March 19, 2018 marked the informal kick-off of Bay City Cooperative Market’s I-4 Community Education Program, with a well-attended Seed Saving presentation by Ben Cohen of Small House Farms. On April 25, our Outreach Coordinator followed up with a Food Exploration Workshop for 4th and 10th graders at Bay City Academy.

I-4, which stands for Instruction, Information, Inspiration and Insight, is BCCM’s newest program, offering an arena for individuals in our community and beyond to learn more about ecology, sustainability, food, food prep and healthy eating. I-4 will also explore crafting with natural and found items, upcycling furniture, fabric and clothing, and other fun and crafty projects.

Some classes, such as those that pertain to healthy eating/living, recycling and sustainability may be offered free of charge, while other classes will be fee-based and pay instructors an honorarium for teaching the classes.

We are asking for proposals to teach classes to be emailed to outreach@baycityfood.org. Please include your contact information, briefly describe your experience and the class you would like to teach, the timeframe (how many hours, meetings, etc…), space requirements, the cost of your materials and/or whether students must provide materials. Our Outreach Coordinator will contact you to discuss details and scheduling.

Our next two scheduled workshops are Why Co-op? Why Bay City? (FREE) It takes place at the Wirt Library on May 16, 2018 at 6:00 pm and explores our dreams for our community and how a food co-op answers need in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

On May 30, Wirt Library at 6:00 pm Iris Waste Division will present another free workshop called Help! I’m Recycling! It answers our questions about recycling in Bay County, in particular what and how to recycle and where the items we discard go after they are picked up.

There will be ample time at both workshops for questions and answers afterward, and we will have representatives from the Bay City Cooperative Market available to assist folks who want to invest in ownership in the co-op. We hope to see you (and your friends) there!