Approximately 60 Co-op Market Owners came together for good food, fun, information and inspiration at our 11th Annual Owners’ Meeting on October 19th. Lots of them won prizes, too, including turkeys, $25 gift certificates, chocolate, a basket of Fair Trade goods, and more.

The meeting agenda and financial statements are available here.

Agriculture Report
We learned about the current state of farming in Alaska from Scott Mugrage, president of the Alaska Farm Bureau. He said the number of farms in Alaska is up by 36% at a time when farming is down by 3% nationwide, and Alaska farm revenue is up by 100%. We also lead the nation in female- and veteran-owned farms. Mugrage said that although we currently grow less than 5% of the food Alaska needs, we have millions of acres of potentially farmable land, and some of the best of it is in nearby Nenana. He sees the tremendous growth potential in turning Alaska-grown ingredients into value-added products, such as heat-and-eat meals.

2019 Election results
More Owners voted in our annual Board of Directors election than ever before. We received ballots from 488 of our 3070 eligible voters. That’s 16.5%, many more than the 307 needed to achieve the 10% required by our Bylaws.

• Art Gelvin was elected to Seat B
• Brian Kassof’s appointment to Seat D was confirmed
• Anduin McElroy’s appointment to Seat I was confirmed
• The amendment to our Bylaws was passed, decreasing the number of board seats to seven from nine and the board quorum to four from five.

Thank you to all Owners who voted in our election and to those who attended our Annual Meeting. You are the heart of our co-op!