This year’s Annual Member Meeting was held on May 13th at the Skagit Transit Station just down the road from the Co-op.

We had an excellent turnout and a record-setting number of votes in the 2026 Election—thank you to everyone who joined us and took the time to vote! It was a wonderful evening with delicious food, Co-op wine, and conversation with our new General Manager Leah Scates. Our friends from Community Action Skagit and its Food Distribution Center gave an update on our Growing Good Fund’s Farm-to-Food Bank Loan Program and announced the local farm recipients (listed here). We also opened the floor for questions to close out the evening, and you can find a summary of those questions (and answers!) below.

The Board is happy to announce Nikki Boyce and Linda Fenstermaker were elected to the Board of Trustees and would again like to extend our appreciation to Casey Schoenberger who stepped down after serving for eleven years. Casey will be missed, and yet, we are excited to get to work with our new group of dedicated Board Members. Elected candidates will serve a 3-year term and both have shared a few words with you, our member-owners.

**2026 Skagit Valley Food Co-op Board of Trustees:** Nikki Boyce, Leah Scates (Co-op GM), Tom Theisen, Brad Claypool, Rob Smith, Linda Fenstermaker, Kristen Ekstran, Zach Armstrong (Staff Board Member)

Annual Meeting Q&A Session Summary

During the Annual Meeting, our new General Manager Leah Scates shared an update of goings-on at the Co-op and closed out the evening with a Question & Answer session with folks in the room: it was a friendly, productive dialogue, and we’re grateful for the feedback we received during this time. Below is a summary of the questions and comments discussed:

WOW. I really had no idea how much work Community Action is doing and how many programs they offer for people. Thank you!

The Skagit Food Distribution and the Co-op’s Farm to Food Bank Loan Program is just one facet of the work being done at Community Action in its mission to break the cycle of poverty in Skagit County. Community Action supports eight major program areas with multiple and interrelated social services including basic needs, energy and utility assistance, outreach services, services for seniors, and more. Visit communityactionskagit.org to learn about all the ways they help connect Skagitonians to the resources they need.

Why was it decided to donate $300,000 to Viva Farms, when we’ve just heard from Community Action how much need there is from area farmers?
(Community Action shared that the total ask amount for the Farm to Food Bank loan program far exceeded the amount available to give.)

When the Board of Trustees established the Growing Good Fund in 2023 the intent was to create systemic change within our local food system. After much discussion and deliberation, Viva Farms was selected as the first Growing Good Fund recipient for its longstanding work to support local, organic agriculture and the future of farming in Skagit Valley. Viva Farms is a non-profit organic farm as well as a beginning farmer support organization and has “incubated” over 90 successful farm businesses. The Board elected to repeat the donation for several reasons, including Viva Farm’s breadth of work, focus on sustainability, and commitment to increasing healthy food access through discounts and sliding scale pricing to individuals and food banks.Read more about Viva Farm’s current work on Page 4.

Why close the Deli at 8pm, if the store is open until 9pm? …I want my ice cream. :)

We decided to close the Deli and the Mercantile at 8pm, 1) because the sales don’t justify staying open, and 2) for the safety and security of our staff and merchandise. This decision is not permanent, and we will re-evaluate the Deli’s closing time again next spring.

The new compostable bags in Produce don’t compost at home! And my veggies get soggy.

The new compostable bags in Produce are home compostable, but it will take some time. Please read Produce Manager Ben’s article (on this page) to learn more about them, along with ways to better preserve your produce this summer.

In the meantime, a pro tip from Board Member Tom T.!
If you have a worm bin, put your food scraps inside the compostable bags and feed them to the worms… those babies will disappear in no time.

I miss when there were workshops upstairs…

We recognize the importance of community education. Unfortunately, workshops were suspended during the pandemic, and the Co-op is fully utilizing what was once workshop space on the 3rd Floor. In response, we have dramatically increased our outreach into the community and are still re-imagining ways to connect and educate in an impactful way in the store itself.

More education around sustainability please!

The Co-op certainly has a lot of opportunity to amplify sustainability messaging and have a lot of ideas and projects in the works, including an update of the Bulk Department later this summer. We are always ready to hear any ideas you may have. You can visit our website’s Sustainability page to learn more about what we’re up to.

Thank you to all of you who joined us in conversation at the meeting. If you have other questions or comments, you can always email us at community@skagitfoodcoop.com

Annual Member-Owner Meeting Recap & Board Election Results