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!

We appreciate the enthusiasm of those who attended the recent member/owner special meetings. Many people were eager to engage with potential Cedar Falls City Council and Mayoral candidates and requested some guidance on how to show support for the Co-op while doing so.

There will be a Cedar Falls Municipal candidate forum on October 18, 7:00-9:00 at Cedar Falls City Hall Council Chambers. (Thanks to the League of Women Voters for sponsoring this event.)

Feel free to express your support for the Rooted Carrot Co-op. Some possible themes or talking points include:

• What value do you see in bringing a Co-op grocery to Cedar Falls? How does this fit with your vision for our community?
• Are you open to a small-group or one-on-one meeting with some co-op board members/volunteers to learn about why opening a co-op grocery store requires special attention from elected officials?
• Resident surveys have revealed a strong desire for a grocery store in the downtown area. In order to accommodate The Rooted Carrot Co-op grocery downtown, would you be willing to make exceptions to some zoning rules for things like curb cuts & loading dock placement to allow delivery of goods to the store? 
• How do you define the roles city staff, planning & zoning, and the council play in the approval of development projects? The success of a full line grocery store in the downtown district will hinge on collaboration and creativity at the city staff and commission/council levels.  Are you willing to provide the extra time and energy to these kinds of conversations in order to see this project through to win/win for all?

If you have any questions or to request further guidance on these talking points, please email info@rootedcarrot.coop. Thank you for your support!