Honest Weight's Annual Review 2017-2018

Honest Weight Food C0-op

Honest Weight Food Co-op

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Annual Report 2017-18

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Annual Report 2017-18

Member-Owners gathered to participate in governance and encourage community connection.

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Honest Weight Food C0-op

CCO’s Report The BIG news of the last year on the business side is we saw nearly 4% growth in our sales, and topped $27,000,000 for the first me in Honest Weight’s history. The efforts of our Marke ng team are having a real impact, increasing our customer count by nearly 300 customers per week.

Our Opera ons team has worked hard during the year to con nue to be on the cu ng edge of new items and trends that appeal to our customer base. The results are reflected in an increase in our basket size/average sale from $39.05 to $39.68, a 2% increase. Outstanding effort!

From the HWFC Board of Directors:

Nate Horwitz President

Carolynn Presser Vice President

Janet Sorell Secretary

Chris Dorando Treasurer

With this success we were able to pay down long term debt by $1,200,000 and issue checks to cover early interest payments for our shareholders totaling $111,000. All these steps help us build a solid financial future for Honest Weight.

Our mission based and outreach programs con nue to be an important part of who we are. With our increased profitability our 5% dona ons grew to $30,000 for 2018, an increase of $13,981 from 2017.

Along with the 5% of profits being donated by partnering with our customers/members we raised addi onal funds for the Capital District Food Pantry totaling over $10,000, and over $2,500 for the Arbor Hill Development Corpora on to help fund children’s ac vies. We are making a posi ve impact for our local community.

See below from Arlene Way Execu ve Director, Arbor Hill Development Corpora on: Dear Rick and John, I’m sending this note because we did not want another moment to pass without le ng you know how much we appreciate you and the Honest Weight Family for the way you’ve embraced our vision to bring baseball and so ball to the children from our neighborhoods. We will never forget your generosity and we want to keep you updated on our progress.

While the past year has been one that is cause for celebra on, there are s ll challenges ahead. If we con nue to come together, ac ng coopera vely with respect for one another as we meet these challenges, we will be able to help make real change in our community. We can build on our rich history, with our coopera ve ideals and con nue our mission to promote more equitable, parcipatory and ecologically sustainable ways of living.

—Rick Mausert, Chief Coopera ve Officer (CCO)

Warren Hamilton

Alexis DeLaTorre

Russell Ziemba

This year we conƟnued to re-commit to the founding principles of Honest Weight Food Co-op as a Member-Owner-run coopera ve corpora on.

In March, we once again began selling Ownership interests. More than 450 people were eager to contribute their me and energy, sharing our vision for a local, values-driven community where Owners can find healthy food, camaraderie, and refuge. To bolster our renewed emphasis on coopera ve ideals and the role of Member-Owners, we re-ins tuted an orienta on requirement as the preliminary step toward Ownership.

For the second year in a row, we con nued to foster financial responsibility and stewardship of our Co-op. As a result, we again surpassed budget projec ons while mee ng our obliga ons to our lenders. Owners and Employees both benefited from our financial decisions: we enjoyed a return to our 24% discount rate for weekly me investments, and Employees were rewarded financially with an apprecia on bonus for the second year in a row. In keeping with our renewed emphasis on our Co-op values, we con nued to implement—and plan to further pursue—policies that be er align our Employment prac ces affec ng wages, benefits, and working environment.

The theme echoing throughout this past year is that when we remember our coopera ve roots, and behave with integrity, we bring out the best in our community, and we create more bounty than we ever could imagine on our own.

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Annual Report 2017-18

Bulk

underwent the largest staff transforma on in memory this year. Karen Wagner moved on to new pastures and Richard Horan re red. Martha Moscowitz stepped down as Assistant Manager, though thankfully con nues to bring her talents on a part- me basis. Consequently, we are happy to welcome Jus n Hardecker from the Cheese Department as our new Assistant Manager. He brings with him a wealth of food knowledge and a thirst for learning the business.

Annual sales of nearly $3.25 million exceeded budget. Reviewing the top 60 sellers over the past two years reveals a couple of surprises: Breakfast Blend replaced Love Buzz as the most popular Equal Exchange coffee; Dried Mango went from the #7 spot to #5; Organic Cashews edged out Walnuts for #2; and Organic Almonds, enjoying a price drop, moved past non-organic, up from #12 to #8.

It is also worth no ng nearly 50% of coffee sales went to ‘EDLP’ (Every Day Low Price) varie es.

Tom Gillespie – Bulk Manager

Cheese & Specialty braced and posi con nue thriving in an already very compe

oned itself to ve marketplace.

We had 40 “Meet the Maker” demos offering 41 new items including Cheeses, Chocolates, Charcuterie, & Balsamics. Our October Homegrown Happening event held a “Lo a Fun” Goud-A-pple Pie tas ng and highlighted local cheesemaker Four Fat Fowl; local Chocola er Saratoga Chocolates, and professional chef Jerry Daniel from Ace Endico. Over the winter we offered four cooking classes teaching a endees how to set up a cheese board and make tasty meals combining Cheese and Specialty items. For Spring “Taste of Place”-themed demos we paired Mediterranean, Spanish and French cheeses with fresh pastas and selec ons from our olive bar.

Our new Cheese of the Month program tallied 64% in addi onal sales; the Cheddar Cheese Wall featured our custom Moo York Cheddar and a “new” value local Herkimer, NY cheddar. The Olive Bar upgraded from 18 to 36 choices, increasing average daily sales by 18%; and a new pickle barrel yielded a 68% jump in pickle sales.

Linda Donegan – Cheese and Specialty Manager

Mission Statement:

Honest Weight is a member owned and operated consumer coopera ve that is commi ed to providing the community with affordable, high quality natural foods and products for healthy living.

Our mission is to promote more equitable, par cipatory and ecologically sustainable ways of living. We welcome all who choose to par cipate in a community which embraces coopera ve principles, shares resources, and creates economic fairness in an atmosphere of coopera on and respect for humanity and the earth.

Food Service added some new and exci

ng concepts/offerings over the past year including Deli Sliced Meats (June 2017), a fourth bakery case, and a salad bar reorganiza on. Deli sliced meats con nued to prove a worthwhile addi on, ne ng over $74k in sales. The fourth case makes it very easy for customers to differen ate between vegan, gluten free, regular, and local favorites. This has increased our variety and we are seeing a posi ve sales impact since its purchase. We have added housemade salad dressings, more organic op ons and composed items to our salad bar.

We jumped on the CBD bandwagon, started making baked goods and beverages with this ingredient, and received an excellent response. Lastly, we just brought in Nitro Cold Brew with the help of our local vendor Capital City Coffee Roasters.

We par cipated in several local Capital Region events including Albany Chef’s Food and Wine Fes val: Wine and Dine for the Arts, the Times Union Holiday Cookie Challenge, and the Regional Food Bank’s Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, where we opened up the minds of many people with our Vegan Mac and Cheese (Lack-n-Cheese)!

Dan Hurlbut – Food Service Manager

Front End had a very successful, posi

ve fi h year at the new address: we processed $27 million in sales through our ten registers and Customer Service Desk! We welcomed thousands of new shoppers and Owners through our lanes and exchanged thousands of smiles and thank-yous. We did a lot of fundraising through the registers this year, raising $9,242.29 for the Food Pantries of the Capital District and $1,073.81 for Youth Programing through the Arbor Hill Development Corpora on.

We have been welcoming many new Owners since April when we began selling Owner investments again, and we are happy to welcome extra help from new Member-Owners on the Front End as well! We are a good team, and we are fortunate to support each other when mes are busy and bustling at the Co-op!

Ka e Centanni – Front End Manager

Honest Weight Food Co-op 100 Watervliet Avenue Albany, New York 12206 518-482-2667 (482-COOP) www.honestweight.coop Annual Report 2017-18 Design/produc on: Carol Ostrow Copy edi ng: Mary Rogers Photography: Barry Koblenz, Drea Leanza

Departments 115

Honest Weight Food C0-op

Grocery saw a year of growth and transi

Produce con

Opera onally we made significant improvements to our back room’s organiza on and workability, successfully introducing a number of standard opera ng procedures. The department experienced much upward transi on: Josh Nichols was promoted to Evening Floor Manager; Nadine Bond was promoted to Refrigerated & Frozen Manager; and long me Grocery Manager David Aube began a new posi on as Center Store Grocery Buyer. We also welcomed Alex Alois to the team as our new full- me Receiver.

Alex Mytelka – Center Store (Grocery & Wellness) Manager

Notable trends across the department include sales of local apples growing over 38%, which kicked off with our apple reset in October and included new crates and dividers. Sales of organic avocados grew an astonishing 47.63%—in large part by maintaining aggressive pricing, with our average being 35¢ lower than last year! Most important of all, our purchase of local produce grew over 23%, an achievement a ributable to the rapid growth of cold storage in the region and new direct-from-farm distribu on solu ons—all of which makes sourcing local produce through the winter much more viable.

Brendan Kelly – Produce Manager

Meat and Seafood enjoyed steady sales this past year

Wellness nimbly stayed ahead of the curve in opera

on. We finished out the fiscal year 4.25% ahead of last year in sales growth, with frozen and refrigerated items leading the way at 7% and 6.5% respecvely. Alterna ve protein pastas, refrigerated beverages, alternave chips and snacks all experienced notable category growth. We began a thriving partnership with Yesfolk of Troy, introducing four new hyper-local taps to our draught kombucha selec on.

while welcoming new faces and products to the department.

Combined Meat and Seafood bring in over $2 million in sales annually; overall sales in the department were about even with last year. We look forward to growing sales in the upcoming year with increased product variety and housemade products; be er sales planning, and holding vendors to a higher level of accountability.

Ro sserie chickens, introduced last May, con nue to be a good seller and are enjoyed around the Co-op. Products new to the department include Freebird Organic chicken, Leidy’s Nature’s Tradi on ham and bacon, and Red Gate pork.

A new face in the Meat and Seafood department this year is Assistant Manager Ethan Pieper, an experienced meat cu er previously working for a supermarket chain in Erie, PA. Mo Durr – Meat Manager

nued to refine its opera on with FY20172018 seeing nearly the same year over year growth as last year at 1.37%. Staffing levels con nue to be rela vely stable and the department’s 17 employees now boast over 100 years of collec ve employment with Honest Weight, with many more years in the field!

ons and industry trends, leading to 9% sales growth over the prior year.

As the demand for collagen and CBD exploded, we were among the first to react. Quickly becoming the Capital Region’s retailer of choice for CBD products, we expanded from two op ons to more than fi y, with a focus on local and organically grown hemp-derived CBD. We began a thriving partnership with RAD Soap Co., one of our most hyper-local vendors, located only two miles away.

Opera onally, we pioneered the use of a house-built electronic receiving log and significantly refined buying procedures to reduce out-of-stocks. We welcomed Jo-Ann Long as Assistant Wellness Manager, tapping her years of experience in the wellness realm at a na onal chain. Jamere Shelby was promoted to Center Store Wellness Buyer, a newly created posi on. Caleb Crouch, formerly Grocery Receiver, joined the team as full- me Wellness Associate.

Alex Mytelka – Center Store (Grocery & Wellness) Manager

Marketing • What will excite someone enough to try us for the first me?

• How can we grow in an increasingly compe ve market while con nuing to meet the expecta ons of our Member-Owners and loyal shoppers?

• How do we best highlight all that we have to offer: our mission, our products, our community?

• How should we priori ze and balance all of the communica on media available to us?

Good marke ng is storytelling that drives results, and these are some of the ques ons that informed the Marke ng team’s decisions in FY 2017-18.

We’re proud to have played a part in this past year’s successes with a focus on our stories, our soul and our sales. We will con nue to refine and build on what we have accomplished and look forward to contribu ng even more this year!

John Akots – Director of Marke ng

10 6 Departments

Housekeeping promoted Kcassandra Tulk to full-

me Housekeeping Associate. Kcassandra has been a cornerstone of the department for several years, working part- me in capaci es such as annual floor resurfacing and snow removal, plus flexibly handling mul ple weekly shi s.

The department is now performing daily floor care, work previously handled by a long me contract cleaner. The floor machine was upgraded to provide a chemical- and detergent-free system providing a cleaner floor surface.

We are reviewing various waste management and recycling aspects with the Environment Commi ee—a long-term project keeping us focused on our triple bo om line of People, Planet, and Profit.

John Daubney – Environmental Services Manager

Human Resources

During fiscal year 2017-2018 we implemented Paychexflex—a Human Resources management and payroll processing so ware product. Mul ple group and one-on-one trainings were provided for all management and staff. Included in the implementa on project was MyStaffingPro for Recruitment and Onboarding, Benefits Administra on and General Ledger products. Addi onally we have moved our 401(k) plan from ADP to Paychex. Management and staff can now access all personal, benefit and payroll informaon from one website. Honest Weight Food Co-op realized a cost savings by making this move.

The average length of service increased from 3.3 years to 4 years and our average rate of pay for hourly employees increased by 15%. Overall employee count increased by 2% and total Full Time Employee Count increased by 7 people. Honest Weight Food Coop maintained the same percent of staff contribu on to medical, dental and vision coverage for benefit eligible employees and did not suffer a rate increase from our insurance carriers. We have 29% of eligible employees par cipa ng in 401(k), receiving the benefit of their own savings and a 50% employer match of up to 6% of their compensa on.

We con nue to invest in skills and knowledge development of our staff and during the past year we provided a variety of on-site programs including Preven ng Harassment, CPR/First Aid training and wellness programs. Many staffers a ended skills development training, product/vendor training and NCG conferences and trainings offered both locally and throughout the country. Over 60 staffers sought services from our Employee Assistance Plan as a resource for both work and life issues.

Rhoda Pickus – Human Resources Director

Annual Report 2017-18

Education

Honest Weight’s educa onal programming con nued to engage the public, exis ng shoppers, Staff, and Member-Owners with regular classes, services, social groups, and community events in FY 2017-18. Among these were 149 free classes over the course of the year, for which 1,786 a endance reserva ons were made.

Addi onally, an average of 18 one-on-one services were provided each week, each with six individual appointments. Community groups based at the Co-op include Albany Food Readers Book Club, Knit & S tch, Spanish and French conversa on groups, and the Co-op Family Group, which brings together parents and kids for play and paren ng discussions.

We offered and assisted with popular annual Co-op events, including storewide trick-or-trea ng at Halloween, educa onal and kids’ ac vi es at Homegrown Happening, our storewide Easter egg hunt, and an Earth Day celebra on.

In June 2017 we said goodbye to Educa on Coordinator Sandy Pra , whose goals this past year included increasing class a endance and prac oner services awareness; great strides were made.

Georgia Julius – Marke ng & Digital Coordinator

Store Operations

This past fiscal year we con nued to build on the previous year’s fiscal successes. We increased sales by 3.73% with the biggest growth in Grocery 4.25%, Wellness 9.01%, Bakery 10.45%, Plants 16.46%, and from our Café at Empire State Plaza 16.69%. ESP was closed through most of September as New York State renovated the cafeteria. We reopened with refreshed signage from our marke ng department and more appealing house products merchandising, which led to a significant sales increase. As men oned by our department managers, we added a new bakery case and a local kombucha tap, significantly expanded in-house cut fruit and added many new products to our shelves.

We con nue to focus on expense controls. Spending on supplies declined again this year by 10.6%. The safety of our Staff, Owners, and customers con nues to be a top priority; spending on Workers Comp declined 16.5% this year as a result.

We made the decision to combine the Grocery and Wellness Manager posi ons, promo ng Alex Mytelka from Wellness Manager to Center Store Manager. Alex has been with HWFC since January 2015.

Moses Durr was promoted from Assistant Meat Manager to Meat Manager in November as we said goodbye to Nick Bauer. Mo has been with HWFC since June 2013.

Stephen Quickenton – Director of Opera ons

LANET • HW

Honest Weight’s Enviro Tokens program has benefited these charitable groups since 2015.

program began in September 2015. The store previously reimbursed shoppers five cents per reusable cloth bag u lized for groceries, promo ng waste reduc on.

Through the Enviro Tokens program, shoppers can instead donate nickels to one of five charitable organiza ons that change quarterly—transforming a sustainable prac ce into a chance to give back regularly.

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Honest Weight’s Enviro Tokens

’s ENVIRO

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Honest Weight Food C0-op

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EOPLE & TH

To date, we’ve donated more than $24,850 to 50 local non-profit organiza ons; our shoppers have reused nearly 500,000 bags.

Community Outreach’s

team of 20 dedicated Co-op Member-Owners served over 15,000 Capital Region community members from our youngest audiences to ac ve older adults by collabora ng with roughly 175 different organiza ons.

Team members’ varying backgrounds make community outreach successful. Re red educators work closely with children when offering our Ready, Set, Grow! program; health educators help plan cooking class curricula; others work in the store as greeters, samplers, stockers and food service assistants. They are well-rounded, staying informed about opera ons and product selec on while engaging with members of the community.

With all hands on deck, the Community Outreach Team prepared and shared food via cooking and food prep programs for local schools, libraries and community-based organiza ons. These programs are in close alignment with our mission to promote more ecologically sustainable lifestyles. We are commi ed to teaching our community about growing and preparing natural foods and alterna ve ways of living to benefit ourselves, our community and our planet. Par cipants gain informa on enabling them to make healthier food choices.

The Outreach budget con nued to support non-profits and schools like the Upper Madison Improvement Group (Upper Madison Street Fes val), Albany City School District Falcon 5K, The Vegetable Project at Myers Middle School (ACSD), and many other local grassroots non-profit groups. During April we partnered with Capital Region Rotary Club for a toy drive, placing a bin in our lobby to collect new toys for the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.

Partnering with organiza ons like the Albany JCC, Upper Hudson Library System, Colonie Senior Services, Wildwood Programs, Sierra Club and Pine Hollow Arboretum brings all of these groups food educa on, offering them a hands-on experience while sampling our product selec on.

Amy Ellis – Outreach Coordinator

Outreach 117 Albany Barn Inc. Albany Bicycle Coali on Albany Social Jus ce Center Albany Vegan Network Alliance for Posi ve Health Capital District Habitat for Humanity Capital Roots (V) Coali on for the Homeless Food Pantries for the Capital District Friends of Five Rivers Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless Literacy New York Greater Capital Region Mohawk Hudson Humane Society NAMI NYS Northeastern Associa on of the Blind Pine Hollow Arboretum Pride Center of the Capital Region Sierra Club Hudson Mohawk Group Special Olympics of New York Unity House BCDI of Albany Children of the Well Ci zens Campaign for the Environment Environmental Advocates of New York Equine Advocates Equinox Friends of Camp Li le Notch Friends of the Pine Bush Community Inc. Hudson River Watershed Alliance Ki en Angels Moms Start Here Old Friends at Cabin Creek Orange Street Cats Out of the Pits Parks & Trails Peppertree Rescue Rensselaer Land Trust Schenectady Theatre for Children SCRUFF The Legal Project The Sanctuary for Independent Media Vegetable Project Whiskers Wildwood Programs Youth FX

10 8 Outreach Adirondack Mountain Club - Albany Chapter Albany Center Gallery Albany City Schools – Montessori Magnet School Albany County Bar Founda on Albany Crop Hunger Walk Albany Fund for Educa on Albany Lindy, Blues & Swimming (ALBS) Albany Police and Fire Founda on Albany Public Library Founda on Albany Public Library – North Albany Branch Albany Rowing Center Altamont Free Library American Legion Auxiliary Mohawk Post 1450 Arbor Hill Elementary School ACSD Associa on for the Preven on of Suicide (AFSP) Athle c Haven Avon 39: The Walk to End Breast Cancer Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region Blue Star Mothers of America Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany B’yachad Capital District Chris an Women’s Connec on Capital District Irish American Associa on Capital District Women’s Employment & Resource Center Capital Roots Center for Disability Services Clean and Healthy New York (CHNY) Cli on Park Nursery School Colonie Senior Service Centers Community Caregivers Cornell Coopera ve Extension 4-H Crossfit Aevitas for the Alzheimer’s Associa on Crossroads Center for Children Daughters of Sarah Jewish Founda on Eagle Elementary School PTO Electric City Food Coopera ve Equinox Family & Friends of Liza Ellen Warner Assoc. Inc. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany First United Methodist Church of Voorheesville Fleet Feet Sports Albany Flora E. Kippins Founda on Inc. Focus Churches of Albany Friends of Five Rivers Friends of the Berne Library Giffen Memorial Elementary School Global Lyme Alliance Global Peaceful Ci es God’s Soup Kitchen Good People Fund/Jeremy’s Circle

DO

NATIONS

Honest Weight made donations to the following organizations in Fiscal Year

2017-18 Grassroot Givers Greater Capital Assn. Realtors Hebrew Academy Holy Spirit School Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Innova ve Charitable Ini a ves “Miracle on Craig Street” Internships in Aging Project Italian American Community Center Founda on Jewish Women’s Circle Southern Saratoga County Jewish Women’s Connec on Loudonville Chris an School Maddie’s Mark Founda on Maimonides Hebrew Day School March of Dimes Mater Chris School Maternity and Early Childhood Founda on Inc. Media Alliance, the Sanctuary for Independent Media Mental Health Associa on in NYS Inc. Mifgash Jewish Community High School Miller Hill Sand Lake PTA Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy Mt. Olive Southern Missionary Bap st Church Nassau American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1268 Nassau Nursery Associa on Natural Heritage Trust/Gra on Lakes State Park New Bal more Conservancy New Jerusalem Home of the Saved Church New Life Church of Christ Northeastern Associa on of the Blind at Albany (NABA) Northern Rivers Family of Services NYS Labor Religion Coali on Inc. Oakwood Community Center & Capital Bookkeeping Co-op On Track NY Philip J. Schuyler Achievement Academy Pine Hills Elementary School Red Robin Song Animal Sanctuary

Annual Report 2017-18 Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York Rensselaer Land Trust Rensselaer Polytechnic Ins tute River Run Community Montessori Ronald McDonald House Chari es RPM Youth Group Schenectady County Community College Founda on Inc. Sean Strong Senior Hope Founda on Inc. Senior Services of Albany Seton Health Auxiliary Shaker Road Elementary “Green Team” Special Olympics New York St. Mary Clinton Heights St. Peter’s ALS Regional Center St. Peter’s Health Partners Community Health Programs St. Peter’s Hospital Auxiliary St. Thomas the Apostle School St. Peter’s Health Partners – Sexual Assault and Crime Vic m’s Assistance Program Staples Prin ng for Front End S ck It to Brain Tumors Stride Adap ve Sports Sunnyview Rehabilita on Hospital Founda on Susan G. Komen System Dynamics Society Temple Israel The Albany Barn The Church of Jesus Christ The Church of the Holy Trinity The Doane Stuart School The Food Pantries for the Capital District The Legal Project The Moon Catcher Project The Sage Colleges Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science & Technology Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region Inc. Troy Boys & Girls Club Unity Church of Albany Unity House of Troy USA Dance WAMC: Northeast Public Radio Washington Park Conservancy West Fulton Arts Whiskers Animal Benevolent League Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center Women’s Business Council/Whitney Young Woodland Hills Montessori School Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild

Committees 119

Honest Weight Food C0-op

Communications Committee

Environment Committee

Comm Comm experienced a great deal of turnover in FY17-18 with enlightening input gathered from diverse individuals—auspiciously resul ng in redefined expecta ons of commi ee members emphasizing skills, availability and professional commitment.

As the fiscal year closed we began prepara ons to produce this edion of the Annual Report and geared up for the future in Honest Weight communica ons: promo ng transparency, repor ng news without bias, and sustaining community.

—Carol Ostrow

This year the Environment Commi ee:  Did waste audit walk-throughs for every department;  Made a preliminary recommenda on to management on improving effec veness of HWFC waste management/ recycling/organics;  Researched op ons for recycling pallet wrap and how other large northeastern food co-ops handle waste/recycling/ organics, sharing info with management;  Researched the Terracycle program for recycling and hard-to-recycle materials and wrote ar cles for Co-op publica ons;  Organized an HWFC tour of an Albany recycling sor ng facility;  Researched op ons for community solar and presented op ons to the Board, reques ng guidance on next steps;  Had HWFC’s energy bills and usage entered into the Portfolio Manager program; did legwork to obtain Energy Star cer fica on, and helped HWFC apply for cer fica on.

—Tracy Frisch

Elections and Nominations Committee

Finance Committee

The Elec ons and Nomina ons (ENC) Commi ee is responsible for the membership vo ng process and, with the assent of the Governance Review Council (GRC), the GRC elec on process. The commi ee develops, and organizes the distribu on of, member applica ons for Board, and GRC when agreed, posi ons. Together with the Member-Owner Coordinator, the commi ee schedules and moderates Meet the Candidate mee ngs and candidate presenta ons on elec on day. With the assistance of other Member-Owners, commi ee members run the elec ons, count the ballots and cer fy the vo ng results with the Board Secretary. The commi ee also manages all other vo ng processes that involve the use of a formal ballot, such as the recent poll on new café designs.

The Finance Commi ee has worked coopera vely with our CFO and CCO on a regular basis. The commi ee monitors and recommends ac ons that will ensure our fiscal sustainability.

Over the winter and spring of 2018 we clarified commi ee standards and goals in prepara on for a brand-new publica on—one produced by a commi ee of the Board yet fully intended to serve as a pla orm for informa on, educa on and healthy dialog on an organiza on-wide level.

Consequently we laid the groundwork for conceiving, staffing and producing Honest Slate—a newsle er dis nct from the historical and con nuing Coop Scoop periodical, envisioned for everybody who belongs to the Honest Weight community including Membership, Staff, Management and Governance.

The commi ee recently saw its membership drop to four when one of its members was appointed to the Board. Warren Hamilton is now the Board Liaison to the ENC. The Commi ee has developed and is currently revising its Nomina ons and Vo ng Manual, which lays out the vo ng processes and explains related ENC responsibili es. A Procedures Manual to provide the detailed step-by-step process for vo ng and coun ng ballots is expected to be completed this fiscal year.

ENC commi ee members are commi ed to iden fying and culva ng excep onal Member-Owners interested in governance posi ons. The commi ee meets monthly and ideally consists of five members.

—Rita Nolan

The commi ee recommended a process that will be u lized from year to year to provide a cash bonus to staff when the Co-op makes a profit. The commi ee approved the early payoff of $420,000 to the Community Loan Fund of the Capital District, thereby saving the Co-op significant interest. In addi on to making all maturing shareholder loan payments in the fiscal year, we were able to pay accrued interest on the remaining loans of $111k, which allowed us to reap the income tax benefits. To date, 52% of the $1,179,125 in shareholders’ loans have been paid. In addi on, $1.25M in longterm debt was paid off during the fiscal year, leaving a balance of $5.8M. As part of our policy of paying 5% of our profits to not-for-profit chari es, the Co-op contributed over $3500 to the Honest Weight Food Co-op Fund, which is administered by the Community Founda on for the Capital Region, bringing the total for this endowment to more than $31k. Since its incep on, the Co-op donated nearly $25k to local chari es through the Enviro Token program, which kept close to one half million bags out of our landfills.

In fiscal year 2018 the Co-op’s average hourly rate rose from $12.16 per hour to $13.99 per hour, which is a 15% increase.

—Robert Ross

10 Committees

Annual Report 2017-18

Membership Committee

Nutrition and Education Committee (NEC)

The Membership Commi ee has had a big year! We added the monthly Coffeehouse Open Mic on the 3rd Saturday of each month, and a Cabin Fever Coffee and Chocolate gathering in February to beat back those winter doldrums.

Upda ng and maintaining the Food and Product Manual (FPM) is one of the responsibili es which our commi ee is tasked with.

During FY2017-18, we worked closely with Plant and Produce department managers to create a new FPM sec on defining the standards for plants and flowers sold in our Plant Department. It was voted on and approved by the membership in April 2018.

In January, the membership voted to resume selling Ownership Interests with the important requirement that people first a end orienta on. Hundreds of people had waited for months, even years, to join HWFC a er a two-year hiatus. The Member-Owner Coordinator and our dedicated and long-standing orienta on team have oriented hundreds of new Owners since February, and con nue to provide this essen al service.

To ensure that all merchandise in our store is in compliance with the standards set by the FPM, our members scru nize products for ingredients that are listed in “What HWFC Shall Not Knowingly Sell” and for those that contain GMOs. We are working with management to rec fy any out-of-compliance situa ons.

The Membership Commi ee could not coordinate our four yearly General Membership Mee ngs without the help of more than a dozen Member-Owners who support our efforts throughout the year.

The Meat Chart, now available in the Meat Department, was created to inform shoppers about animal husbandry prac ces of our meat and poultry suppliers.

—Alena Gerli

We con nue to reserve the first fi een minutes of our monthly mee ng for non-commi ee Member-Owners to share feedback or concerns, and several of you have visited us. Feel free to drop in!

—Judith Brink

Governance Review Council (GRC)

Bylaws Panel The Bylaws Panel consists of two Member-Owners appointed by the Board of Directors, two Member-Owners appointed by the Membership Commi ee, two Member-Owners appointed by the Governance Review Council (GRC), and two Member-Owners appointed by Management, as specified in the Bylaws.

The panel considers recommenda ons regarding changes to the Co-op’s founda onal document, the Bylaws, by either the Board or the GRC. If the panel finds a recommenda on to have merit, it must dra proposed bylaws language that addresses the recommenda on. The Bylaws authorize the panel to bring dra language directly to the Membership regardless of whether the Board or the GRC agrees with the proposed language.

During the summer of 2018, the panel discussed recommenda ons of the GRC pertaining to the sec on of the Bylaws that describes the purpose and processes of the Bylaws Panel. The panel strives to provide clarity and to remove inconsistencies in the Bylaws.

—Ursula Abrams and Saul Rigberg

Personnel Committee The Personnel Commi ee has con nued to revise both the language and the substance of the Employee Manual. We hope that our efforts will produce a document and set of policies that will serve our Co-op and its staff well for genera ons to come.

—Jus n Hardecker, Personnel Commi ee Facilitator

FY2017-2018 was a busy and difficult period for the GRC, marked by discord with the Board of Directors (BOD), allega ons of Bylaws viola ons by the GRC itself, and resigna ons from both the BOD and the GRC. 2017 was a tumultuous year with Board resigna ons and Membership le ers of dissent on all sides.

So what’s new with HWFC Governance? In the end, level heads prevailed, and with legal counsel, the GRC, Membership and the Board of Directors, vacancies were filled by appointment, the GRC and Board were revived and HWFC’s robust democra c process survives intact.

Since the elec ons in January 2018, the GRC made a number of strides, including producing reports that addressed all previously submi ed complaints. We inves gated allega ons that mee ngs had been held without public no ce and that record-keeping was lax; these issues were remedied by a commitment to act in accordance with all bylaws, ensuring public no ce of all its mee ngs and membership access to its reports. The GRC also held interviews for and selected a Notes Taker, dra ed a GRC Mee ng Rules of Conduct pamphlet, made appointments to the Bylaws Panel, and restored much of the missing documenta on.

—Jim Kaufman and Ursula Abrams

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Honest Weight Food C0-op

Assisted by Honest Weight Staff and Member-Owners, our Outreach and Marketing Departments successfully sponsored seasonal events throughout FY2017-18.

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Annual Report 2017-18

Honest Weight’s annual Homegrown Happening hit the spot in October.