May 2022 Newsletter
Free plant starts for all owners who join before May 15th
All new owners who join by May 15th will receive veggie plant starts grown locally by Bryndlewood Gardens! Each will also get entered to win the 'big basket' of veggie/flower starts. (Tip - if you are a household member of a current owner you can join under your own name with your own owner number to get in on the giveaways!)
Thank you, volunteers!
A huge thank-you to the 17 co-op owners who helped our attendance at the Children's Fair be a success! Volunteers assembled 500 cucumber seed planting kits, distributed them families at the fair, and taught the kids some fun 'garden yoga' poses.
Our first event of the season was a fun one, and we looking forward to working alongside our awesome co-op owner volunteers this summer!
Highway Cleanup Volunteers Needed
Meet other co-op volunteers while getting a little exercise and improving part of our Itasca County highway system! Sign up by emailing Shara at sharad.frfc@gmail.com. You'll receive more info and instructions once signed up. Join us in taking one small step towards fulfilling FRFC's Vision Statement #5:
"Our community has a leader that models and promotes sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship."
Email freerangefoodcoop@gmail.com to request a meeting with a current director for more information.
Two exciting opportunities available!
It's an especially thrilling time to join the board as we ramp up towards:
Finding our site
Securing funds
Hiring a general manager
Planning store layout & products
A board term lasts for 3 years (or less if you are filling a vacancy) and provides opportunities to:
Represent and engage with other co-op owners
Grow your existing skills and cultivate new ones
Expand personal and professional networks through co-op development
Directors take their responsibility to represent our owners seriously… and they also enjoy the rewards of serving, including having an inside scoop about the co-op’s development! As active volunteer owners, directors are ambassadors for the co-op who are fully engaged in the work needed to build our store. It's so fulfilling to play a key role in creating this hub for fresh local food and ideas!
Have you ever thought about how much money it takes to build a cooperative grocery store - or any grocery store for that matter?
The land, the building, the shelving, the check-out lanes, the freezers, the refrigerators, the cooking equipment, the stock, the staff...you can see it all adds up fast! The Free Range Food Co-op project will cost roughly $2 million dollars and we’ll raise more than half of that from our owners and community members. The rest will come from bank loans and grants.
Co-ops across the country have raised funds from owners for centuries and the current pandemic has not slowed co-ops down! In fact Co-ops have raised MILLIONS of dollars in the last 2 years from co-op owners - during a pandemic. The Fredericksburg Food Co-op raised $2.4 million dollars from owners and opened their beautiful store in 2021. Those dollars came from just over 300 co-op owners who on average invested $8,000 in the co-op. Click here to take a peek at their store.
We can’t wait to tell you more details about how we plan to raise the funds needed to open our own beautiful co-op right here in Grand Rapids! Stay tuned for more details about our upcoming Community Investment Campaign.
Book Club chat -
Send us an email for the details!
"Material: Making and the Art of Transformation"
by Nick Kary
In our present age of computer-assisted design, mass production and machine precision, the traditional skills of the maker or craftsperson are hard to find. Yet the desire for well-made and beautiful objects from the hands (and mind) of a skilled artisan is just as present today as it ever has been. In Material, Kary takes readers along with him to visit some of the places where modern artisans are preserving, and in some cases passing on, the old craft skills. His vivid descriptions and eye for detail make this book a rich and delightful read, and the natural and cultural history he imparts along the way provides an important context for understanding our own past and the roots of our industrial society.
Pick up this book and join our book club! Anyone is welcome to our quarterly discussions regardless of how far you got through the book.
Miss the last co-op board meeting?
Catch up by reading the latest meeting minutes on our website:
April Work Session Minutes
Owners are encouraged to join Work Sessions & Board Meetings!
Email us if you are interested in joining one of our teams.
GM Search Team
Sunday, May 1st, 6:00-7:00pm
Planning strategies to find the best future store General Manager.
Capital Campaign Planning Team
Monday, May 2nd, 6:30-7:30pm
Planning & implementing the capital campaign.
Work Session
Tuesday, May 3rd, 6:00-7:30pm.
Open to all owners!Click to join via Zoom
Marketing Team
Wednesday, May 4th, 6:00-7:00pm
Marketing, graphics, & social media.
Board Development Team
Tuesday, May 10th, 6:00-7:00pm
Strengthening our board through education & policy creation.
Site Selection Team
Tuesday, May 10th, 7:00-8:00pm
Locating, researching, & comparing possible store sites.
CO-OP EVENT - Highway Cleanup
Saturday, May 14th, 10:00am-12:00pm
Clean up our adopted highway section in Trout Lake Road!
Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 17th, listening session 5:30-6:00pm
Open to all owners! Click to join via Zoom
Board meeting follows listening session 6:00-7:30pm
Open to all owners! Click to join via Zoom
Grand Rapids Farmer's Market returns!
The Grand Rapids Farmers’ Market returns to 11 Golf Course Road
Every Wednesday and Saturday
8:00am to 1:00pm
http://www.grfarmersmarket.org/
Thank you for keeping in touch with Free Range Food Co-op!
Know somebody who should be a Free Range owner? Forward this email and ask them to click the link below to visit our website and sign up.