Welcome to our new board members–Mallory Devries, Nick Phillis, and Ben Scholl! We had our first board meeting as a new board in November and had a chance to get to know each other. These individuals were willing to step up at a crucial time for our co-op! 

Did you read the November message from the Board? At this time WE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD with our goal of opening a full-service grocery store co-op!  Other start-up co-ops have done it after 10 years and we can, too! 

Are you working on your 2024 goals and new year resolutions? Consider volunteering your time with us! We still need more core organizers! For several years we have been operating with not enough committed member-owners to make our goal a reality. We need:

• Project manager for the Site Committee
• Capital campaign committee members and leadership 
• Finance committee members including one or two people tasked with finding a traditional bank loan and a secondary loan 
• One person to fill a vacant 2-year term on the Board of Directors. 
• People willing to apply for the Board of Directors each August. Every year we will have three positions available. Board members should not be expected to serve multiple terms. Now is the time to reach out with questions and/or attend a board meeting to learn more. 

We also need you to be an active member-owner! Here are a few other ways you can get involved:

• Stay informed about our Co-op and share accurate, updated information with others.
• Share with others why you joined the co-op and why you want to see one in our community.
• Share, like, and COMMENT on our social media posts.
• Attend events to help build our community. 
• Share ideas for events or best days/times to host events at info@rootedcarrot.coop. 

Please reach out to info@rootedcarrot.coop if you have any questions.

Jodie Huegerich, 

President, Board of Directors 

Thank you to all Cedar Falls member-owners who engaged local municipal candidates in conversations about their support of the Rooted Carrot Co-op. The relationships our member-owners establish with their local elected officials are vital to our progress moving forward. Our new Community Relations Committee looks forward to working with all Cedar Falls City Council members, staff, and others who can partner with us in any way to make the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market a brick and mortar reality! 

The Site Team met at The Lighthouse, digging into the pizza and the work ahead of us in 2024! Rooted Carrot Co-op committees and volunteers are energized and excited moving into the new year. If you are, too, join us! If you haven’t yet, become a member-owner! https://rootedcarrot.coop/become-a-member/

To volunteer YOUR time and skills in the coming year, complete the “volunteer”  form at https://rootedcarrot.coop/volunteer-application-2023 or send an email to info@rootedcarrot.coop today!

We encourage you to get out and vote today! 

The League of Women Voters of Black Hawk-Bremer Counties  (LWV BHB) hosted a candidate forum on October 18th for the candidates running for mayor and City Council. You can view the forum at Cedar Falls Municipal Candidates Forum 2023 – YouTube. 

During the forum this question was asked: “What Value Do You See in Bringing a Co-op Grocery to Cedar Falls? Does this fit with your vision?” You can find their answers at 1:33 mark in the recording.

Join your co-op friends for a SOUP CHALLENGE potluck! Bring your favorite soup featuring local ingredients. We will invite a local “celebrity judge” to sample the soups and select a favorite! The winner will receive an award for their efforts, and bragging rights until the next challenge! 

Bring a friend, soup, dessert, or any other dish to enhance the event… and your recipe if you don’t mind sharing! 

Beverages (milk, water, lemonade…the basics), bowls, and wares will be provided. 

Tuesday, November 14, at 5:30

4000 Hudson Road (Bethlehem Lutheran Church)

In celebration of the great news that the co-op is moving forward with renewed energy and enthusiasm, we ask everyone to do one of two things: 

1. If you were at the Member-Owner meeting and have a selfie with Rooty, please make it your profile photo on your social media platforms, ASAP!
2. OR, use this special graphic as your profile photo

We would love to see these images all over social media between NOW and November 18th. What a great way to let people know that the Rooted Carrot Co-op is here and our member-owners are looking ahead to the future while building community in the present!

When you upload the new profile picture you can make it temporary.

• Select Make Temporary
• Select Custom (scroll down)
• Date: November 18 and time.
  • On that Date and Time it will switch back to your profile picture.

If you have any questions or need help with this, please email us at info@rootedcarrot.coop and we would be happy to assist!

Welcome Ben, Mallory, and Nick! You can learn more about them at Board of Directors – Rooted Carrot Co-op. 

Because of generous donations given to the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market’s Scholarship Fund by some amazing Co-op supporters, we are excited to announce that the Rooted Carrot will be able to award $100 Member-Owner Share Scholarships! These Scholarships will cover the first $100 toward the Membership cost for our friends who would like to become member-owners but cannot cover the total $200 member share cost.  

We are accepting applications from November 1 to November 30th, 2023.

Please follow this link for additional information and an application form. 

The Future of our Co-op

I want to start by recapping what has happened over the last 5 months. With the loss of the 7th & Main Site and no new site prospects (other potential ones had failed) the Board of Directors knew it was time to reach out to membership to gauge support in our Co-op moving forward. Two special member-owner meetings were held-one in July and one in August to accommodate busy schedules. A recording of the presentations were sent out to all member-owners. You can review the recording here. (Note: skip the ads to get to the presentation.) 

Member-owners were asked to make an advisory vote on whether or not we should move forward with the goal of opening a full-service grocery store co-op. The Board would consider this vote and the number of member-owners who accepted our call to action to get involved in the core organization—committees, board members, etc. 

The Advisory Vote took place online Aug. 15-31 through Election Runner. Here are the results: Continue reading→

A drawing was held at the Member-Owner meeting on October 25 and 12 lucky people won Equal Exchange tea, coffee, or hot cocoa mix! We want to thank the Food Co-op Initiative and Equal Exchange, who donated these items for a drawing held at the Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference. The Rooted Carrot Co-op members who attended that conference won the gift basket and offered it up to benefit those who attended the member-owner meeting. Thank you!