STORE NEWS Board of Directors
Eddy Jones, President Patrick McHale, Vice President William Warnock, Treasurer Emily Deferrari Malcolm Ferguson Alicia Hall Katy Nevinsky Sarah Trafican O.E. Zelmanovich The board meets the third Monday of each month.
Management Team
Human Resources: Jen Girty Finance: Shawn McCullough Marketing & Member Services: Kate Safin IT: Erin Myers Grocery: Maura Holliday Café: Amber Pertz Front End: eric cressley Produce: Evan Diamond
The Co-operator
Editor: Kate Safin Contributors: Erica Peiffer Design: Molly Palmer Masood Printer: Banksville Express Printed with vegetable-based inks on recycled paper. The Co-operator is a bi-monthly publication of East End Food Co-op. Copies are available in the lobby of the store and online at www.eastendfood.coop.
Interested in Advertising? Please contact: editor@eastendfood.coop or call 412.242.3598 ext. 142. Opinions expressed are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect Co-op policy. The East End Food Co-op does not endorse the views or products of the advertisers in this newsletter.
• The East End Food Co-op and UE Local 667 successfully completed contract negotiations. The union ratified a 3-year contract with the Co-op on March 12, 2018. • What happened to the reverse osmosis (RO) water and when will it return? Last year, the Allegheny County Health Department ordered the Co-op to shut down our RO machine. There was nothing wrong with the water we were dispensing, but we did not have the correct permit to vend RO water in our store. Ultimately, this was an issue with our vendor and the Co-op had to take on buying new equipment and applying for a water vending permit. The PA Department of Environmental Protection has strict requirements for producers of filtered water and the application and permitting process has been long. We are awaiting approval of our permit application, and then will need an additional 30-60 days before we can install our equipment. Our new water machine will be able to fill two water bottles simultaneously and include a powerful sterilizing UV lamp. We appreciate everyone’s patience throughout the process and assure you a new-and-improved water system is on the horizon!
BOARD REPORT The Board of Directors would like to thank all of the members who attended the Annual Meeting on February 24th. We enjoyed engaging with you in meaningful and constructive dialogue about the future of our Co-op. One of the topics discussed was the re-introduction of various committees, including a committee that would help in planning the next annual meeting, as well as a committee tasked with strengthening our approaches to member engagement. Serving on a committee is a great way to get more involved in our Co-op. Commitment is typically a few hours per month. These volunteer positions are open to both experienced and new members. Please send an email to boardofdirectors@eastendfood.coop to notify the board of your interest to serve on a committee. 2 - The Co-operator