Contributor

Mandy Makinen

Mandy Makinen has 15 years of experience working in the natural and organic foods industry; she enjoys providing information to consumers about the benefits of whole foods, from farm to fork. When not writing about, reading about, growing or cooking food, Mandy likes to spend time with her family and cats and work on their mid-century rambler. Mandy works for the National Co+op Grocers (NCG) in St. Paul, MN.

Bowl of candy that's includes organic, fair trade and non-GMO ingredients
One mom finds “sweet” relief at her co-op with treats that have simple ingredients that are fair trade, organic and non-GMO.
I own a food co-op with some friends
A Midwestern, thrift shopping, suburban mother of two, with a twelve-year-old car is probably the last person you'd expect to own a grocery store, let alone three.
Citrus fruits
A fresh look at citrus can infuse zest (and more) into your cooking.
A few simple steps can make kids’ packed lunches simpler, healthier and relatively friction-free.