Fare Share Co-op has reached a great milestone! This summer we mark our 30th year anniversary and want to make it not only a commemorative time, but a celebratory time as well.  Our official “Thirty Days of Celebration” will run from Friday, July 11 through Saturday, August 9, 2008.  Events will take place in the Store, the Commons, and the parking lot behind the store. For more information about events, please see below. 

How did we get here? Long time member Lisa Moore tells it well:

THE BALLAD OF FARE SHARE CO-OP
by Lisa Moore

It began in the early 70s, in a hungry, hippie mood.
A bunch of households wanted to order cases of natural food.
We wanted brown rice and tofu, nuts and bananas, and so
we organized a group and named it Fare Share Co-

Op, that is. We started off in a cold South Paris shed,
with wooden bins, a hard dirt floor, and cobwebs overhead.
We learned about markups & discounts, memberships & luck,
and lugged 50# bags of beans and rice out of a pickup truck.

In ’78, we couldn’t wait, we’d grown enough to be
a business in the State of Maine . . . so we added I-N-C.
We had a fancy corporate name that most of us don’t know,
for most just say “the co-op” and marked our calendars so.

We grew and ate and ate and grew and soon, our Board could see
our way to rent a store where the Farmers Union used to be.
The year was 1980 and we wished upon many stars
as we moved to a place with a toilet, an office, and room to park six cars!

We bought coolers & freezers. We volunteered, cleaning and stocking shelves.
Members bought grains and spices, filling their jars themselves.
Jean led us through many years, with a close-knit community base.
We paid our bills. We ordered our food. No creditors gave chase—

—and so, we thought we’d try to produce a bigger and better show
on Alcott Street—but we couldn’t agree—and so we let it go.
Then, as the new millennium turned, Norway gave us the chance to choose
a needy Main Street building and an offer we didn’t refuse.

We pulled out nails and tore down walls, led by Forrest and Ken,
built a big-ole walk-in cooler, a POS system, and then
we packed up all the honey, crackers, raisins, breads, and kales,
and moved them all to a brand new store with visions of doubling sales.

At twenty-five, we were still alive, and now, we owned a home,
with a big old mortgage and bills to pay, but we are not alone.
Yes, we’re in debt, but you can bet, we’re trying our best to keep
the channel to changes open and not to swim too deep.

Management went through twists and turns, and it all seemed a bit surreal,
then along came Claire, with a business flair; she’s steered with an even keel.
We’re a cornerstone of commerce in a town who nurtures change,
armed with the co-op spirit and the vision to rearrange.

So with tenants and artists and farmers, we celebrate thirty years,
passing to decade three, we’ve shed our failure fears.
Let us give thanks for this history, which has so much to teach us,
and count on a circle of mutual support, as the future bends to reach us.

The co-op spirit has carried us to a new awareness that's focal:
a food source not only organic, but one that is also local.
So here’s to us on our birthday, let us raise our glasses and dare
to imagine another 30 years of community at Fare Share.

 

30th Anniversary Celebration Calendar of events - July–August 2008

Norway Summer Festival  
Saturday, July 12, 9:00 a m – 4:00 p m
Downtown Norway

• Table display and food sold in the Festival Food Court
• Displays, free samples, membership information and Co-op history in the Store and
• Commons
• Come in to the store and browse, try some free samples, talk with Fare
• Share Board members about the Co-op, membership and member benefits

“30 Tastes of the Mediterranean” – Mid-Summer Feast and Silent Auction
Saturday, July 19, 5:30–8:30 p m  
Fare Share Commons
Dinner Tickets sliding scale $3 (for the littler ones) to $300

• Silent Auction opens by 5:30 pm , closes at 8:30 pm ; a variety of items is being offered!
• Family-style dinner 6:00– 8:00 p m , featuring dishes inspired from cuisines around the Mediterranean, using fresh, local produce and natural ingredients while accommodating special diets
• Complimentary wine will be served.

Local Vendors Day
Saturday, July 26, 9:00 am–6:00 pm
Fare Share Market
Free

• Features the people and businesses who supply the produce and products sold at Fare Share
• Displays and free samples available 
• Learn about their source and production; know the quality of what you take home!                       

Natural Foods Indulgence Cook-Off
Saturday, July 26, 4:00–5:00 pm
Fare Share Commons
“Tasting Judge” tickets $5

• Show off your kitchen skills or participate as a “Tasting Judge” at Fare Share’s first ever cooking contest!  Using natural ingredients, cooks will prepare their favorite edible indulgence and tasters will vote for the very best. 
• 3 prizes: Most Creative Dish (most unusual or unique), Best Presentation (most dazzling and visually tantalizing), Best Feature Dish (best in both of the above and in flavor and texture)

Supplement Kick-off Week 
Monday, July 28–Saturday, August 2
Fare Share Market

• A new store section of supplements will be initiated.
• Talk with suppliers about products.

Holistic Health and Wellness Fair
Saturday, August 2, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Parking lot behind Fare Share Market
$25 entry fee for practitioners; admission free to the public

• Featuring a variety of alternative and community-based approaches to well-being, including
• Naturopathy
• Reiki
• Massage  
• Acupuncture 
• Yoga
• Tai Chi 
• Homeopathy 
• Herbs
• Holistic Veterinary Medicine 
• Stones
• Astrology 
• Tarot
• Chiropractic 
• Ayurvedic medicine 
• Diabetes Education 
• A Matter of Balance 
• and more!
• Scheduled educational presentations throughout the day in the Fare Share Commons
• Mini-sessions offered by practitioners

Celebration Party!
Saturday, August 9, 7:00 pm–10:00 pm 
Fare Share Commons, parking lot behind Fare Share Market
Donation requested

• Music, dance, food and beverage

Thursday evening Film Series
July 17, 24, 31, August 7, 7:00 pm
Fare ShareCommons
Donation requested

• Titles TBD; More information coming as the titles are determined
• Great topical films about our food sources and food issues 
• Post-film discussion with Ken Morse and others
• Beverages and snacks