Summary of our first meeting - plans for our next!

There were about 26 people at Hal Holmes last night for our first meeting - more, if you count all the incredibly patient and well-behaved kids that came with their parents!

Thanks, everyone - we did a great job. There was good conversation, everyone shared ideas and perspectives, and ultimately we made the commitment to have a next meeting on Tuesday, Nov 17 (same time and place, Hal Holmes Center from 6-8pm).

At the next meeting, our objectives will be to:

• have even more people in the room, including people who couldn't make the first meeting due to schedule conflicts.
  
• assemble a steering committee and get down to work!

More on this to follow.

Highlights from the first meeting
(by all means comment if I missed something or misinterpreted):

Ideas and desires for an Ellensburg food co-op:
Everyone was asked to share their "vision" for a food co-op. What's important? What might the co-op offer? No bad ideas, just brainstorming, putting everything out there.

-it should be a place that fosters community. A welcoming atmosphere, maybe a cafe. The location and its offerings should invite people to stay a while, relax, enjoy.

-Greg Parker shared that the deli at the Bozeman co-op (where he worked once upon a time) was wildly popular, one of the main profit centers for the store. Something to keep in mind for our co-op.

-support of local producers is paramount. The co-op should emphasize locally-sourced food, as well as organic/sustainably sourced...

-...but not to the detriment of sufficient selection. If the co-op doesn't provide enough of what customers want, it will lose business. Source from outside the region as well to supplement, and just choose carefully. Organic oranges from California are closer than oranges from Argentina!

-retail space: not too big (we don't need a PCC) but not too small (Matt and Suzi's garage won't do).

-quality food at a reasonable price, not cheap food

-unique items that will draw people in (will someone please make Dan Beck a decent bagel?)

-the energy and atmosphere of a farmer's market, available every day at the co-op.

-member-worker opportunities. volunteer labor in exchange for discounts on food - this might be especially appealing to college students.

-community outreach - actively teaching the community about good food, our local food system, and health

-classes - interesting and fun educational opportunities, workshops, presentations, how-to

-engage the Latino community

How we'll move forward
In the second half of the meeting, we reviewed a Food Co-op 500 framework for getting organized, and started talking a bit about what our steering committee could do when it forms and starts work.

We will be forming a steering committee at the next meeting, and getting down to work!

Some ideas for work to be done included:

-find a mentor co-op that had a startup process similar to what we think ours might be: starting simple and small. This could involve a field trip to visit food co-ops, or bringing someone to Ellensburg to meet with us.

-host events to create more awareness of the co-op and recruit future members

-"field recruit" on campus, at related events like the farmer's market, etc with a petition or a pledge to buy membership when the co-op becomes incorporated

-conducting an informal survey/scanning the community to determine who our customers are and how many there might be, what they might want, and willingness to pay

-research incorporation and decide how we want to incorporate

-research the best practices and potential pitfalls of having member-workers

-research site selection - pros and cons of different locations, building types, leasing v. buying, etc

Many thanks to all who pitched in with treats, information and meeting moderation...and many thanks again to all for coming. See you again soon.