Since the summer of 2015, volunteer and current board member Dale Case has served HFC by attending hundreds of farmer’s markets. While he has attended a variety of markets in the region, he has attended at the Hillsboro Farmers’ Market in Downtown Hillsboro on Saturdays most weeks throughout the years.

What has this meant for HFC?

Thousands of people learning about HFC, having a friendly face to ask their questions, and having a convenient place to become a member-owner!

When Dale told his fellow volunteers that he would need to “retire” from the position of booth leader at the end of this market season, we were filled with a sense of gratitude for the countless hours that Dale has spent advocating for HFC over the years.

Thank you, Dale, for playing an integral role in building our community-owned grocery store! And thank you for your continued involvement on the Board of Directors and the Outreach Team!

Why did Dale dedicate his time to HFC?

We will let him tell you why HFC is so important to him!

“There are quite a number of reasons [why I want a food co-op in Hillsboro].

The main reason, of course, is about food. I care about where my food comes from; how far it traveled, how it was grown, and most of all, by whom it was grown.  How the food was grown is important; not necessarily organic, but responsibly. This also includes how people working for the growers are treated if the grower is big enough to have some employees.

I would love the opportunity to know more about the people who grow my food. This is only possible when food travels a short distance. Co-ops make this possible much more often as they tend to deal with small growers who can’t supply large chain stores.

And then comes packaging! Packaging is expensive, wasteful and environmentally destructive as much of it is difficult or impossible to recycle. The way around the problem of packaging is to sell as many bulk products as possible with reusable containers to put them in. Co-ops use this tool in a big way. I am very much looking forward to it!

And last I want to talk a little about the whole concept of co-ops. Co-ops started long ago as a means for people to better themselves. That is still what co-ops are about today. It’s not about people doing something because they have to or because they are paid to.

It’s about people working together for the common good because they want to.

This means a lot to me!”

What will happen next year?

It will be some big shoes to fill, but HFC will be working to find a new market leader to continue our attendance at markets next year. The reality is that throughout the startup process, volunteers come and go as their lives change, so we are always looking for more volunteers to join us!

Even if being a market leader isn’t the right job for you, we hope that Dale’s passion will inspire you to get involved.

You can email [email protected] to get connected today!