe(r) spaces policy is a set of guidelines for a space that helps reduce harm for i...ndividuals experiencing marginalization in order to create a safer, more inclusive space for all. Click here to take our survey: https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/safe-r-spaces

Ok, ok, we KNOW you have questions about the Food Hub, and we want to hear them! Comment below or DM us your questions, and we'll be answering them on our Instagram Live, tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 1) at 2pm CST. No question is too obvious or too silly: What is a Food Hub? How do we operate? Who do we sell to? How many people can fit inside our pink produce cooler for a micro dance party? ... Answers... coming your way tomorrow at 2pm. Follow us on Instagram @fireweedfoodcoop !

We cannot build an inclusive, just and sustainable food system without recognizing the ways white supremacy and racial capitalism show up in our current food system and within our food justice movements, and then actively work to dismantle them. This panel discussion next Wednesday, June 26 is a good place to start. We hope to see you there!

"By allowing people to control the distribution of their own food, we could provide Torontonians with the resources to meet their own needs. The majority of our food flows into the city from large-scale industrial farms, and the majority of profits flow out. We don’t need to settle for a food system that’s dependent on workers earning poverty wages in exploitative environments."

Thanks to the Sou'wester for sharing the news about our Waste Not Food Box program, a partnership with Serve the People, a group of Mutual Aid Society Winnipeg! *minor correction that not only farmers market vendors are donating, but our food hub suppliers as well! Cash donations to purchase extra food from our suppliers can be made here: www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/waste-not

New blog post up-- read up on nutrition & locally grown foods, written by our summer staff Conor!

Hey friends! We are stoked to announce that we are partnering up with our friends at Serve The People (part of MAS (mutual aid society) Winnipeg, a radical grassroots response to COVID-19) who have provided by estimate nearly 10,000 meals to folks in need since March. We are collaborating with Serve the People as well as our farmer members and vendors to provide a channel for food donations through our Food Hub warehouse and the South Osborne Farmers Market, and to assemble l...ocal food boxes for folks in need on a weekly basis. . Community helping community, and preventing the waste of high quality and nutritious local food... Seems like a win win win! . Learn more about this initiative and how you can support here: https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/waste-not See more

"Hanson likened the increase in gardening to "victory gardens" during the Second World War, when civilians planted large gardens during rationing that provided food security for themselves and their communities. A global pandemic isn't a war, but it has highlighted the fragility of global food supply chains, Hanson said."

"These are community gardens... We want people to have a snack." It's great to see so many great food sovereignty initiatives popping up around the city this year!

This is Indigenous Food Sovereignty in action! Please help support this well-deserving cause if you're able to, or considering sharing this post with your community. Supporting Indigenous sovereignty is ALWAYS important, but we feel it's especially critical around a time where many folks celebrate so-called "Canada Day". Want to think about this a bit more? A local perspective on Canada Day/Canada 150 via CBC Indigenous: https://www.facebook.com/CBC.caIndigenous/videos/1704...036152957137/ A note on the history of canada day via Sovereign Likhts'amisyu: canada day is a day of celebration for some. For those who know the history of so-called canada, it’s obvious this is not a day of celebration. It’s a day that represents an ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples. Further perspectives Via Globe & Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com//canada-d/article35498737/

Do you enjoy fresh veggies each summer through the purchase of a CSA? Do you wish others could have the same opportunity? Now is your chance to help make it happen! Below are TWO great options to help get fresh, local food out to Manitobans in need. Thank you to all our fellow farm and food workers working to make good food accessible. 1) Heart Acres Farm's Solidarity Share Program: Every year, Heart Acres teams up with Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network to provide a nu...mber of farm shares via their Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program at no cost to newcomer families - referred to as a "Solidarity Share". This year, nine newcomer families requested a Solidarity Share. Heart Acres was able to raise enough money for eight - this fundraiser is to cover the cost of the remaining one. DONATE NOW https://fundrazr.com/d1gA76?ref=ab_6tzTseQzv276tzTseQzv27 2) Direct Farm Manitoba's Community Food Currency Program: By supporting the Manitoba Community Food Currency Program you’re supporting members of our community who frequently experience barriers to accessing healthy whole food by providing them with access to community currency, which can be used to purchase food directly from participating farmers’ markets and food hubs across Manitoba. Direct Farm Manitoba appreciates any contribution you are able to make towards promoting food literacy and food security by making local, seasonal food more accessible to our program participants. DONATE NOW https://www.directfarmmanitoba.ca/donations/

via Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative. Content Warning: racism, child labour, exploitation of Indigenous farmers, colonial government policies. "Today, those who spent childhoods on those farms will never forget it and want others to know about it an effort, Rebecca Bone says, to make sure history does not repeat itself." It can be challenging to reflect on the injustice and oppression within an industry that feeds us, literally giving us life. But it is important to know and learn from history, as well as insist on good labour conditions for all farm workers throughout Canada (and beyond). This is an ongoing struggle.

We're looking for two young people who are passionate about local food to join our team this summer as Assistant Farmers' Market Coordinator and Warehouse & Delivery Coordinator. BIPOC, LBGTTQ* and folks with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Read below for full job descriptions and application instructions. Applications close on Monday, June 29th.... https://www.fireweedfoodcoop.ca/post/summer-jobs-at-fireweed

Your grocery and restaurant customers want the freshest, in-season local food. Fireweed Food Hub helps you bring that to them! We are a centralized online storefront where wholesale and retail buyers can purchase from a wide variety of small farms in one place. We process all payments and get your orders to you in one easy weekly delivery! Ordering opens June 25! So get in touch today and find out what's in store for you. Visit our website today and email us: [email protected]

From a series analyzing the perils and possibilities of our collective response to COVID-19: "We must also confront our distrust of the food system that leads to hoarding and food waste by becoming more active and interested in our food systems. From gardening and seed keeping to compost programs and protests to protect our land, the opportunities to thank the land for all it gives abounds. Food represents a give and take relationship. We take, but how do we give?" - Tabitha ...Robin (Martens) via James Wilt

Another market season is about to begin, but this one looks different than years past. With the pandemic still looming, we’ve had to be creative this summer in order to both keep our community safe while also ensuring the availability of local food during these challenging times. Check out our latest blog post to learn more about the changes we've made to the market. But have no fear: we're still the same market you no and love. <3

"No one person or organization can make massive systemic change happen alone, but we can challenge those systems together. And as the state of the world is showing us, that change must be not sooner rather than later, that change must be now." Reminder: Take a stance and demand justice for our Black community on June 5th at the #JusticeforBlacklives rally (see event below). Donations can be made at [email protected]... Or https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/ https://www.facebook.com/events/2522942161368878/