June Product Highlights
June is Pride Month, and we want to recognize the LGBTQ+ producers you can find in the store. Look for tags at the shelf level and read on to learn more.
June is Pride Month, when we remember the history that brought LGBTQ+ rights into the public dialog and celebrate the resilience, joy, and accomplishments of this community. There are several organizations in our region advocating for the LGBTQ+ community that are planning events throughout the month. Learn more at Pride Center Vermont, ACLU Vermont, and Outright Vermont.
Outright Vermont is our Give Change partner for June, so ask to round up your purchase to the nearest dollar when you shop to benefit their work. And we are happy to offer our Pride Month special edition tote bags again this year. With a beautiful rainbow motif, $1 from each sale will also benefit Outright Vermont.
Here at the Co-op, we want to recognize the LGBTQ+ producers you can find in the store. Look for tags at the shelf level and read on to learn more. Additionally, here are 29 LGBTQ+ Owned Businesses to Support During Pride Month and All Year Long.
“Freya and I founded Coolhaus a decade ago because we wanted to make the creamiest, most innovative, and most unique ice cream on the planet, but do it in an authentic way that celebrated who we are: millennials, women, and a gay couple,” explains Natasha Case, Coolhaus Co-Founder. They started in a converted postal truck and now offer an entire line of delightfully whimsical vegan and full-on dairy ice cream pints and sandwiches.
Greg Thomas Dave, known popularly as GT Dave, is openly gay and married to his longtime boyfriend-turned-partner/husband, Allan Fanucchi. In the mid-’90s, GT Dave realized his purpose to share the gift of kombucha in its purest, most potent form to help people everywhere live healthier, happier lives. Starting with small batches in his family’s Southern California kitchen, he eventually expanded to GT’s Living Foods, an LGBTQ+-owned leader in fermented foods.
What began as a dream on a farm in the Hudson River Valley some 40 years ago is now one of the most widely known LGBTQ+-owned businesses of all time, seen in grocery stores and pharmacies nationwide. Steve Byckiewicz and Bob Macleod started it all by making Kiss My Face soap bars. And now, the couple sells everything from body lotion and toothpaste to roll-on deodorant, kids’ sunscreen, and just about anything else you might need in your bathroom.
Mason Dixie Foods is a BIPOC and LGBTQ+-owned breakfast sandwich company that began with Ayeshah Abuelhiga, the daughter of Korean and Palestinian immigrants. Considering herself more culturally American than Asian or Middle Eastern, and with a strong love for Southern food, she started Washington D.C.’s first-ever pop-up in 2014 selling biscuits and biscuit sandwiches. A year later, Ayeshah was joined by the LGBTQ+ side of the leadership team, Ross Perkins. The brand quickly expanded to nationwide distribution with a diversity-forward business model. They don’t just hire for the sake of representation; they hire the best people for the job while creating and maintaining a workplace where anyone can safely and comfortably be who they are. You can find their frozen ready-to-eat biscuits and sandwiches in the freezer section around the corner from our meat cooler. Read more about the company in this news article, Mason Dixie Foods Leads with PRIDE in DEI.
Maxine’s Heavenly Cookies are naturally sweetened and vegan, with team crunchy and chewy offerings. They are LGBTQ+-founded, and their entire C-Suite is currently LGBTQ+, as well as roughly 30% of their staff. The CEO also mentors a handful of other LGBTQ-owned businesses.
Nuttin Ordinary is a husband and husband-founded company based on the idea of creating clean, simple ingredient-based foods that provide nutritional value and taste great. Josh Velasquez’s passion for crafting clean and flavorful dairy-free cheese and Adam Hamilton’s expertise in finance and strategic planning has formed the perfect foundation for Nuttin Ordinary’s success. “We are the first 100% plant-based cheese manufacturer in New England and are proud of it,” explained Adam. “We use a proprietary probiotic blend and production process to culture our cheese, achieving the taste and consistency our customers know and love.”
