ReneeSande
writer
Community & Food
For the Love of Goats
Mother/daughter trio take on a "wooly" business
When Red Falcon Ranch eventually landed at 249 Caprine Lane in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, after a long haul from Minnesota four years prior, the Abraham family saw it as a sign.
Their ranch consists primarily of 90+ Angora goats; Caprine means “related to or resembling goats.” Now Caprine is the name under which they sell their cozy mohair socks, throws and rugs.
“It was meant to be,” said Angela Abraham, founder of Caprine and co-owner of Red Falcon Ranch (RFR), with husband Todd. “When we were deciding on a brand name, we just kept coming back to Caprine.”
The couple operate the ranch, along with their two grown daughters, Sarah and Rachel.
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Known as the diamond fiber, mohair is incredibly soft (not itchy) and strong (one strand is stronger than a similarly sized strand of steel), which means it’s very durable, but also moisture wicking, fire resistant, hypoallergenic, and temperature regulating. It also tends not to attract or hold dirt and doesn’t pill like shorter fibers.
"It’s such a cool fiber, you can literally do everything with it. James Bond suits are even made out of it,” says Rachel, ranch manager and social media persona, among many other titles.
“The only thing mohair lacks is memory, so all Caprine socks and throws are a mohair-wool blend; the wool provides the bounce-back.”
One of the largest Angora goat farms in the Pacific Northwest, RFR operates on 100 percent love and respect for their animals and surroundings, which means giving more than they take from their land and looking to scientific data and their own research to ensure their goats are as healthy as possible, so that they produce the finest mohair possible.
It also means naming all 90+ goats (and their 50 other animals, as well).
“Everyone has a name here. It’s really easy,” says Rachel. “I wish we could swap eyes or minds for a second, because everybody looks completely different to me.”
This probably wouldn’t be the case if the Abraham family raised their goats for meat, but they didn’t want to eat - or let anyone else eat - the animals they raise; they wanted to add to their family. So they chose Angora goats which are raised strictly for their mohair, and which are also one of the friendliest, most docile breed of goats.
“With their long hair and super chill nature, I like to call them the “stoners of the goat world,” laughs Rachel.
There’s Odin, Lazarus, Gwynnie and her mama, Jo, Lagertha, Anika and her mama, Spring Sun, Godiva, Ken and his sister Barbie, just to name a few; and then there’s Derek - 5 month-old miracle-kid-goat-turned-Instagram-star, whose story of being still born then brought back to life, to not being able to walk, to now living a completely normal kid goat life, has received an amazing 1.3 million views, over 1800 comments and 24.2 thousand shares in the four months since posting his story.
With compelling stories like Derek’s and Rachel’s social media savvy, as well as Sarah’s photography and marketing and the farm tours that focus on providing a peaceful space for visitors, the Abrahams are slowly educating (and entertaining) viewers about their very humane, loving approach to raising Angora goats - a market that can unfortunately be very inhumane, like other animal markets.
They even do the twice-a-year shearing right on the ranch - head shearer being one of Rachel’s other titles - in the goat’s own environment, to make the experience as stress-free as possible.
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It’s this kind of everyday mindfulness the Abrahams foster on RFR that not only lends to building a great company but that creates a family legacy, as well - one that gives back, in sometimes unexpected ways.
When Angela heard in 2021 that she was receiving the grant to fund their sock and throw-making venture, it was just days after she’d learned she had breast cancer. Taking care of the goats every day, working on building the business for their socks and throws to be manufactured (in the USA) and weaving her 100 percent mohair rugs gave her the drive to survive. Today she is completely cancer-free.
“Everyday, no matter how sick I was, I got up, took care of my goats, and built Caprine. Giving in and giving up wasn’t an option. I dug in deep into a strength I didn’t know I had and trusted God to lead the way.”
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Caprine socks come in light (cable knit), medium and heavyweight (Cabin sock) in ankle, crew, and knee-high length (available lengths vary depending on knit weight). The throws come in three natural colorways and all rugs are 100% mohair.
https://www.redfalconranch.com/
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Published in Sandpoint Magazine, Fall 2024
Ice Cream Shops & How We Love Them
Bougie, Nostalgic and a Bit In-between
“It’s a lifestyle.” - says one of the stickers Jennifer Davis sells at her ice cream shop, The Scoop. It sure is. And what a lovely one at that.
It’s the leisurely after-dinner-walk to get the ice cream, the meeting up of friends to celebrate a birthday or the picking up a pint when it’s been a long day all week. It’s the first date, the stop after a long day on the lake, it’s the excitement of choosing a new flavor and the race to lick the drips and beat the melt. Yes, ice cream’s ability to help us create memories, induce joy and be that cathartic companion is a lifestyle that’s fun and fulfilling and momentous and purgative in an absolutely wonderful, whimsical way. So let’s meet some of the local magical rockstar purveyors of this lifestyle. Sure sounds like the dream job to me.
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High Voltage Ice Creamery
If the name doesn’t cue you to the vibe this ice creamery screams, maybe the logo of a skeleton head with a cone on his noggin will. Owner, Gage Lang’s self-described “punk rock tattoo parlor vibe,” definitely sets his ice creameries apart from the rest. With 16 small-batch flavors on hand and rotating weekly specials, pop culture takes center stage with themes like cold cereal favorites (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and Girl Scout Cookies (Samoa and Do-Si-Do) but long-standing crowd-pleasers Banana Wafer - a marshmallow, banana-based ice cream with vanilla wafers, and Hollywood Diet, featuring Lang’s cookie of the same name (from his other business - Breauxdoo Bakery) amidst peanut butter ice cream, chocolate ganache and Butterfinger candy bar - are the stars. So live the rockstar lifestyle - ice-cream lovin’ fans - and indulge like you mean it.
11420 E Sprague Ave (inside Market Street Pizza), Spokane Valley, 1p-10p, everyday!
9021 North Indian Trail Road, North Spokane, Hours TBD
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Doyle’s Ice Cream Parlor
For a pure fun and steeped-in-nostalgia experience, stop by this legend of an ice cream parlor, that’s held up the corner of Boone Avenue and Nettleton Street just 15 years short of a century. Operated by a kid from the neighborhood, who grew up in the shop, Chris Dalke took over in 2018 for his uncle, Jerry Gill, who purchased it from original owner, Arthur Doyle, in 1990. However, that’s about the only thing that’s changed and that’s why people love it. Take a step back in time with their Awful-Awful - a vertical banana split, or a Black and White - vanilla ice-cream, chocolate syrup, club soda, whipped cream and a cherry, or sip on a scratch-made Phosphate from Spokane’s last vintage soda fountain. Did I mention the eye-candy of vintage toys that line the walls? If you’re looking for a cold treat, with a side of heart-warming community nostalgia, it doesn’t get any better.
Doyle’s, 2229 West Boone, West Central Neighborhood, Wednesday - Friday, 3-8p, Saturday & Sunday, 1-8p
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Sweet Annie’s
“I get a lot of inspiration from cocktails, the interesting flavor combinations” says owner, Annie Davis. “Or seeing what’s cool and fresh at the farmers markets.” Coming from working as a graphic designer in New York for 10 years, the brave entrepreneur felt the PNW calling her home again and with the dream of creating memories and bringing joy to people. Well, this over-achiever has done just that with her - hands-down fan favorite - Bee’s Knees ice cream, alone! The butter-flavored ice cream with swirls of local honey and homemade honeycomb candy, could possibly carry the store on its own, but along for the ride are other amazing flavors such as Bourbon Bananas Foster and kid-favorite, Strawberry Bubble Gum. Can’t decide? Order a “Flavor Flight.” Throwing a party? Invite her and her cart to your shindig or book the shop and churn your own ice cream on the whimsical churning bike. Need your monthly fix? join the Glee Club for two pints and two single scoop vouchers each month. Happiness guaranteed.
Annie’s Ice Cream - 1948 North Harvest Parkway, Liberty Lake, Thursday-Sunday, 1-8p
The Scoop
“When you’re happy, when you’re sad or mad - ice cream works for everything.” After buying the South Hill neighborhood shop in 2011, even though Jennifer Davis “wasn’t an ice-cream person,” the self-confessed foodie found she was really good at creating award-winning flavors - like the famed Banoffee Pie (“Soooo delicious!”) - with banana, coffee bits and cookie butter and Cheese Plate (“Like girl’s dinner.”) - apricot ice cream with goat cheese, dried apricots, apricot jam and salty cashews. “You know, it’s just whatever looks really good.” Don’t miss her in Kendall Yards, as well, and about town in her “sweet, metro, Maisy Ice cream truck” at the many local events she supports, including the Wishing Star Foundation and Pride Month.
South Hill, 1001 W 25th Ave, Sunday, 12-8p; Monday, closed; Tuesday-Thursday, 12-8p; Friday-Saturday,12-9p
Kendall Yards, 1238 W Summit Pkwy, Sunday, 2-8p; Monday, closed; Tuesday-Thursday, 2-8p; Friday-Saturday,2-9p
Pete and Belle’s Ice Cream Shop
“Want nutrition? Eat carrots,” says local owners, Aaron and Rachelle Blackmer (with a wink) when asked their ice cream’s nutritional content. However, they will tell you that it’s made from “gobs of rich Wisconsin cream and tons of real ingredients!” Since 2013, this sweet shop has proudly served 48 flavors daily (rotated in from 130); if need be, you just possibly could sample every one of them (but don’t) as their ice cream scoopers are that friendly! There’s the kid-favorite, Superman - a legendary mix of their Cherry, Blue Moon and Vanilla ice creams, parent-favorite, Exhausted Parent - a bourbon-spiked espresso ice cream with chocolate chunks, and favorite-of-many, This $&@! Just Got Serious - an award-winning, salted caramel ice cream featuring sea salt fudge and cashews. With two valley locations, whether morning or late night, it’s the perfect stop if you’re jonesin’ for a frozen treat!
1330 N Argonne Suite C, 10a-10p everyday!
Spokane Valley Mall, 14700 E Indiana Avenue, Sunday 11a-6p; Monday-Thursday, 11a-7p; Friday & Saturday, 11a-8p
Panhandle Cone and Coffee
“The fun thing is when we find something local, to try to figure out how to use it,” says co-owner Jason Dillon, about how he and wife, Stephanie, love to use ingredients from farmers and other small business owners in the communities in which they’ve nestled their shops. In 2015, the couple decided to pivot from ministry in Oregon to peddling perfectly divine ice cream and espresso in Sandpoint, Idaho, before opening shops in Coeur d’Alene and Moscow, as well. While six new flavors make their debut four times each year, there are, of course, the long-standing favorites, such as Salted Caramel and Brown Butter Cookie, as well as Bourbon and Honeycomb, Buttermilk Huckleberry, and Peach Mango Habanero. But there’s also the chance to bring back past favorites during their “Back from the Vault” series! Follow on Instagram and Facebook to keep in the know.
216 N First Ave, Sandpoint, Sunday-Thursday, 12-8p; Friday-Saturday, 12-9p
849 North Fourth Street, Coeur d’Alene, 12-p everyday
511 S Main Street, Moscow, Sunday-Friday, 10a-9p; Saturday, 9a-9p
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Published in Edible Inland Northwest, Summer 2024
T-Blue Boutique
North Idaho's "Best Of" Women's Boutique
Kareen Link use to dream of running her own business, making meaningful connections with women while playing dress-up. And now she’s done it - times three.
In 1994, while visiting family in Coeur d’Alene, she fell in love with the town and everything it stood for.
“I was like ‘What the downtown summer voodoo is this? I’m moving here!’”
While Link initially landed in real estate, after 12 years, she decided she wanted a change.
So in 2009, with zero retail experience, she and a former partner bought what use to be, Tiffany-Blue Boutique in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Shortly thereafter, they changed the name to T-Blue Boutique and opened two new stores - one in Riverstone, then shortly thereafter, one in Hayden.
“I wanted to be involved in women’s lives in the community in something I loved to do passionately and really speak life and beauty into them and maybe change the way they see themselves in the mirror, help them to see their worth and identity, which you really can do in a cute pair of jeans,” says Link, with a girlish laugh.
While all three stores definitely have the T-Blue stamp of style, they also have their own distinctive vibe.
“Because the locations are in a smaller community and relatively close to each other, we wanted to give our customers three different shopping experiences,” said Link. “So we decided to style each store with its own flair, so we could play dress-up with everybody.”
The downtown store, on Sherman Avenue, is all about “the different flavors of downtown Coeur d’Alene.” While showcasing unique style and those one-of-a-kind showstoppers, the store also features classic and timeless, fun and funky and even has a touch of boho weaved throughout.
“Then we realized, ‘Let’s make something more similar with the same style, flavor and idea, but more price conscious,” says Link. “So we opened the Riverstone store in 2012.”
“Four years later, we needed that store where you know you’re always going to find that classic piece you can put in your closet and wear all the time. So we opened in Hayden.”
The Hayden location has men’s wear as well, with a smattering offered at the downtown store. Eventually, Link would like to expand the men’s wear selection in all three locations.
Reflecting on the 15 years she’s been living her dream, Link says the relationships she’s built with the retail community, community at large, and more specifically her crew of women who work for her and the women who walk in her doors, has been the absolute frosting on the cake.
“From breast cancer survivors to divorce to first dates, you hear and see everything in the dressing room,” says Link. “It almost makes me emotional because women have let me - and the girls who work for me - into their lives and most secret places because there’s that trust.”
"I love doing this and I’ll do it for as long as I can.”
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Published in the Inlander Best of 2024
Be a Gifted Giver
With the help of these super-cool local shops,
you’ll look like a natural choosing that perfect gift
I love gift-giving. I love picking something out that I know a certain someone will love and then surprising them with it and making them feel all special. But sometimes, I find this really cool or funny thing staring back at me from the shelf of one of my many favorite local gift shops/boutiques and I have to rack my brain for who I could buy it for. Let’s just say random colleagues and my mailman have made out pretty well. Kidding aside, we’ve got you covered for the perfect gifts you didn’t even know to look for (hint: some of these could easily be a one-stop shop for your entire Xmas list).
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FROM HERE
Another brilliant step by the groundbreaking non-profit, Terrain, From Here is a downtown Spokane storefront that further catalyzes their mission to build community and economic opportunity for local artists, makers and culture creators. A vibrant visual of our region’s impressive array of talent, From Here is truly a sensual experience where you can almost hear the artists’ at work - a sort of industrial white noise, layered with the store’s fresh indie playlist. From deliciously kitschy pottery to cutting-edge jewelry, color-poppin’ local nostalgic pics to exquisite leather bracelets and handbags, heavenly home and personal scents to locally-authored books with titles like Freaks of a Feather and Pie & Whiskey, you’ll have a hard-time leaving empty-handed, and well, just leaving. River Park Square, 808 W Main Ave #251, Spokane, https://www.fromherespokane.com/, (509) 808-2943
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VINTAGE PRINT + NEON
You could say it was pure kismet when artist, Chris Bovey, recently found a home for his more-than-a-silk-screen-printing business of local landmarks, smack-dab between The Garland Theatre and The Milk Bottle. Over the past decade, Bovey has made a name for himself with his fun color-saturated prints of which any local - or area newbie, for that matter - can relate to with an “Oh yeah!” moment. You name it, you can find it in Bovey’s 500+ design collection - Dick’s Hamburgers, Expo ’74, Priest Lake, Auto Vue Drive-in, to name a few. Bovey also hosts fun Print ’n’ Pint Nights and family art events. 914 W Garland Ave, Spokane https://www.etsy.com/shop/vintageprintnw, (509) 443-5275
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Atticus Coffee & Gifts
Walk into Atticus Coffee & Gifts, and it feels like you’ve walked into a big hug; the cozy, cool vibe instantly slows your heart rate and fills all the senses, making you want to set aside a good half- to four-hour chunk of your well-deserved time here to see, touch, smell, taste and absorb. Get lost in a beautiful, old book, find a new journal, snatch up your new favorite candle scent, be entertained by inappropriately hilarious gift items, and discover the hand-made mug you can’t do without. And of course, you’re not getting out of here without grabbing a cup of their raved-about drip or espresso or tea, perhaps a cookie or pastry from local bakeries, or maybe one of their house-made Parisian-style baguette sandwiches. You get it; this store is not to be missed. 222 N Howard St, Spokane https://www.facebook.com/AtticusCoffee/, (509) 747-0336
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Mix It Up Home & Gift
Voted Best Of in North Idaho for 14 years running, Mix It Up Home and Mix It Up Gift - both in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene - make you feel like you’re home when you walk in, from the love they lavish on their customers to the ultra comfy atmosphere. With a beautiful, fun and funky selection of unique gift items, art, home decor, and furniture, it’s a store at which you’ll be making regular appearances. There are the smells from Mixture, which are out of this world, Michelle Allen’s quirky designs, including a clock that looks like a sewing machine and mermaid planter that makes you instantly happy, then there’s artist Houston Llew’s “SPIRITILES” - exquisite art pieces of glass fired to copper, wrapped in thoughtful quotes, and so.much.more. 513 Sherman Ave, Coeur d'Alene https://mixituphomeandgift.com/, (208) 930-0001
Small Biz Shoppe
With so much friggin’ impressive talent in our neck of the woods, thank goodness for stores like Small Biz Shoppe that gets these goods out front and center! Jam-packed with a fantastic inventory from artists like Renken Creations who make custom water bottles, including ones that look like your favorite little athlete’s uniform, complete with shoelaces and jersey number, super cool baseball hats by Zehr Designs, featuring fun, cool engraved-leather renditions of Spokane icons, and Kinder Kandles, whose “Ma, Mama, Mom, Bruh” candle feels like it was personally designed by your son, but who also creates all sorts of yummy-scented items, including man scents with names like Whiskey Neat and River, you won’t leave with empty-hands or heart. River Park Square, 808 W Main Ave, Spokane https://www.facebook.com/Thesmallbizshoppe/, (509) 570-4614
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Published in the Inlander Annual Manual, 2023-24: https://issuu.com/greaterspokaneinc/docs/annualmanual_gsi_edition_09-05-2023
A Wild Passion
Tiny, purple, and an irresistible lure,
huckleberries are Idaho's truest gem
By all definitions, it’s the royal wild child of the plant kingdom—a free spirit, refusing to be tamed—and it has us all under its spell.
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Even its nickname of “Purple Gold,” speaks to our infatuation with the small, sweet-tart, sometimes-elusive, coveted beauty called the huckleberry.
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“People love their huckleberries,” said Patrick Lair, public affairs officer for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest Service. “Our phones get busier in mid to later summer, for sure. People want to know what to look for, where to pick them.”
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But if you’re looking for hints from other “huckleberry hounds” as to where to find them, expect to get a lot of very general direction, as in “the hillsides of North Idaho” or that which doesn’t necessarily ring true, as in “Texas.”
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“Pickers are typically very proprietary of where they pick,” said Lair, with a laugh. “Some places are definitely more plentiful than others; you just have to go up high enough and know what you’re looking for.”
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While it’s estimated there are about 20 different species of huckleberries in the Pacific Northwest, two stand-out varieties are popular throughout the mountains of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
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The Mountain Blue Huckleberry—the most prevalent in North Idaho—can be found at elevations typically between 4,000 to 8,000 feet, while the Red Huckleberry, which grows in the Cascade range and westward (i.e., not here), is found between the elevations of sea level and 3,300 feet.
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Huckleberry bushes prefer part shade with dappled light but adapt to anything from full sun to complete shade. Flowering from late spring to June, the huckleberry plant has creamy-pink blossoms that are urn-shaped and thin, oval leaves, with a pointy tip. The leaves turn a brilliant red in fall.
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Although, purple is the huckleberry’s most noted hue, it actually ranges in color from orangey-red to purple to deep blue-black—depending on the type of huckleberry. The berries like acidic soil and thrive where fires have thinned overgrowth and opened the forest canopy. (Pro tip: morel mushrooms like fire-burned areas as well.)
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If it's a particularly wet spring, comfort yourself with the knowledge that all that water makes for an excellent berry crop. While the berries are ripe for picking from mid-summer to fall, when that picking window opens is largely dependent on how warm a summer we’ve had. However, start looking at lower elevations around the middle-to-end of July, and you just might spend your day picking; the higher the elevation, the later it will be before the berries are ready.
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And if you don’t get out in the woods frequently, check local Facebook pages; you’ll find many people giving updates on if the berries are ripe yet.
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For many, picking huckleberries is a peaceful pastime, soaking in the quiet of the Pacific Northwest forests, eating as you pick, consuming more than you take home, but hopefully ending up with at least a quart or so to make delicious huckleberry shakes or perhaps even a pie.
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You can also easily substitute for blueberries in any recipe you like but remember—huckleberries are the sweeter treat, so use a little less sugar than the recipe calls for.
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There are also those who would love to partake more in this nature’s delicacy without the laborious efforts of hiking and picking. After all, the reward for picking is very well-earned.
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Not only are the berries hidden underneath leaf cover, they are small, making picking a slow process. As well, there is the competition with wildlife—especially bears—who depend on them for the fatty nutrients and carbohydrates that are crucial for energy and who may have gotten to them first.
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That's why there's a high price tag, when buying from commercial pickers, who can ask $20-$50 per pound, depending on the season. And while many do buy from these pickers, be aware that commercial picking is illegal on Idaho's public forest land.
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Hence, there's been a push for decades for horticulturists and botanists to try to cultivate the plant for the common backyard. However, despite their determined efforts, the huckleberry—like the natural-born rebel it is—has seemed to foil them, time and again.
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One of the brave souls who embarked on this journey in 1987, is Dr. Dan Barney: affectionately known as Dr. Huckleberry, Barney still holds the title as the nation’s leading huckleberry expert.
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Barney spent 22 years trying to cultivate the huckleberry while a professor of horticulture at the University of Idaho and superintendent of the Sandpoint Research and Extension Center.
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“We’re working with a problem child,” said Barney in a Spokesman Review article in 1997.
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“Here’s a plant that grows where the temperature reaches 50 below, but it freezes at lower elevations without snow cover.”
Barney valiantly aimed to produce huckleberry/blueberry hybrids that tasted like huckleberries, but thrived under cultivation like blueberries. Unfortunately, this lofty goal never came to (ahem) fruition.
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Starting at the UI about the same time as Dr. Barney left to continue his work in Alaska, Stephen Cook, department head and professor of College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, started a couple of projects involving the huckleberry.
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“The Huckleberry is one of their big money-makers. Being able to possibly cultivate and then sell them is a big deal,” said Cook.
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One of these projects involves monitoring the plant’s pollinators to see if the soil amendments they’re using impact the survival of the plant and change what pollinators visit them and how frequently.
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The other project is looking at greenhouse starts to see if they could improve the plant’s survival —specifically by what is going on below ground—after being transplanted.
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“They didn’t do real well; it’s hard to get the huckleberry to do well outside the forest. I think there’s a microbial component we’re missing—that it’s not just acidic soil but that there’s a connection with the trees—that there’s something actually in the soil in these conifer forests that benefit the huckleberry.”
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However, despite the proven difficulties of growing huckleberries outside their natural habitat, there are always those who want to shake the dice and give it a try.
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Kathy Hutton, nursery manager at Plants of the Wild in Tekoa, Washington, says they’ve been selling out of their 1,500–3,000 wild Mountain Huckleberry seedlings every year for 35 years now.
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“There've been a lot of people who have succeeded in getting their plants to grow and maybe a little berry production but not a whole lot. However, everyone wants to give it a go.”
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Currently, they’re sold out of the seedlings until Spring, 2024.
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“We never have a problem selling out. They’re fun, I wish we could figure it out. But also some things are meant to be wild. That’s what makes them special,” said Hutton.
“I always say whoever figures it out is going to be rich.”
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Be Bear Aware
Huckleberries are also bear habitat and in the Panhandle, there are both black and grizzly bears who depend on the berries for their fatty nutrients and carbohydrates that are crucial for their energy.
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“Take your bear spray, make lots of noise and stay aware of your surroundings. Look up and around every 10 minutes or so, and if you have a dog, don’t let them run off leash,” said Patrick Lair, Public Affairs Office for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest Service. “We don’t aim to scare, just remind you to be aware."
Map Your Route
A lot of forests don’t have cell service. Know where you are and where you’re going, even when you’re offline by downloading a Motor Vehicle Use map from Avenza Maps. These are maps of the entire road system, marking your location with a red dot and putting navigation ease at your fingertips.
Be Kind to Our Huckleberries!
The Idaho Panhandle National Forest is reminding huckleberry pickers that commercial picking of huckleberries is not permitted. Additionally, huckleberry pickers are encouraged to pick only what they can consume so that others may enjoy the fun of picking and the delicious taste of our state fruit.
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Minimum fines for commercial picking start at $250, and can increase based on the severity of the offense. For recreational huckleberry gathering there are no permits required, nor are there volume or weight limits.
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Pickers are strongly encouraged to hand pick their berries. This ensures that only ripe berries are harvested and the bushes will remain healthy and productive for many years to come. Any methods that damage or destroy the bushes are illegal and may result in a fine for damaging natural resources.
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Published in Sandpoint Magazine, Summer 2023: https://issuu.com/keokee/docs/_sms23_final_opt/86
Cravens Coffee Co. celebrates 30 years in Spokane as co-founder Simon Thompson reflects on the roastery's journey
You could say the early 1990s were serendipitous for Simon Thompson. Not only did he find the love of his life, he found his life's calling, too.
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This year, Thompson is celebrating the 30th anniversary — on April 1 (no joke!) — of his Spokane-based company Cravens Coffee, which helped push the Inland Northwest toward what's now a nearly universal focus on high-quality, sustainably sourced coffee.
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A decade before Cravens Coffee was founded, Thompson arrived in the U.S. from Norwich, England, with a hotel and restaurant management degree in hand. He eventually made his way to Seattle, Starbucks' birthplace, where the coffee industry was just starting to percolate its third wave, marking a shift in how coffee is viewed, as an artisanal ingredient more like wine and chocolate.
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It was 1991, and a former colleague had offered Thompson a management position at Seattle's Best Coffee's roasting facility.
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"I told him, 'I don't know anything about coffee,'" Thompson recalls. "And he said, 'We don't have coffee problems, we have management problems.'"
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Thompson quickly realized how much he really did want to know about coffee. And not just because he was being paid to do it.
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"When I stumbled into the coffee business, it was almost instantaneous," he says. "I loved the sensory part of it and got passionate about it in a hurry."
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A year later, Seattle's Best was preparing to be bought out. Not interested in working for a large corporation, Thompson and his future-wife and then-girlfriend, Becky, decided they wanted to strike out on their own. Though they met while both were working in the restaurant industry, Becky had experience working as a marketing consultant for Seattle's Best.
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"Here we were, talking about starting a business, and we weren't even married," Thompson says, laughing. "We thought, 'This had better work.'"
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As the U.S. coffee industry was ramping up, the pair started looking at cities where they could really gain traction. Atlanta and Minneapolis were initially at the top of the list, but starting a business in those cities would have cost more than they could afford. So they narrowed down their list to Portland, Boise and Spokane. At the time, Portland already had 17 roasters, so it was out. Boise was too small, but Spokane intrigued them.
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While more than a dozen locally owned coffee roasters now call the Inland Northwest home, in the early '90s there were only two others: 4 Seasons Coffee Roasters, founded in 1976 and the oldest continually operating, and Uccello, which is now closed. Among many other attractive traits, Spokane seemed to have all the right ingredients for success.
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"It just made sense. Spokane spoke to us. And it was the best decision we could've possibly made," Thompson says.
It also somehow made sense to open their new business on April Fool's Day, 1993.
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"We knew the failure rate for opening a new business, then we decided to test fate by opening it on April Fool's Day," Thompson says with a laugh.
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Even though the Thompsons never saw themselves as a direct-to-consumer retailer with their own cafes like other roasters, the couple thought it was the best way to introduce themselves to the Spokane community. They opened Cravens Coffee as an 800-square-foot cafe and roasting facility downtown at the corner of First Avenue and Cedar Street.
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Craven is Thompson's middle name, passed down in his family.
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"We sent it out for a vote, and while nobody knew the connection, they liked the cadence of it," he recalls.
Being only the third roaster in the greater Spokane area, Cravens quickly made itself known.
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"If you weren't serving 4 Seasons, you were buying coffee from Seattle, so we were able to convert those people over quite quickly," Thompson says.
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Three years later, the couple decided to close the cafe and roast full time, shifting the company's focus to wholesale. For consumers, Cravens Coffee is available online, at cravenscoffee.com, and in many grocery stores around the region like Rosauers, where its custom-built fixtures showcase pre-bagged coffee, whole bean bulk bins and even a grinding station to ensure freshness. The roaster's hub remains in Spokane, though over the years it's added offices in Montana and Colorado.
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As the Thompsons look back on the past three decades of doing what they love, they credit Cravens Coffee's success to much more than hard work. They also place product excellence, meaningful relationships and paying it forward at the heart of what they do.
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"When we started, there were tiers in coffee quality," Thompson says. "But we thought, our very best coffee is excellent — why would we sell anything else? We've been blending these fantastic single-origin coffees for 30 years and working with our same green coffee importer this whole time."
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Cravens sources its coffee beans from farmers across Central and South America, Africa, and Indonesia. On annual trips, Thompson nurtures the company's relationships with those farmers and coffee-growing cooperatives, allowing him to secure the very best beans possible at the point of origin.
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When it comes to roasting that coffee, Craven's uses tried-and-true roasting equipment from the 1940s and 1960s, not relying on technology to do the work.
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"Roasting is stewardship, it's not magic," Thompson says. "The magic happens on the coffee farms and in the mills where the coffee is processed. This roasting equipment relies on the art, craft, and senses of the person roasting to steer the coffee through the process."
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The Thompsons also decided from the beginning that they wanted to support and be involved with their community on every level.
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"Something I've enjoyed more than anything over the years is helping others fulfill a dream of starting their own business," Thompson says. "When the whole cafe, drive-through thing took off, a lot of people came to us and said, 'I want to open a cafe, I want to open a drive-through...' They were so passionate, we would say, "Of course, we'll help you every step of the way.'"
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Cravens also continues its longstanding "The Coffee's on Us" campaign in partnership with KHQ-TV, which lets community members nominate local nonprofits to be surprised by the Cravens' team with free coffee delivery.
And Thompson's passion for what he does — roasting great-tasting coffee — is still as front and center as day one.
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"I'll walk down the grocery aisle and if someone is at one of our [coffee displays], I can't wait to thank them for buying our coffee. I am always truly flattered," he says. "I still love coffee and being at the cupping table. To the roasters that are tasting with me, I'll say, 'Doesn't this remind you of why we do this?' And they say, 'Yeah, you say that every time.'"
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Published in The Inlander, Mar 30, 2023 issue.
Moscow Food Co-op enters its 50th year as its members, past
and present, reflect on the journey to get here
It all started with four friends in a living room and a big idea.
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It was 1973 and the cultural shake-up of the 1960s had effected widespread change across the nation, bringing with it the demand for healthier, natural foods without the high price tag and that supported the local economy.
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Rod Davis, Jim Eagan, and Dave and Katie Mosel wanted to be a part of this food revolution by opening a food co-op. Moscow, Idaho, was the perfect place to see this big idea — a grocery store owned and governed by its members — to fruition.
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Set in the sprawling hills of the Palouse and home to the University of Idaho, and being adjacent to Pullman and Washington State University, Moscow at the time was ripe with young, idealistic minds who wanted to retake consumer control and support their community rather than the bottom line of big chain supermarkets.
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And so Moscow Food Co-op was born, opening its doors that year (its first name was The Good Food Store) to eagerly waiting residents.
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To have access to fresh, local food and other products for a fair price, and to have a voice in the process
​
of operating the co-op — which also benefits regional farmers and artisans — was like finding a missing puzzle piece of life in this small town.
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"We were drawn to Moscow in 1980 because there was so much going on then surrounding natural food," recalls Kenna Eaton, who was general manager of the co-op from 1991 to 2011. She's now general manager of The Food Co-op in Port Townsend, Washington.
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"The information coming from the area on how to live sustainably really drew us to this very dynamic, vibrant and cutting-edge town, and yet it was all the way out in the middle of the country. The co-op fit perfectly... It's no surprise they're celebrating their 50th," Eaton says.
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In addition to giving rise to the organic, fair-trade and local food movements, this new wave of community-owned grocery stores was also about providing a "third place" for people to gather. Member ownership, called an equity share, in the Moscow Food Co-op is $10 a year (or $150 for lifetime membership) and comes with myriad benefits like discounts, but anyone can shop there.
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Moscow Food Co-op has served its "third place" role well with its colorful, welcoming vibe and its community calendar full of food education classes, gatherings and celebrations. Throughout 2023, many of these events celebrate its 50 years in business.
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"We joke about it often; our co-op is a community center that happens to sell groceries and produce," says Melinda Schab, who's been general manager since 2012.
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Not only does the co-op foster community at its store, it seeks to create it outside those walls as well through many events.
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For instance, the co-op had a hand in starting the
award-winning Moscow Farmers Market in 1976. It also
founded the Tuesday's Growers' Market in the co-op
parking lot. When that market quickly outgrew the
location on Fifth Street, it moved to the Latah County
Fairgrounds as the Tuesday Community Market. And in
2018, it opened a satellite location at the University of
Idaho, fittingly called The Co-op on Campus.
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"I love being on campus," says Schab. "With record
university enrollment last year, sales have been really
good. I think we're reaching a lot of students, introducing
them to the cooperative business model and how rad it
is and all the good things co-ops do for the communities
they serve, around the world."
​
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Surprisingly, today the Moscow Food Co-op is one of
just 325 food co-ops across the country.
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When its founding members were looking for a
cooperative business model to follow, close to 10,000
such ventures had sprouted up between 1969 and 1979.
However, most didn't survive.
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During that period in the Pacific Northwest, there were also plans brewing for The Food Co-op in Port Townsend and Boise's Co-op Market, which opened in 1972 and 1973, respectively, and which are both still going strong. But the blueprint of how to establish longevity — even though co-ops date back to the late 1800s — wasn't easy to come by, with grocery giants making it tough for smaller operations to gain traction.
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One, however, stood out: the Puget Consumers Co-op (PCC), Washington's longest running food co-op. In operation since 1953, it presented an opportunity for the four friends from Moscow to glean from an established model.
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PCC leaders realized early on that if they wanted to attract and retain more members, they needed to establish themselves as an "in-between store" where people who'd always gone to supermarkets felt comfortable by seeing similar items in addition to organic and natural foods. As well, PCC's evolving model included departing from strict democracy in 1980 toward a system of strong, centralized management, while still keeping in harmony with member ownership.
When the Moscow Food Co-op achieved success with these same practices, it positioned itself as a regional and even national leader in how to grow and sustain a thriving business.
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"Today's shopper is more diverse," says Schab. "Not everyone wants natural and organic, but everyone wants to be seen and treated well and recognized for the value they bring to a community. We aren't just selling groceries; we're building relationships, and we're building community. It's just part of the cooperative principles and values."
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Among the seven core principles of a cooperative, a set of values that's been followed by such organizations around the world since 1995, are voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, education, training and information, and concern for community.
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Now 7,800 owner-members strong and bringing in $11 million in sales annually, the Moscow Food Co-op has acted as a consultant to others, including Main Market Co-op, which opened in 2010 in Spokane, and the Pullman Good Food Co-op, set to open in mid-2024.
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Others are looking to Moscow for guidance as well.
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"Lewiston [Idaho] asked if they could be next," says Schab.
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So what do the next five, 10, 50 years hold for the Moscow Food Co-op?
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"There's always the question of 'What do we value, and how can we support that?' That's what's kept this organization going," says board Chair Mark Thorne.
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"Not knowing what the economy is going to look like, we want to be strategic in what we do," he continues. "What we're going to do is make responsible decisions going forward to preserve and promote what the co-op stands for. When you walk in the store you feel like you're part of something, there's a feel that's different, and that's really something worth preserving."
​
THE MOSCOW FOOD CO-OP
121 E. Fifth St.
Open daily from 7 am-8 pm
moscowfood.coop, 208-882-8537
​
Published in The Inlander, Feb 23, 2023 issue.
Locally-Harvested Food Dropped to Your Doorstep
Even if you don’t like playing in the dirt, plenty of your neighbors get their kicks from growing healthy goodness and they’re making it easier than ever for you to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
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“It’s easy for your meal to feel special when you know the ingredients were planted, nurtured, and harvested in your community,” said Michelle Youngblom, crop promotions director at LINC Foods.
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LINC stands for Local Inland Northwest Co-op, and is a worker- and farmer-owned food hub in Spokane, delivering beautiful produce, dairy, grains and proteins from 50+ environmentally-sustainable and socially-just member farms, all located within 250 miles of our city. And they deliver to your doorstep or a designated drop-site.
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“It’s being able to say, here’s your box of products, and I can tell you a funny story about each one of the farmers, and I can tell you just how far down the road they are,” said Brian Estes, LINC’s Partnerships Director.
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Hugely prevalent in the Pacific Northwest, a new generation of small crop farmers have propelled our region into a homegrown hive of beautiful produce and grains and mindfully-raised dairy and meats.
Literally a 10- to 30-minute car or bike trip away will get you the goods. But wheels aren’t your only option; over the past decade, farmers have kicked their cool gauge up a notch and will deliver their fresh goodness - with love - to your front door.
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Called Community Supported Agriculture or CSA, individual farms in the area started delivering boxed harvest via subscription to front doors more than a decade ago.
However, it didn’t really take off until the COVID crisis hit, sending people into a panic as to where they could source healthy food, with the lowest chance of contamination. CSAs offer a supply chain that is as short as it gets.
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Particularly prevalent here in the Northwest, individual farms may either charge an annual or weekly fee for the convenience of receiving their produce, meat, dairy and more right to your front step. Your membership helps the farmers pay for seeds, water, equipment and labor throughout the season, when expenses are high and income is low.
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LINC boxes range from $20-$30 to start, then gives you options for add-ons, such as grass-fed butter, fresh herbs, even PNW brews.
By patronizing your local farmers, you’re supporting a healthy economy and community by putting money in your neighbor’s pockets, rather than being just another drop in the bucket for a big corporation thousands of miles away.
As well, eating local supports sustainability as the food you receive is mindfully grown, without pesticides, and hasn’t been shipped from overseas or across the states; it’s simply been harvested, washed and sent to your door, with love.
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Estes, a former small farm owner himself, knows the hard work of not only growing crops but marketing those crops. LINC does that work for them so the farmers can focus on their growing operation. However, LINC is just one of the abundance of opportunities in our area to source local.
Farmers’ markets are gloriously spilling onto sidewalks and parking lots every weekday somewhere in Spokane, as well as Millwood, Liberty Lake, Rathdrum, Post Falls and Coeur’d Alene. Often featuring live music and doling out lots of samples, you’ll find bountiful produce, artisan foods, plus beautiful homespun goods like jewelry, soap and artwork.
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“These markets not only support local farming and access for the neighborhood to healthy, quality food but also create the opportunity to become a gathering place for the neighborhood,” says Jim Frank, co-founder of the Liberty Lake Farmer’s Market and founder of Greenstone Homes.
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For a more authentic experience, local farms like Vinegar Flats Farm in the Vinegar Flats neighborhood, Bodacious Berries, Fruits & Brews on Greenbluff and Courage to Grow in Otis Orchards, as well as so many more, are open for you to visit to pick up your box and see where the whole operation takes place.
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While many are wondering if this surge of supporting local farmers is short-lived, born of necessity during the pandemic, many are optimistic that this is a rebirth of understanding the importance of a short food chain, as well as building community, livelihood and resiliency.
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The idea that we can put healthy food on our plates, while supporting food security where we live, not only makes sense for our health and our economy but it allows us to connect back to our roots and to each other in a ways that aren’t found in the grocery aisle.
Fresh, Local
& Wild
While three can sometimes be a crowd, in the case of Wild Sage Bistro owners David Wells, Tom Sciortino, and consulting partner Gare Traeger, the trio is like one of the restaurant’s award winning entrées: a perfect blend of first-rate ingredients which compliments and showcases the other.
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“Like a three-legged table is the most stable, a tripod of ownership is really a great support system in running a business,” said Traeger. “Having partners as committed as you are really gives you the ability to exhale, and know that everything is going to be okay.”
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Things have been more than okay for the three entrepreneurs since they opened in March of 2006.
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In addition to winning for Best Fine Dining by Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living Magazine for the past three years in a row, Wild Sage is also a two-time winner of the Full Service Restaurant of the Year award from the Washington Restaurant Association and has received numerous other accolades from both the industry and adoring fans.
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“We have very loyal customers,” said Wells. “During the [Second Avenue] construction, they were making a point to come in just to make sure we were okay…that we weren’t going to go out of business.”
In addition to the upheaval of asphalt immediately outside their front door in 2010-11, was the topsy-turvy economy, which in an industry with very small profit margins, could have been the deal-breaker for Wild Sage. However, they just got smarter.
To accommodate lower sales, they made changes such as discontinuing their lunch hours and paring down the number of ingredients in some dishes. Traeger also gives kudos to Wells, his life partner of 27 years, as being “phenomenal with managing the money.”
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“You’ve got to know the business side of things in this industry, or you’re not going to make it,” said Wells.
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In addition to keeping the books, Wells uses his extensive bar and liquor experience to keep one of the few scratch bars around fresh and interesting with new and creative drink specials such as the current Harvest Moon made from Chopin potato vodka, fresh carrot juice, Tuaca fresh lime juice and clove syrup.
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Ever changing as well, is the menu which is guided by Traeger’s avid interest in gardening and his background of growing up on a farm. Focusing on fresh ingredients from local farmers, he says the base menu stays about 80 percent the same, with the preparation of the items changing depending on what’s coming in.
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“Organic isn’t as important to me as having a relationship with the farmer,” said Traeger. “That’s what brings our chefs and servers a story about the food they’re serving, who then share it with our guests, and that‘s really important to the guests and to us.”
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Also important to Wells, Sciortino and Traeger is that guests feel at home when they eat at Wild Sage. That’s why when renovating the building in 2006-07, in order to get the richness of the interior space they had envisioned, they did the finish work themselves, with help from family and friends.
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“We all love to entertain at home and we wanted that same feeling of walking into someone’s living room and being taken care of,” said Traeger.
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Front-of-the-house expert Sciortino welcomes guests home so to speak, with his “amazing ability to schmooze guests” says Traeger. He also has a lot of experience with wine from his 13 years with Restaurants Unlimited, the company which brought him to Spokane from Seattle in to be general manager of Clinkerdagger’s. It was shortly after that when he met Wells and Traeger through a mutual friend.
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“We all just hit it off immediately,” says Traeger.
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While the three partners each bring something different to the table, one thing that is the same is their passion. That, combined with their attention to detail, top-notch menu and personable service has placed them in a niche that Wells and Traeger said was never intentional.
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“We were never locked into one idea of what kind of restaurant we wanted to open, it just sort of evolved,” said Wells.
Wild Sage American Bistro also provides catering for parties under 40 people and banquet services next door at the Grande Ronde Cellars in the historic Freeman Center.
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Wild Sage is located at 916 W. Second Avenue. Reservations are recommended. Call (509) 456.7575 or go to http://wildsagebistro.com/
Healthy School Lunches Kids Love
School Districts are getting back to “from-scratch”
standard in school cafeterias
Local school districts are stepping up to the plate in the fight against childhood obesity, and it’s filled with food that’s fresh, not canned, baked not fried, and local, not shipped from a manufacturing plant.
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As well, kids are eating it up and school ledgers are in the black.
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“It’s so cool to see kids piling salad on their plate, and to know they’re going to eat it,” said Laura Martin, wellness coordinator for Cheney School District. “It’s been incredibly successful and so much fun.”
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Hired by Empire Health Foundation (EHF) via a grant to fight obesity, Martin is referring to the transformation she’s seen in the kids in Cheney schools over the past two and one-half years, as a result of their schools’ kitchens being turned back into “cooking kitchens” rather than warming-up kitchens; kids are eating healthier and are enthusiastic about it.
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Teachers are ecstatic about the change as well, seeing the dictum “the better we eat, the better we learn” come to life before their eyes. Martin said they noticed right away that the 2 p.m. energy drop wasn’t happening like usual.
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“It was definitely time for a change,” said Martin. “One in three kids today is either overweight or obese; thirty-two percent of these kids were in one of those categories.”
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In the face of these staggering statistics, EHF—a local private foundation, working to improve health in eastern Washington—had slated their Obesity Prevention Initiative to tentatively start in area schools in the seven counties they serve (Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams and Whitman) in 2012. When they polled school districts to find their level of motivation for the program, they found Cheney, along with Othello school district, ready at the starting gate, with several other districts not far behind.
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“We didn’t expect such readiness, but we were thrilled,” said Antony Chiang, president of EHF.
EHF awarded both Cheney and Othello a grant in the spring of 2011 to outfit school kitchens to cook from-scratch meals and provide training on how to cook those meals—such as herb-baked chicken, not chicken nuggets, roasted red potatoes, not French fries.
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“At first, lunch counts went down. Then the education came in, like our “Vegetable Fear Factor” event which encourages kids in a fund way to try different veggies,” said Martin.
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“Kids now say, ‘When is the next taste test? I have an idea!”
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Families are getting involved, as well, through programs like “Snack Attack,” where they learn how to replace unhealthy treats with fun healthy snacks, and “Nutrition Night” which teaches them how to prepare healthy versions of processed meals - like Hamburger Helper - using scratch ingredients.
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Although the initial investment in kitchen equipment and training was significant, no additional employees were hired, and the program, after only two years, is turning a profit, which goes right back into the program.
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“I think there’s a myth out there that healthy scratch-cooking is expensive,” said Chiang. “But if you think about it, as a family, if you’re trying to save money, comparing eating at home to going through the drive-thru…we all know eating at home is the cheaper—and healthier—option.”
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Recently, in 2013, Martin secured the only USDA Farm-to-School grant awarded in Washington, which allowed her to strike up another partnership with local grocery store, the Trading Company, for a student- and community-engagement program called “Harvest-of-the-Month.”
The program encourages students to try a different farm-fresh Washington-grown fruit or vegetable each month, tying in with their current classroom curriculum.
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In-store “Harvest of the Month” posters feature the monthly item, provide kid-friendly, take-home recipe cards, fun nutrition facts and a Washington map, showing the location of the farm from which the item came.
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In addition to overhauling the food part of the equation, the EHF grant helped Cheney Schools to increase physical activity levels across all grades, as well.
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At the elementary level, basic activity equipment was purchased, recess became more structured, with supervised games like flag football and soccer.
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At the high school level, the grant helped provide 22 new cardio machines, which can be used before and after school, with adult supervision.
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Study results last spring were encouraging. The program’s analyst, Dr. Kenn Daratha, of Washington State University’s College of Nursing and the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, reported that of the 476 students from various grades, studied since the program began in 2011, the percentage of overweight students dropped from 19.1 to 14.7 percent, with the mean BMI (Body Mass Index) dropping from 68.1 to 66.2. Although he says the mean BMI is still high (it should be at 50 for this group of students), Daratha is “encouraged” by what’s happening in Cheney.
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Now Martin is working with East Valley and Spokane School Districts, who were awarded the EHF grant in 2012, along with Newport, Wellpinit and Davenport school districts, to implement the same program and build on existing efforts such as community gardens and Spokane School District’s participation in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative.
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“The conversations are happening,” says Chiang. “If you run into a school board member or you’ve been thinking of contacting your school district regarding their lunch program and how it can be better, get the conversation going.”
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Millwood Farmers Market
Started By Local Youth
It all started with the typical adolescent woes of boredom.
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Kelly Hansen was complaining to her dad one day about how boring Millwood was, how there was nothing to do.
“So my Dad said, ‘Well, rather than just complain about it, why don’t you fix it?’” remembers Kelly. “So I came up with a few ideas and after talking about them, we decided the farmers market was the best one,” says Kelly.
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So Kelly and her dad, Dan, who are members of Millwood Community Presbyterian Church, talked to Pastor Craig Goodwin about the possible use of the church parking lot as the market’s location.
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Unaware of having missed a recent sermon of Craig’s on the dynamic of farmers markets and how they build strong communities, the Hansens and Craig were struck by the coincidence. After a bit of research at Millwood Town hall, that feeling turned to providence.
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“Although we found our challenges as there were no existing town ordinances or codes for a farmers market in Millwood, we discovered that one-third of the church parking lot was actually zoned for ‘pedestrian/retail use,’” laughs Pastor Craig.
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"At that point we realized it was all part of the plan; we were just there to see it through.”
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The next step was to talk to Anna Ethington, then coordinator for the Humble Earth and South Perry Farmers Markets, to ask for her guidance on how to get a market started.
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Anna shared her wisdom and a few of her vendors interested in the venture—Rocky Ridge Ranch, SusieDavid’s Cattle Company, and Arabesque Farms— who’s owners would ultimately make up the Millwood Farmers’ Market board along with Jeff and Julia Postelwait of the local Rocket Bakery and Pastor Craig of Millwood Presbyterian.
Kelly and her dad then made a “compelling” presentation to the Millwood Town Council and the market was up and running by May 2007.
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Hosted by the church, Millwood Farmers Market is organized in cooperation with local area farmers and artisans, features live music and is open every Wednesday, from 3 to 7 p.m., May thru October.
However, last winter, the Market continued its operation throughout the cold season, setting up shop in The Crossing Youth Center on the east side of the parking lot.
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With a variety of vendors including local farm raised beef, artisan breads, honey, plants, sauces and crafts, even greenhouse grown lettuce, the winter market proved to be a success, and at the same time, made great use of The Crossing space.
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“To be able to support the local economy year round is very rewarding,” says newcomer to the market this winter, Stuart Fry, owner of C&S HydroHut Lettuce. “I love to see people’s reactions to what we have to offer...fresh lettuce in the winter isn’t easy to find.”
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And those reactions have been keeping Stuart busy.
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Filling the much-needed void for local greens, year-round, Stuart has cornered the market with his $2-a-head selection of mainly Butterhead, Romaine, red and green leaf lettuces, as well as kale, arugula, and Swiss chard, all of which will keep in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.
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His ability to keep his prices so low is due to his year-round operation in the greenhouse he and his wife turned into their business in September of last year.
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Using the hydroponic method of growing, the plants are fed by a circulating solution of water and mineral salts, using only about a 10th of the water a crop farmer would use to grow the same plants.
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Another new vendor to the market is PureHeart Exquisite Handcrafted Soaps.
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Owner, Shari Thompson-Brown’s all-natural glycerin soaps have received an “awesome reception,” and she’s looking forward to the open-air market season, during which she will also set up shop at the Liberty Lake, Fresh Abundance and South Perry markets.
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With an abundance of farmers markets steadily on the rise in the eastern Washington/Northern Idaho region (there are currently 11), vendors have been able to build a good customer base by setting up at a few different markets throughout the week, thus “making their efforts sustainable,” says Dave of SusieDavid’s Cattle Company.
​
“It’s a rewarding relationship for everyone involved,” continues Dave. “That connection with people …it really makes the difference.”
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SusieDavids Cattle, a popular vendor at the Millwood Market, with their tempting selection of sausage samples on a toothpick, sells 100 percent all-natural beef, sausage, eggs, and produce including Yukon potatoes, Butternut squash, pie pumpkins and sweet corn.
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Having held down the northwest corner of the market since day one, Dave has witnessed its “phenomenal growth.”
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In 2007, they started with 12 to 14 vendors. This year the market expects 35 vendors at the peak of the season, when summer crops start to roll in.
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And making it even easier this year for vendors to conduct business is the exciting addition of the ability to process debit and credit cards, and EBT (low-income) transactions through a wooden token exchange.
Paid for by a $2,000 grant through the “Local Farms, Healthy Kids Act,” the awarded money also helped cover hardware, marketing and advertising costs for the market.
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The market is also enrolled for its second year in the state’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and for seniors.
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So what does Kelly, now a sophomore at West Valley High School, think of what’s become of the idea she thought up one boring summer afternoon in Millwood?
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“I think it’s pretty cool,” says Kelly. “I like getting people excited about something I believe in.”
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Having earned the Youth Chase Award for starting the market and for re-opening her (at-the-time) middle school library, the busy teen is now on to yet another Millwood project—Millwood Teen Council.
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Although she still shows her “moral support” to the market by patronizing the vendors and by often helping to set up or take down the market with her dad, her number one project now is to get Millwood youth involved in the decision-making of the City of Millwood, to promote a more youth-engaged community—a mission of Pastor Craig’s as well, since he arrived in Millwood in 2004.
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Aiming to do just that, the Millwood Farmers Market Board decided to hold a poster contest in March and April of this year, among youth in the community.
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The response was impressive with 45 entries coming in, of which two were chosen as winners, one per age bracket of Kindergarten through fifth grade and sixth through twelfth grades.
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First grader, Sadie Langford, of Ness Elementary, and sixth grader, Abigail Swanson, of Centennial Middle School won for their impressive use of color, clarity of their message, and portrayal of the unique flavor of the City of Millwood and Millwood Farmers Market.
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“It’s fun to be on the advocacy side of local food…creating a sustainable market that directly benefits our community,” says Pastor Craig.
“This was a way for the youth in our community to get involved with that as well.”
