Twenty years ago, my parents moved from the Sierra–near where I still call home–to a town called Sierra Vista in southeastern Arizona, near the Mexican border. For two decades I’ve visited–first them– and then just Mom after my dad crossed over.  This last year, since Mom was sick, I visited more often, and found myself driving great distances just to get to a farmer’s market or to a health food store. (The foodie revolution came later to Abbey Country than it did to Cali.) See my previous post “One Farmer’s Market in One Little Town” [http://lightcapfarm.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/one-farmers-market-in-one-little-town/]  to look at the now thriving weekly farmer’s market in Sierra Vista.  It was at an informational table there that I met the handful of dedicated volunteers trying to get a co-op up and running.  The two nearest co-ops at that time were Tucson and Bisbee.  Tucson is 150 miles round trip, Bisbee is only sixty, and so I’d go to Bisbee to get my mom her soy yogurt and other healthy foods she needed to recover.  Recover she did, and is now zipping around months after her 90th birthday.   On this most recent trip to visit her, we were excited to see that the dream of that dedicated handful of foodies had become a reality. Good food is now ten minutes away from my mom–seven days a week.  We were both more than impressed by the inventory, spaciousness, and downright good vibe of Cochise County’s only alternative to a corporate market, the only outlet for truly healthy groceries, and the only place to find fair trade coffee and tea.  Three cheers for the Sierra Vista Food-Co-op.  Here are some photos of my now-favorite store in Abbey Country.

96 South Carmichael Avenue, adjacent to the vacant lot where the Farmer's Market is held Thursday mornings, and right next door to the Peacock, a Vietnamese restaurant

The bulk section, featuring several kinds of oats, beans, rice, nuts, and much more.

The Sierra Vista Food Co-op's inventory is impressive. It often takes co-ops five to ten years to get to this point.

There were few fresh vegetables available at the Farmer's Market (just a month before the rainy season here in the high desert). But now folks in town have access to organic, recognizable produce in Sierra Vista.

Woot! Soy yogurt for Mom without a 60 mile drive!

Yippee!!! Kombucha for CC!