Co-op-a-doop, grab a basket and scoot, past bundles of veggies and mountains of fruit. Beets by the bunch and greens by the heap, local little goodies stacked seven rows deep. Carrot-a-crunch, cabbage-a-crack, put a purple potato right into your sack. Kale over here, squash over there, something fermented is bubbling somewhere. Bulk bin, buckwheat, bean upon bean, nuts getting nutty beside something green. Scoop it, weigh it, bag it and go, how much granola? Nobody knows. Local gets lively in Driftless-land, farm to the shelf by Wisconsin hand. Cheese from the dairy, bread from the baker, honey from bees and greens from the maker. Organic oregano? Probably around. Strangest little seeds I’ve ever found. Tea by the tin and spice by the scoop, round and around goes the grocery-loop. Upity ridge and downity dale, Viroqua grows goodies all over the vale. Farmers and foodies and folks passing through, there’s always some odd little nibble to chew. So beet it, bean it, broccoli bop, carrot your caboose to the Viroqua Co+op. Local and lively, leafy and loopy, healthy gets downright hippity-hoopy. Bring your own bag, fill it with fare, then wander the Driftless with snacks to spare. Forward, Wisconsin. Peace. Piece. Peas. Mr. E. & Justin Thyme
