(Excerpted from the Weavers Way Board Policy Manual, Page 3. Adopted 3/2/04, last revised 5/1/12.)
Weavers Way Cooperative Association exists to provide commercial and community services for the greater good of its members and community, to champion the cooperative model and to strengthen the local economy. As a result of all we do:
End 1. There will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.
End 2. Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods.
End 3. There will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.
End 4. Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values, relevant environmental, food and consumer issues, and the Co-op’s long-term vision.
End 5. Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.
End 6. The local environment will be protected and restored.
End 7. Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, openness, inclusiveness and respect in all that we do.
(Excerpted from the Weavers Way Board Policy Manual, Page 3. Adopted 3/2/04, last revised 5/1/12.)
Weavers Way Cooperative Association exists to provide commercial and community services for the greater good of its members and community, to champion the cooperative model and to strengthen the local economy. As a result of all we do:
End 1. There will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.
End 2. Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods.
End 3. There will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.
End 4. Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values, relevant environmental, food and consumer issues, and the Co-op’s long-term vision.
End 5. Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.
End 6. The local environment will be protected and restored.
End 7. Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, openness, inclusiveness and respect in all that we do.
(Excerpted from the Weavers Way Board Policy Manual, Page 3. Adopted 3/2/04, last revised 5/1/12.)
Weavers Way Cooperative Association exists to provide commercial and community services for the greater good of its members and community, to champion the cooperative model and to strengthen the local economy. As a result of all we do:
End 1. There will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.
End 2. Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods.
End 3. There will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.
End 4. Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values, relevant environmental, food and consumer issues, and the Co-op’s long-term vision.
End 5. Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.
End 6. The local environment will be protected and restored.
End 7. Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, openness, inclusiveness and respect in all that we do.
Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 8, 2013 — How do you get Weavers Way members to vote FOR carbon dioxide? Brew a beer in honor of the Co-op’s 40th anniversary, and ask them to come up with a name for it.
The still-anonymous ale was created by Mount Airy’s Earth Bread + Brewery. Weavers Way members can go to Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8KBSZK) all week to vote on the name, and members and non-members alike will be able to quaff samples at the cooperative grocery’s 40th Birthday Bash Sunday, Oct. 13. The party is being held at Cliveden, the 18th-century Chew family home in Germantown, and the public is welcome.
Earth, which is celebrating a milestone of its own – five years – on Wednesday, Oct. 9, will also offer the beer during its weeklong celebration Oct. 8-14.
Tom Baker, the brewer at the popular restaurant and brewpub at 7136 Germantown Ave., decided on a bière de garde, a French pale ale originally made in winter to drink the next summer (“bière de garde” = “beer to store”). “For the anniversary, I wanted to do something I know,” he said. “I’ve made probably 100 bières de garde — it’s a style I like.” At about 7.2 ABV, this bière de garde is a little stronger than average. It's also different in that Baker tweaked the flavor with arugula and sorrel from Weavers Way Farms.
“Good French bières de garde have a kind of peppery quality. That’s what the arugula is for,” Baker explained. “Sorrel is the wild card. Nina [Berryman, Weavers Way’s farm manager] suggested it.”
While Earth purchases a lot of Weavers Way Farms produce for their flatbreads, the collaboration goes in the other direction too. The brewery’s spent grain is delivered to the two farms, at Saul High School and Awbury Arboretum, where it enriches the compost piles. The Saul dairy cows also find it delectable.
The budvar lager yeast was also cultivated nearby. “We’re getting the yeast from Iron Hill — another example of local cooperation,” Baker said. The barley was grown in Belgium and malted in France — “very apropos for a bière de garde, but not very local,” Baker commented. He recently found a source for barley grown near Harrisburg and malted in Massachusetts, but not in time for the Weavers Way anniversary brew. The hops are East Kent Goldings (English) and Styrian Goldings (Czech Republic). “I got some hops from Sedgwick Street once. Somebody was just growing them,” Baker said, adding, “The trouble with using hop flowers instead of pelletized hops is they take up too much room [in the brew pot] because they soak up so much water.”
The Weavers Way anniversary ale is the 187th beer Baker has made at Earth, “all different recipes, except one — a Scotch ale called ‘We Heavy Yo.’ The kitchen named it.” Each of Earth’s 220-gallon fermenting tanks translates into about 15 kegs. Look for at a couple kegs at the Weavers Way festivities Sunday, and on tap at Earth until it runs out. “Bières de garde go quick, this might last two weeks,” Baker warned.
Weavers Way anniversary ale will be only one of the attractions of the Co-op’s 40th anniversary party. Food tastings, great grilling, music, games for kids and special membership activities are planned all day long. More information is available at www.weaversway.coop.
Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 8, 2013 — How do you get Weavers Way members to vote FOR carbon dioxide? Brew a beer in honor of the Co-op’s 40th anniversary, and ask them to come up with a name for it.
The still-anonymous ale was created by Mount Airy’s Earth Bread + Brewery. Weavers Way members can go to Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8KBSZK) all week to vote on the name, and members and non-members alike will be able to quaff samples at the cooperative grocery’s 40th Birthday Bash Sunday, Oct. 13. The party is being held at Cliveden, the 18th-century Chew family home in Germantown, and the public is welcome.
Earth, which is celebrating a milestone of its own – five years – on Wednesday, Oct. 9, will also offer the beer during its weeklong celebration Oct. 8-14.
Tom Baker, the brewer at the popular restaurant and brewpub at 7136 Germantown Ave., decided on a bière de garde, a French pale ale originally made in winter to drink the next summer (“bière de garde” = “beer to store”). “For the anniversary, I wanted to do something I know,” he said. “I’ve made probably 100 bières de garde — it’s a style I like.” At about 7.2 ABV, this bière de garde is a little stronger than average. It's also different in that Baker tweaked the flavor with arugula and sorrel from Weavers Way Farms.
“Good French bières de garde have a kind of peppery quality. That’s what the arugula is for,” Baker explained. “Sorrel is the wild card. Nina [Berryman, Weavers Way’s farm manager] suggested it.”
While Earth purchases a lot of Weavers Way Farms produce for their flatbreads, the collaboration goes in the other direction too. The brewery’s spent grain is delivered to the two farms, at Saul High School and Awbury Arboretum, where it enriches the compost piles. The Saul dairy cows also find it delectable.
The budvar lager yeast was also cultivated nearby. “We’re getting the yeast from Iron Hill — another example of local cooperation,” Baker said. The barley was grown in Belgium and malted in France — “very apropos for a bière de garde, but not very local,” Baker commented. He recently found a source for barley grown near Harrisburg and malted in Massachusetts, but not in time for the Weavers Way anniversary brew. The hops are East Kent Goldings (English) and Styrian Goldings (Czech Republic). “I got some hops from Sedgwick Street once. Somebody was just growing them,” Baker said, adding, “The trouble with using hop flowers instead of pelletized hops is they take up too much room [in the brew pot] because they soak up so much water.”
The Weavers Way anniversary ale is the 187th beer Baker has made at Earth, “all different recipes, except one — a Scotch ale called ‘We Heavy Yo.’ The kitchen named it.” Each of Earth’s 220-gallon fermenting tanks translates into about 15 kegs. Look for at a couple kegs at the Weavers Way festivities Sunday, and on tap at Earth until it runs out. “Bières de garde go quick, this might last two weeks,” Baker warned.
Weavers Way anniversary ale will be only one of the attractions of the Co-op’s 40th anniversary party. Food tastings, great grilling, music, games for kids and special membership activities are planned all day long. More information is available at www.weaversway.coop.
Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 1, 2013 — Northwest Philadelphia institution Weavers Way Co-op will mark 40 years since its founding with a gala anniversary celebration Sunday, Oct. 13, at the historic Cliveden estate in Germantown.
Since 1973, "the Co-op" has been an iconic community fixture, serving as a social and political hub as much as a beloved grocery store.
Founded as a neighborhood food-buying club, Weavers Way has grown by leaps and bounds. Two stores, two urban farms and a nonprofit later, Weavers Way is well known as a leader and advocate in multiple areas affecting Philadelphians’ health, well-being and quality of life.
And now it’s time to party!
Hundreds of Weavers Way members, neighbors, friends and casual acquaintances are expected at this free-and-open-to-the-public celebration. It will feature food, live music, kids’ activities, commemorative T-shirts and the unveiling of a Weavers Way 40th anniversary beer created by Mt. Airy’s Earth Bread + Brewery.
More than a dozen vendors, including local favorites John & Kira’s, Jyoti Indian Bistro and Vesper Brothers, will sample their products in the Taste Fair tent. Still hungry? The Weavers Way Grill Team will sell favorites off the barbie, including Martin’s sausages, veggie burgers and hot dogs of all kinds.
A mini farmers market will offer some of Weavers Way Farms’ finest produce, along with apples, pumpkins and mugs. Limited edition 40th anniversary T-shirts will be available for purchase.
Among other fun things to do will be a hula-hoop field for the kids and a Photobooth to preserve the day’s memories. And speaking of forever, the Weavers Way Board of Directors is organizing a time capsule to be unearthed at the Co-op’s 80th birthday. (See you in 2053!) The 1767 Chew House will be open for visits from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., with docents on hand.
Earth Bread + Brewery brewmaster Tom Baker has created a special biere de garde pale ale in honor of the anniversary, incorporating herbs from the Weavers Way Farms.
The beer’s name, chosen by Weavers Way’s expert panel of judges from entries submitted by members and shoppers in a Name That Brew! Contest, will be revealed at the General Membership Meeting around 4 p.m.
Other community groups will be at the party too — from fledgling co-ops to a skills bank to area schools. They will be hosting activities and will have lots of information about what they’re up to. Come and meet some of the folks who make Philadelphia a wonderful place to be.
Long time "double and triple digit" members will receive a special invitation and will be honored at the event for their contributions to the life and spirit of the Co-op.
Cake from the Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill will top off the day. (Vegan cake available too, of course!)
Admission is free. Tickets for food and activities will be sold on site. Co-op members who attend will receive 4 free tickets per household.
In addition to the 40th Birthday Bash at Cliveden, Weavers Way is also celebrating its anniversary with:
— A Web gallery of pictures from the Co-op’s four decades in Mt. Airy and, since 2010, in Chestnut Hill. Visit weaversway.coop to view the images.
— A special edition of the Shuttle, the Co-op’s monthly newspaper, featuring a keepsake section of photos of Weavers Way people and events and a timeline of the history of the Co-op and “The Rest of the World.” Copies are available on request.
