Patronage Refund Donation

Every year, the Co-op offers its owners the option of donating their Patronage Refund to a selected non-profit. Just like last year, we are once again directing donated and unredeemed Patronage Refunds to our Cooperative Community Fund, managed by the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation. We have an exciting new development this year: three fantastic national cooperatives will be matching your contribution to the Twin Pines Community Fund!

Up to $1,000 worth of donated Patronage Refunds will be matched by three of the finest cooperative businesses in the country. Frontier Co-op (source of many wonderful spices, herbs, and teas), Organic Valley (a dairy farmers' cooperative), and The National Cooperative Bank have all worked together to pledge up to $1,000 to our Co-op Community Fund. CNFC will also match up to $1,000 in donated Patronage Refunds. That means that $1,000 in owner donations will result in $2,000 of additional investment!

You can turn in your Patronage Refund voucher with the “Donate” box marked to contribute to our Community Fund. You can also not do anything! All unredeemed vouchers will be automatically donated at the end of the year. If you prefer to cash out your voucher or apply it to a purchase at the Co-op, you have until the end of the year to do so—on January 1st we will donate the untouched Patronage Refund amounts to the Cooperative Community Fund.

If you have any questions about Patronage Refunds, please contact our Ownership and Outreach Coordinator, Joey. He can be reached by phone or email: 530-891-1713 ext. 110 or jhaney@chiconaturalfoods.coop.

Kindergarten Field Trips!

The Co-op was pleased to host field trips from Chico Country Day School recently. Over three consecutive days, we led classes of curious kindergartners through our store, from where our fresh produce is delivered and stored, through the grocery backstock, and onto the store floor. The almond-butter machine's crushing and grinding was a source of delight, and the candy aisle, as you might imagine, made all the students very excited (while eliciting eye-rolls from the parent chaperones in attendance). 

Joey summing up the visit with the kids.

After the guided tour, the students broke off into small groups for a photographic scavenger hunt. Armed with tablets, they searched the shelves for all the food groups they had been learning about in class. 

A student snapping a watermelon shot for the scavenger hunt.

The trip ended with a healthy snack from the Co-op's bulk department. Freshly fed, the eager young students embarked on the four block walk back to school. We had a great time with our visitors, and look forward to next year's crop of kindergartners visiting!

If you would like to schedule an event or field trip with the Co-op, contact our Outreach Coordinator, Joey, at 530-891-1713 ext 110 or via email at jhaney@chiconaturalfoods.coop

OCTOBER ROUND UP

Last month, our shoppers donated more than $2,100 to CNFC's Cooperative Community Fund. This money will be used to provide a sustainable, long-term resource for local non-profit organizations.

We're also honored to be receiving additional contributions from some of our cherished cooperative partners. Frontier Co-op (source of many wonderful spices, herbs, and teas), Organic Valley (a dairy farmers' cooperative), and The National Cooperative Bank have all worked together to pledge an additional $1,000 to the Co-op Community Fund.

We want to thank these fantastic organizations for so wonderfully embodying the sixth cooperative principle: cooperation among cooperatives. Together, we can accomplish so much!

Annual Owner Meeting

The Co-op celebrated our 2017 annual owner dinner on October 6th at the ARC Pavilion. This year’s event was the best attended owner dinner in recent memory, with more than 150 owners, friends, and family arriving to enjoy each other’s company. The Co-op Kitchen prepared a wonderful meal comprised of savory appetizers, an autumnal array of vegetarian and omnivorous chili, and tasty sweet-breads for dessert. 

The meeting itself consisted of four sections. The night kicked off with a questionnaire for owners to answer. Volunteer facilitators helped guide participants through the survey, which will be analyzed and reported on by the Board. Look forward to seeing those results in a future edition of The Localist!

Member of the Board, Xopher, expounding on he Co-op with a fellow Co-op owner.

Next, Laurie Niles, the BOD President, spoke about the Board’s vision and accomplishments over the past year. Laurie’s explanation of the Global Ends policy was of particular importance. The Global Ends Policy helps to connect the Board to the operations of the store. Laurie shared with owners what the Ends are and how the Co-op realizes them in practice.

Laurie was followed by Peter Ratner and Lauren Kennedy, both Board members. They explained the Board’s decision to change the dates of all future Annual Meetings and Board Elections. Meetings and Elections will now take place in the Spring of each year, in order to better align with the Fiscal Year. They also announced the upcoming special election which will give our owners the opportunity to extend the terms of our current Directors by three months, so that the change in Board elections does not create temporary vacancies on the Board.

The evening was rounded out with a presentation by the Co-op’s General Manager, Liza Tedesco. Liza delivered an informative State of the Co-op address. She reported on the Co-op’s sales performance over the last year, and reiterated the ways in which local, community owned businesses are more vital than ever in this age of increasing corporate consolidation. Folks lingered late into the evening, enjoying food, drink, and good conversation.

La Riojana Wine and Olive Oil

By partnering with food co-ops nationwide to sell their fair trade wine and olive oil (and from a donation on behalf of these food co-ops), the La Riojana cooperative in Argentina has been able to reinvest in and dramatically improve their communities. It’s a great example of one of the co-op principles: cooperation among cooperatives! Find more info on La Riojana and the food co-op partnership: http://strongertogether.coop/article/...

Learn more about La Riojana here.

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