Food Rescue: Cutting Food Waste & Giving Back

Grocery stores like Lakewinds, along with other food-related businesses such as restaurants and farms, generate food waste. There’s no way to avoid it completely, but we can take steps to minimize waste and redirect safe, edible food to those who need it. One way the co-op aims to reduce food waste is through food rescue … Continued

Seeding Success: Springtime on the Farm

For many of us, spring is a time to open the windows and get outside a bit more. Perhaps, if we’re feeling ambitious, spring is a time for a bit of house cleaning and garden prep. But springtime on the farm is all about getting ready for the upcoming growing season. Between repairing equipment and … Continued

The Good You Help Grow

Cooperatives like Lakewinds are owned collectively by the communities we serve. Lakewinds shoppers and staff can choose to buy stock in the company, and by doing so help cement the co-op’s place in the community for years to come. From humble beginnings in 1975, Lakewinds’ community of owners has grown to more than 22,000. When … Continued

Growing Food Access Close to Home

Food access is a hurdle for many in the communities we call home. In each of our communities, there are neighbors in need. Providing assistance in the way of dollars and food donations is a top priority at Lakewinds. Access to healthy food is a cornerstone for our community giving programs, and we’ve cultivated partnerships … Continued

Going Green for an Eco-friendly New Year

Happy New Year! The new year is a perfect chance to break old habits that aren’t working for you, build new ones, and work on goals. Many of us are looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact and live more sustainably. Here are three easy resolutions for going green in the new year! 1. … Continued

Meet Doubting Thomas Farms

  Before noon, organic farmer Noreen Thomas meets with a local baker, helps harvest oats, feeds her chickens, checks on the lion’s mane mushrooms she’s growing, assesses her organic rye field, and stops by a field of experimental flaxseed. And within that busy morning, she takes time to talk about her local organic farm, the … Continued

Lakewinds & Neighborhood Forest: A Partnership for the Planet

Giving back to the community isn’t just an important part of Lakewinds’ mission, it’s something you support every time you shop at the co-op. Throughout the year, our co-op makes sponsorship-level monetary donations to local nonprofits whose work relates to sustainability and equity in the food system, education about nutrition, or the environment. One such … Continued

Lakewinds Shoppers Give Back: Small Donations, Big Change

“Would you like to round up today?” You’ve probably heard it when shopping at the co-op, but what effect do your donations of a few cents at a time really have? The truth is those small repeated acts of generosity have added up to more good than you may realize. Over the years, our Community … Continued

More Than Ever, Where Our Food Comes From Matters

When the COVID-19 pandemic was in full force last summer, it created unexpected challenges across the economy, but especially for local food growers and makers. They faced reduced markets as a result of restaurants, schools, corporate campuses, and other buyers being closed. That’s why Lakewinds joined other food-minded organizations and created “Local Food is Essential,” … Continued