Sun Community News
TICONDEROGA | Bright, modern coolers are accepted, and perhaps even required, pieces of equipment for any grocery store. And today, the Ticonderoga Natural Foods Co-op on Montcalm Street can boast of two modern coolers thanks to many members, contributors and volunteers who, quite literally, got the coolers through the co-ops doors.
“This is going to help the co-op, it’s going to help the local producers and it’s going to help the town,” said co-op manager Penny Monjeau.
The co-op features fresh, local produce and dairy products, but without the professional, top-end coolers it was difficult keeping fresh foods fresh for long.
The new coolers are functional and also an aesthetic addition, showing off heaps of lettuce, broccoli, peppers, Brussels sprouts and cabbage out in the open, and not behind glass.
As the season grows late, Monjeau said the co-op is still getting produce from Bucksberry Farm, Daughters Five and Juniper Hill.
“Local is our first goal,” Monjeau said.
The co-op also stresses organically grown food, and has interesting delicacies populating the cooler, such as fresh fermented raw sauerkraut and Camembert cheese.
Monjeau said the co-op stocks cheese and other dairy products from a number of regional producers, including Nettle Meadow, North Country Creamery, Argyle Farm, Maplebrook and Four Fat Fowl.
Along with getting people to think of downtown Ticonderoga as a grocery destination, Monjeau said the lack of proper coolers had been the biggest issue facing the co-op.
A number of people stepped up to help solve the cooler problem, including the Middlebury, Vt., co-op, which contributed a matching grant. The co-op has also gotten support from Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union, Community Bank and Jasama real estate group — as well as its 485 members.
“We love our members,” Monjeau said.
Members, and their contribution to the co-op will be celebrated at the co-op on Saturday, Oct. 27, from noon until 3 p.m., with food, drinks and music.
Monjeau said not only does the co-op want to succeed, but it wants to be part of a downtown revitalization that sees the opening of a number of new stores on Montcalm Street.
“We’re here for the long run, and we need as many businesses to stay open as many hours as possible,” Monjeau said. “We’re really trying to build something and keep it going. She said there is a core of good businesses and good people in the downtown, as evidenced by the help the co-op received when the first cooler arrived.
Originally, the Ticonderoga Natural Foods Co-op had hoped for an eight-foot cooler, but that model was too wide to fit through the door.
So the co-op got two four-footers, and even that was a tight fit. Fortunately, Jeremy Madden of Maddens Pub and Dean Cook of Adirondack Dental Health Association were there to give it a helpful shove through the front door into its new home.