Your co-op community, November 2016

This article was originally published in November 2016

Holiday food drive

Thursday, December 1 through Saturday, December 31

An early reminder to join our PCC food drive in December by donating funds at the register — the colorful display cards let you know how many servings of food your money can purchase. $1 can purchase 21 servings of rolled oats and $5 can purchase 60 servings of brown rice.

Our 2015 holiday food drive gathered more than $37,500 in donations. Every cent of your donation goes directly to purchasing bulk foods at discounted costs, which means your dollar makes a big impact!


MOHAI Edible City: A Delicious Journey

Museum of History and Industry

Grand opening: Saturday, November 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Exhibit runs: November 19 through September 10, 2017

More info: http://ediblecity.mohai.org/

Experience Seattle’s culinary history from raw ingredients to polished plates. Edible City: A Delicious Journey serves up the story of how Seattleites eat and how urban palates have developed over the years. Discover the secret history of Seattle’s favorite foods and devour the stories that helped the city grow into one of America’s best places to eat. Curated by James Beard Award-winner, Rebekah Denn, Edible City will be a main course on the city’s cultural buffet, in six courses.

Raw ingredients

For the first course, take a look at the raw ingredients — what is a “Seattle” food, and why? Visually dine on both imported and native foods that are the building blocks of Seattle’s cuisine.

Processing and prepping

Dive into the industries that shaped a savory Seattle, from canneries to coffee roasters.

To market, to market

Sample the places where Seattleites go to the market for the third course. Learn about the outlets that help define the city, from co-ops to farmers markets to ethnic markets.

Bringing it home

Look at the region’s home cooking through a real, preserved Seattle kitchen. Learn about the history of food justice in the area through P-Patches, community gardens and other efforts to bring homegrown food to diverse communities.

Cooking techniques

See how Seattle high-tech jobs have made its residents look at cooking in a whole new way. Sniff out some of the area’s groundbreaking food-tech endeavors.

Serving it up

For the final course, survey the restaurants that have been around almost as long as there have been city dwellers here to support them. Meet the farm-to-table chefs who have made Seattle a national dining destination, and savor the way they developed a modern Northwest cuisine.

PCC Natural Markets is the supporting sponsor of this exhibit.


2017 Chinook Book sale

November 14 through January 1

Celebrate the holidays with $5 off the retail price of the print book, mobile pack and combo pack, on sale for $17, $10 and $25. Save hundreds of dollars while supporting local, sustainable businesses. Inside, you’ll find three PCC coupons redeemable at our stores. PCC will donate all proceeds to PCC Farmland Trust. See Chinookbook.com for more info.


Food bank packaging parties

Help package bulk foods into family-sized portions at our partnering food banks:

November 2, FamilyWorks Food Bank

November 3, Rainier Valley Food Bank

November 9, North Helpline Food Bank

November 14, Kirkland Hopelink Food Bank

November 21, Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank

November 23, University District Food Bank

November 28, Westgate Chapel Food Bank

Learn more, including times and addresses, at pccmarkets.com/foodbank.


Greenlake Gobble

Sunday, November 20, 8 a.m., Greenlake Park

Join us the Sunday before Thanksgiving for a fun and festive 10K run/walk and a 5K run/walk. Stop by the PCC booth for a pick-me-up and say hello to the staff from Greenlake Aurora. Stick around for a post-race celebration that includes the annual Mashed Potato Munch Off competitive eating contest and a beer garden.

Funds raised will support Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. Canned food donations will be accepted. Sign up for the run at promotionevents.com/tg/home.html.


Edmonds Tree Lighting Ceremony

Saturday, November 26, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
5th Avenue North & Bell Street, Edmonds

• 3:30 p.m. Refreshments at Centennial Plaza

• 4:30 p.m. Program begins with Santa to follow

• 5:30 to 7 p.m. Santa photos

Don’t forget to donate to the Clothes for Kids clothing drive. Bring new children’s socks and underwear with you to the Tree Lighting, or drop off at the Log Cabin Visitors Information Center until the first week of December. Come visit the PCC booth for a tasty treat!


FareStart Guest Chef Night

Thursday, December 1
Seating from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

People helping people make great food and build better lives. What’s not to like? Take part at FareStart’s Guest Chef Night featuring PCC Cooks instructor Darin Gagner, celebrating students graduating from the 16-week culinary training and job-placement program. Enjoy a three-course dinner provided by PCC in support of FareStart. Dinner reservations required. Cost per person is $29.95. For more information and to book a table, visit opentable.com/farestart. Book early to get a spot!


PCC Cooks

‘Tis the season to be feasting! Take a culinary journey to another part of the world this November with PCC Cooks. We’re sure you’ll Fall for Indian Spices when you taste Archana Verma’s versatile autumnal dishes, perfectly suited to a vegetarian Thanksgiving spread. Let Nancy Leson regale you with stories (and maybe even a song or two) as she serves up a beautiful Middle East Feast, featuring a classic Chicken Shawarma. Then join Chef Erin Coopey for a cozy night preparing her grandmother’s Family Recipes from Eastern Europe. Hearty, homey and satisfying, this class also features lessons in braising and stewing, both useful techniques for the cooler months ahead.

Plus, join Rachel Duboff as she shares her pressure cooking knowledge, with a class focused on that indispensable fall comfort food — soup! With The Pressure Cooker Shortcut: Soups and Broths, Rachel will demonstrate just how quick and easy soups can be as she prepares from-scratch Chicken Pho and classic Tuscan Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup. Visit PccCooks.com to view the full November calendar.

Also in this issue

Does the proposed TPP trade agreement threaten our food?

Food, and trade deals involving food, are a topic in the presidential race with some provisions in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) raising concern among good food advocates. Here's why.

Letters to the editor, November 2016

Supporting choice at PCC, The PCC difference, Avoiding carbs?, and more

What should "healthy" mean?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now taking comments on what the definition of "healthy" should be for food labels. Email us your suggestions and we'll include them in our comments.