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290 Sierra College Drive
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Auburn (Coming soon!)

2505 Bell Rd
Auburn, CA 95603

Tel: (530) 272-5333 or (530) 272-COOP

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Tibetan Buddhist Monk Update! ❤️ On Sunday, S

Tibetan Buddhist Monk Update! ❤️

On Sunday, Sierra Friends of Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhist Monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery will host an Animal Blessing from 2 to 3pm at Animal Save, 520 East Main St. in Grass Valley.

Each animal that comes with their human companion will be blessed individually. All dogs must be on a leash, all cats must be on a leash or in some kind of carrier and all birds must be in birdcages. 🐶🐱🐦

Larger animals such as horses, cows, sheep, goats, lamas, etc. must arrive in trailers and stay in the parking lot where the Monks will bless them.🐴🐮🐐🐑🦙

Donations are encouraged and will help the Monks.For more information, contact Carolyn Niehaus at carolyn@animalsave.org or 530-271-7071 x 201.

Later the same day, at 7pm the documentary film, “Precious Guru: Journey Into the Wild Heart of the Second Buddha” will be shown at the Onyx Downtown at the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City. Director Marc Wennberg will introduce the film and be on hand for a Q & A. 📽️🎬🍿

Precious Guru gives insight into the life, times and legacy of Padmasambhava, (also known as Guru Rinpoche) the 8th-century Indian yogi who carried Buddhism over the Himalayas into Tibet. Doors open at 6:30pm and tickets cost $12. This is a fundraiser for Tibetan Buddhist Monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery.

Learn more about the monks and Sierra Friends of Tibet:
https://www.sierrafriendsoftibet.net/

Learn more about the film and purchase tickets:
https://theonyxtheatre.com/

We love supporting our local farmers and the good

We love supporting our local farmers and the good work of Nevada City Farmers Market through our PatchWorks Volunteer Program!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 28 indoors at SAEL @sierraacademy in downtown Nevada City, 505 Main St, 9am - 1pm. There will be live music by Gaia Mae Band @gaiamaeband at 10am.

Pick up some tasty locally grown produce, fresh bread or pastries, arts and crafts and super cute totes and tees to proudly support the market!

Always fun to see some of the growers who distribute to BriarPatch, like Super Tuber Farm, Feeding Crane Farm, Companion Farms and Mush Barn.

@supertuberfarm @feedingcranefarm @companion_farms @mushbarn @nevadacityfarmersmarket

#lovelocal #supportfarmers #organic #nevadacounty #shoplocal #nevadacityfarmersmarket #ncfm #nevadacity #nevadacounty #california #visitnevadacity #fresh #produce #freshproduce #seasonalfood #seasonalfruitsandvegetables #localfood #wintermarket #winternails

Out with the old, in with the new. 🦺♻️ We

Out with the old, in with the new. 🦺♻️

We have new uniforms at The Patch and it's time to retire our ol' denim vests.

Luckily, these gems won't go to waste. This week, we shipped off 130 pounds of denim to Blue Jeans Go Green, a recycling program that keeps textiles out of the landfill. 👖

The company transforms old denim into creative new products -- from insulating material for building efforts to pet bed inserts to thermal insulation used in sustainable food and pharmaceutical packaging.🙌

To date, the project has diverted 2,290+ tons of denim from landfills! 🌎

Learn more:
https://bluejeansgogreen.org/

@bluejeansgogreen

#GoodInDenim #BlueJeansGoGreen

Craving homemade macaroons and don't have eggs in

Craving homemade macaroons and don't have eggs in the house? 🥚🥚

No problem if you have a can of chickpeas in the pantry! 🥫

That thick, gooey liquid inside the bean can is liquid gold.😎 Save that stuff. It’s called aquafaba and it’s Aqua-Fab-U-Lous!!!

Aquafaba can replace egg whites in a recipe, as well as whole eggs in baked goods. Two tablespoons of unwhipped aquafaba is the equivalent of one egg white, and 3 tablespoons is equal to a whole egg!😮❗❗❗

Check out the recipe for vegan coconut macaroons in today's Farm to Table page in The Union news or click the recipe link in bio! 😋🥥

http://ow.ly/b3O550MAEBh

@theunionnews

#vegan #coconut #macaroons #recipes

This spring, Farmer Javier Zamora of JSM Organics

This spring, Farmer Javier Zamora of JSM Organics will be a Keynote Speaker at Sierra Harvest’s two-day event, the Sustainable Food & Farm Conference, held March 3 and 4 at Sierra College in Grass Valley. Zamora will share what he has learned about farming during a presentation, “The Essentials of Building a Successful Farm Business.”

“I'll give my story and hopefully, people will be inspired,” he said.

Did you know? JSM Organics provides organic produce nine months of the year to BriarPatch, a mix of 20 different items including berries, flowers, celery, green beans and corn to a loyal fan base of foodies in Nevada County. JSM has provided $1.4 million in organic produce to The Co-op in the past decade!

“[Nevada County] has a special kind of consumer that cares what they eat and the environment. The region has helped me be a better farmer,” said Zamora.

Today with Zamora’s warm heart, he continues to give back. He has become a leader and a respected voice in the organic farming movement as both an advocate and mentor. College and university students regularly visit his farm to learn the keys to a successful organic farming career and he belongs to several boards and non-profit groups including Eco Farm and sits on the USDA Advisory Committee for Small and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.

“In the next two years, my main focus is building other growers. We need more farmers. We need to build more farmers near communities,” said Zamora.

Learn more and register for the conference today!
https://www.foodandfarmconference.com/

jsmorganics
@sierraharvest
@eco.farm

This month, when you purchase apples from BriarPat

This month, when you purchase apples from BriarPatch, you are supporting the garden at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. 🍎🍏 🍎🍏

The garden was established with help from Sierra Harvest after Covid put a damper on the project for two years. With support from several local businesses and community partners, the garden now has planter boxes, fencing and the first planting. Over 900 hospital employees and staff will be able to work in and enjoy the park along with patients, families, and other community members. Apples for Gardens funding will help the garden grow in the year ahead. 🌻

"The money will be used to support our Share the Spirit Wellness Garden, which was a dream of ours for many years and finally completed this past summer. This new garden is a space for mental wellness and relaxation for hospital employees.
As the garden expands, we will work with the hospital’s Nutritional Services Department to provide fresh food for the café.
Plans for the garden include making it a space for cancer, diabetes, and cardiac patients to learn about healthy food choices and how to grow their own vegetables," said Kirsten Dees, Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation.🍓🥕🥦

@snmhfoundation @sierraharvest

Looking for a fresh take on Dry January? 🍷🍷🍷

Try Proxies, an NA wine alternative approved by top chefs and sommeliers, now at BriarPatch.

Whether you like your reds tart & juicy or rich & spicy, these tasty beverages are going to elevate your non-alcoholic experience. We also carry a crisp & zesty white and light & refreshing rosé.

These are not dealcoholized wine, but layered blends of fruit, teas, spices, and bitters, designed to pair with food and be enjoyed in your finest stemware.🥂

@drinkproxies

#dryjanuary #nawine #pairing #tastingnotes #celebrate

BriarPatch Food Co-op’s hourly employees are now

BriarPatch Food Co-op’s hourly employees are now enjoying two and a half hours of extra free time a week and an estimated 130 hours annually, thanks to a new workday policy implemented at the store. 👏👏

On December 26, BriarPatch Food Co-op began paying for employee lunch breaks as part of a new eight-hour workday policy. This means instead of having an 8.5-hour shift schedule with a 30-minute unpaid lunch; hourly employees now have an 8-hour shift schedule with a 30-minute paid lunch. ⌛

“If we’ve learned anything from the last few years, it is that the job market was more easily disrupted than we could have ever predicted. In this environment, it’s important for us to be creative and ensure that we have compelling, compassionate and relevant jobs for the people in our community. More than ever, workers are looking for flexibility in the workplace and the ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. BriarPatch is helping folks do just that,” said General Manager Chris Maher. 😍

Read the full story @yubanet
https://yubanet.com/regional/briarpatch-implements-a-new-workday-policy/

Happy Year of the Rabbit! 🐇 The rabbit is a sy

Happy Year of the Rabbit! 🐇

The rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity & 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. ❤️

The beauty of the Lunar New Year is celebrated by many cultures, from Malaysia to Korea to Vietnam to Tibet to China. Looking for inspiring food ideas?

Perhaps you want to try baking Nian Gao or “sticky cake.”
https://bit.ly/3IZCujT

Or create a mini-but-festive menu!
https://bit.ly/3XOlstk

Find out what 18 Chefs and Writers are making, from steamed fish to vegan glass noodles, tongue-tingling cumin lamb and so many dumplings.
https://bit.ly/3Xto3J8

Don't have time to cook? Swing by the hot bar for Lunar New Year-inspired dishes.

@bonappetitmag

⚓️Fresh Dungeness crab from Fort Bragg, Califo

⚓️Fresh Dungeness crab from Fort Bragg, California is scheduled to arrive at our Meat & Seafood Department TOMORROW, Saturday afternoon. 🦀🦀🦀

Natasha Pickowicz has a long history of baking out

Natasha Pickowicz has a long history of baking outside the lines. The three-time James Beard Award nominee has dabbled with ingredients ranging from worm salt to sunchokes in her innovative, thoroughly delicious desserts.

Prior to the pandemic, she was the pastry chef at Flora Bar and Altro Paradiso in New York. Since then, she’s become known for the ongoing pop-up series Never Ending Taste as well as her community bake sales, which have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood and other organizations.

And while she’s tackled all sorts of pastry, it’s her layer cakes that have been turning heads and dropping jaws. The confections—which often come garnished with a garden’s worth of flowers and foliage—bear minimal resemblance to traditional American layer cakes. Rather, they feel like a new evolutionary step.

Check out her upcoming book, More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community, and the beauty of different baking traditions and this Q & A with Atlas Obscura.

https://bit.ly/3Wq3bBk

No eggs-ageration! Due to the short supply, we a

No eggs-ageration!

Due to the short supply, we are limiting the purchase of eggs to two packages per transaction. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Eggs are in short supply across the nation. We reached out to Perishables Manager John Bivens to get an update.

Q. What is the current state of the egg supply?

A. The current state of the egg supply is tough. Our larger distributors have been consistently out, with several of the larger brands forecasted to be out until February or even March.

Fortunately, we do work with several vendors who are still able to supply BriarPatch with eggs, although stock is limited, and we typically receive one-third or less of what we have ordered. Even though we get eggs delivered multiple times a week, it’s not enough to keep the shelves stocked on a day-to-day basis.

We are pulling from everywhere we can and sometimes do end up receiving products from the larger vendors, however, we do not have any accurate information on when there will be a full recovery. As the larger companies are running out, the smaller companies are getting hit, as well. Ideally, we will see a few of the brands come back into stock, which will allow us to have more options.

Q. How is the local supply?

A. Our local supply has been severely hit. Several of the larger local vendors have decided to close shop and smaller farms tend to be more seasonal and not available during the winter.

Q. How are prices impacted by the shortage?

A. We have not seen drastic price increases on the eggs that we typically carry. Customers might see some higher prices on new products brought in, but we are mindful of prices and checking this with each delivery. We will continue to do our best to carry several brands of eggs priced under $5. Organic brands tend to be higher in cost.

Q. Are the eggs safe?

A. Properly cooked eggs and poultry are safe to eat. Due to the rapid onset of symptoms from the Avian Flu, as well as the safeguards the USDA has in place (including testing of flocks and federal and state inspections)... see comments for more of this story.

You could win a fairly-traded cocoa gift!☕🍫🌎

Get ready for National Hot Chocolate Day on January 31st...

Enter for a chance to win a Hot Cocoa Giveaway - featuring three 12 oz. canisters of fairly traded Equal Exchange Hot Cocoa, a reusable Klean Kanteen, a cute ceramic Equal Exchange mug and Dandies vegan marshmallows.

Here's how to play.

1. Like this post & follow us @briarpatchcoop
2. In the comments section below, tell us your favorite memory or way to enjoy hot cocoa then tag someone you know who would like to play this Giveaway Game, too!
3. 💌We’ll randomly choose one lucky winner at noon on February 1st and reach out via Private Message. Good Luck!

This promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram or Facebook.

Sierra Friends of Tibet and Monks from Gaden Shart

Sierra Friends of Tibet and Monks from Gaden Shartse stopped by The Patch today to get cooking supplies for their stay in Nevada County.

The Tibetan Buddhist Monks will be in residence at the Banner Community Guild, 12629 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley, approximately one mile past the Fairgrounds from January 20th to February 5th. The opening Ceremony of the Wheel of Life sand mandala will be held on Friday, January 20th at 7:00 pm.

If you would like the Monks to visit your school, church, or organization or schedule a house, business or land blessing, you can make an appointment now!
Email sierrafriendsoftibet@gmail.com or call 530-798-9576 to learn more.

It’s starting to snow outside but it’s warm in

It’s starting to snow outside but it’s warm inside the Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains Church in Grass Valley. People are clapping and singing and hugging inside the church where a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. is going on. The in-person and streaming event is co-produced by Earth Justice Ministries & Creating Community Beyond Bias. ❤️

What can you do on this day of service in honor of

What can you do on this day of service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his message of love and nonviolence as a path to justice?

Tickets for the in-person local Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration at Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains is SOLD OUT but you can still attend via Zoom.

The NPR Morning Edition November 6 recording: includes interviews with Nevada Union High School students of color who experience racism on campus.

Readings from Dr. King’s speeches: accompanied by discussions with guest speakers focusing on the painful reality of racism in America & hope for social justice and racial equality.

Live music from various musicians: including blues and soul singer Jamal Walker of the band Elevation. Jamal has been active in anti-bias efforts for many years.

Learn more: https://www.uugrassvalley.org/martin-luther-king-jr-day-2023/

The event is produced by:
Earth Justice Ministries
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
Creating Community Beyond Bias

Zoom link (after 12:30pm)
https://zoom.us/j/97671425348?pwd=cTRWQnBKbzhxRk5ycGZEbE1TSHM5UT09