The number of wonderful people who have joined the effort to launch the Cedar Falls Food Co-op grew last week by twelve. They have laptops. They call home places like Boone, Minneapolis, and even Hong Kong. And they like to wear orange. We’re talking, of course, about Wartburg students. Kim Folkers, an Associate Professor of Marketing at Wartburg College, invited the Cedar Falls Food Co-op to be a client of the students as they assemble and integrated marketing communications strategy for area start up businesses.
Open Board Meetings
Over two years ago, the effort to launch a co-op began with a conversation. That was followed by two community gatherings — it was so exciting to see all the interest in the idea! Out of those gatherings grew something we called “The Steering Committee.” (I looked back at an early agenda and found the topic “Co-op name?” on the list. Maybe I’ll do another blog about why we ended up choosing Cedar Falls Food Co-op as our name!)
Cranberries
Cranberries…the name comes from “cranberry,” used to describe how the plant’s looks, especially when flowering, look like a crane. Other names for this fruit bearing plant have included fenberry (traditional English), and mossberry (from Canada). Regardless the name, the cranberry is making its way into your grocer’s aisles this time of year. This Cranberry Sauce’s color and great taste win over all your holiday guests!
Save the Date: Member Mixer on Jan. 25
The Cedar Falls is excited to announce our first member event of 2015 – the Member Mixer on Jan. 25 from 2:00-4:00pm at Luna Art and Wine. Come and mingle with other founding members, interested folks in the community, and members of the Co-op’s Board of Directors. This event will be a casual gathering and open to the public. Feel free to bring a guest or two. More details to be posted soon!
The Cedar Falls Food Co-op Announces New Program: Business Partner of the Month
The Cedar Falls Food Co-op understands the importance of recognizing, supporting and showcasing local businesses within our community. In turn, many businesses have already shown great excitement and interest in the growth and development of our community-owned co-op. To honor our new founding members, in 2015, the Cedar Falls Food Co-op is excited to announce our Business Partner of the Month. We are partnering with local businesses to provide our members with various specials and discounts. We are very pleased to offer our members such an immediate benefit. Once our store is open, members will, naturally, have access to the many benefits of being a member-owner. Our doors aren’t open just yet. However, providing our members with perks now, in this initial phase, feels fitting. We also desire to support our local businesses. So through our Facebook page and within our website and E-newsletters, we will be promoting a business of the month by featuring them and highlighting their services. Fostering supportive business partnerships benefits the whole community and certainly also reflects the cooperative model. Stay tuned in the months to come, as we will announce our monthly partners and the specials they are offering to our members!
New Year, New Blog
With the new website, the Cedar Falls Food Co-op is excited to announce the addition of a blog. This new feature will give us another avenue to share the news about the Co-op and our goal to open the doors! We’ll start this off by asking for your feedback. Tell us what you want to read about in the Co-op blog!