Co-ops Build Better Food Systems

For the second year in a row, your Co-op joined co-ops across the country to lower prices on all Field Day items in the month of November in conjunction with a giving campaign to support North American Traditional Food Systems (NĀTIFS), a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous food systems and promoting cultural preservation within Native American communities. The pledge was five cents for every Field Day product purchased. 

In 2024, co-op shoppers everywhere put approximately 280,000 Field Day items in their carts, for a donation total of $140,000. While NCG is still crunching national numbers for 2025, we anticipate similar success. 

At our Co-op: 17,019 Field Day items for a Skagit Valley Food Co-op contribution of over $850. And for the second year in a row, your Co-op also pledged to match our contribution to the NĀTIFS campaign with a donation to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s Environmental Health Program, to help provide food for children and elders.

NĀTIFS was founded by Lakota Chef Sean Sherman (James Beard Winner known as the Sioux Chef). Through initiatives like the Indigenous Food Lab, NĀTIFS offers training programs, educational workshops and support for Indigenous entrepreneurs to empower individuals and foster economic development.

By addressing economic disparities, food insecurity and the loss of Indigenous food knowledge, NĀTIFS aims to restore health, wealth and cultural identity to Indigenous populations. The organization’s commitment to promoting Indigenous foodways education, facilitating food access and revitalizing ancestral knowledge underscores its mission to create positive social impact and support underserved communities.

You can find Chef Sherman’s book Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America in our Mercantile.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s Environmental Health Program’s work involves evaluating Indigenous health, a difficult task given the many intangible aspects of health. The strategy is to focus on a paradigm of health in lieu of disease, and to think about less tangible aspects of health via the proxy of first foods (also called traditional foods or “Swinomish foods”). The Swinomish apply the Indigenous Health Indicators concepts to its climate change work, as well as to food sovereignty and informal learning. Other program work includes increasing access to fresh, local produce through their community garden and the Swinomish preschool’s mini 13 Moons garden. Fruits and vegetables from the garden are freely shared in the community via produce carts, at Elder lunches, and in the main kitchen.

Field Day is the Co-op’s value brand that offers better access to organic, nutrient-dense foods (including canned organic produce) along with household products at a competitive price, for everyone.