We had the Grand Opening of our Rise & Shine Family Food Co-op on May 30th and featured our Good Food Garden. The day was amazing! We began the day with live television coverage while we worked to get everything ready. We had planned for two early morning interviews to be in our Good Food Garden, but we had a rain shower that kept us inside. The rain cleared up, and we were able to make it into the garden and did a later in the day. That interview was seen on two stations Saturday night and two stations Sunday morning.

We distributed food to over 70 families that day. People could not believe the excellent value and the fresh and delicious food we provided. We know our numbers will continue to grow once more people in our community learn about us. The press exposure we received at the Grand Opening has helped us. People have been calling almost every day since the event.

We had an iron chef cook-off during the Grand Opening. Three Club families participated. Each family was paired with a famous chef. The chefs were awesome! They really helped the families with their dishes. Each family had to pick their secret ingredient from the Good Food Garden. That was really fun to see what vegetable or herb they would choose.

The dishes the families prepared sure looked delicious. Each family presented their dish to the judges and explained what they had prepared and what their secret ingredient was. The judges, including the Mayor, loved the dishes so much they didn’t want to give their plates away. It was a difficult choice, but the Butler family won.

Everyone had a blast and we can’t wait to tell you more.

Your Friends,