Financing a Start-up Grocery: A Conversation with Don Moffitt
Food access in low-wealth communities is a major problem that continues to grow. More and more, communities with food access difficulties are looking to the cooperative model to meet their needs. For a start-up cooperative, once the foundational questions of “why do we exist?” and “who do we exist to serve?” are answered, the next big question to address is “how do we pay for it?”
Staff Surveys Provide Valuable Feedback, Pandemic or Not
No matter how closely you work with your staff, there are some things that aren’t openly discussed. Regularly conducting employee surveys brings these issues — and satisfactions — to light. Taking the pulse of the co-op is perhaps more important than ever and prioritizing surveys pays off for all involved.
Spotlight on the General Manager Compensation and Evaluation Guides
Supervision and evaluation of a general manager (GM) are some of the most important tasks that a food co-op board can have. Columinate Board Development Consultant Molly Snell-Larch has developed two useful guides for navigating the sometimes complex processes of general manager evaluation and compensation.
Garland McQueen Reflects on His Role at Good Tern Natural Foods Co-op
Seasoned Interim General Manager Garland McQueen arrived at Good Tern during the height of its busy summer season and quickly took steps to bring stability back to the small coastal co-op. Good Tern now has a permanent general manager on board, and the co-op is on stable footing.
Supporting New General Managers
When a co-op board hires a new general manager, the directors know that there’s seldom an “ideal candidate” out there waiting. Instead, they choose the candidate who offers the best potential to meet the specific qualifications that the board has decided will advance the vision for their co-op. Since boards often realize that their new general manager may be lacking in certain key areas, they may look for resources to help mitigate the new leader’s deficits and build on their strengths.
Trust and Betrayal in the Board/Manager Relationship: Learnings and Reflections
Early in January 2022, the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) team presented a new virtual workshop, Trust and Betrayal in the Board/Manager Relationship, to discuss the ways boards and general managers can build and repair trust. We connected with the workshop facilitators to learn more about the training.
Wynston Estis Reflects on her Role as Interim GM at Ocean Beach People’s Organic Market
Wynston Estes arrived at Ocean Beach People’s Organic Market in April of 2021 during a period of instability. Throughout Wynyston's tenure, she worked with the team at Ocean Beach to improve both daily and long-term operations, including improving long-term financial viability of the store while simultaneously implementing a staff-wide pay rate increase.
Five Ways to Keep Up with Pandemic Price Inflation
Backlogs in international supply chains and bottlenecks in global shipping networks have caused massive challenges for customers and retailers alike, and the retail grocery industry is no exception. Additionally, an inconsistent supply of goods has made it tough for retailers to respond to unpredictable customer demand.
CBLD Resource Spotlight: Updated Policy Register Template
The new year is a time for reflection and revision, and co-op boards are no exception. Whether your board has just decided to implement Policy Governance® or your board wants to refresh existing policies, the updated 2021 Policy Register Template provides a great opportunity to start these conversations.
Luke Schell Reflects on his Role as Interim GM at Just Food Co-op
Luke Schell took the helm of the Just Food Co-op in Northfield, Minnesota, as the interim general manager (IGM) in the summer of 2021 after the resignation of its previous general manager. Throughout his contract, Luke has made numerous positive changes at the co-op, including improvements to staff morale.