Mary Ann Thompson of Paradise Hill Farm in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey supplied us with the best local cranberries and loose blueberries for over 10 years. We are sorry to share that she unexpectedly passed away recently. Over the last 10+ years she became a good friend to the Co-op and we will really miss her. Mary Ann created a unique and special place in South Jersey. She had almost 1,000 acres of land that has been in her family for over 100 years, about 200 in cranberry production, 8-10 in blueberries, the rest is forested and home to some of NJ's endangered species. Mary Ann had recently gotten her farm certified organic and was the largest independent cranberry grower in the state and we swear her blueberries were the best tasting we've ever had. She will be missed for her great sense of humor, devotion to the land, wit, care for her workers, great produce and much more.
Promotion of Bull Gervasi to Interim General Manager
We are pleased to announce the promotion of Bull Gervasi to the position of Interim General Manager from Nov. 2nd-April 30th. As many of you know Sam McCormick, our current Operations Coordinator, will be leaving Mariposa at the end of December. In anticipation of her departure from the Co-op the Board of Delegates, on recommendation from the Management Structure Committee, have hired Bull Gervasi as the Interim General Manager. He will bridge the gap between Sam’s departure and a longer-term Transitional General Manager who will begin in early spring to help us work toward a more cooperatively run store.
Bull has been a dedicated member at Mariposa Food Cooperative for 18 years, a staff member for 15 years, and was instrumental in transitioning the co-op into our new building in 2012. He has been working as the Produce and Facilities coordinator, and has consistently shown his passion and love for the store through his hard work and extensive knowledge of the operations of the Co-op.
In assuming his new duties as Interim General Manager Bull will oversee the overall management of the store. Bull will train with Sam McCormick for the next two months before taking on the full responsibility of his new position. Bull is serving a crucial role for the Co-op, and the Board of Delegates is both thankful and excited to have him step up as the Interim General Manager.
Please join us in extending our congratulations to Bull! We hope you all will be supportive of him as he assumes his new role. In addition, the Board acknowledges the many people who are stepping up to make this change possible. The Produce and Facilities roles that Bull is temporarily stepping out of are being filled internally by Meghan Dinneen in Produce and Rocky Font-Soloway in Facilities. Please take a few moments to extend your personal congratulations to them if you see them in the store. We are sure your kind words will be greatly appreciated!
Lastly, a huge thank you to the entire staff for all of your hard work. While no transition is easy it is a testament to all of your skills and effort that Mariposa has the talent on hand to help Bull step into this role. It is our honor and our joy, to be on this adventure with you to make Mariposa the best it can be.
Parking Notice
With the holidays steadily approaching, we wanted to inform our neighbors that Mariposa Food Co-op will be occupying several parking spaces on the south side of Baltimore Avenue outside and slightly west of our storefront. Temporary No Parking will be in effect from Thursday, November 19th through Tuesday, December 1st. Signs will be put up several days before as a reminder.
Please contact facilities@mariposa.coop if you have any questions.
Meet Your Turkey Farmers: Koch's Turkey Farm
Roscoe and Emma Koch had a small family farm in the Lewistown Valley outside of Tamaqua, PA and first started growing turkeys there in 1939. After raising turkeys for his father, Lowell Koch and his wife Elizabeth founded Koch's Turkey Farm in 1953. Lowell and Betty started the business with only two turkey barns and a small processing plant and grew the business to 45 turkey barns by the 1980's. The third generation of the Koch family, Duane, Barb, Pam, and Beth, took over operations in the mid 1990's. In the first year, we experimented with the possibility of growing turkeys using an all vegetarian diet without any usage of antibiotics during the life of the turkey. Having reached success on our third flock, we have raised our turkeys this way ever since. This All-Natural approach to raising turkey is the reason that Koch's turkeys taste as good as they do.
Koch's Turkey Farm
Koch's Turkey Farm is proud to raise our turkeys without antibiotics while feeding an all vegetarian diet that consists only of corn, soybeans, vitamins, and minerals. We do not use animal by-products nor by-products of any kind such as out of date bakery goods, fish meal, or pet food by-products.
Koch's Turkey Farm also raises several different turkey breeds to give our customers the finest turkey at any given weight range. A smaller breed turkey is used for our 8 lb. to 12 lb. hen birds to give a great product appearance and meat yield, while the male is used for our 22 lb. to 26 lb. birds giving a broad breasted beautiful bird at all sizes. We also grow Heirloom Bronze turkeys, a very old strain of Orlopp Bronze which has great taste, less fat, and superior meat yields.
Koch's has been a pioneer in being one of the first to grow antibiotic-free turkeys with an all vegetarian diet. We also started a humane program eight years ago, being the first turkey producer to be Certified Humane with over 800,000 turkeys raised annually. Koch's Turkey Farm was GAP (Global Animal Partnership) approved a year later and as of 2013 we are proud to achieve STEP 2 status. The high standards for raising turkeys this way provides Koch's turkeys with twice the amount of space in the turkey barns as is required by normal commercial growing practices.
At Koch's Turkey Farm, we also raise Organic Turkeys certified by Pennsylvania Organic Certifiers. These turkeys are raised by the strictest standards in the industry and are fed a GMO free diet.
Koch's Turkey Farm is one of very few family owned turkey farms left committed to producing the cleanest, healthiest, and best tasting turkey you can buy. Our high growing standards focused on a pure vegetarian diet and humane practices results in a stress free life for our turkeys, which in turn results in a tender, great tasting turkey.
Turkey pre-order program has begun
This year, we are offering all Mariposa member-owners* the option to pre-order fresh, antibiotic and hormone free turkeys from Howe’s farm in Chester County and Koch’s Turkey Farm in Schuylkill County. Vegan and Vegetarian alternatives will be available in store throughout the holiday season. For pricing and ordering information, click here.
About our Turkey Farmers
Koch’s Turkey Farm is a family farm that was founded by Lowell and Elizabeth Koch in 1953 in Tamaqua, PA. Not only do Koch’s turkeys have free range access to outdoor areas, they are also fed with a vegetarian diet with vitamins and minerals. Animal by-products, fats, bakery or pet food products are never used in their poultry feed. The turkeys meet the very strict Certified Humane® guidelines and Farm Animal Welfare Standards for Turkeys. And of course, they are delicious!
Almost ten years old, Howe Turkey Farm has grown significantly since their humble beginnings while remaining a hands-on, small scale, family-run operation. Howe is on a mission to produce high quality naturally-raised turkeys and they are succeeding. The Howe family employs humane practices to raising all natural, cage free, vegetarian turkeys on one farm. They favor supplementing their turkeys’ diet with probiotics and vitamins and are antibiotic and hormone free. Howe was very well received by our membership last year and we are looking forward to our second year working with them. Want to know more? Read about their farm in the 2014 fall issue of Edible Philly.
Not a member?
Not to worry! Click here to learn more about membership. We will also have a select number of turkeys available for purchase in-store between Saturday, November 21 and Wednesday, November 25.