We LOVE October at the Grain Train! First of all, it’s Co-op Month. It’s when we celebrate all things Co-Op! It’s also when our owners vote on the 2027 Cents of Community recipients. This month is also Fair Trade Month, when we highlight brands like Equal Exchange, which happens to be a cooperative, too!
You will find us at the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference in a Wholesale 101 workshop with Oryana and Taste the Local Difference. We just love Principle 6: Cooperation Among Cooperatives and jump at the chance to collaborate with a fellow cooperative at any chance we get.
You will have the opportunity this month to meet some of your favorite farmers and producers as we spread some Local Love at the stores. And no October is complete without Spooky Kids, our annual sampling party for all the little ghosts and ghouls in your life.
We also have a big reveal coming that you will want to keep your eyes out for. It’s a good month to be a Co-op. Well, they all are, but October is extra Co-operiffic!
Let’s talk about Cents of Community. Owners, it’s time to VOTE on who our 2027 recipients are going to be. We have 11 spots open (Manna Food Project always gets the month of July) and 15 organizations on the ballot.
Through August 2026, we have raised $30,322.76! That is 100% community coming together. It’s where a small difference adds to real change. Make sure to vote during October. If you’re not an Owner yet, this is the perfect time to become one!
In our sales flyers this month, keep an eye out for deals on cooperatively owned brands like Equal Exchange, Frontier Co-op and Organic Valley.
Starting Wednesday, October 21st, we have some awesome BOGO deals coming your way. Co-op Deals are for everyone!
As always, we will have weekly Owner Deals to deepen savings for our Owners.
The Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference (NMSFC) took place in Bellaire this year on October 4th–6th.
We were excited to partner with Oryana and Taste the Local Difference to put on a Wholesale 101: Roadmap to Wholesale workshop for participants.
We love the opportunity to meet new farmers and producers. The Northern Michigan Small Farms conference is about building connections and collaborating to create and support the food systems that we need in Northern Michigan and beyond.
We love our local farmers and producers. It wouldn’t be Co-op Month if we didn’t show some Local Love their way! Keep a lookout for your opportunities to chat with some of our local farmers and producers in October.
Petoskey
- Friday, October 16th – King Orchards from 3-5 p.m.
- Friday, October 23rd – KK’s Farm from 3-5 p.m.
Boyne City
- Saturday, October 17th – Big Medicine Coffee from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Saturday, October 24th – Brotherton Farm from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Make sure to send your ghosts and ghouls our way on the 31st for our annual Spooky Kids tasting. Right after the Petoskey and Boyne City parades, we will have spooktacular treats around the stores.
The Petoskey Parade is at 9:30 a.m., and Downtown Trick-or-Treating in the stores is 10 a.m.–Noon.
In Boyne City, the parade is at 4:30 p.m., and we will have treats out at the store from 5-7 p.m.
Last but not least, we are going to have a big reveal this month. Our new Grain Train logo is getting its finishing touches, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
The logo will feature our new DBA, Grain Train Community Co-op. We thought long and hard about what the right name for our co-op was, and it didn’t take long to realize that community is at the heart of it. We will be rolling out the new logo and name change in early 2027.
Stay tuned!!
We know that you choose your local co-op all year round and we are so grateful, this month we are really celebrating you, our community. Thank you for sticking with us since 1971 and helping us grow into the Grain Train Community Co-op!
Until next time, keep cooperating and we’ll see you at the stores.
