2011-01-10 steering committtee meeting minutes

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South Philly Food Co-opSteering Committee MeetingMonday, January 10, 2011

In attendance: John, David, Rebecca F, Alison, Cassie, Mary Beth, Marsha, Maria

1. Meeting structure: update (10)a. Approve agendab. Approve minutes from last meeting, ordering of meeting minutes on

Scribdi. put minutes in chronological order onlineyear, month, day

2. Subcommittee update (15)a. Outreach: civic presentations, blogging, business assessment, survey

update, Sunday night events @ Philadelphia Wellness Centeri. Patty Day as co-chair---put it up for a vote/motion to Outreach

ii. Outreach is re-visiting how to recruit peopleiii. Civic meetings are going on---Maria will fill in for Newbold meetingiv. blogging schedule is set for Monday, Wed and Fridayv. Neighborhood captains to help with education in their areavi. Flyer eventsmall flyers for businessesvii. meet at Pattys then spread out to coffee shops/businesses to

distributeb. Legal/Finance: update on internal membership request

i. committee membership drive letters are ready to goii. not incorporated yet, but writing by laws to be prepared for

submitting paperworkiii. monthly educational programapp for that meet and greet

discussion at Philly Wellness space (in collaboration with outreach)iv. maybe show movies at a dance studio by Patsv. Hawthornes fundraiser? --- Stasiavi. Fundraising plan---should we have one person in charge of grants?

Should it be a sub-committee? How do we find grants?vii. get business students to pull together the feasibility study as part

of their coursework?viii. Alison will make post on Facebook about grants

3. Case Study: (30)a. Eastside Food Co-op, Minneapolis (Alison)

i. opened in 2004

ii. Minneapolis has a lot of co-ops---co-op cultureiii. 1996effort started, had 130 members of a co-op association, butit burned out. (leadership). Members took money and put it in atrust just in case to be used only to open a co-op with a differentname than original co-op

iv. 2000----started again, and 4 years later they opened.v. 12,000 sq ft building, w/a parking lot 4,000 sq ft of retail space and

some rental spacemay have helped getting loansvi. $2M annually---larger co-ops (The Wedge) is doing $20M annually


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vii. 7-8 ppl on the board/steering committeeviii. got $100,000 through neighborhood associationsix. startup budget was $1.2Mx. feasibility study was done for free by students---$5000 for market

analysisxi. decided to trust their instincts aside from naysayers

xii. $100,000 in member loans---they wish they had more memberloans going into the processnon-voting membership shares

xiii. free feasibility study didnt hurt the loan process, it wasrelationships w/local banks and also the retail space

xiv. bank wanted to know member buy-inxv. $100 for member equityxvi. did a gut check---do we have the stamina to do this? Will we be

able to adapt as necessary with the membershipxvii. fundraisers---house parties, plant sales, bank salesxviii. membership model: %5 discount on purchase once a month,

member-only specials, newsletters by-monthlyxix. wish they had done more education about what it means to be a

member of co-opxx. 750 members when they opened the co-op, up from 500 when they

bought the buildingxxi. store is open to non-members, no work requirement

b. 4th Street Co-op, NY (Mary Beth)i. started as a buying clubii. very few paid workersiii. been a startup since the 90s,iv. membership info:

http://www.4thstreetfoodcoop.org/bin/wiki/foodcoop/view/Main/OrientationPacket

c. Selene Whole Foods Co-op, Media, PA (John)i. founded in 1977 as a vegetarian cafii. $10 one-time share fee plus $50 dues (non refundable)iii. 5% off of purchases & member prices if you workiv. membership cardsv. trying to raise money to own a store frontvi. hold farmers marketsvii. dropped from 400 to 200 members due to poor managementviii. 1100 sq ft, one GM, a little over $100,000 annuallyix.

4. Bylaws draft: Reactions? Responses? Thoughts on Board election timing? (20)a. Rough draft by last week in Januaryb. suggestion by Marsha to change verbiage about how a member gets

his/her membership equity backc. Board of Directors requirements----maybe one year of membership rather

than 6 mos? Maybe committee work as well?d. should we do a committee drive?---or have board elections that pull from

other committeese. Elect board early enough for new board members to attend the Consumer

Co-operative conference


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f. Weavers Way has committees that are show up and help out style

5. Any other business? (10)a. Location 1/24 meeting?

i. at Marsha 1336 Mifflin Stb. Bylaws meeting on Monday, 1/31? (5th Monday----meet about hashed-out,

fleshed-out by laws)

6. For next time (1/24):a. Feasibility Study: Any updates on Wharton connections (John)b. Case studies: Swarthmore (Maria), Flatbush (Julia)c. Can we get a logo update from Punk Ave?

i. MB will contact Jeff

2011-01-10 steering committtee meeting minutes

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