Meet Our Board – Amanda Presgraves

Co-op Board Elections are fast approaching, and we wanted to give you the chance to digitally meet some of current board members. If you’re a co-op owner and you’re interested in becoming a board member you can find out more information here. Board candidate elections are due by September 25th and elections will be held from October 2-30.

NAME : Amanda Presgraves

YEARS ON BOARD: This is my first year!

RECENT BOARD DISCUSSIONS: 

• • Creating a more just and equitable grocery store for the community 
  • New board member elections (these are coming up, ask me about this!)
  • General Manager status report and monitoring 

Current Favorite Recipe?

Chilled Late-Summer Pasta Salad

• • • • Boil: a pack of noodles at the Co-op (I often lean on the Field Day brand, which was on sale for 99c last week – usually $1.99!)  
      • Saute: cubed tofu, marinated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and italian seasonings
      • Chop seasonal produce: we use cherry tomatoes, basil and peppers from our garden, and get our cucumbers and corn from either the Co-op or a neighbor’s garden
      • Quick dressing: mix together a good pour of olive oil, a few splashes of vinegar (we use apple cider vinegar) and lemon juice, italian, seasonings, and dashes of salt and pepper, and a wee bit of honey.
      • Mix it all together and refrigerate for a delightful, summer-produce-abundant, cooling pasta salad

What is your dream weekend in the Shenandoah Valley?

• • A weekend camping in the National Forest – including, but not limited to – catching an overlook sunrise, returning to Chestnut Ridge coffee and an egg-toast-veggie breakfast in the cool morning air, a day-long run or mountain bike ride with my pup Mistie and husband, Andrew…followed by a refreshing river dip. Then, we gotta top it off with a camp-cooked dinner or Boboko when returning home on Sunday, for the complete experience. 

 

How/Why did you start shopping at the co-op?

• • When I was a student at JMU and first began living off campus, my Sunday’s were the one and only day I had off from collegiate swimming. That rest day (me-day!) was my rare opportunity to venture out into the community. I’d sleep in, do my stretching, then bike to the Co-Op and peruse the aisles for deals on a *very hungry athlete* college budget – usually, stocking up on bulk goods before cruising home to study and prep lunches and dinners for the week. I look back at that time fondly, and now understand it was the beginning of a routine part of my life to come. 

 

What do you think makes the co-op special or different from other grocery stores?

• • The people. Very rarely does a shopping experience feel so easy, calming and friendly. Everything from the walk or bike to the store, browsing the 99c produce bin, and without-fail bumping into a friend in the produce aisle, before chit-chatting with the most thoughtful cashiers (who always remember the little details about my life!). It’s the experience. Feeling a part of our small but intimate Harrisonburg community.