October Calendar

Team meetings

If you are interested in joining a team, email us at: 

freerangefoodcoop@gmail.com

Your marketing skills are needed!

Our marketing team is always looking for folks with an interest or experience in all things 'marketing' to help with tasks such as:

• making gorgeous social media graphics
• helping build this newsletter
• creating materials for our future Community Investment Campaign
• strategizing for future marketing needs when the store opens

Monthly meetings are usually held on the first Wednesday from 6:00-7:00pm on Zoom.

Email Shara to learn more!

Join our new hospitality committee:

The Party Peeps! 

Calling all party planners- we need your help! Party Peeps will help with the Annual Meeting (& future events as needed) to plan snacks, beverages, and anything else needed to make sure attendees are comfy and happy. We've got ideas but are looking for hospitality-minded volunteers to pull it all together and make it happen so the board can focus on the business side of the meetings.

You'll work with our other teams to help you coordinate volunteers and get the support you need to plan the fun parts of these events! Send us an email now to help out. Peep peep!

Saturday

October 8th

Trout Lake Road

Join us in taking one small step towards fulfilling FRFC's Vision Statement #5:

"Our community has a leader that models and promotes sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship."

Meet other co-op volunteers while improving part of our Itasca County highway system!

Send us an email to join us on Saturday, and we'll send you more info.

We have a very exciting announcement to share with you all...

We have officially reached 1000 Owners!!! 🎉

We want to thank everyone who has made this possible- the Board of Directors past and present, our lovely volunteers, and YOU for investing in an ownership to our cooperative! Without these folks dedicating their time, energy, and money to this project it would not have gotten this far.

Thank you!

Owners like Don and Ellen Ardery (owner #1,000!) and the 999 owners before them are the backbone of any cooperative. Owners like you can make key decisions and your input is essential to the project, making your voices directly heard and respected! When you join the co-op, you become a part of something bigger: a group of community members cooperating with each other to build a mission-driven, socially responsible business meeting our needs, right here in our own community.

After three long years we are excited to finally able to have our annual meeting in person again this year!

• Tuesday, October 25th at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids
• Doors open at 5pm for social hour, snacks, and in-person voting
• The meeting officially starts at 6:00 and will last for about 40 minutes, with plenty of time afterwards for Q&A and chatting with your fellow owners!

Online voting will be open to all members two weeks before the annual meeting date and you do not need to be present at the meeting to cast your vote, but you will be missing out on some insider information and quality time with other owners.

Voting closes for everyone at 6pm on October 25th.

Your vote will be to elect Directors to the Board and whether or not to adopt a bylaw change that would give the option to newly elected Board members to only serve a one year term instead of three. This change is being proposed to make serving on the Board more accessible without having to worry about a lengthy commitment. There are currently 6 total open positions (3 for elected seats qualifying for a 1-year term if the bylaw change is passed, 1 vacant term with one year remaining, and 2 vacant terms with two years remaining). Bylaw changes are required to receive votes from at least 50 owners.

We hope to see you there!

*The annual owner meeting is open to FRFC owners only. If you are interested in getting involved in our cooperative consider joining as an owner today!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Board and Brews event at Klockow Brewing Company! We had a blast chatting and getting to know our fellow owners better over some delicious beverages, and hope you did too.

CALLING ALL DEDICATED OWNERS!

Building a food co-op from scratch is challenging, but like most hard work, it's easier with more people! Having a full team will allow us to be able to complete all the goals and projects we have in the works in the most efficient way possible.

WE need YOU to become a Board member.

Board work includes learning about, planning for, and investing in the co-op's:

Vision: Bringing our collective hopes and dreams to life to serve the Itasca County community.

Talent: Investing our individual skills in the co-op’s success. Learning & growing together!

Capital: Ensuring continued co-op feasibility through budget reviews, planning, and securing financial resources.

Systems: Developing, coordinating, and improving systems to guide continued co-op development.

Don't worry though: along with mentorship from current directors, you'll have access to online training provided by Food Co-op Initiative (a national co-op resource center) to provide you with the tools and information you need to be successful in your position.

There are currently 6 total open positions of various lengths. If the proposed bylaw amendment is passed by owners this October, newly elected directors will have the option for your first term to be only 1 year long (instead of 3)! If you love your first year on the board (and we hope you do!) you'll have the option to be appointed to an additional 2 years as a director. If appointed to a vacant position, you would complete the remaining years of that term.

I volunteer for the Free Range Food Coop because I want to be part of the change of moving our world towards deeper levels of community and sustainable living. FRFC operates from values that support local economy, honor diversity, and understand the importance of sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship. It feels nourishing to be a part of a cooperative that builds from these core values and is here to create the change I aspire to see in my community.

-Katie Christenson, Owner #349

Site Selection FAQ

Parking isn't an afterthought!

Customer accessibility is a primary consideration when we review possible sites. We are looking to balance walkability to the community with ease of access by cars from major roads – and it’s not easy! As we’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, our market study found that our ideal store size should be about 6,000 square feet (4,000 for retail and the rest for warehousing/office space). With a retail space of that size, it is recommended we have at least 38 off street, co-op only parking spaces. Many existing storefronts we have investigated as possibilities just aren't big enough to allow for an adequate number of parking spaces. We don’t want customers having to park across the street or down the road to shop for their groceries! As we continue to assess possible sites, we are doing our best to ensure access to our future store will be easy whether you’re walking, biking, or driving. 

Tune in to next month's newsletter for more commonly asked questions about site selection!

Miss the last co-op board meeting?

Catch up by reading the latest meeting minutes on our website:

September Work Session Minutes

September Board Meeting Minutes