This holiday season, more than ever before, our local food-based charities need our help.  That is why The Markets are partnering with Food For All for the eleventh year in a row. 

Please help us raise money for our local food banks by joining us now through January 2 in all our stores.  Look at the checkout for boards stocked with $1, $3 and $5 donation coupons when you are paying for your groceries.  It's easy:  just hand a coupon to your checker to be scanned.  Your donation every time you shop will help feed the hungry, over half of whom are children.

Your donation appears on your register receipt, and is tax deductible.  Once Food For All concludes, the money raised is distributed to the food organizations, in time for the slump in giving that happens after the holidays.

Our recipients this year include the following organizations:  Senior Meals on Wheels, Helping Hands Food Bank of Sedro Woolley, Arlington Food Bank, Oso Food  Bank, Nooksack Valley Food Bank, Bellingham Food Bank, Salt of the Earth Food Bank, Anacortes 100 Food Bank, Blaine Food Bank, Project Hope, Lighthouse Mission, Ferndale Food Bank, Southside Food Bank, Wenatchee Food Bank, Selah Civic Center Food Bank, Wapato Food Bank, Moses Lake Food Bank, Wenatchee Food Bank and Prosser Senior Center.

The Markets has raised over $160,000 to feed the hungry through Food For All.  Please help us this year to put food on the table for our hungry neighbors.  Thank you for your gifts and your generosity.  For information about Food For All, a national nonprofit organization with over 6,000 retail participants nationwide, check out www.foodforall.org .

We are partnering with Housing Hope in Snohomish County (www.housinghope.org)  to help "Paint The Town With Hope" this holiday season.

Housing Hope is a Snohomish nonprofit organization that helps local families with basic housing and shelter needs.  Their goal is a hand up, not a hand out. 

At our Arlington Food Pavilion and Everett Cost Cutter stores, there will be paint buckets available to drop in donations towards Housing Hope.  The buckets will be on display with information about Housing Hope through December 9, so we hope you have an opportunity to help support this worthy group.

The Markets was recently selected as a Master Marketer by Supervalu, Inc., our wholesale supplier, in a national competition highlighting the best retail merchandising practices among over 4,300 supermarkets.

The award was one of 16 given from over 300 nominations.  The Markets received recognition in the category of Store Brands/Value Brand Bargains. 

Focusing on its own store brands, The Markets ran a one-week long promotion highlighting various private label brands, including Flavorite, Homelife, Baby Basics and Shoppers Value.  Through a blend of in-store displays in all departments, dedicated advertising and cross merchandising, the promotion was a resounding success.

Even more than the award recognition, The Markets' private label brands offer our customers quality at great prices.  That's even better than an award!

Mt. Vernon Food Pavilion is pleased to partner this fall with Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (SDVSAS) in an innovative promotion:  Purple Light Nights.

Today through October 31, customers will be offered the opportunity to support SDVSAS in its Purple Light Nights.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the sale of purple light bulbs throughout the community is meant to increase awareness of the problem of domestic violence and its impact upon families.

For $3, or two for $5, customers can purchase a purple light bulb at Food Pavilion.  The goal is to have all residents shine a purple light on every front porch, hang a string of purple lights in every business window, and send out the message that domestic violence has no place in our community.

The purple lights remember those who have lost their lives to domestic violence, support those who are survivors, and bring hope to those still living with abuse.

Please join us in supporting Purple Light Nights.  Staff from SDVSAS will be on hand over the weekends to help sell the bulbs and provide information.  For details on the organization, which provides free and confidential services, go to www.skagitdvsas.org 

In October, we are partnering with the Washington Beef Commission to promote eating beef and our own exceptional beef brands, Certified Tender and Certified Angus Beef.

You can taste the difference in quality when you join us at the Southside Food Pavilion on Saturday, October 10 from 2 to 5 p.m.  Our popular Chef Peter, from The Market at Anacortes, will be grilling delicious rib-eye steaks for you to enjoy.  Some of Washington's beef ranchers will be on hand, too, to talk about their beef and the high standards they follow to produce the best-tasting products.  Bellingham radio stations KAFE and KISM will be there, with prizes and giveaways for customers who stop by the store.

The entire month of October will focus on beef, featuring a different cut of beef each week, along with facts and new recipes.  Check out our weekly ad flyer online to see what's for dinner, and visit the Washington Beef Commission's website, www.wabeef.org  for lots of useful tips.  You can also check out why our beef is so excellent in flavor, quality and value on our website, too.

Slow Food Skagit  is presenting Skagit County's first Eat Local Week, September 14-20, and The Market at Anacortes will be among the participants.

This event, which joins chefs, restaurants, fishermen, farmers, producers, retailers and hungry consumers, is an opportunity to enjoy the flavors and riches of the Skagit River Salish Sea region.  The group plans to celebrate the wealth of local food in the Skagit Valley, and spread the awareness of the economic, cultural and environmental benefits of eating local.  Slow food is a way of eating: savoring your meals and building on the base of food from close to your home.

There will be foodie events in the Skagit communities, including Anacortes.  At our store, we will be featuring products with our "locally produced in Skagit County" signs. These include glass-bottled milk products, farmstead butter and cheeses from Golden Glen Creamery in Bow, artisan breads from the Breadfarm in Edison, and freshly picked basil from Ustalady Farms on Camano Island. 

As a state certified organic produce handler, we offer the best of the Skagit Valley in our fruits and vegetables. 

So, visit us at The Market, check out our local shopping list, and let us know what you think about eating locally the week of September 14.  We're pleased to join in this ambitious effort, one that educates all of us on the delicious food that comes from our bountiful area.  More information is available from www.slowfoodskagit.org

Whatcom County customers and our store teams reached into their hearts...and pockets...to raise over $6,000 this summer for the Whatcom Boys and Girls Club. 

The fundraising campaign, called Round-Up, asked customers to let their spare change make a big difference in the lives of kids in our communities.  From July 31 through August 17, customers at the checkstand were asked if they wanted to "round up" their total bill to the next dollar (or more) to benefit the clubs.

There are 5,400 kids and teens who take part in Club activities in Bellingham, Birch Bay, Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden and Lummi Island.  The need is great, and the community responded in kind.

This is the second year The Markets have joined together with the Clubs to lend a hand to kids, and we're proud to be able to partner with them for such a valuable cause.  Special thanks go out to all our front end teams, who asked customers if they wished to donate, and to our generous customers, who joined with The Markets' own donation to the Clubs this year. 

By the way, if you see the following checkers, please thank them for their efforts on behalf of the Clubs: each of them raised the most money in their respective stores.

Lynden Food Pavilion:  Mary Cook

The Market at Birch Bay: Anthony Jones

Blaine Cost Cutter:  Andrea Meaker

Meridian Cost Cutter: Rhonda Storms

Ferndale Cost Cutter: Viki Gillis

Sunset Cost Cutter:: Cheri Smith

Everson Market:: Cheryl Maxwell

Lakeway Cost Cutter: Christine Hodson

Southside Food Pavilion: Elena Gonzalez

Our Sedro Woolley Food Pavilion will host the first annual Skagit Valley BBQ Championship on Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16...and you don't want to miss  the action, the competition, and most of all, the incredibly delicious barbecue!

Over 20 championship level teams will compete for the opportunity to quality for the national championships, and $10,000 in prize money.  If you've never seen a barbecue team in full action mode, you're in for a real experience: these folks take their cooking seriously, but also have a lot of fun with it.

On Saturday, from 11 to 6,  come watch the teams set up their grills, decorate their booths and talk with the grilling experts.  You can buy a great BBQ lunch for your family, featuring favorites like pulled pork and barbecued chicken.   This sneak preview leads right into Sunday's big events.

On Sunday, competition begins at 10 a.m. with pork butt at 11, brisket at noon and chicken at 1, followed by ribs at 2.  The big award ceremony takes place at 4 p.m.  Buy a bracelet for $5 and sample the master level BBQ.  Barbecue is cooking in a closed oven or container, over very low heat to meld the flavors.  Experts concoct their own secret sauces, and you'll have to choose your favorites from regional styles.  Be it traditional or wildly innovative, barbecue can appeal to just about everyone...and this is your opportunity to see which you like best.

For more information, check out www.pnwba.com  (and get ready to eat some of the best bbq you've ever tasted!).

Let your spare change make a BIG difference for kids in our communities here in Whatcom County. 

The second Round Up 4 Kids begins this Friday, July 31 and runs through August 17.  It will take place at all Whatcom County Market stores (Cost Cutter in Bellingham, Blaine and Ferndale; Food Pavilion in Lynden and Bellingham Southside and The Market at Birch Bay and Everson).  We are partnering with the Boys and Girls Club once again this summer, and hope you'll join our commitment to youth.

You can help the 5,400 kids and teens who use the Boys and Girls Clubs in Bellingham, Birch Bay, Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden and Lummi Island by just rounding up your purchase to the next dollar. 

Your change can change a young life...so when your checker asks if you want to round up your purchase to the next dollar or add a larger amount, just say yes.  You'll help young people grow into responsible community members through the Boys and Girls Club programs:  character & leadership, development, education and career development, health & life skills, the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation.

Thanks for helping to make a difference!

Do you love barbecue?  Does the thought of smoky, tangy ribs or spicy pulled pork make your mouth water with joy and anticipation?  Are you a fan of iron chef competitions?

Then you won't want to miss "BBQ On The Border", a barbecue cookoff championship sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association.  The Market at Birch Bay is hosting this first official bbq cookoff ever in Whatcom County...and you're invited to join in the eating!

Only the best chefs and their teams will dare to compete for over $10,000 in prize money.  On Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, over 20 teams of enthusiastic barbecue experts will cook up some of the most delicious versions of traditional barbecue meats and even dessert. 

Stop by beginning Saturday afternoon and join in the tasting and good eating.  Tasting tickets are just one dollar, with all proceeds going to the Whatcom Day Academy.  Prize categories include pork butt, brisket, chicken, ribs, dessert and a surprise "to be announced" category.  Expect showmanship, style and first-class food from the experts.  Judging will take place on Sunday. 

It's a great way to enjoy the best barbecue you've ever tasted...only happening at The Market at Birch Bay, just off I-5 at exit 270 north of Bellingham.  Gentlemen and ladies...start your grills.  It's July, it's barbecue time, only at The Market at Birch Bay!