Strawberry Ice Cream Social & Austin Miller Awards

Don't miss our annual Strawberry Ice Cream Social and Austin Miller Co-op Hero Awards on Thursday, June 15, 2023, where we will once again recognize those people and organizations that nurture and sustain our co-op and our community!
 

The Austin Miller Co-op Hero Awards strive to recognize those people and organizations that nurture and sustain our co-op and community. Created in 2009 by River Valley Co-op, the awards recognize individuals, nonprofits, businesses and farm or food businesses in the Pioneer Valley that support the co-op and embody the cooperative principle, "Support for Community."

This year, all proceeds from the Ice Cream Social will benefit two area nonprofits: the Nonotuck Community School and New Village, both of Northampton, MA!

Click above to view menu and ingredients

 
About the Austin Miller Awards

Here in the Pioneer Valley, it's easy to take our vibrant co-op community for granted. But it takes committed individuals and organizations to support people in need, champion a sustainable environment, and develop a strong food system that contributes to the local economy.

The Austin Miller Co-op Hero Awards strive to recognize those people and organizations that nurture and sustain our co-op and our community. Created in 2009 by River Valley Co-op, the Austin Miller Co-op Hero Awards recognize:

1. An individual;
2. A nonprofit organization;
3. A local business;
4. A farm or food business in the Pioneer Valley that has supported River Valley Co-op and embodies the cooperative principle of "Support for Community."

Austin Miller was awarded the first annual Co-op Hero Award during our cooperative’s celebration of the first birthday of our store on April 30th, 2009, for extraordinary support from a co-op owner. Austin tirelessly and passionately championed the dreams of our membership for a locally grown food co-op in Northampton.

Austin was a founding co-op owner whose career was devoted to serving people in Western Massachusetts by supporting community development projects that provided low income housing, shelter for victims of domestic violence, and food for the hungry. Austin specialized in securing financing for projects that directly benefited people in need and strengthened our communities. Austin was the financial consultant who secured the financing agreements between River Valley Co-op and the banks that provided the economic development funding and financing for our co-op start-up project in Northampton. Our community lost a good friend when Austin passed away in October 2009.
 

Individual Award

Winner: Alex Risley Schroeder

Alex has served on our Board of Directors for nine years! This time has been one of significant organizational growth and development for our co-op and Alex has played a significant leadership role in this on behalf of our ever-growing community of co-op owners. Alex ran for her first Board seat in 2014, our sixth year of operating as a business. It was the year we reached $20 million in annual sales and grew to 133 employees and over 6,000 co-op owners.

In 2014 Alex wrote in her candidate statement that there were three reasons she was running for the board:

• "I believe River Valley Market plays a significant role in spurring economic development and job creation, and I want to support this activity and future opportunities,
  
  
• I’m committed to help increase the sturdiness of our local food system. My family and I love local food (including, but not limited to: Winter Moon carrots, Bart’s Chunky Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Ice Cream and Sidehill Yogurt)
  
  
• Serving on the board of directors would allow me to put my skills and experience to work in service of the mission of River Valley Market; all of my professional and community work focuses on building the sustainable economy, of which River Valley Market is a vital piece."

She also wrote, “In my experience, fostering productive relationships and addressing complex issues require listening, respect, participation—and kindness. I’ll bring this approach and my skills to service on the River Valley Market board of directors.”

Alex dove right into work and was a key leader in thoughtful discussions and decision-making for leading our cooperative forward to increase community impact and grow the local food system through the expansion of our co-op to multiple locations. She supported strategic Board development to prepare for big decisions about real estate and financing. Alex put in hours and hours talking to co-op owners about our loan campaign to raise funds in support of our Easthampton expansion.

Now, nine years later, our co-op has grown to over 15,000 co-op owners, 240 employees, and two stores with annual sales of $48 million. Alex’s thoughtful leadership in participation on our Board of Directors is a big part of how we’ve maintained a vision of service and impact for our community through challenging times. Alex listens well, considers others' viewpoints, and articulates insights gathered from the group discussion that support great understanding and help us move forward. She brings her passion, her skills for moving through complex issues with care, creativity, an open mind, and dedication to making good things happen to our co-op through her Board leadership. Thank you, Alex, for nine years of amazing service to our community and our co-op!
 

Local Business Award

Winner: Pangaea Sushi

Su Su and Po have been working in the sushi industry for over a decade and first came to the co-op in 2010 with the sushi company Sushi with Gusto. Poe moved to the U.S. from Myanmar in 2004.

Poe came to River Valley Co-op in 2010. Su Su Min Aung came to the U.S. in 2013 from Myanmar as an elementary school teacher. A few years later, Su Su became a U.S. citizen through the Center for New Americans in Northampton.

With the support of River Valley Co-op, Su Su’s finance and business skills, and Poe’s operational know-how, Pangaea Sushi opened in 2017. Since that time, they have grown into a strong local business that has deeply enriched our co-op community.

With the co-op’s expansion into Easthampton, Su Su orchestrated Pangaea’s expansion, hiring more staff to make sushi in the new store. Soon after, they expanded to Brattleboro Co-op. Pangaea now has five staff members: Zin, Tun Tun, Aung Ko, Min, and Johnny. They plan to open a separate production facility, which would allow them to increase their catering business.
 

Local Vendor / Farm Award

Winner: Our Family Farms

Our Family Farms was founded in the spring of 1997 with the hope of keeping family farms operating for hundreds of years. They are a dairy farm working together to offer fresh, local hormone (rBST*) free milk. Each farmer takes great pride in their farm and the care of their cows. This high-quality milk is produced on small, local, family-run farms located throughout Massachusetts’ Franklin and Hampshire counties.

The hardworking dairy farmers at Our Family Farms strive to offer consumers high-quality milk while also preserving a traditional way of life. Combined, they preserve 2100 acres of land, generate 15 full-time jobs and care for 500 well-pampered cows!

Additionally, their farmers are multi-generational stewards of the land in Franklin County, using many sustainable agricultural practices, protecting natural resources, and preserving open space. They are honored and proud to stand as an established co-op dairy brand among the many dedicated growers, producers, and farmers in the region’s rich and varied local agriculture network.
 

Nonprofit Award

Winner: New Village Preschool 

New Village (formerly known as Farm Hands Preschool) is an early childhood care community that strives to be a bastion of social justice and a model for other schools that seek a similar path. Their mission is to grow a community that centers the satisfaction and joy of all its members, with priority given to those who are historically, currently, and systemically marginalized and oppressed by the society in which we live.

Students at New Village learn about justice, community, identity, responsibility, and care through a curriculum of true play, relationship building, and land stewardship. They currently operate as a small neighborhood school with two classrooms—one for preschoolers and one for toddlers. A third classroom for infants is scheduled to open this fall.
 

Winner: Nonotuck Community School

Nonotuck Community School was founded in 1977 and provides high-quality preschool education and child care. They care for children 15 months to 6 years of age in an environment that promotes self-esteem, creative thinking, and individuality through a respectful partnership between children parents, and faculty.

Nonotuck's students stay in one classroom for the year, enhancing their early childhood experience through close and consistent relationships with their friends and teachers. They are a licensed early education and childcare center and have achieved a Quality Rating and Improvement Scale (QRIS) rating which indicates they have surpassed basic licensing practices.