From the Editor By Melanie Bettenhausen | Outreach Director
Co-op News Volume 48
A monthly publication of the North Coast Cooperative, Inc.
www.northcoastco-op.com
co-opnews@northcoastco-op.com
Editor Melanie Bettenhausen Outreach Director (707) 826-8670 ext. 132
melanieb@northcoastco-op.com
Graphics & Coordination Amy Waldrip Graphic Design Coordinator (707) 826-8670 ext. 120
amywaldrip@northcoastco-op.com
Anna Lindsay
Graphics Assistant (707) 826-8670 ext. 129
annalindsay@northcoastco-op.com The Co-op does not officially endorse the services or products of any paid advertiser. All articles, columns and letters are the expressed opinion of the author and not the Co-op News.
Arcata Location
811 I St., Arcata • (707) 822-5947 Kelli Reese, Store Manager kellireese@northcoastco-op.com Open daily: 6 am to 9 pm
Eureka Location
25 Fourth St., Eureka • (707) 443-6027 Toby Massey, Store Manager tobymassey@northcoastco-op.com Open Daily: 6 am to 9 pm
The Cooperative Offices 811 I St., Arcata • (707) 826-8670 General Manager David Lippman, ext. 124
davidlippman@nor thcoastco - op.com
Membership Coordinator Bella Waters, ext. 135
bellawaters@nor thcoastco - op.com
Human Resources Lisa Landry, ext. 127
lisalandr y@nor thcoastco - op.com
Accounting Kelli Costa, ext. 138
kellicosta@nor thcoastco - op.com
Board of Directors
LoriAnn Asbury, Melanie Cunningham, Kate Lancaster, Fred Moore, Tim Silva, Steve Suttell, John Woolley
board@northcoastco-op.com
The Cooperative Principles: 1. Voluntary & Open Membership 2. Democratic Member Control 3. Member Economic Participation 4. Autonomy & Independence 5. Education, Training & Information 6. Cooperation Among Co-ops 7. Concern for Community
The Co-op’s Top Ten of 2012 A
s a marketer, I must always remain in two worlds—the now, and a year or more from now—all the while learning from the past. This year, I am honored to learn from the Co-op’s hard-earned accomplishments, which have been more or less guided by our Strategic Plan. Let’s celebrate our Top Ten Successes in 2012 (these are in no particular order, but grouped according to the six areas defined in our Strategic Plan): Serving Our Membership 1. We have prioritized Consumer Education by moving to a monthly Co-op News (was quarterly). This has allowed us to provide more timely information regarding Co-op happenings and food activism, as well as provide more recipes using local and/or sale items (see our online archive at www.northcoastco-op.com/stores. htm#News). 2. We have also put a heavy focus on celebrating co-ops with our International Year of the Co-op articles and giveaways to members (see page 5 for the last one). 3. Behind the scenes, we have been working to refine our membership policies and practices. Developing Our Employees 4. We have moved to Open Book Management, which requires the Co-op to provide all employees with training in the financials of the business and allows employees to participate in the budgeting and goal setting process. Employees have embraced this new culture of business and we are already seeing results (see the Board Report page 3). Improving Financials 5. We have not only stabilized the Co-op’s financial position and attained profitability through greater operational efficiencies, we have declared our first Patronage Refund in more than a decade (see the GM Report page 4). Supporting the Environment 6. We have greatly reduced our energy usage by partnering with EnergySmart Grocer to modernize our equipment and install more energy efficient lights and fixtures… all at a small cost due to rebate programs (see the GM Report in the April 2012 issue of the Co-op News). Enhancing the Co-op Experience 7. We contracted with Mermaid Sushi to provide fresh sushi made using sustainably harvested fish, right in our stores. This has not only been a great healthy and convenient addition for our shoppers, it has also been a big financial boost. 8. We have also been working to cross-train employees to be able to work in other departments. This has improved customer service by allowing on-hand staff to cashier when needed, as well as increasing staff knowledge regarding all aspects of our stores, making them better able to meet our customers’ needs. Serving Our Community 9. We put lots of energy and resources into
1 Co-op News, December 2012
Photo by Benjamin Bettenhausen
From left: Mahina, Melanie, Kona
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The last five years at the Co-op has been exciting and fulfilling every step of the way, and the next five years look to be even better. Happy New Year! passing Prop 37, which passed in Humboldt resoundingly, but not in California (see page 11 for more on the continuing effort to label genetically engineered foods). 10. We also opened a second teaching kitchen location in Arcata, which has increased acces to our cooking classes and workshops (see page 7 for the current schedule). There are many more accomplishments not noted here; most of them are operational and will go unnoticed by the average shopper, but some of them will begin to make headlines in the coming year. Please let us know what you think are the Co-op's top accomplishments for 2012.
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The last five years at the Co-op have been exciting and fulfilling every step of the way, and the next five years look to be even better. Happy New Year! Note: You can read the Strategic Plan from 2009 on our website by clicking on the About Us page and choosing the dropdown menu item called Board/ Elections. You’ll see the Strategic Plan in the left hand column. You can also pick one up at Customer Service if you don’t want to read it online.
Contact Melanie melanieb@northcoastco-op.com
inside p. 2
local & in season in produce
p. 10
co-op kids coloring contest
p. 3
from the board
p. 11
just label it
p. 4
from the general manager
p. 12
local produce recipe
p. 5
housing cooperatives
p. 13
member comment board
p. 6-8 class & workshop schedule
p. 14
co-op financials
p. 9
p. 15
co-op news reference guide
cook & save club
Cover art from The Cornucopia Institute http://www.cornucopia.org/