The Right Fit: Facility Considerations for your Co-op
By Debbie Suassuna 156 September - October - 2011 There are a number of characteristics that can add to or detract from a natural food co-op store’s opportunity for success. We’ve covered location and site [...]
Planning for Board Officer Elections
Talking about board leadership and officer positions a few months before a new board is seated can be an important strategic conversation for a board. Board members who do take on an officer position [...]
Cooperative Strategic Leadership Article
By Art Sherwood 157 November - December - 2011 There has been much discussion, debate and downright argument about the role of the board in the strategic process of our co-ops. "Isn't that getting into [...]
Finding the Right Site for your Co-op
By Debbie Suassuna 155 July - August - 2011 When you are evaluating a natural food co-op store location, there are a number of characteristics that can add to, or detract from, the store’s ability [...]
Connecting Ends to Annual Report
Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, Middlebury, Vt. Jay Leshinsky, president of the board of Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, thinks it is critical that the information the board receives from the general manager’s Ends report doesn’t stop [...]
Keepin’ It Real: Co-ops in Turbulent Times
Presented at the 55th annual Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) June 18, 2011 in San Diego, CA Keepin’ It Real: Co-ops in Turbulent Times Imagination and AlignmentBy Brett Fairbairn Fellow in Cooperative Thought and Ideas, Centre [...]
From Food Desert to Food Oasis: How Co-ops Can Make a Difference
Current discussions among food cooperatives often turn to the presence of food deserts in our cities and towns and what co-ops might do to address them. Mari coined the now-popular term to describe neighborhoods where [...]
Engaging Owners at the Annual Meeting
Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli - Minneapolis, Minnesota At Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they saw the benefit of bringing members together over food. “If we promoted the annual meeting as [...]
Empowerment of the Board and Accountability of the GM
At this juncture in our series examining the empowerment and accountability stream in food co-ops, we understand that at all points along the way co-op stakeholders need systems that allow for the clear flow of [...]