PHOENIX EARTH FOOD CO-OP

MINUTES OF THE MAY 31,1990 FOOD CO-OP GENERAL MEETING

Theresa Gragg chaired the meeting and Dini Schut acted as secretary, The minutes of the April 29, 1990 meeting were read and approved.

REPORTS

Legal was not presented.

General Research. Jani Gatewood's comments included Robert Hannon's notes from the Ithaca workshop. Legal ramifications to Board Members: Board Members can be held liable, no matter what. There is a diversion of many styles to run a food co-op, only one might work for us. Hierarchal? Consensus? We need to plan time at the next meeting to discuss this.

Location and Equipment. Jani reported on the member owned warehouse company called FORC.They are interested in a possible franchise in the Toledo area, and are willing to come down from Columbus for a meeting. They will do a feasibility study, they are looking for a store that would do $65,OOO in monthly sales and would have a floorspace of 10,000 square feet offering a large variety of merchandise.

A general discussion followed which raised the following points: What does FORC mean: Jani: we buy their products, they stand behind their products. we need to decide whether we want a small or large store. Jane and Becky would like to keep decisions locally. When looking for a site we need to keep extra room for expansion in mind. FORC may be easier, we need to know how much money we have available locally. Visit ForC's warehouse. Check with other co-op on their decision making.Skeptical about franchise. Jani responded that Forc provides great back-up and support and it is a co-operative. We need to make decisions but we lack knowledge and we need to know how much support there is in the community. It was agreed upon that FORC will be invited for the next meeting. Questions to be asked include:what will we give up? Theresa wants a food co-op which sells organic food, ultimately it would not matter who runs it.

Location/equipment.Christie has been in contact with the Chamber of Commerce, the OWE Cathedral Square area, the Ashland Bancroft area (Collingwood Springs) which will offer 1000 square feet, but they could combine 2 areas for us. A South Toledo deli is up for $149.000, the Warehouse District has one for $18.000 but it needed a lot of work. The Traverse city co-op indicated a good location is jmportant, and one that attracts the upper income group, and so is a wide range of products. Other advice from them:marketing and education go together, management must have a strong business sense with clear guidelines and smart risk taking.
Mary mentioned that the Cleveland area has a food co-op in a re-hab area which qualifies them for a low interest loan. Their highest volume is sold in a store in a middle class area, followed by the re-hab area one, and third is the one on the way to downtown.They have a one time fee of $25, and a 30% mark-up for non-members.
Don't overlook small sites, it needs to be open to public transportation,have easy unloading,parking available, with possible expansion for serving food and a bakery.
Genie and Melissa from Caldwell realtors will keep their eyes and ears open for a site and asked us to do the same. Riri will call Christie about a possible site.

Outreach/media. Skip and Jane have made a flyer, which is being printed and available at the OWE. Riri will make a poster for the OWE.

Fundraising/finance.Dini has put together a begging letter, copies were handed out at the meeting. Please call her for any suggestions and corrections.Hannon advised us that it is illegal to solicit more thAn 25 peopje. We need to clarify this before soliciting for funds.Also it is crucial for a co-op to know it's inventory, if you have a loss you need to know it immediately.
Becky has bought $100 worth of fruit for fruit kabobs at the OWE, Christie obtained the $30 vendor license for selling it. Becky has a sign-up sheet for help in cutting the fruit and selling it.
We will find out when and where the neighborhood festivals are 80 that we can be present there.

The next meeting will be June 28,1990. the outreach committee will find a location and notify members by mail or phone. Beverly will consolidate the majling lists on index cards.

Theresa Gragg adjourned the meeting at 8:40. Minutes submitted for approval or revision by Dini Schut.