In 2020, Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op launched a weekly audio podcast called The Co-op Scoop, which features interviews with farmers, food artisans, bakers and other individuals involved with the co-op. The podcast is the brainchild of Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op General Manager Sean Eakins.

“[Sean] began the podcast with a feeling that there are a lot of great food stories out there and that we could use this as one way to help tell those stories — and maybe to a larger audience than just our co-op/Sacramento community,” said Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Marketing Director Staci Larkin.

The podcast comes together as a group effort from the co-op staff. Eakins and/or the marketing staff generate the ideas for content, often involving new vendors with interesting stories. Lori Friedli, Sacramento’s outreach coordinator, then reaches out to potential guests. The co-op’s digital media coordinator, Troy Cooper, sets up the calls with selected presenters. The interview — based on questions written by Eakins and Friedli based on research about the product, company, farm, etc. — is recorded and edited for eventual posting on Sacramento’s site. The co-op typically produces two or three episodes per month. 

Some of the most popular episodes have included one of the first podcasts with guest Mark Keller from Keller Crafted Meats; an interview with Jon Steinman, author of “Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants”; and the Alchemist Kitchen episode, which focuses on a micro-academy project that helps small food producers in Sacramento get off the ground.