Karma’s first building condition assessment conducted by CMS Building Consultants & Engineers in 2020 outlines the essential building repairs and improvements required over the next 10 years. A summary of the capital needs below is pulled from the report with cost estimates. The full report is available to all interested Karma members by emailing Andrea Dawber at president@karmacoop.org. Karma has not been able to build up a capital reserve fund over the past decade. Today, Karma’s fi...

by Kristy van Beek Last June, Karma conducted a survey to learn more about you and what you would like to see and experience at Karma. A big thank you to the 333 people who took the time to share their valuable feedback with the co-op.We heard loud and clear what members love most about Karma. Ethical practices, local producers, quality organic products, democratic ownership of our grocery store, a relaxed shopping atmosphere and a nourishing community. Karma has always been a place for c...

Thank you, Karma members and friends. This holiday season fifty-nine Karma members, past members, staff, trial shoppers and visitors gave generously to help strengthen and build our food co-op. Every dollar raised will be invested this year in essential building renewal projects.  Thank you, Future Fund donors for your generosity and support! Aidan Nulman Alex Speers-Roesch Andrea Dawber Anne Shepherd Anonymous donors Art Jacobs & Keren Rice Artemis Crea...

Happy 2021 Members!! I hope you all had a wonderful, restful holiday season filled with lots of good food!  There is a lot being planned for the year ahead! The Board and committees have some great ideas and energy brewing that will continue to make Karma the most wonderful food co-op well into the future.  I am very excited!  Thank you to all of you who have made donations to both the Staff and Future Funds over the last little while. I am always amazed at how dedicated...

by Jennifer Knoch Winter isn’t easy on a lot of us who prefer basically any other season to polar vortexes and darkness before dinner. It’s not exactly easy on the planet either, but I’ve rounded up a few tips to help us find eco bright spots amidst the gloom. Put your sidewalks on a low-sodium diet A few years ago, a blue crab was found in Mississauga’s Cooksville Creek. Why is that weird? That’s an ocean creature living in fresh water, which means the regular freshwater aquatic li...

by Karma member Kate Tessier If you have ever had the pleasure of enjoying a meal from an Indian restaurant you know all about Chickpea Curry, otherwise known as Channa Masala. It’s that rich dish that only accelerates your consumption of Naan and undoubtedly sends you back for more. But without the freshest ingredients, packaged dishes like this tend to be bland and mushy.  Thankfully, Tiffinday’s Chickpea Curry is vegan/plant based dish that tastes fresh, full of traditi...

by Daria Love of the Food Issues Committee Karma members are discerning shoppers.  Seeking quality and integrity in the products they purchase, food labels and logos can provide important information about the packaged product. In Canada, only those products with 95% or greater organically produced content may be labelled organic or display the organic logo.  A product can declare the percentage of organic ingredients in the product if they total 70-95% of all the ingredient...

Perhaps you’ve seen me on door duty at Karma, where I put in one shift a week (down from 2 during the sunny weather).  I’m the old guy (pony tail, beard, goatee, all tastefully grey) who always has a book. I was one of the original members, and dropped out for about 25 years – and am I glad I returned.  During the pandemic, Karma is my most important community, and so much more than a food store. John on one of his door shifts. How are you spending the pandemic – deprived of in...

2020 is almost over! What a year it’s been! Thank you members and amazing Karma staff and Board of Directors for working so hard to see this year through. I hope 2021 brings health and love to you all. Thank you for your ongoing support this year.  Around the store, things are looking like the holidays! The lights are up, our feature shelf holds some exciting gift ideas, and the store is busy!!  Though the holidays will be looking different this year, we are still celebrating! O...

by Colette Slone Karma worm wrangler Mike Luke. You may already be familiar with the worm composting bins at Karma, but for those of you who are not yet acquainted, allow us to formally introduce ourselves. We are Colette and Mike, Karma members since 2014 and the official Worm Wranglers of Karma’s worm composting (aka vermicomposting) bin! We started the worm bin 6 years ago when Colette was a Karma staff member. At the time, she needed to find a new home for the composting worm...