Since PCC’s humble beginnings in 1953, we’ve believed that every salad, snack or sip makes an impact, whether personal or beyond. Over the last 70 years, our community’s connection with food — from original recipes turned fan favorites developed right in our delis, to heartwarming tales of passing on knowledge in our classrooms — has helped shape our co-op into what it is today.
See how people and planet — and the ways in which they impact each other — have driven our co-op forward, from PCC’s shift to focus to natural foods in the 70s to the creation of our Growing for Good program in 2020.
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Idealism was the key ingredient in 1953 when John Affolter started the food-buying club that became PCC. He left a legacy of unbending commitment to a community that shared some of his philosophy and his activism. In the process, it shaped PCC’s path.
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Jody Aliesan first stocked produce at our co-op’s fledgling store. She later led the PCC Farmland Fund, a nonprofit land trust, which lives on as a separate organization: the Washington Farmland Trust.
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Education was one of PCC’s founding principles as a co-op, and that went beyond cooking. Through classes and a classic book, Gen MacManiman taught countless community members about dehydrating foods and resourceful living.
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To most shoppers, Cascadian Farm is a label. But to those who remember, it was both an ideal and a place. In 1971, PCC was the first customer of the tiny farm that has become a global giant of organic foods.
Read MoreSince opening our first full-service deli in 1994, shoppers and members have come to love and rely on fresh-made dishes from the PCC Market Kitchen. Many of our bestsellers were created by the folks behind the counter at your neighborhood PCC.
If you look around your neighborhood PCC Market Kitchen, you might find the creator of one of your favorite deli dishes. Dante Moreno, for instance, deli manager at Fremont PCC, developed many modern hits.
Read MoreThien Ven, a PCC staff member since 1991, developed well-loved recipes. Over the years, some of Ven’s inventions have dropped off the menu, like a Thai chicken curry soup. Others, like Sesame Capellini, are still crafted daily.
Read MoreOne of Seattle’s signature recipes, named one of the dishes that defines the city, came from an inclusive goal. Meg Petty invented PCC’s Emerald City Salad when working in the View Ridge deli in the early 1990s.
Read MoreOriginally named “Steph’s Famous Tofu,” PCC’s bestselling savory-sweet classic was actually invented by a real Steph! “I have this habit whenever I come up with something to say it’s famous, just as a joke,” said Stephanie Coren.
Read MoreAs much as good food is a cornerstone of our co-op, so is education. PCC Cooking Classes has been bolstered by culinary experts for decades and has taught thousands of shoppers and members lifelong skills.
Goldie Caughlan’s work at PCC sparked a lifetime of education — for her, for the co-op, and even the nation. In 1983 she founded FoodWorks!, which became PCC’s cooking class program.
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Instructors like Pranee Halvorsen help make PCC’s 30-year-old cooking class program a delicious education. She taught her first Thai cooking class at PCC in 2003 and hasn’t stopped since.
Read MoreEvery year, visitors to the PCC website have a few guaranteed go-to recipes. It’s no surprise that these reliable dishes were created by none other than Lynne Vea, PCC’s former corporate culinary innovation chef and a longtime contributor to the co-op.
PCC’s most popular website recipe — Old-fashioned Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Apple Pie — has only been around for about 13 years, but its roots are far deeper. Find our most-requested recipe and the story behind it.
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Kale chips — a top recipe on the PCC website — were just one of the fabulous seasonal recipes PCC’s Lynne Vea shared on Ciscoe Morris’s hit TV show. Week after week, Vea shared ideas for how to eat the fruits and vegetables.
Read MoreLong associated with the natural foods and plant-based eating movements, soy has a legacy that reaches much further.
We couldn’t update some of PCC’s oldest recipes, because it turns out some dishes faded from public view for good reason. When the nutritional pros and cons begin to blur, time traveling may prove enlightening.
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Luke Lukoskie, a former PCC board member, co-founded the organic tofu company in 1976 and published a “Tofu Madness” cookbook. To him, tofu has been a way to make a positive impact on people and planet.
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