IT’S ALL HAPPENING AT THE CO-OP! 24TH ANNUAL CELEBRATE THE EARTH FESTIVAL!
our actions. Periodically we review our Ends, and a few months ago we came up with the following: Global Ends Policy “A cooperative community built on beneficial relationships based in healthy food, sound environmental practices and strengthened local economy with results that justify the resources used.”
AT THE NOB HILL CO-OP!
APRIL 27, 10-6PM
on Silver Street, behind the Co-op in the Nob Hill Shopping Center
Of course we all know that visions are only empty words if we don’t clarify ways to accomplish them. So after creating a global ends policy we had to identify sub-ends that could guide action. Accordingly we came up with the following sub-ends to describe the key components of the global ends policy:
BY ROBIN SEYDEL or two dozen years it has been our great pleasure to create a community celebration that, in keeping with the cooperative principle of community education and concern for community, provides an opportunity for us all to come together. The 24th Annual Celebrate the Earth Festival in Nob Hill is a chance to get your bedding plants, talk to and learn from the farming and gardening experts in our midst, get educated on the important environmental issues we face, get educated and take action to make our community and the world a better place for us all to share.
F
APRIL
1. Increased access to, and purchase of healthy foods. 2. A growing regenerative agriculture sector that uses sound environmental practices. 3. A thriving and sustainable local economy that benefits members and community. 4. A strengthened co-operative community.
27
You can expect a fun and inspiring time filled with information booths from dozens of environmental, social and economic justice organizations, local farmers, seedlings, drought resistant plants, beautiful art from fine local artists and crafts people, inspiring performances from some of our favorite local musicians and dancers, and, of course, great Co-op food. RESERVE YOUR BOOTH SPACE EARLY. We give first priority to environmental, social and economic justice non-profit organizations and farmers and farming organizations. Artists and crafts people must make and sell their own art (no kits or imports allowed), be Co-op members, be juried if they have not set up with us before and be willing to participate in the “placement lottery.” Some of our artists, activists and farmers will be setting up in front of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, our community partner and Earth Fest co-sponsor. For more information or to reserve your FREE space contact, Robin at 505-217-2027 or toll free at 877-775-2667 or e-mail her at robins@lamontanita.coop.
MAKING SURE WE PRACTICE
what we
PREACH BY BETSY VANLIET, BOARD OF DIRECTORS hances are good that you’ve heard or seen La Montanita’s claim about being “Fresh, Fair and Local.” Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? But have you ever wondered how we try to live up to that wonderful intention? To explain how we do that, I need to talk about something called “Ends Policies.” Hang in there with me, because Ends are actually a lot more interesting than you might think.
C
In order to steer La Montanita Co-op in the right direction, the Board listens to members and creates a “Global Ends Policy” that is essentially a sweeping long-term goal or vision to help guide
NEW CO-OP WEBSITE
ONLINE W
BY ROBIN SEYDEL e are pleased to announce that our lovely new website is coming online this month. We think it will provide a much better level of electronic service for our members and increase knowledge about all things Co-op in the larger community. Highly readable and beautifully designed, the project brought together our marketing and membership departments in its creation. It will feature lots of great information and vibrant graphics in an intuitive and accessible format. Linking a variety of social media tools, including our La Montanita Facebook page, it will also offer great reading on a variety of topics, some pulled from our monthly newsletter and some original blog pieces from our board and staff members.
These sub-ends then become the focus of La Montanita operations, and it is the General Manager’s job to implement actions and measure success in addressing the sub-ends. For example, to know if we are supporting “increased access to and purchase of healthy food,” we can consider sales data, the growth of our stores and Co-op Distribution Center (CDC), and our involvement in MoGro (the mobile store that brings healthy food to some of the Pueblos in rural New Mexico). To determine our impact on “regenerative agricultural and sound environmental practices,” we look at data from the CDC’s involvement in creating new farms and value-added operations, information about the types of projects supported by the La Montanita Fund, and a vendor survey that describes agricultural practices of our vendors. Understanding how we support “a thriving and sustainable local economy” comes in part from data about the growth and success of our stores and the CDC, and also information about the growth of our many economic partners.
COMES
Additionally it allows members to sign up to volunteer, get an electronic version of this Co-op Connection news emailed directly to their inbox, or get our twice a month Owner Deals flyer as well as see all the many Owner Deals not listed on the flyer each month.
And finally, to determine our role in “strengthening the cooperative community,” we can describe the many ways that we provide for the growth and development of other cooperatives, as well as the many partnerships with like-minded organizations and initiatives that we actively support.
A very special thanks goes out to Sarah Wentzel-Fisher for her work on putting this lovely new website together, Mary Lambert of the marketing team for her beautiful artwork and Zac Saranac of the Co-op IT department for helping to work out the technical details. It has truly been a cooperative collaboration aimed at bringing our members the very best in electronic media.
If you are interested in learning more about the process of developing or measuring ends for La Montanita, please contact the Board. We rely on the input and involvement of members in carrying out our job, and we welcome your ideas and feedback. Contact us at bod.lamontanita.coop.
Find us at www.lamontanita.coop. Check it out, cruise around, enjoy and send us your feedback. Please let us know what you think by dropping a line at www.lamon tanita.coop/contactus.
fresh,
fair, LOCAL ... CO-OP!
food VALUE CHAINS REDUX Look for Great, New Co-op
Owner DEALS! Owner Deals Begin March 5! Three times as many SALE ITEMS!
M
arch marks a big and exciting change at the Co-op. We will implement a new Owner Deals program to replace our Weekly Member Specials because we LOVE our member-owners! Here’s how it will work: We will announce Owner Deals twice a month! The new program will offer special prices on selected items twice a month, on Wednesdays. Now members will be able to save on these items for over two weeks in some cases. Additionally, we will offer sales on nearly three times as many items. Look for pink “Owner Deals” tags on store shelves at all our locations to know what’s on sale. Find a complete list of sale items on our website or through our e-News.
The sales flyer will now be published only twice a month. This will feature some of the items we put on sale, but not all of them. For a complete list you can sign up for our e-News or find them on our website at www.lamontanita.coop/ ownerdeals. This new program officially begins March 5. If you have questions ask a Co-op staff person how it works so you can get great savings on your favorite fresh, fair and local products.
BY SARAH WENTZEL-FISHER This month we revisit a topic touched on in our first installment on the CDC—food value chains. Part of what makes the CDC unique is its approach to its suppliers and to their customers. Rather than simply moving commodities from point A to B (the basic definition of a supply chain), the CDC actively works with local and regional producers, paying attention to every step a particular food item takes from farm to fork. Further, they work with their partners at every step of the way to ensure each party’s values are respected, and needs are met. The staff use a value chain approach to make the CDC, its suppliers, and its customers successful. They recognize that to succeed, their partners need to succeed also. Regional distributors like the CDC must compete with national and multinational companies—and often customers’ expectations are based on the standards and services these larger companies can provide because of their volume of business. Regional distributors like the CDC must find ways to create a valuable experience for customers and suppliers based on different expectations. Where a large company might be able to discount its goods because of volume, the CDC might add value for a customer by providing information about where and how it was grown and a producer profile. In turn, this information might mean that a restaurant can advertise a dish as local or humanely raised and charge more based on these details.
CDC UPDATE
The relationship the CDC has with each partner in processing an item, helps them identify where value might be added. For example a restaurant loves the Kyzer Farm pork chops it gets from CDC, but uses sausage in more of their dishes. The CDC then works with its meat processor to create the cuts and products the restaurant wants. This means the CDC will be able to use more of the whole animal and will make more per animal, and their customers get what they need. Ultimately, this makes it a more sustainable program. In addition, making the most per pig means that the CDC can pay top dollar to the farmer and the processor. It also means they can work with Kyzer on his feed program and the processor on their food safety regimen. Ultimately, everyone is able to uphold high quality standards and good ethics when in comes to food production. Because the CDC has relationships with most of its suppliers and customers, they are able to facilitate a dynamic market that adapts more quickly to customer and supplier needs based on direct feedback, collaboration and communication. This adaptability is at the heart of how regional distribution networks not only create and add value to their goods and services, but also help each other build more sustainable businesses.