A Community of Care
by Leah Scates, General Manager
“This is my favorite event of the year.”
Heidi, Produce Team Member, gets ready to take her seat in the Co-op’s Board Room. Every January, our Produce Department hosts local farmers in a gathering they call the “Annual Farm Meeting.” In it, many of our farmers located here in the Valley, sit around the table ready to discuss the new year’s growing season. Produce Manager, Ben, sits with a list of farms and the produce items they supply to the Co-op. One by one, each farmer takes a turn confirming what it is they intend to grow this year. Sometimes, a farm may decide to not grow something they had in the previous year.
“We won’t be growing napa cabbage this year, we had pest problems.”
“Our farm will happily grow napa,” another responds.
THIS is what I am talking about! This is cooperation at its finest. This gathering, that is so unique, is just one example of how our Co-op creates resilience in a world of so many unknowns.
The winter was a hard season for many people at the Co-op and in our community. With the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) briefly losing their funding back in November, food security was heavy on our minds then, and it still is today. Our Board of Trustees and team of operators have made a great intentional effort to give back to organizations that are extremely relevant to the current events we have all recently faced. I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this Co-op who makes community giving a fundamental priority. I hope that you too can take pride in our mighty Co-op as you read about these tremendous gives in this issue.
Food insecurities, flooding, fear; our community has endured so much in recent months. We are ready for a brighter season. I believe our team would agree with me when I say, our hearts are with all of you, our families, friends, and neighbors.
Heading into spring as your General Manager, I am looking forward to continuing our efforts towards building not only our community’s resilience, but the resilience and strength of our cooperative as well. Together, with our extremely skilled team of operators, we will examine our existing systems and build clarity and cohesion throughout our organization. We will remind ourselves that our focus on strategic sales growth is so that we may continue to support not only the needs of our shoppers but the needs of our employees, as well. Finally, remembering that our Co-op is rooted in people, we will make time well-spent by engaging with our community members and in creating a culture of positivity.
Thank you for being a part of our Co-op. Together, we contribute to a strong and resilient food system and a community of care.