Food buying club topic of lecture

The Barnes County Historical Society Lecture Series Season 14 presents: Gail Pederson “Valley City Food Buying Club: Past, Present and Future” at 7 p.m. today at the Barnes County Museum.

This presentation is in conjunction with the BCHS annual meeting that will be held before this lecture starting at 7 p.m. Society members are encouraged to attend and the public is invited.

Since 1980, the Valley City Food Buying Club has been providing whole natural foods to Valley City and the surrounding area. There have been three or four different distributors that the club has received healthy, organic and ethnic foods from on a monthly basis. The monthly ordering process has evolved from families gathering to split cases or bulk items to ordering from the current distributor, Azure Standard, online or by fax or phone, with each order individually packaged.

The tasks of measuring out 30 pounds of raisins or separating a container of peanut butter will not be forgotten by the organization’s original members.

There is no cost to join the buying club. A fuel surcharge is added to each order, which does vary (right now about 7.5 percent). Azure Standard has been the supplier since 2000.

The emerging markets for specialty diet items, i.e. gluten intolerance, low sodium, vegan diets can make food selection easier through Azure Standard’s ordering process.

Gail Pederson, RN, HN-BC, and her husband, Dennis, of rural Valley City, are charter members of the Valley City Food Co-op/Buying Club. A certified holistic nurse, Gail has long been interested in whole and healthy foods and nutritional supplements. Raising three boys with “as healthy and whole a diet as we could,” she recently had one of her grown sons comment how they got to eat “cool food” (such as nuts, dried fruits, whole grains, etc.) before it was cool.

All lectures are at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum, 315 Central Ave. N, Valley City, and are held in conjunction with Valley City State University. There is no admission charge.

For more information, contact Wes Anderson at 701-845-0966

Tags: diversions, history