From the GM

BY KENNA S. EATON, GENERAL MANAGER

Winter is a good time for us to ponder on the past year and build plans for the new. As a business, we also take this time to reflect on how we did financially: Did we meet our budget? Were we successful in meeting our fiscal goals? And what did we learn as a result? Then, as we prepare next year’s budget, it’s also the time to plan our work for the upcoming year, thinking about how to best focus our attention, from operations inside our store to working with partners to strengthen our community.

Financially, it looks like 2021 will be pretty good year for us. Sales will break $19 million, and we think it’ll turn out to be a break-even year. Whew! Ongoing challenges ran from supplychain disruptions to labor shortages, making it more difficult than ever to achieve financial success, but the team came through it well by working together and by being creative and flexible—not to mention by buying pallets of key pantry items whenever we could. We think 2022 will continue to be challenging with many of those same factors still at play, including mounting expenses for the cost of supplies, utilities, and insurance, plus those all-important wage increases. All of which will force us to stay flexible and focused—much like my yoga class! This upcoming year will also be our 50th anniversary, and we’re looking forward to celebrating that milestone with our co-op community. We have such a long and rich history—from starting in the back of a candle store to moving to a bowling alley to expanding into our current store—and it’s well worth commemorating. We’ve already filmed a cool video full of stories (and love) from our members, staff and community. We’ve also been in conversation with local vendors to develop some fun golden-themed products from ice cream to kraut to cider, and naturally we’re planning an awesome party.

I’ve also been working on several exterior projects for the store, like solar panels for our roof. We’re hoping this is year we can make our long-held dream of capturing the sun’s energy a reality. It is likely we’ll need our members help to buy those panels, but more on that later. Other projects include permanent awnings for our main entry and receiving doors, and possibly repainting the outside of the store—all weather dependent.

Other than that, we want to continue working together to nourish our community, the best way we know how, by sharing our love for good food with you and by working with our partners to strengthen the local economy. Thanks for being part of the next 50 years!