LGBTQ+ Pride Month | Littleton Food Co-op

Producer Spotlight: Lucky Pigeon Brewing Co.

June 25, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Lucky Pigeon Brewing Co.

Location: Biddeford, ME

Found at the Littleton Co-op: gluten-free beer

Website: luckypigeonbrewing.com

Pride Month is an annual month-long celebration to recognize and uplift the cultural contributions made by those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other marginalized gender and sexual identities (LGBTQ+). Pride is celebrated in June to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a 1969 anit-LGBTQ police raid of a New York bar recognized as a major turning point in the fight for gay rights. The phrase “gay pride” is said to come from activist Craig Schoonmaker, saying “I authored the word ‘pride’ for gay pride … [my] first thought was ‘Gay Power.’ I didn’t like that, so proposed gay pride. There’s very little chance for people in the world to have power. People did not have power then; even now, we only have some. But anyone can have pride in themselves, and that would make them happier as people, and produce the movement likely to produce change.” As a community-owned co-op championing an ethos of “Everyone Welcome,” the Littleton Food Co-op supports our local LGBTQ+ populations and is happy to recognize relevant producers from our store during Pride Month. Read more about Littleton Co-op’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work here.

How does a pigeon drink beer? It reaches for Lucky Pigeon Brewing Co. from Biddeford, ME., especially if it is gluten-free. Bev Pigeon and her wife Kathleen “Pidge” Pigeon along with two cofounders started Lucky Pigeon. Pidge started homebrewing in 2010 and wanted to continue even after transitioning gluten out of her diet. She felt isolated in social and familial situations not being able to have a drink alongside others at traditional breweries and felt inspired to change that. As Maine’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery, Lucky Pigeon only uses naturally gluten-free grains for brewing like millet, buckwheat, gluten-free oats, rice, and corn. All the grains start their journey at dedicated gluten-free malting facilities. This is far and above the steps taken by “gluten-reduced” beers that try to remove gluten after the brewing process, making them not safe for those with Celiac disease. Continuing with the bird theme, most of their beers have ornithological connections – although not all pigeon specific.

While sticking to their gluten-free ingredients list, Lucky Pigeon continues to emphasize that the goal is to make beer that everyone can drink. Pidge and Bev both take great satisfaction in seeing the joy on faces of gluten-free drinkers and gluten-tolerant drinkers alike – many of whom do not taste a difference.

Status of product availability at the Littleton Co-op, and labeling of producers (such as local, Black-Owned Business, NH-made, etc) and product status or ingredients (gluten-free, vegan, etc) is based on available information at time of publication. The food world is an ever-changing landscape and information presented here may not reflect the most up-to-date information available.

Producer Spotlight: Pip’s Heirloom Snacks

June 15, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Pip’s Heirloom Snacks

Location: Bethlehem, PA

Found at the Littleton Co-op: corn dippers and fries

Website: pipsnacks.com

Pip’s (formerly Pipcorn) was founded by trio Jen, Jeff, and Teresa with just $3,000 in capital and a restrictive diet. Cofounder Jen was living with many dietary restrictions which made popcorn inaccessible to her. While working at a health food store in Chicago she was introduced by a farmer to an heirloom corn kernel with a thinner shell – and a better, in her opinion, taste. Heirloom corn has no genetic modification or hybridization and gets its flavor through open pollination. She recruited her brother Jeff and his wife Teresa, both in the CPG field, through a simple taste test. With very little start-up money, Pipcorn began as a direct to consumer product packaged in brown paper bags and handstamped with an ink logo by the founders themselves. Their business catapulted when it made Oprah Winfrey’s list of Favorite Things in 2012, followed by an appearance on the tv show Shark Tank in 2014. They signed a deal with “shark” Barbara Corcoran; the day of the airing brought them more sales than the previous 12 months.

In the founders’ words: “We are Black, we are White, we are Chinese and we are Queer. The world we operate in isn’t made for us. We don’t look like most of the people we sit in meetings with. Frankly, we weren’t supposed to make it this far, yet we are here—primarily due to extraordinarily hard work. We aren’t talking about the hard work we’ve put in, but the hard work of our parents and their parents and their communities and the generations who came before us. People who, in the face of adversity and discrimination, kept going in the hopes of equality and a better future..”

Producer Spotlight: GT’s Living Food

June 14, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: GT’s Living Food

Location: Beverly Hills, CA

Found at the Littleton Co-op: kombucha and probiotic yogurt

Website: gtslivingfoods.com

The story of GT’s Living Foods starts in a place of family tragedy and adversity before triumphing in unimaginable ways. At age fourteen, GT Dave (George Thomas)’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and found solace in the family’s homebrewed kombucha. His family had a reverence for the power of food for whole-body wellness and healing akin to that in Eastern cultures. After witnessing his mother’s journey, he followed his family’s values and recipes to start bottling his own kombucha at age 15. His Original (Classic) flavor is the first known kombucha to be on grocery store shelves in 1995. While his product was quickly gaining notoriety, GT Dave struggled internally with his identity. After coming out as gay at 13, he was met with little acceptance by his peers and even dropped out of high school because of it. So when he started his business shortly thereafter, “for the first 90% of my career I wasn’t out.” However, he ultimately decided around 2015 to publicly come out as gay to share his full life experience with others.

While GT Dave didn’t have a LGBTQ mentor to look to growing up, he is excited to be one to others now. In addition to his company’s donations to non-profits and the previous Synergy Scholarship for LGBTQ+ youth, GT Dave works towards inclusion by urging other brands to make sure their LGBTQ+ employees are not only siloed to one stereotypical role. “Make sure it’s clear that there’s not just one role this community can exist in.” The role he currently occupies: CEO of the world’s number one selling kombucha brand.

Producer Spotlight: Nuts for Cheese

June 3, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Nuts for Cheese

Location: London, Ontario, Canada

Found at the Littleton Co-op: plant-based cheeses and spreads

Website: nutsforcheese.com

Margaret Coons grew up as a vegetarian, but veganism came shortly after. But she found that vegan options were scarcely available, so she took matters into her own hands, crafting foods to meet her own needs. She became a certified vegan chef at a restaurant in Ontario, Canada, her home country, where she was able to devote time to developing recipes and refining products. Customers immediately gravitated to her creations and wanted more, so she eventually moved to a separate farmer’s market stand, and then an independent facility; Nuts for Cheese was born. Unlike other plant-based cheeses that start with potato starch or oils, Margaret has, and always will, make sure Nuts for Cheese is nut-based first. In addition to having to fight to not cut corners and keep the integrity of her products, Margaret also found she faced barriers being a queer-owned business. But, she found that, through community, she could connect and work with inclusive and supportive suppliers and funders.

Nuts for Cheese was the first Canadian artisan vegan cheese producer to launch in the US. However, within all of the company’s growth, Margaret says . I always make time for good meals with my friends and family, because it’s crucial to keep balance between working hard and making time for myself.”

Producer Spotlight: Mount Cabot Maple

June 1, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Mount Cabot Maple

Location: Lancaster, NH

Found at the Littleton Co-op: maple syrup, maple sugar

Website: mountcabotmaple.com

Morgan Hill’s life thus far is a full circle, beginning and currently standing on Mount Cabot in Lancaster, NH. As the owner of Mount Cabot Maple, which sits upon its namesake, they have returned to the land once owned by their grandparents. Now, instead of simply observing, Morgan has owned Mount Cabot Maple since 2020 and ushered it into an era beyond just sugarmaking to include a diversified farm, agritourism, and event venue. What started as an apprenticeship under the previous owner turned into the discovery of a passion with many intricate pieces to manage, including production, sales, maintenance, employee well-being, and more. Their staff is predominantly female, with Morgan saying to the Union Leader “It’s a different internal culture. We make decisions as a team, and it just feels healthier to me. We’re more consensus-focused.” That said, they added, “That doesn’t make everything easy, and it’s still challenging to work with people.”

While Mount Cabot Maple’s syrup is single origin, Morgan is determined to make landstewardship, connections to nature, and joyful experiences open to all identities in the North Country and beyond. Their maple product has been recognized and celebrated up and down the East Coast, and the success story of their queer-owned and women-owned is not far behind.