PCC is a certified organic retailer!
This article was originally published in October 2003
(October 2003) — PCC is delighted to announce that all our stores are now certified as organic retailers. This means that PCC has met strict organic handling standards to ensure that the organic products you choose remain organic from the farm to your shopping basket. It means that when you choose an item marked “organic” at PCC, you can have the utmost confidence that it has been handled in a way that protects the integrity of organic standards.
“In an industry that is becoming more and more impersonal, there is virtue in an organization that exists purely for the benefit of its customers.”
— Consumer Cooperative Management Association conference, Kentucky 2003
We didn’t have to certify our stores. PCC voluntarily submitted our stores to professional oversight and inspection by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), which is accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an organic certifying agency. The WSDA has demonstrated leadership for close to 20 years in achieving national organic standards, and PCC has worked closely from the beginning with Miles McEvoy, WSDA’s Organic Program Manager. McEvoy and his staff have provided sound assistance to organic producers and retailers throughout the Northwest.
PCC is honored to be granted organic status as a retailer and proud to be part of the continuing history of organics. A former PCC trustee, state Rep. Ken Jacobsen, sponsored the initial legislation that created the Washington State Organic Program. PCC staff members helped draft language, write letters and testify at hearings. Later, our own nutrition educator, Goldie Caughlan, was appointed by the state Secretary of Agriculture to several terms as a consumer advisor to the organic program at WSDA — a role similar to the position she now holds at USDA.
PCC is glad to extend the highest level of organic quality assurance to you and your family.