News & Blog

Get Your Shovels Ready!

Urban Greens Groundbreaking image

Join Us to Celebrate the Urban Greens Groundbreaking!

Come celebrate the start of construction on our new Cooperative Market! It’s been a long time coming and we’re so excited to be getting shovels in the ground!

When: Thursday, September 14, 4:30pm
Where: 93 Cranston St - The future site of Urban Greens!

Festivities will include music thanks to the Sankofa drummers, small snacks for everyone, and a visit from the Mayor!

And most importantly, you can come and help us break ground!

BYOS (Bring Your Own Shovel)!

As a community-owned store, we think it is only fitting to have a community-involved groundbreaking! Like our store, everyone is welcome. Everyone will have the opportunity to grab a shovel and take part in the ceremonial digging.

If you don't have a shovel or can't bring one to the event, don’t worry! We’ll have extra shovels to lend for the group photo.

At Hope Farmers Market on 9/9/17

Urban Greens put a table at Hope Farmers Market on Saturday to spread the word about the groundbreaking next Thursday. My husband and I stopped there to cheer the volunteers Philip, Margot and her granddaughter, who were on hand, and talked to some of the people ourselves. Our impression of people’s responses were great! It was great meeting other members as well. They are all excited about the opening and glad to know that things are happening!

Thank you for supporting Urban Greens!

Toyoko Schieferdecker - volunteer blogger, member-owner

Is fat good for you?

Some might be wondering what the hype is about coconut oil. You see all kinds of coconut products in stores. Is this just another trend?

First, a little background. Until a few years ago, not so many people questioned the familiar low-fat diet. Americans have been eating much more poultry than red meat and avoiding all types of fats since the mid 1950’s, when a scientist called Dr. Ancel Keys “discovered” that fat causes heart disease. That was when the “fat is bad” idea got started. After several decades passed, the number of people with heart disease did not decrease and the obesity and diabetes rate skyrocketed. People started to question the theory.

One of the reasons for the hike in the obesity rate is that the food industry replaced the missing fat with sugar to provide missing flavor. As Julia Child said, “Fat gives things flavor.” People started to eat more carbs than ever to replace the fat they eliminated. Those carbohydrates like refined white flour and refined white sugar are made into fat in your body and spike your insulin level. They might eventually cause diabetes in some cases.

Simple Salad Dressing Recipe

Summer is almost over, but there is still plenty of warm weather and evening light to enjoy the simple pleasure of a bowl of salad made with fresh vegetables from farm stands or local farmers markets served outdoors. This simple salad dressing is not only a healthier option to the store-bought ones which often contain sugar or other preservative ingredients. This simple salad dressing can be made with the ingredients you might already have, so it will save you money too! :)

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):

4 Tbs. Extra virgin olive oil (preferably organic)

1Tbs. Fresh squeezed lemon juice or vinegar of your choice (red/white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, etc)

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to make it:

Mix all the ingredients in a bottle and shake, or drizzle/sprinkle each of the ingredients over a salad bowl and toss together.

Supporting local businesses

When the news of Amazon's bid to acquire Whole Foods came out a few months ago, I was surprised to learn that the biggest American grocer is Walmart. Apparently, Walmart has been averaging a 20% share in the U.S. food market and that is more than twice as much as the second runner, while Whole Foods’ share is about 1.2%.

Although where you buy your food is a personal choice, it is important to understand the long-term benefits of buying local: