Additional Stores: Expanding “The Co-op”
By Bill Gessner 134 Jan - Feb - 2008 Food co-ops expanding from one to two stores must navigate a challenging and perilous course. This article will explore those challenges and obstacles and suggest a [...]
Case Study: Wheatsville — Where It All Started for Walden
Wheatsville Food Co-op Austin, Texas Founded: 1976 Number of members: 9,000 Equity investment:$55 per household Number of staff: 80 Retail square feet:5,100 One of Walden Swanson’s first co-op endeavors was to manage the Wheatsville Food [...]
Walden and Kate to Be Inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame
Last month the food cooperative sector was unanimously thrilled to learn that CDS consultants Walden Swanson and Kate Sumberg are to be inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame at a ceremony in April 2008. Recommendation [...]
Elk Grove Case Study: From Home Run to Strike Out
By Patricia Cumbie 133 November - December - 2007 The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op (SacNat) location in Elk Grove, Calif., was a long anticipated state-of-the-art second store that opened with high expectations in June of [...]
Balance Sheets: Getting the Picture of Your Co-op’s Financial Position
By Mark Goehring 132 September - October - 2007 Our cooperatives aim to provide value on behalf of member owners and often take a wide-ranging approach on how to express and demonstrate that organizational accomplishment. [...]
Monitoring Report Decision Tree
This flowchart describes the steps and questions to use during the process of accepting or rejecting a monitoring report. Use during a meeting or beforehand to prepare yourself.
Handling Emotional Conflict of Interest
By Carolee Colter 130 May - June - 2007 By now, probably most co-op boards of directors have a policy on conflicts of interest. For example, when a board member has a financial stake in [...]
The Board Role in the Accountability Stream
By Marilyn Scholl 130 May - June - 2007 Boards of directors are the critical link between owners and management in the accountability chain for a cooperative. If boards don’t have a good understanding of [...]
Capitalization Strategies for New Co-ops
By Bill Gessner 129 march - april - 2007 Where we gonna get the grubstake? The 300 food co-op stores in the United States, owned by more than 400,000 consumers, face the continuing challenge of [...]
Market Study Toolbox
The purpose of this guide is to provide volunteer board members of new or expanding food cooperatives with an accessible tool they can use to better understand their market potential. A market study is a [...]