Instead of meeting for a PBR like we usually do, we hop in the car and cruise up Olympia's Westside hill. We're food co-op bound. After narrowly avoiding a gaggle of protesters in black, we make it to our destination - sharing the parking lot with soccer-mom Subarus, band vans, hybrids and bikes.

We are looking for interviewees, people who can tell us what makes the Olympia Food Co-op special - basically, people involved with making this whole green thing tick. The Olympia Food Co-op has two locations - a Westside and Eastside outpost - and both are hubs of activity within the Olympia community.

We're lingering around the overly informative bulletin board when the gods smile greatly upon us; up walks Megan Marini, a doe-eyed pixie of a farmer who has no doubt pulled her own weight in tubers a thousand times over.  She's also a co-conspirator at Calliope Farm, proudly chemical and pesticide free and celebrating the current collective's fifth year of operating a small-scale sustainable farm.

Calliope, some 40 years old, is a Westside legend and boasts a great heritage that includes both the origins of the Olympia Food Co-op itself and Blue Heron Bakery. Calliope Farm is also one of the many local businesses involved with the co-op, providing much of the seasonal produce - from radishes and kale to spring mix and peppers. 

When asked about working with the co-op, she struggles to contain her enthusiasm.

"It's all about the community," Marini says, "about being able to contribute, sustain our farms and our ecosystems, and just supply good food for the people in the community."

You can see the joy radiating out of her from living a very fulfilling existence doing what she loves, and that's kind of the spirit the Olympia Food Co-op seems to bring out in people.

Member Joel Shillander shares that love. He often hits up the Eastside location for the salad bar during lunch breaks, and he regularly buys fresh fruit, vita-mix, bee pollen and avocado for his whole foods smoothie addiction.

"I love the co-op because it's local and it's based on membership. The more members, the lower the costs. And our carbon footprint is reduced, too," Shillander says.

Founded in 1977, The Olympia Food Co-op has helped nurture the community in numerous ways. Workshops and classes to encourage and educate the public are offered at regular intervals and range in topic from cooking classes and natural homemade body care, to gardening tips and harvest festivals. Newsletters and an easy to navigate Web site are full of information for all.

And although you don't have to be a member to shop at the co-op, membership is encouraged. All members receive a 10 percent discount and are eligible to become board members. Regular membership has a $5 joining fee with $24 in dues, which can be paid as $6/year for four years. Seniors, low-income and disabled receive free membership.

There is no volunteer time required, but volunteers do receive additional discounts - they are essential to the livelihood of the business. Cashier Donna Dorris has been volunteering for roughly five years.

"After you retire you have to find purpose. A friend asked me what I was going to give back and I thought about volunteering for the co-op. I love working with people and there is a complete cross section of humanity that walks through that door," she says.

Like volunteers, local production is a cornerstone for the co-op. The Olympia Food Co-op has hundreds of locally made or grown products provided by a rotating roster of suppliers. Along with Marini's Calliope Farm, Fungi Perfecti, GRUB-Garden Raised Bounty and Left Foot Organics are a few of the Co-op's produce suppliers.

Olympia Food Co-op volunteers, suppliers and board members work together to responsibly and progressively make decisions that reverberate positively throughout the community.

The Co-op's local farm committee is currently working on a project to involve members more directly with fruit and vegetable suppliers. One element of the project is to have maps of local and regional produce farms available for members - and stickers could soon line the produce racks that indicate which farm a product originates from.

It's this type of conscientious care that makes being supportive of the Co-op easy (on top of, naturally, the delicious array of foods). It's all a beautiful reminder of the inner weavings of a community bound by dedication and peaceful intention.

[Westside Olympia Food Co-op, 921 Rogers St. NW, Olympia, 360.754.7666]

[Eastside Olympia Food Co-op, 3111 Pacific Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.956.3870]