February is Love Your Co-op Month!

How much do you love your Cedar Falls Food Co-op? Enough to talk with others who would benefit from owning a member share? Enough to share our Facebook posts? Enough to host a co-op event such as a house party? The more new member-owners who join, the sooner we will have our brick and mortar store. And member-owners have a say in what our Co-op will look like, so why wait? Join today. Thanks to all of you for helping bring this community-grown grocery store to the Cedar Valley!

 

February is a great month to participate in Co-op activities to show your love for the Co-op while also beating those winter blues.

 

Here’s how:

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Board Happenings: December 2016

Take a minute and see what your Board has been working on!

  • If you missed the Annual Member Meeting, don’t despair! We’ll be posting our notes and updates to the website soon.
  • Board and Committee members will once again attending the annual Up and Coming Conference in Milwaukee this year. If you haven’t heard of this conference, it’s an annual conference put together by the Indiana Cooperative Development Center and the Food Co-op Initiative to provide resources and networking for start up food co-ops. The Cedar Falls Food Co-op has been in attendance the past 3 years and we’re happy to keep expanding our knowledge to best serve our members.
  • Our Annual Member Mixer will be held on January 29th at Bryan’s on 4th, in Waterloo. Stop by and bring a friend for what’s sure to be a fun evening of food and co-op camaraderie.

 

Everybody Gets One and We Get. This. Done.

As I write this, your co-op is less than ten members away from reaching a huge milestone: 500 member-owners. Each of those member-owners is the result of grassroots communication, continued education, and the genuine commitment of member-owners sharing your co-op stories with your friends, colleagues, and neighbors.

2017 will be a huge year for our co-op. We’ll embark on our capital campaign. We’ll continue to grow our presence in community organizations. And if we all commit to it, we can reach our 1,000 member mark this year.

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From the Board President: Looking Ahead to 2017

Happy New Year! I’m very excited as to what 2017 will bring for the Co-op. This year will mark some major milestones in our development. I’m so proud of our committees and the board and all the groundwork they’ve done in the last two years to help prepare for some exciting steps in 2017. As a result, we’re poised to accomplish the following this year:

Fully Elected Board

This year marks the end of the transition from a steering committee to a fully elected Board of Directors. Over the summer, the final three seats on the Board will be up for interested candidates, and once the final votes are tabulated, each of the nine-member Board will have been elected by the Co-op’s membership. This is important to us, as we value the second of the 7 Cooperative Principles: Democratic Governance.

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Welcome Renewed Health in the New Year

For many of us, the New Year is a time of reflection, hope, and renewal. Last year’s resolutions might have fizzled out a long time ago, but it’s never too late to recommit to better health and fuller living for the coming year. The Cedar Falls Food Co-op Business Partner program has much to offer member owners ready to make 2017 their best year yet! Many of our business partners focus on healthy lifestyles through the products and services they offer, all while saving you money! Don’t forget to take advantage of these incredible deals that are only offered to Co-op member owners!Continue reading→

Member Spotlight: Tara Sundt

This month’s Cedar Falls Food Co-op Member spotlight is Tara Sundt.

Tara Sundt grew up in Washburn with her parents and brother, attending elementary school in Washburn and then high school in Waterloo.  After graduation, she went into the Army where she was stationed in various places such as Fort Meade, Camp Jackson, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA as well as in Hungary.  After eight years of service, Tara attended the University of Northern Iowa and received her degree in Computer Science.  She went to work at DISTek Integration, Inc. and then on to the Electronics Enterprise group at John Deere where she is currently employed, working on the software for tractors. 

Tara loves the feeling of belonging and familiarity of the Cedar Valley community where she’s grown up.  She enjoys activities such as Movies under the Moon and Live to 9 in Cedar Falls.  Some of her favorite places to frequent are Cup of Joe, Sidecar Coffee, SingleSpeed Brewing, Montage and Whiskey Road – she adds, “anyplace on Main Street in Cedar Falls”. Continue reading→

Member Spotlight: Marguerite Pircer Harms

Marguerite Pircer Harms, a self-described “city girl” from Detroit, MI is married to Keith a “farm boy” from Bristow, IA.  Their family consists of two daughters Alex Pircer and Erin Colwell and a son, Josh Harms.  Marguerite is currently working as a realtor at Century 21 LSB RE and is also a blogger and workshop facilitator.  Keith is a teacher and football coach at Hudson High School. 

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Marguerite loves the quaintness of the Cedar Valley community and its people, in particular, the bike trails and local events that make this area appealing.  Her favorite place to shop is downtown Cedar Falls, especially Cup of Joe.  This is the place where she and her husband first met on March 5, 2000 and were married exactly ten years later.   She also enjoys Vintage Iron, Montage and has made many donations to St. Vincent de Paul. 

In their free time, Marguerite and Keith love to go biking, travel and just being out with their two dogs.  Their favorite season is fall, where they find the leaves and crisp clean air to be very refreshing.  They enjoy connecting with friends and helping with the Cedar Falls Food Co-op when they’re able to.  Marguerite also mentors a women’s center for change and runs a networking group.  In addition, she loves to cook and enjoys fresh, homemade meals.

As a Cedar Falls Food Co-op member, she says that she “is excited to belong to a community that is dedicated to local, fresh and organic”. Marguerite describes the Co-op as “an electrifying hub with classes, fresh food and a deli where you can meet up with friends and family”.  Another benefit she adds is that Co-op members are also given the opportunity to save at local businesses. 

From the Board President: Year End Updates: A Holiday Potpourri

Each month I struggle to decide what to write about in this column. There are so many wonderful things going on with the Co-op’s effort that selecting one topic or one activity is a regular challenge. So, in the spirit of giving oneself a holiday during the holidays, this month I’ll change things up a bit with a report on many details. That makes it easy on me!

The Co-op Branding 2.0

Our Communications Team is hard at work in refining the Co-op’s messaging and visual identity. We understand the importance of having a good brand, and while the Cedar Falls Food Co-op continues to get high marks from co-op consultants and other co-ops across the country, there’s always room for improvement. Don’t worry…The iconic carrot logo won’t change. But some of the visuals and messages will be tightened up and improved as we enter 2017. (If things like tag lines and style guides are fascinating to you, consider lending a hand with our dynamic volunteer team. These are some amazing people from around the Cedar Valley, and we’d love to have your talents included!)

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Change on the Board

The Board of Directors election results announced in last month’s Garlic Press indicated two new faces to the Board (Joy Thorson and Heidi Noonan-Day) and one returning member (Tom Wickersham). Since then, the Board has undergone an additional change.

In November, the Board officially accepted the resignation of Noonan-Day. Citing personal and professional commitments that would limit her ability to serve in the capacity that she felt was necessary for the Cedar Falls Food Co-op, Noonan-Day opted to resign while still offering future support to some of the committees’ work.

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The Board acted quickly, and, in accordance with the bylaws, appointed a replacement to fill the vacancy. The Co-op is pleased to report that Terry Stewart, who served for five months on the Board this year, is returning to serve out the remainder of the three-year term. Terry joins Thorson, Wickersham, and Jess Cruz, Brenna Griffin, Dan Heit, Sheri Huber-Otting, Amber Mann, and Kristel McClenahan to serve this next year. Wickersham will continue to serve as President, Thorson will step in as Vice-President, and McClenahan and Cruz will continue their roles as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. Please join us in welcoming Terry Stewart back to the Board!