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Hours: 7 days a week 9am–8pm
Phone: 454-8579 Website: www.plainfieldCoop.com
Email: [email protected]
The Plainfield Co-opNewsletter
Summer 2017
Management Collective Anji Domino
Chloe BudnickCris CarnesDawn FancherJeannine DeWaldKaren StarrKathleen Hayes
Margie YoderMatt Borg
Nancy Ellen
Regular StaffAnnie ReedDorothy WallaceJezebel CrowKayla Pelloni
SubstitutesCharlotte Domino Cypress EllenRosemond Wallstrom
Co-op Board MembersJean Hamilton, President
[email protected] Checchi, Vice-President
[email protected] Fancher, Treasurer, 454-7247,
[email protected] Phillips, Secretary, 476-8360,
[email protected] Colman, 454-1010,
[email protected] Jackson, [email protected] White. 802-522-7936,
Committee ContactsBuilding: Doni Cain, 454-1478,
[email protected]: Glenda Bissex,
[email protected] & Outreach: Joseph Gainza,
Art & Photography Cover art: Sarah AlbertAnnual meeting photos: Gail FalkStaff photos: Glenda Bissex, except photoof Dorothy Wallace by Bob Minsenberger
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Newsletter Advertising Rates
Copy Deadline:August 15 for the Fall issue
Ad copy should be submitted to:
Lorraine Checchi, AdCoordinatorP.O. Box 347Plainfield VT [email protected]
When your copy is submitted,send a check made out toPlainfield Co-op to:
Cris CarnesPlainfield Co-opP.O. Box 266Plainfield, VT 05667
Electronic graphics files pre-ferred, but we are able to workwith any clear copy. For ques-tions about ad copy, contactSarah Albert, 802-476-0526 [email protected]
4 Consecutive
Ad size Single issue issues (prepaid:
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Kristin BroskyLaura ConklinStella James
Here’s your Co-opsummer reading—
Who’s who: long-time staff (Pillars ofthe Co-op, see coverand pages 15–17) andnew Board members.
What’s been happening: AnnualMeeting report and photos, Manage mentCollective report, Treasurer’s report,Outgoing President’s report.
What will be happening: Repairing andUpdating our Building, IncomingPresident’s report, and a co-op vision forthe future (A Bigger Picture).
There’s a lot to digest here--includingsome summer recipes—so you mightwant to keep your print newsletteraround. You can also view it, with illus-trations in color, on the Co-op website:www.PlainfieldCoop.com.
We welcome your contributions—art-work and photos, letters, articles, anddoes anybody know any good co-opjokes? How many Co-op members doesit take to change a light bulb? Submityour answers and other stuff to the editorby August 15 for the fall issue.
Sarah Albert, layout and design([email protected])
Glenda Bissex, editor, 454-7895([email protected])
Lorraine Checchi, advertising and distri-bution ([email protected])
Debra Stoleroff, recipes([email protected])
Karen Starr, staff liason([email protected])
Thanks to Eliza Cleary for help withmailing print newsletters. w
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About This Newsletter
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Outgoing President’s Report by Gail Falk,
When I think back over my six and ahalf years on the Board, I am impressedboth with our little store’s stability inthe face of the strong winds of competi-tion and also the many ways we haveadapted and grown into our mission as acooperative neighborhood grocery andcommunity center.
Many changes have occurred so quietlythat most members are probablyunaware of them. Taken together, theyshow that our Co-op is a dynamic andresilient organization, capable of changeand growth while remaining faithful toour core values. Here is a list of majorchanges during the past seven years. Noone person was responsible for any ofthese changes; they reflect the work ofBoard, Management Collective, staff,and volunteers.
1. We revised our Ends to include thegoal of affordability and sustainingthe environment through our opera-tions and products we offer. TheEnds are the Goals of the organiza-tions. They are the ideals we contin-ually strive to attain. Adding afford-ability and sustainability to our Endsmeans that the Management Collec -tive will continually strive toimprove in these areas.
2. We adopted a Point of Sale (POS)digital register and record system.This took a big investment of moneyand staff training four years ago. Asa customer, you may have primarilynoticed the change to digital cashregisters, but the store operationshave been greatly improved by this
system. For the first time, we cantrack sales by department and meas-ure how much of our sales areOrganic, Local, Fair trade, and pro-duced by another co-op.
3. Our social media and electroniccommunications have blossomed. Toour very wonderful print newsletter,we have added the electronic versionof the newsletter, which you may bereading now. We have a new andimproved website, Twitter andInstagram accounts, a Facebookpage and presence on the PlainfieldPeople Facebook Page, and an e-sales flyer.
4. Our building looks about the sameon the outside (except for our sturdyramp), but inside we have a newspice shelves, coffee counter, breadshelf, beams to shore up the floors,and renovations to the back workspace. We have a beautiful sign onMain Street, and a boat landing onthe Winooksi. In addition, we com-pleted boundary agreements with theTown of Plainfield and a neighbor-ing landowner which clarified andslightly expanded the boundaries ofour property. We obtained a floodplain survey, which determined thatwe are not in the Flood Plain of theWinooski although we are in theRiver Corridor.
5. We have undertaken several actionsto make us safer, including theinstallation of ice jams on the roof,installation of a new fire alarm andsecurity system, and installation of
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mirrors and anti-theft protocols. TheBoard of Directors now has liabilityinsurance, and working membershave limited coverage in case ofinjury. We had a financial review byan accountant.
6. After approval at annual meeting in2011, we adopted Equity member-ship. Our members are now mem-ber/owners and receive dividends inthe years we are profitable. All equi-ty payments go into our CapitalFund, which is used only for capitalexpenditures.
7. We have a Strategic Plan to guideour next stages of development.
8. All long-term loans have been paidoff.
There are some goals we have not yetachieved. We do not yet pay a livablewage to most of our staff. People on lowbudgets still have trouble affording theproducts we sell. We have a long way togo in outreach and marketing. We needto implement our Strategic Plan. And…we need to have more fun together.
The members elected a fabulous boardat the April Annual Meeting. I will missserving on the Board, but I am excitedand confident that the Co-op will begoing forward in such good hands. w
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After four years of highly enjoyableshopping at the Co-op, I am honored tobe the new Board President. I joined theBoard last fall to fill a vacant seat andwas voted in at the annual meeting inApril. We all benefitted from Gail Falk’syears of Board leadership, and I am verygrateful for her ongoing assistance dur-ing this transition.
Though I am relatively new toPlainfield, it is plainly clear how impor-tant the Co-op has been to this communi-ty for many years. From our creationstory (see Jim Higgins’ essay series) tothe ongoing evolution of new productofferings, engaging community events,and collaborative management, I amproud of the way our co-op embodies anall hands on deck approach to communi-ty empowerment. As a Co-op we repre-sent the International CooperativeValues, right here in Central Vermont:
Co-operatives are based on the valuesof self-help, self responsibility, democ-
racy, equality, equity, and solidarity. Inthe tradition of their founders, co-oper-ative members believe in the ethicalvalues of honesty, openness, social
responsibility, and caring for others.
– International Cooperative alliance
The board is undertaking a number ofprojects to improve the Co-op’s abilityto serve the member owners and tostrengthen member owner engagementin their asset. We continue to work withthe Management Collective to move for-ward on the strategic plan. Current prior-ities related to the plan include: develop-ing Membership Engagement and FoodSecurity programs and conducting mar-ket research to inform scale and scope ofbuilding improvements.
We are also focused on strengtheningour governance and managementthrough group trainings on PolicyGovernance and listening sessions withthe Co-op staff. The sessions will helpus cultivate one of the most importanttools of community development: clearcommunication.
As Board President, I am in service toyou, so please feel free to reach out tome by email [email protected] or phone 454-7874. Pleasejoin me in welcoming the new board offi-cers: Vice President Giordano Checchi,Treasurer Bob Fancher, and SecretarySarah Phillps and members Alicia White,Chris Jackson, and Peter Colman. w
Incoming President’s Reportby Jean Hamilton
Working Members by Charlotte Domino
Hello dear Co-opites! So, I keep hearing about working membership. What theheck is it? Well, working members are individuals (like you!) who come to thestore to help out.
Small as we are, our Co-op does many things. This means we have many choresfor anyone’s interest! Produce is filled with veggies and fruits that would love tosee you. There are snacks waiting to be packed, there are drinks and beans andnoodles yearning to be on the shelves! We have a construction team of one, thedust never sleeps, our little garden needs tending—water (continued next page)
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2017 First Quarter. The news from thefirst quarter of 2017 is much, much bet-ter than it was at the end of 2016. Due tothe tremendous efforts made by TheManagement Collective (MC), the finan-cials have turned around and the Co-opis back on track. Late in 2016 the MCinstituted many changes to reverse thedownturn we had experienced. I ampleased to report that as of the end ofMarch, we are on budget for Sales andGross Profit. Our Expenses are underbudget and our Net Profit is in the greenand much higher than anticipated.
And, the work continues. The MC is stillmaking changes to keep Expenses undercontrol and to increase Sales. You willcontinue to see changes in the store –some new paint, some changes in prod-uct placement and new products. Therewill be changes behind the scenes too,like increased staffing efficiency andadditional cost trimming.
The amount we owe our suppliers is stilllagging and some payments are overdue.This has been a persistent problem for awhile now. The MC has tried manythings to correct the problem and
improvements have been made, but thereis still work to do. We value our suppli-ers and want to have a good solid rela-tionship with them. We will keep work-ing on this until it is resolved.
Some additional good news, the resultsfrom April are in and the numbers areeven better than at the end of March.There are a lot of reasons to be opti-mistic about 2017.
Renovations and Expansion.
Elsewhere is this issue you will find anupdate by Sarah Phillips on our renova-tion and expansion project. This is anexciting project with many facets. Weare hoping to hear soon from the USDepartment of Agriculture about ourgrant application for a formal feasibilitystudy. The study will give us real num-bers for our planning process. Once thestudy is complete, we will have thefinancial information to help us decide ifwe go ahead with the detailed planningand actual construction. Check outSarah’s article for more details.
As always, thanks to all our membersfor their continuing support. w
Plainfield Co-op – 2016 Annual Review by Bob Fancher, Treasurer
and love, and the back picnic area needs raking and clipping to really shine.
Now that you’re on board to help the Co-op, the Co-op wants to help you! Whatcould be better than a sweet place to hang out, learning about the inner workingsof the store and knowing you’ve helped our Co-op survive another day? There’sa discount on everything except beer and wine for working members—1hr/week=3% discount, 2hr/week=7% discount. Working Members get a greatprice on special orders—15% over cost!
If you’re interested, just stop in and we’ll give you the simple form at the register.No experience needed, just enthusiasm and love for our little community store.w
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The 2017 Annual Meeting at TwinValley Senior Center on April 2 was agreat success in many ways. Attendancewas more than twice that of the 2016meeting. The afternoon was filled withlively discussion and important informa-tion for and from our members. As oneparticipant said, “Lots of people spokeup and nobody whined.”
At the outset, members were asked tointroduce themselves and answer thequestion “What would you tell someonenew to town about the Co-op?” Here aresome of the answers:
Lots of great produce that you don’thave to drive far for! You can see yourfriends there! They sell spinach! Kid’splayhouse! When you are new in town,volunteering at the Co-op is a greatway to become part of the community!Great to support local farmers!Nothing is more convenient! It’s outra-geous if you don’t shop there! I counteveryone at the Co-op as a friend!Great staff with lots of knowledge!Good friends and good politics andgood announcements! Great meetingspace upstairs! It’s personal – youknow the people behind the counter,and they know who you are! It’s atotally different experience than thesupermarket! It’s participation in alocal sustainable economy! I’ve neverbeen turned down when I asked for ahug! 40% of what we sell is locally orregionally produced!
Treasurer Bob Fancher reported thatthere is no member dividend this yearbecause the store ended 2016 in the redby about $11,000.00. See Treasurer’sreport (pg. 7) in this issue for moredetails.
Staff member Karen Starr described theefforts of the Management Collective tocut costs and increase sales, includingadding more affordable products (seepages 11–14).
Board President Gail Falk reviewed themany changes that the Co-op has experi-enced during the 61⁄2 years she has beenon the Board. See President’s report onpages 4–5.
Sarah Phillips provided a detailed reporton the status of building expansionfinancing and planning, which she hassummarized on pages 18–20.
The members present unanimouslyapproved a By-laws change whichauthorizes the Board, in its discretion, tonotify members by email of dividendpayments and/or membership meetings.Members who do not want to be con-tacted by email will continue to receivenotices by U.S. Mail.
Joseph Gainza and Gail Falk are endingtheir Board service because they haveserved the limit of two consecutiveterms. Giordano Checchi, the VicePresident, will continue to serve in thatrole. Bob Fancher, the Treasurer, was re-elected to a second term. Sarah Phillips
Annual Meeting 2017by Gail Falk,
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and Jean Hamilton, who were appointedto fill unexpired terms midyear, wereboth elected to the Board, as were PeteColman, Alicia White, and ChrisJackson.
The heart of the meeting was a lengthycomment and question period in whichmany members participated. Here is aselection of the Comments andQuestions:
In the process of trying to increasetraffic, have we thought about makingthe Co-op more visible? It’s not easyfor people new to Plainfield to findand the signage may not always beeffective. A larger sign on the outsideof the building would help.
We are missing an opportunity toexpand sales by offering a discount tolow income customers or customerswith a disability. This is one of theactivities to be considered by the FoodSecurity committee at the StrategicPlan. Implementing the Strategic Plangoals could positively impact thefinances of the Co-op.
I love the Co-op for its funkiness. Thisis part of its attractiveness to some –but does it work for new members ofour community?
Getting into the building can be tough.The entrance is difficult for folks whoaren’t familiar with the layout. It feelstoo much like an obstacle course. Theentrance would feel more welcomingif the door into the store were glassand/or if there were art on the door.
More events and more celebrating ourwork would inspire and motivate allof us to do more!
There was a second on the need foradditional discount opportunities. Amini “truckload” sale might be a wayto bring new folks to the Co-op.
There was a recognition that we offercompetitive prices on products; we arenot just a boutique or expensive con-venient store. Our market basket studyshowed that we are generally competi-tive – “for a co-op, we are not expen-sive”. The MC has been workingactively to add more conventional,affordable whole food products.There was some discussion about theimportance of getting the word out –MARKETING! – of the new products.
Hunger Mountain has been purchasingadvertisements on the Plainfield/Marshfield Front Porch Forum. Weshould too.
Does the Co-op accept “food stamps” –now called 3SquaresVt or EBT? Yes.
Could the Co-op could take advantageof purchasing short-dated products?Yes, the MC sometimes does this;doing it on a larger scale would takesome additional research and planning.
We need to paint the floor. There wassome discussion about the paint prod-ucts used in the past and potentialpaint products.
We should do better outreach atGoddard College. w
continued from previous page
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Chris JacksonI’ve lived in Plainfield since 2003. I worked at the Co-op from 2006 till 2012, and was one of the foundingmembers of the Management Collective. After leavingthe staff, I served as Board president for 3 years. I havea background in organic farming, permaculture, and Iam currently a student at Goddard in psychology. I amalso a member of the Plainfield Fire and Fast Squad.
Chris Jackson <[email protected]>
Alicia WhiteMany of my closest friends will refer to me as that“foodie” who runs fast! Truth be told I live my life inthe slow lane, and it’s great. I am a native Vermonter,raised in Danville where I live now with my beautifulfamily in our old farmhouse. Since 2005 I have workedfull time for Vermont State Employees Credit Union(VSECU). I never imagined I’d be a banker but theknowledge and experiences I have gained working for abanking cooperative has truly enriched my life. Danville
doesn’t have a Food Co-op, so I support the Plainfield Co-op. I have a deeply rootedpassion for supporting local food systems. I educate and inspire everyone I knowabout the importance of thoughtfully and purposely spending our hard earned dol-lars, locally. My passion for healthy living embodies who I am as a marathon runner,a mother and wife, an organic gardener and farmer. This, coupled with my other pas-sion as a smart consumer are two key reasons why I would love to be a part of thisboard to see to it that the Plainfield Co-op thrives for another 45 years!
Contact Alicia White at 522-7936, [email protected]
Peter ColmanI have been a Plainfield community mem-ber for 20 years as well as a supporter ofthe Co-op. I’m interested in joining theBoard to provide support for my smallhometown grocer as well as garner furtherunderstanding of the challenges associat-ed with running a grocery store in a ruraltown. I believe my experience in organicagriculture, sales and owning my ownbusiness provide the competency neededto properly support the Co-op.
Contact me at 802-454-1010, [email protected]
peter Colman, standing beside 10-years-agophoto of himself and his parents, Richard andSally Wiswall of Cate Farm.
New Co-op Board Members
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Spring has proceeded at a slow pace thisyear, lots of gray skies, cold, and rain.Still, change is in the air and everyone isbeginning to breathe a little sigh of reliefat winter passing. Many of our visitingbirds have arrived and nesting is under-way as critters and people, aware of ourshort summer, try to pack in as much aspossible. Gardens are started, house-cleaning from the long winter carriedout, modest picnics enjoyed out of doorsin practice for the full extravagancewhen high summer arrives. The WinterWrens and Chimney Swifts are back!
As many of you probably know, salesfor the Co-op were a disappointment lastyear. Unfortunately, since we operate soclose to the bone, there were and contin-ue to be very few places to cut expenses.As it turns out, retail sales nationallytook a real nosedive, and our sad salesnumbers were undoubtedly part of thattrend. The Management Collective haswritten a very conservative budget for2017, but really for the Co-op to be ahealthy, vibrant part of the communitywe need everyone who wants us to con-tinue to help us increase sales by shop-ping here and encouraging your friendsto do so as well. We do understand thatsometimes people cannot afford to shopwith us as much as they like, But weencourage you to shop with us as muchas possible. You might even discoverthat we are actually more affordable thanyou imagine. And you’d be surprisedhow much members can save by specialordering items; splitting cases and bulkitems can save you even more. Just askat the store for details.
To fill folks in who were not at theMember Meeting, here are highlights ofsome of the things the ManagementCollective has been doing to help turnour sales around and manage ourexpenses as efficiently as possible.
The Finance Committee met with JeanHamilton, a Board member with signifi-cant sales experience, to begin develop-ment of an overall marketing plan for thestore, tools to help set sales goals fordepartments, and creation of new reportsto assist the Finance Committee and buy-ers in analyzing financial information.Jean and Jeannine DeWald met in Febru -ary to develop report formats to aid buy-ers in making good purchasing decisionsand increase buyer financial knowledge.
Jeannine, Jean, and Karen also met withAnnie Harlow from Farm to Plate to dis-cuss in-store marketing strategies. Welooked at shelf placements, cross market-ing opportunities, product analysis, andclose financial review of sales data. Sheleft us with a number of useful tools andthese, as well as the ones developed byJean and Jeannine, are now being utilizedby department buyers. We will also beintegrating social media more clearly intoour marketing plan. We are currently onFaceBook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Buyers continue to explore the possibili-ties of some variable pricing, within thelimits of our handicapped purchasingpower compared to Hunger Mountainand other larger outlets. We hope tomake some modest inroads towardimproving our price image over the nextfew months.
Management Report by Karen Starr
continued on next page
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The Finance Committee, led byJeannine, also conducted an analysis ofhours worked by the MC in an attemptto understand how much time is beingspent on departments in relationship tothe income realized from each. This ispart of our work to determine if thereneeds to be a shift in focus to differentproducts and departments within thestore to maximize sales. Since wages for2017 are budgeted 2.4% lower than2016 actuals, we are focusing on shift-ing what management hours we can toareas of work that help increase sales.Decreasing the budget for hours overallis not feasible without significantlyimpacting the operation of the store. Ofthe total budgeted 317.5 hours per week,185 of them are register andstocking/receiving/register back-upshifts, leaving only 132.5 hours for allmanagement related duties, includingordering, specialized receiving, financialmanagement, office management, meet-ings, communications, marketing, boardreports, hiring, training, personnel,etc..... There is simply no way to reducethe amount of hours that go into runningthe store, as we are already strugglingwith finding the time to focus on thework we need to do to create growth. Abetter use of our time is to look at shift-ing what hours we can from smallerdepartments with lower profit per laborhour toward focusing on marketing andcreating the right mix of products in thestore to maximize sales and profit.Labor hours have been cut from smallerdepartments to facilitate this, and ongo-ing adjustments to labor hours perdepartment, as well as department pres-ence on the sales floor will be coming.
Although cutting staff discount or laborhours were carefully considered, it was
determined such measures would onlybe detrimental to the process of achiev-ing what the Co-op actually needs: salesgrowth. Staff discounts for FY 2016totaled $24,967. At a discount rate of18%, staff purchases, excluding alcohol,account for 13.7% of total discount eli-gible Co-op sales. Not one Co-op staffmember earns a livable wage accordingto family size, and many rely on govern-ment funded health insurance and otherprograms to subsidize their income.Decreasing the staff discount woulddecrease the affordability of staff shop-ping at the Co-op, and consequently,lead to a decrease in sales. Any decreasein sales not only places the Co-op in amore compromised financial situationthan it currently is, but could also poten-tially lead to increased staff turnover atgreat financial and structural cost to theCo-op. In fact, staff turnover in 2015and 2016 significantly contributed to thefinancial stress of the Co-op as a resultof lost institutional knowledge andincreased hours required for hiring andtraining new staff.
Reducing store hours by opening later orclosing earlier were also considered.Though sales are slower in the first andlast hours of the day, these sales are stillvery significant. Current co-op storehours are 9AM to 8PM, seven days perweek 360 days per year. By analyzingaverage sales and taking into accountstaffing and other applicable expenses,we could incur a loss of $4,611 annuallyby opening one hour later. The averagesales per hour between 7PM and 7:59PMare even higher. We would likely lose$17,654.40 annually by closing one hourearlier. Attempts to save money byreducing store hours on a seasonal basishave been tried in the past, and wereclearly detrimental to sales. Customerswere confused by which hours we were
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open, and felt frustrated showing up toshop, only to find the doors locked.Reducing store hours led to a reductionin sales and had a negative impact onour relationship with our customers.Reducing them now would lead to aclear loss in profit for the store.
Matt and Karen are reviewing the cur-rent management structure to identifypossible opportunities for increasedefficiency. They will be making recom-mendations at a Management Collectivemeeting this summer. The Board will beapprised of any contemplated changesin management structure and the mem-bership will be updated.
The Outreach and Marketing Commit -tee (formerly the CommunicationCommittee) will soon begin meetingregularly. The Management Collective
looks forward to their support in grow-ing membership, community visibility,and sales. The committee is looking fornew members. Please be in touch with aBoard member, or Karen or ChloeBudnick at the store if you are interest-ed in being a part of this effort.
On a happy note, we had an wonderfulturnout at the Annual Meeting thisSpring. It was really encouraging to seeso many new and longtime members ina range of ages come together to con-sider the Co-op’s future. There weresome excellent suggestions about howto turn things around and we heard you!Members talked about the frontentrance being...not so welcoming.Changes are happening, many with thehelp from working members! Amy
continued on next page
ast Hst HEa e Fill Tre arme F Farm
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Lester is painting the frontentrance, the bathroom, and thestairwell. Folks on the BuildingCommit tee are keeping their eyesopen for a door with a larger win-dow. We are not stopping with theentrance: Laura Zeigler has thegardens looking super beautiful.Amy is helping keep the outsideof the building looking spiffy,while Jason Mallery, AdrienneAllison and Annette DelSuarezare helping spruce up the retailspace. We are also painting theretail floor! Plans are in the worksto improve our outside signage.We are also working on plans toreconfigure the register area thissummer to facilitate more conven-ient checkout. We hope to do thiswith a minimum of expense, butwill be approaching the Boardwith detailed requests as the time-line becomes clearer. Thank youfor your input; keep it coming!
As we move on into the Summer,the Management Collective invitesyou all to include tiny PlainfieldCo-op in your celebration of whatis so exceptionally wonderfulabout this season in Vermont andabout Plainfield in particular. Weoften hear from local folks whofirst discover us that they had noidea the Co-op was here. So, whynot bring a friend or two in for avisit? Make it a fun outing andintroduce more people to whatmany of us think is one of themost underappreciated shoppingdestinations and organizations inCentral Vermont. We hear it all thetime from amazed out of towners,“We don’t have anything like thiswhere I live.” But we do! Isn’tthat pretty awesome! w
Summer Recipes by Debra StoleroffWhen I think of summer food I think of fresh,colorful fruits and vegetables grown in mygarden or locally. On hot days I want to eatcool and cold dishes. Hopefully, these recipeswill be as refreshing for you as they are for me.(See also pg. 22.)
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Fruit Sorbets
INGREDIENTS3 cups water1 cup sugar5 cups fresh or frozen strawberries 2 tablespoons lemon juice
PREPARATION
1.Bring 3 cups water and sugar just to aboil in a medium saucepan over highheat, stirring until sugar dissolves.Remove from heat. Cool.
2.Process sugar syrup and fruit, in batches,in a blender until smooth. Stir in lemonjuice. Cover and chill 2 hours.
3.Pour mixture into the freezer container ofa 1-gallon ice-cream maker, and freezeaccording to manufacturer’s instructions.
Grapefruit Sorbet: 3 cups fresh grapefruitjuice and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint.Proceed as directed.
Pineapple Sorbet: 2 cups choppedpineapple. Strain and discard pulp afterprocessing mixture in blender, if desired.Proceed as directed.
Lemon Sorbet: 1/2 cup fresh lemon juiceand 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind.Proceed as directed.
Orange Sorbet: 3 cups fresh orange juiceand 2 teaspoons grated orange rind
Watermelon Sorbet: 4 cupsseeded,chopped watermelon and ¼ cuplime juice. Proceed as directed
Cantaloupe Sorbet: 4 cups choppedcantaloupe. Proceed as directed.
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From Dorothy Wallace, who has beenwith the Co-op 9 years, to Nancy Ellen,who has been here 19(!) years, we havestaff who have stuck with us throughsome tough times as well as upbeat ones.These are the people who, as Karen Starrsays, "hold the history of the institution."With only long-time staffers, the Co-opcould become a fossil; with only newstaff, an unstable ship. We need you all.But now we salute the longest commit-ted and most experienced hands.
Dorothy Wallace was one of the singlemoms in Plainfield in the early 1980’s.She lived across the street from the Co-op and was a working member until nineyears ago when Margie Yoder (who wasalready working at the Co-op) told herthere was a job opening. Nancy Ellen(who had been on the Co-op staff for 10years already) interviewed her, she wastrained mainly by Aaron James and start-ed working weekends. She was herewhen the staff voted for the ManagementCollective structure, initiated by ChrisJackson (see new Board members else-where in this newsletter). Jill Frink
(Thompson)was doingherbs andteas then,and knew ofDorothy’sinterest inthese and ofher workwith herbsat Tulsi TeaRoom. Sowhen Jill
decided to leave the Co-op, she askedDorothy if she wanted to take over theherb and tea department. That’s whatDorothy has been doing beautifully eversince.
She says she’s stayed at the Co-op for solong because of the people--so smart,funny and kind. She also appreciates thesteadiness of the job, unlike her otherwork doing free-lance copy editing formedical journals.
Dorothy was Margie Yoder’s first friendhere; they met when Margie wanted toget a librarycard at theJaquith. For30 years,before tak-ing a job atthe Co-op,Margie hadworked inhealth care.Going fromWesternmedicine tohomeo-pathics wasa learning challenge, she says. She start-ed working here in July, 2007.
No one could be more enthusiastic aboutthe Co-op than Margie is. Ask her whatshe likes about it and why she’s stayedhere for 10 years, and you’ll get a longlist of "likes." She likes being part of thiscommunity. She likes her friendly co-workers and how they’re able to worktogether, to communicate, to give each
Pillars of the Plainfield Co-op: Long-time Staffby Glenda Bissex
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other suggestions. She likes the manage-ment structure, which enables her to useher own judgment, take risks, not bemicromanaged. It gives the staff respon-sibility, including financial responsibili-ty, for the store: "The buck stops withus," she says. She likes having a flexibleschedule, not being stressed, and beingable to walk to work. She loves her job--finding out what Co-op shoppers want,then working with local vendors andother co-ops to get it.
Jeannine
DeWald alsostarted work-ing at the Co-op in the sum-mer of 2007.One day whenshe came in toshop (she wasworking atCate Farmthen) she saw
a sign that the Co-op was hiring.
She applied and Nancy hired her. At thattime Nancy, Chuck Alaimo, and JennyJenkins were co-managers. When Chuckand Jenny left, neither Nancy nor Kristinwanted to be manager. As an alternativeto the Board hiring a manager from out-side, the present Management Collective(M.C.) structure was initiated by ChrisJackson, who was a staff member then,and the Board agreed to the proposal.The original Management Collectivewas Jeannine, Jill, Margie, Nancy,Dorothy, Chris, Aaron. Over the years,the members of the M.C. have changedbut not the structure. Jeannine, by theway, has an amazing memory for the
details of the Co-op history during her10 years here--years when both the frontand back of the store were renovated,and when reshelving and floor paintingprojects were undertaken.
Jeannine continues to manage groceryand bulk. For years she has been on theFinance Committee. She is also the LeadBuyer, which means she looks at buyingin a wholistic way, co-ordinating withFinance. She enjoys the people sheworks with and the community. Sheappreciates the supportive environmentand the flexibility she was given whenher daughter was younger. The Co-optreats people as individuals, she says.She hopes that more of the communitywill see us as their store, as the neigh-borhood grocery, and that our productsand prices can change enough to encour-age them to shop here.
Kristin Brosky started out as a workingmember, making her beautiful and nowfamous signs. She got involved with theCo-op to meet people in the community,and met some of her best friends at thepancake breakfast annual meetings. Shewas hired onstaff a year ortwo beforeJeannine andMargie were.She wastrained byEllen Bresler,just beforeEllen left(which markedthe end of anera of Co-ophistory). WhenKristin started working here, her kidswere little and she appreciated being
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able to bring them in with her or tochange her schedule if she needed to.
She was on the management team withNancy and Chuck, but didn’t want to bea manager. She was a produce buyer anda bakery buyer, but that wasn’t reallywhat she wanted to do either. Kristin is apeople person—she wanted to be at theregister! She has stayed with the Co-opfor almost 12 years because of the peo-ple who work here and who shop here,and because she supports local produc-ers. She supports local producers notonly by working at the Co-op but byshopping here—when she totalled herfamily’s purchases, they had bought themost of any members! True to her natureas a people person, she is studying foran M.A. in Counseling at Johnson.
Nancy Ellen has experienced andshaped a lot of Co-op history. Back inthe summer of 1998, she was working atHunger Mountain Co-op, but for bothpersonal and political reasons, left towork at the Plainfield Co-op instead.She was here when Ellen [whom every-one loved - ed.] was manager and whenEllen was abruptly fired. Nancy was onthe committee that hired Ellen’s succes-sor, the committee that couldn’t believewhat a dream candidate they had—untilthe dream turned into a nightmare as shestarted "managing." She had to go. DidNancy want to become manager? Notunless she was part of a team, whichwas what happened, as described above.When people on the management teamleft, the Management Collective wasformed.
Nancy does not view the M.C. uncriti-cally. She says it’s hard for the Co-op topay a manager for that work, and the
work has gotten more and more com-plex, putting more demands on staff,especially responsibilities for financialmanagement. Recent turnover in theM.C. is a challenge because it’s hard toreplace the staff who left. The M.C. rela-tionship with the Board changed whenLes Snow introduced Policy Manage -ment, requiring M.C. reports to theBoard describing how the store is carry-ing out goals established by the Board.While these reports are extra work, theyalso put thekaibosh onmicromanag-ing. Hiring isnow entirelyup to theM.C., andthey decidewhether theycan paythemselvesmore.
Nancy likes working in the communitywhere she lives, she likes the people, shelikes the flexibility, and she tends to be astick-with-it kind of person. She wantsthe Co-op to be responsive to the needsand requests of the community. Shethinks more could be done with workingmembers. Expansion she sees as a mixedbag. Her vision is that the Co-opbecomes more fully who we are, doingthe things we do better. With all herexperience and her calm wisdom, Nancyis the sage of the Co-op staff.
I loved talking with these five long timestaffers, learning more about each ofthem and seeing how they not only holdbut are woven into the history of ourCo-op. w
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The Co-op’s recently completed strate-gic planning process revealed that bothmembers and non-members favoredincreasing the store size, making thestore and Community Center accessibleto all and undertaking a building project,even if the project required a loan. A2014 in-depth building survey by theBuilding Committee revealed somemajor projects that are either costly orinterconnected with an expansion andlarger upgrades. The Strategic Plan callsfor a master building plan which takesinto account a variety of long-termbuilding needs.
Building and store needs include…Major Repairs: new siding, safer stair-well to the Community Center, frontentryway improvements, store floorresurfacing, replacement of original win-dows, and electrical and plumbing codeupgrades.
Lack of Space: The current staff work-space is insufficient, back stock shelvingis limited and leads to inefficient inven-tory management, and a general lack ofshelf space prevents us from expandingour product line. In particular, we wantto grow our “Co-op Basics” offering oflow cost, staple foods.
Lack of Accessibility: While we’vemade accessibility improvements (e.g.,restroom, front entry ramp), the internallayout of the store is not wheelchairaccessible. There is no elevator to the2nd floor Community Center, and theexisting stairwell is challenging for any-one with mobility concerns.
Congested Layout: Store aisles are sonarrow they accommodate only onesmall shopping cart at a time, leavingmost of us limited to what we can carryin a basket. The front entryway and reg-ister area are congested and create secu-rity concerns. Improvements in both ofthese areas would also support a morewelcoming Co-op.
Energy Inefficiency: Freezer and cool-ers need upgrades. Additional weather-ization is possible.
What would we do as part of a building master plan?
• Build a one-story expansion ofapproximately 600-700 square feet
• Remodel the existing building andinclude repairs and improvements
• Purchase needed equipment
Why now?These changes will also help our Co-opremain financially sustainable. While theCo-op remains a financially viable busi-ness in the short-term, recent financialstatements show stagnant income com-pared to inflation. Attracting increasingsales (and expanding our customer base)is critical to the financial sustainabilityof the Co-op.
Building repairs, upgrades and expansion will also:
• Create a more welcoming and acces-sible store and Community Center – abenefit in itself, but also key toretaining customers and expandingthe Co-op customer base.
Repairing and Updating our Building to Secure the Futureby Sarah Phillips
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• Preserve historic building features aspart of a vibrant Plainfield Village.
• Improve ease of shopping, which cansupport increased sales on each shop-ping trip as well as return visits.
• Increase energy efficiency through newwindows and upgraded equipment.
• Improve efficiency of operationsthrough more functional office andback inventory space.
• Expand retail shelf space to allow forexpanded inventory, including a morediverse product line and increase inlocal products.
Next Step: Feasibility AssessmentIt’s important that we gather together allof the information to make a decision onif and how we move forward with anexpansion and building upgrades. TheBoard has decided to focus the remain-der of this calendar year on feasibility.A Building Finance Committee is active-ly looking to secure funds to hire con-sultants to help us complete a full feasi-bility assessment. The four componentsof a feasibility assessment include: mar-ket study, readiness assessment, designfeasibility and financial feasibility.
Market StudyTo determine market feasibility, an out-side consultant with expertise in natural
food/co-op grocery businesses will com-plete a full market study to assess themarket opportunity. A market study willlook at our customers + community +
competition. It can answer a lot of ques-tions for us, like: What kind of increasedsales can we expect at an expanded/improved Co-op? Look at who shops atthe Co-op, where they live, who elselives in our community, the other placespeople shop for groceries – Is it practicalto think that we could support a slightlylarger retail space? How much wouldsales increase with this larger space andimproved Co-op at the current location?The market study will provide a salesforecast based on expansion, location,demographics, competition, etc.
Internal Readiness AssessmentA readiness assessment can help touncover operational hurdles to the proj-ect. This work will help to clarify Boardand management capabilities and roles,and create a project management plan.The assessment will also generate sharedagreement on expansion “green light”requirements – that is, what are the keyfactors that need to be met before wedecide together to move forward withthis project?
We also will want to talk with membersto understand capacity for donatedtime/expertise, financial donations andmember loans (owner equity). We maywork with a fundraising consultant todetermine a reasonable memberloan/giving goal.
Financial FeasibilityA project consultant will develop afinancial Pro Forma which provides aSource/Use budget (sources of capitaland uses of project funds), financial pro-
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jections for the remaining time prior toopening of the expanded store, andfinancial projections for years 1 - 10 ofthe expanded store. The key questionsanswered by the financial feasibilitywork are: What kind of debt could weafford? Where will the money comefrom for the project? What will manag-ing the project cost?
Design FeasibilityWe will complete preliminary schemat-ic/design work in order to get initial bidsfor building improvements and equip-ment. Design feasibility work will alsoidentify workable solutions to structure,site and environmental issues. We willalso work through necessary permits andsite reviews.
TimelineWe expect the rest of 2017 to focus onthe 4 interconnected pieces of theFeasibility Assessment. These pieces arenot necessarily linear, but will informeach other. At the end of 2017, the boardwill look at all the information, assess,and decide:
• Stop the project(unrealistic andbeyond ourcapacity)
• Slow down.Identify issues that need to beaddressed and a timetable for address-ing them.
• Green light -- Go ahead.
If everything meets our “green lightrequirements” then in 2018, we wouldprepare for construction by hiring a proj-ect manager, completing final designwork, securing financing, and thenbuilding.
We Want You!Are you interested in helping with anyof this feasibility work? Does it matchyour skills, interest or expertise? TheBuilding Finance Committee would wel-come your help! Join our committee andbe a Co-op working member. Do thiskind of work as a professional consult-ant? We have issued a Request forQualifications (RFQ) in preparation forhiring one or more consultants this sum-mer. You can find the RFQ on the Co-opwebsite www.PlainfieldCoop.com w
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a Board member shares his inspiringvision of a society guided by cooperativevalues. This is the first of several instal -lments of his writing on this topic.
Our cozy Co-op is most definitely thewarmest place in a chilly winter and themost welcoming place on any other dayof the calendar. It is also an astonishingsource of good food and groceries, andone shall wonder how the managementis able to fit so many products in such asmall space. There is a bit of everythingand a bit for every taste. A dream that isreal, in a world driven by one singlevalue: money. Instead, the impact ourco-op has on the local community, thecenter point of its very existence, touch-es values that go well beyond and highabove the arid value of money. It pro-vides for the members and the commu-nity, it helps those that have limitedresources, it is an outlet for the productsof local farmers and suppliers, it buildsrelationships, it is a forum for opinionsand ideas, it is a diverse way to run abusiness, and a living example of a greatalternative way to approach business ingeneral. Let us keep it the dream it is.Yes..?
If the world around us would not changeand would remain still through the pass-ing of time, we would without hesitationanswer: yes! The trouble is that the worldis changing, as a matter of fact, it hasbeen changing for centuries, and historytells us that we cannot freeze a momentin time, unless it is a picture, a snapshot,like those beautiful tarnished photo-graphs that show us how things were inthe past. We need to be aware of changes,we cannot ignore them, especially if we
want to continue to sustain and push thevalues that our co-op holds..
One of these changes is the dimensionof the entities that surround us.Traditional businesses keep growing, notbecause the demand grows, but becausethe larger a business is, the more it cancontrol its market. More control meansmore profit. The growth is indeedmoney driven. More control also meansless care in general, less care about cus-tomers, less care about quality, less careabout competition. Ironically, the more abusiness grows, the more it shouts to thefour corners how great their customercare is, how great the quality of theirproducts is, and how competitive theyare. Regretfully they do exactly theopposite.
Fortunately, there is a looming danger ingrowing constantly, and that is the reduc-tion of diversity. Diversity is at the verybase of survival; inbreeding, everyoneknows, is the sure cause of extinction.Constant growth is also an insane princi-ple given that we live on a minusculeplanet that is already overpopulated. Thesystem that adopts money as its singlevalue can only sustain itself by constantlygrowing, but in an overpopulated planet,it can only grow at the expense of some-one else. We witness every day smallbusinesses that disappear, gobbled up bythe competition of a bigger business orbusinesses that “merge” with others.What a euphemism! A “merger” wants tobe seen as the union of two friendly enti-ties, while instead it shows only theaggressiveness of one business towards
Co-ops: A Bigger Picture, Part 1by Giordano Checchi
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the other, or an alliance forged to fighttheir competitors. Greed elevated to thepower of two. Luckily new small busi-nesses continue to reappear, challengingthe giants, in this biblical confrontation.
What can the co-op movement do todefend itself from the changes that sur-round us? What example can the co-opmovement provide to the world that sur-rounds us? What can the co-op move-ment do to push forward the values itbelieves in? The answer is actually rela-tively simple, even if it requires longand patient work. The co-op movementcan and shall be the future of the econo-my of the world, but it requires a wideand deep vision of the future, very wideand very deep. And bold and audacious.
But the alternative to a capitalistic econ-omy is possible, and it is a proven model.Imagine all the businesses around you,instead of being owned by shareholders,instead of being driven by the egoisticprinciple of making money, are ownedby the consumers of the business. Firstwe need to widen the concept of “busi-ness and consumer” well beyond thesimplistic concept of a capitalistic econo-my driving an entire nation, or the entireplanet. A simple example is the one of amanufacturing company. Let’s imaginethat this “business” manufactures print-ing presses. The “consumers” of thebusiness are in the very first row thosethat work within the business, workersthat machine the components, assemblethe presses, design them, those that dothe accounting of the business. They are“consumers” in the sense they derivetheir salary, the means to sustain theirfamilies, from the very business theywork for. Then we can include among the“consumers” the suppliers of the rawmaterials, the suppliers of services, and
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continued from previous page Peach Gazpacho
INGREDIENTS6 to 8 soft to mushy peaches,
peeled, pitted & cut into quarters1/2 medium cucumber, peeled,
seeded and cut into chunks1 small clove garlic, minced1 tablespoon champagne or white
balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,
plus more for drizzling1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher
salt, or more to taste1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper, or more to taste1/2 to 3/4 cup water2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh
cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leavesRed bell pepper slices and peeled
avocado slices (garnish optional)
PREPARATIONS
1.Peel the peaches by scoring an Xin the bottom of each. Place inlarge bowl of just-boiled or veryhot water, just long enough for skinon the bottom to release. Drain &peel when cool enough to handle.
2.Combine the peaches, cucumber,garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and1/2 cup of the water in a foodprocessor; pulse to form a pureedsoup. If the consistency seems toothick, add the remaining 1/4 cupwater and pulse just to incorporate.
3.Transfer to a bowl, cover andrefrigerate for at least 2 hours andup to overnight.
4. Just before serving, taste the soupand adjust the seasoning as needed.Stir in the cilantro or parsley.Divide among individual bowls anddrizzle each with a little oil. Gar-nish with the bell pepper and avo-cado, if desired. Serve right away.
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eventually the people that will buy thepresses to run their business. And thesepeople can be the owners of their print-ing business. Imagine that the printingbusiness prints school books. We cannow include the students in the categoryof consumers, and so on. This is the con-cept of a very close network, totally inter -related, commingled, and self sustaining.
Let’s try another example. Farming, soimportant and so poorly supported bythe principles of capitalism. At the verybase of farming there is the fact thatfarmers are dealing with living things,quite different from manufacturing thatdeals with inanimate, brainless materialsand components. To sustain farming,biologists tell us that “diversity” isextremely important. But diversity does-n’t interest the capitalists; actually themore mass production of one thing, the
better for their pockets. Monsanto pio-neered the annihilation of diversitythrough engineering corn that cannotreproduce itself. How more contortedcan the greed for money be? For thisreason farming is at a higher level ofimportance than manufacturing. Notonly is this a business that can be doneby the very same individuals that ownthe farm and by their “consumers”, butbecause they would be driven by valuesthat go above and beyond the simplemoney making idea, they can also con-tribute to the diversity preached by biolo-gists as so essential for mankind’s future.Now let’s extend this concept to bank-ing, insurance, health care, distribution,transportation, pharmaceuticals, commu-nications, legal services. The list can beas long and as deep as one wants. wThis is only the beginning—stay tunedfor more in future newsletters.
