product selection

New! Save on Co+op Basics every day!

September 16, 2015 By Kristin Summerlin Leave a Comment

co+op basics explainer with border Want to stretch your grocery budget – but still eat good, healthy, organic food? Co+op Basics is here to help. Starting today, we are lowering prices on staple items you reach for every day. And we’re committed to keeping the prices on these items low.

We are able to offer Co+op Basics because of our membership in National Cooperative Grocers, our cooperative of co-ops. NCG negotiates for the lowest possible prices on behalf of Co-op Market and 142 of our sister co-ops across the country. The result is great savings for you!

You’ll find Co+op Basics items all over the store: Just look for the purple Co+op Basics logo and purple price tags. These everyday low prices are good for everyone. We’re starting with organic products from Field Day, and we’ll be adding more and more items over the coming months.

We now have three different colors to indicate three types of savings in the store.

Purple: Co+op Basics

Green: Co+op Deals

Orange: Owner-Only Deals

If you’re a regular Co-op Market shopper, you know to look for the green tags to find special sale items from our Co+op Deals Flyer. These sales are good for everyone. They’re published bi-weekly and inserted into the Wednesday food section of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Co+op Deals Flyers and Coupon Books are also always available in the store at Customer Service. Click here to see the current flyer and coupon book.

Since we opened, we’ve used purple tags to indicate Owner-Only Deals. Because NCG chose purple for Co+op Basics, we’ve changed our Owner-Only tags to orange. (Here’s one easy way to remember: Both start with the letter O.) One of the benefits of Ownership, these are month-long deals on items in every department of the store. Click here to see this month’s Owner-Only Deals.

Remember: Every time you shop at Co-op Market, you’re voting with your dollars to support our local community, grow the cooperative economy, and put more local food and products into the marketplace. Why shop somewhere else when you can get what you need at the co-op? We’re working hard to give you fantastic prices so that you can spend your money where it counts for you and your family.

We Did It! 110 New Owners!

September 15, 2015 By Kristin Summerlin Leave a Comment

We reached our Ownership Drive goal of 110 new Owners during the first week of September – just before Labor Day and the en radish redux edit d of summer.

And we’re already putting the new equity we raised to good use. Look around the store next time you come in, and you’ll find lots of improvements.

We put up a new end cap for bread, with a lot more capacity than the old shelves. We’re keeping it as full as possible. (BTW: Have you noticed our new, lower price on Dave’s Killer Bread?)
We’ve brought in lots of new products, including kitchen gadgets & accessories and a greatly expanded selection of Hispanic foods.
We’ve got new shelving in the Bulk Foods department that allows our buyer to work more efficiently as she’s stocking the bins.
Hot food items are on the way! We’ve got a food warmer set up on the Deli counter – and the Deli crew is getting ready to stock it. (Huge thanks to Yolande Fejes and Ron Velez at Alaska House Art Gallery for helping us get it.)
And there’s lots more to come!

Thank you for investing in Co-op Market!

Product selection committee meeting 8/18

August 12, 2009 By coopmarket Leave a Comment

The Product Selection Committee’s next meeting will be at 2 pm, Tuesday, August 18, at the Alaska Coffee Roasting Company at 4001 Geist Road in the West Valley Plaza, Suite 2, in College. Please come join us!

Your Food Co-op – A Survey

June 28, 2009 By mary.christensen 3 Comments

As a member you are a part owner of FCCM.

Volunteers already working toward the goal of opening our food co-op want to know what you think.

Please take the time to answer these questions:

_____________________________________________

What do you want to see your food co-op look like?

What kinds of products do you want to see or discourage?

How big of a store will fit your needs?

What departments do you think are important?

What kind of community involvement and events would you like to see happen?

E-mail us your thoughts, desires, big dreams of the kind of grocery store you would like to see and any other ideas you may have at fccm2010@gmail.com

Meeting minutes from June 4, 2009

June 13, 2009 By coopmarket 1 Comment

FCCM Minutes for June 4, 2009 (as approved June 11)
Present were Mary Christensen, Rob Leach, Lela Ryterski, and Ian Olson.
The minutes from the previous meeting were read and accepted.

COMMUNITY/OUTREACH: Mary reported on the June 2nd meeting. Three new members came to that meeting: Shawn Lott, Sue Sprinkle, and Jackie Sunnyboy. Also present were Tom Bradley, Lela Ryterski, Mary Christensen, and Sharon Alden.

Mary informed the group that they were responsible for the initial membership fundraising since the fact that we could raise, among ourselves, a substantial portion of funds needed to begin operations would legitimize the co-op as viable and make it easy to receive other monies from matching grants and bank loans. Mary suggested we shoot for a goal of $100,000 by November. Five hundred people investing the proposed one-time $200 membership would satisfy that goal. The next newsletter will focus on the money issue.

Mary and Sharon went to Risse’s Greenhouse on Saturday and got a few names. Tom and Lela went to Clucking Blossom and got several more names. Mary suggested that if we all got on the co-op’s Facebook and each invite 6 people to join, we could be reaching thousands of people with one notice.

Twitter is set up. Sharon did the Pay Pal and Dru is working on the website to incorporate all aspects. Partners in Business is in progress. Other member equity: turkey dinner, calendar, fancy dinner at a producer, cookbook, coupon book, buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, tiles honoring big donors. Sue is working up a membership poster.

Next Communications Committee meeting will be next Tuesday, June 9th, at Mary’s at 6:30 p.m. Interested persons can go to themagiccarpet@gci.net and ask for directions to Mary’s house.

LOCAL PRODUCERS: Lela is contacting potential suppliers. Ian mentioned reindeer processing from a mobile unit at the university. He’ll look into that.

STORE DESIGN: Rob is the new chair.

BUSINESS PLAN: Robert Sullivan has material and is getting geared up, reported Rob.

FINANCE: Hans is out of town. Mary contacted two insurance companies and gave Rob the findings.

PRODUCT SELECTION: Lela spoke to Shawn Lott about being on the committee.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Lela reported that Sharon put a member’s donation in the bank and paid the phone bill.

OLD BUSINESS: The Bylaws got sent to the lawyer. Lela sent Deirdre the revised copy to replace the one on the blog. Rob is sure it will need another revision.

NEW BUSINESS:

Pot luck dinner for volunteers to inventory the Foodland building and choose which committees they would like to work with. Bring flashlight and work clothes and a digital camera. Event pushed back 3 weeks to allow enough time to get the word out.

Delta Farm Bus Tour in mid-July.

Communications Committee to advertise for other health education events in our newsletter.

Rob is scheduled to speak at the Farmers’ Market Board Meeting on June 17th at 5:30pm. Other board members are welcome to join.

COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS: Rob outlined how the committees work to provide input for the Business Plan: Puts all aspects together—start up costs, growth, working capital, employee training, operating funds, inventory, etc.

Product Selection: Needs to develop a statement with a clear criteria for products. Define local produce—meats, fish, Alaska, etc. List products we’re not going to carry, i.e.: tobacco. Set goals for increasing amount of local produce. Store services: coffee bar, juice bar, deli, etc. and future projections. Special events: plant starts, etc. Look at feasibility study and take recommendations.

Vendor Selection: Follows criteria for product selection.

Operations: Project how many managers we’ll need; how many people per day; rent, utilities, etc. Talk to grocery clerk union. Volunteers for community enrichment activities…

Health and Wellness Education: Speakers discussing co-ops at the Noel Wein Library or Universalist Church.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, June 11th at 6:00p.m. At the Foodland building.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

HELP CREATE OUR FOOD CO-OP – JOIN A COMMITTEE

June 11, 2009 By mary.christensen 8 Comments

With a lofty goal of opening Fairbanks Community Cooperative Market (Co-op Market) by 2011 there are many tasks at hand. Committees have been formed and many need volunteers. Won’t you help it fly? You can volunteer a little of your time or a lot.

There are many small tasks to do so if you can sign up for even one small task it will be a blessing and you will enjoy the fruits of your labor as you shop our own little grocery store next summer.

To find out how you can best serve the Co-op Market e-mail info@fairbankscoop.org or call 457-1023. Or contact one of the committee chairs and let them know you want to participate in that committee.

Business Plan Committee – Board of Directors

This committee is central to the organization as it is organizing all the pieces that go into creating a good business plan. HOWEVER, the work of the other committees is absolutely necessary to putting together a good business plan. Tasks involved include:
1. Putting together the estimates that come from the other committees into a formal business plan..
2. Determining a final estimate of the funds necessary for the project before seeking funding

Finance Committee – Committee chair – Hans Geier – Email: ffhtg@uaf.edu

This committee is responsible for developing sources of funding including:

Bank Loans
Grants
Member loan Program – The committee must research and form a legal structure for member loans.

Store Design – Committee Chair – Robert Leach – Email robertleach@alaska.net

Local Producers and Product Selection Committee – Chair –Cora Kelley – Email bearhug@gci.net

Identify potential vendors from the Tanana Valley and around Alaska
Create a member survey to be utilized in the blueprint of the Co-op Market
Determine criteria for product selection with a priority on local products when available

Health and Wellness Education – Chair – Sharon Alden – Email fwxsca@yahoo.com

Operations Committee – Chair – Mary Christensen E-mail fccm2010@gmail.

The work of this committee is almost complete.

Communications/Outreach Committee – Chair – Mary Christensen Email themagiccarpet@gci.net or call 347-4463

Organize membership equity drive
Hold fundraising events
Advertisement and promotion
Communicate with membership on a regular basis
Website and blog updates
Responsible for annual meeting

The numerous activities involved with outreach require a lot of help. Many people already participate but we can always use more creative minds!

Meeting minutes from May 28, 2009

June 5, 2009 By coopmarket Leave a Comment

FCCM Minutes for May 28, 2009 (as approved June 4)

Present were Mary Christensen, Hans Geier, Rob Leach, Lela Ryterski, Tom Bradley, Sharon Alden, and Will Findley.

The minutes from the previous meeting were read and accepted.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

COMMUNICATIONS/OUTREACH: Dru Heskin is going to continue to work on our Web site. The ad for volunteers is in progress with Meadow. The upcoming E-newsletter will carry the ad and the one-question survey. Rob will do a “Letter from the Board” and mention that we’re not intending to compete with Farmers’ Market. Sharon is working on our Facebook. Lela is working on the ads for the Annual Meeting.

Lela spoke to Sandy at Pioneer Park who said it was OK for other booths to sell at the Annual Meeting.

LOCAL PRODUCERS: Mary asked if anyone processed frozen vegetables in the area. Hans said there were people looking for a place to process. We discussed having a DEC approved kitchen.

BUSINESS PLAN/PRODUCT SELECTION: Rob suggested we begin to define criteria for selecting products. What are our values? (ie: bulk, organic, etc. and how much can we sell?).

FINANCE: Sharon proposed the possibility of a Business Credit Card at Sam’s Club. Rob thought we could use them when we start using credit cards. Sharon suggested we get insurance first and investigate credit cards further. Will brought up liability insurance. Hans will look into it. Mary proposed applying for an Alaska Airlines credit card to get mileage.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

BYLAWS: We decided on a Single Membership with secondary persons listed on the cards. The Bylaws were corrected and the current draft approved for legal review. Mary called her friend, Craig Partika, who is a lawyer. He agreed to review the Bylaws. Rob will e-mail them to him.

NEW BUSINESS:

REVISED COMMITTEE STRUCTURE/NEW RECRUITS: Rob suggested we define the needs of each committee and put “help wanted” section in our newsletters outlining specific needs. Lela suggested putting an ad in the local newspaper, as well. Sharon moved to have the meeting after next be geared toward new recruits. Lela seconded.

The Communications Committee will meet at Mary’s house on Tuesday, June 2nd at 6 p.m.

NEXT BOARD MEETING will be at the Foodland site on Thursday, June 4th at 6 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30.

New! Save on Co+op Basics every day!

We Did It! 110 New Owners!

Product selection committee meeting 8/18

Your Food Co-op – A Survey

Meeting minutes from June 4, 2009

HELP CREATE OUR FOOD CO-OP – JOIN A COMMITTEE

Meeting minutes from May 28, 2009

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