November 29th

I went to eat my lunch at one of the cafe that uses all natural ingredients they buy from coops. I had soup and salad meal that comes with bread. It was all great with so many kinds of vegetables in it. But..., but, the soup was really salty and the bread was kind of greasy. Salt and oil..., not good for heart, right? I don’t have heart problems now. But I just don’t enjoy that kind of food. I added about 5 oz of hot water to dilute my soup, but it was still salty. Salad was wonderful. The bread was home made from scratch, but with plenty oil and salt. Well, I guess the food is more than just organic. It needs to be considered with other health factors like low fat and less salt. Oh well, the safest way is still cook at home.

November 20th—November 26th

I spent about 27 hours to put everything together for my part of the project. I also went Reed College and Lewis and Clerk to find “Nonprofit Corporation Handbook.” Lewis and Clerk’s Law School had one. I studied it and made copies to bring home. I wish I could just have bought one and give it to People’s after this project. But I’m just a student with little money, so I couldn’t. I was glad I found information that I needed though.

My thanks giving dinner (November 23rd)

I was invited by the family who live upstairs. It was easy for me and I’m quite comfortable with the people and food. I was reluctant to go any places before this family invited me. I don’t like most of thanksgiving food. Most of them are creamy and sweetened, which I really don’t like both. I can’t look at huge roasted turkey. There’s something wrong with that huge turkey. I knew it with my instinct even before I take this class about natural food. It’s too huge and so much flesh with fragile bones. When I read the article “What about free-range turkey?,” I really could see what’s wrong with it. Producers do genetic control to make turkeys that huge and give all kind s of unhealthy diet to make them fat. They live in a terrible environment too even if it’s called “free range”. I’m Buddhist and I’m told to respect the way of nature. There are so many blessings we can learn from nature. So, this kind of practices make me really uncomfortable and mad. I feel like I’m taking a part in this disrespect to nature when I eat abused turkey. I truly apologize to those turkeys I ate. I knew they weren’t raised in healthy condition. I couldn’t resist when I saw nicely cut meat. I’m just one of stupid human beings. I wish all of them went to the heaven. That’s really all I can do after I ate them. I’m a big hypocrite. Going back to thanksgiving dinner, I actually enjoyed a lot even though I didn’t like them before. My host cooked everything from scratch spending four days. He said he bought stuff from WinCo, which is definitely not a natural food store. But anyhow, I knew he put his heart in it and it was all delicious. I just make prayers to be forgiven and I will work hard to make world a better place.

Portland Farmers Market

I went to Portland farmers market at PSU to hand out fliers for People's farmers market.

I was so glad that many people I talked to were very friendly and smiled to me when I said hi.

I made two rounds to send out fliers and when I was ready to go for the third, there were no fliers left. So, we were very quick to finish our task. It only took us an hour to hand out all fliers.

My hours from Nov 6th—12th

I spent 10 hours total researching about nonprofit, writing e-mails and making phone calls. I placed hold on “Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook” on Multnomah County Library and checked PSU library. It turned out PSU only caries the version from 1993. This organization publishes new versions every two years because regulation changes frequently. I couldn’t place hold on SUMMIT system, which is the library system that allows to get books from other colleges in Portland area. Those schools who have this book carries under reserves, so I couldn’t order through SUMMIT. PSU is supposed be known for business programs. The selection of business books at library is terrible. They are all outdated, which it not a good thing in the study of business. We hardly use anything from ten years ago. Most instructors don’t allow us to use such old books. Anyway, I just thought to report my findings

Food Front

Our class was held at Food Front today. My first impression going there was it is very much like high-end store, like Zupans. However, as I heard from Holly about store policy and shopped there, I realized it is very coop.

The relationship with local producers is held very closely. Employees awareness is very high. Their passion is very inspiring.

Hours spent from Oct 24th to Nov 6th

40 hours reviewing the materials, completing assignments, researching for the project, and reading magazine articles related to sustainability.

Assignment 4

Assignment 4
Proposal for People’s Food Cooperative

1. A problem area related to wider food politics or food industry issue;

Adding a non-profit wing to People’s to receive grants for classes related sustainable natural living.

2. The context of a food coop like People’s, positioned in the expanding natural food industry and in local markets;

By adding non-profit wing, People’s can offer education about healthy cooking within budget, sustainable living, and so on to the community including low-income populations. There are such needs in the community and being considered by board members and owners.

3. A research strategy for investigating the problem you have identified, including

a. your methodology—how you will study the problem identified,

We’ve already contacted several Coops who have done the same thing, some legal offices, and gathered documents through these contacts. We will continue collecting information and examine those information. We will compose a report that covers cost, processes, benefits, community resources, legal status implications, and affects of incorporation for adding non-profit.

b. your theories about what you would expect to find from your study,

Adding a non-profit wing at People’s will be a great benefit for the community. I hope I can outline everything People’s staff needs to know regarding this matter. The outcome of adding non-profit wing should be rewarding for both community and People’s. As described in above, we will cover cost, process, benefits, community resources, legal status implications, and affects of incorporation for adding non-profit.

c. the form of final presentation that will most clearly communicate your findings;

We will create both report and power point presentation.

4. How will YOU focus your time and energy on this particular inquiry?

I’ve contacted to several legal services and community resources that may support People’s establish non-profit wing. I will work with my teammates to establish clear outlines, any further researches, and composing final report and presentation.

5. How do you think your inquiry relates to the four University Studies goals?

1. Critical thinking:
Studying 501c3 status requires careful observations of entities, examination of materials and sources, reconstructing information, and presenting in clear manner, all of which contributes to critical thinking.

2. Ethics
I truly believe this project will benefit the community and strengthen influences to the whole society regarding sustainability and natural living, which accord to my own ethics.

3. Communication

Our presentation and formal report is one of the most important communication methods we will have with our community partner. In the process of this research, we’ve contacted many organizations regarding this matter, which requires us to communicate in a professional manner and show appreciations. Also, the communication within our team is vital for this project. We use e-mails, phones, and face to face communication channels to process this project. We agreed to respect each member’s opinion and address any problems without hesitation.

4. Diversity and human experiences:

Working with teammates is great diversity and human experiences. Each of us comes from different backgrounds, yet shares the similar interests in this subject. The passion among members is a great stimulation for our academic journey. Working with community partner and people around this organization enhanced our diversity and learning experiences too.