From: the General Manager

By Lindy Bannister

Happy Spring! Although this is the time of year to look toward new beginnings, it is also my time to reflect. I was hired at the Wedge in the spring, and this year marks my five-year anniversary. I want to use this space in this edition to shout out a couple of big Thank Yous!

First, I would like to thank the Board of Directors for taking a chance by hiring someone from a conventional grocery background. Over 21 years of experience running stores only begins to give one the training on how to run a co-op. They had faith in my capabilities to learn the co-op principles as well as all there is to know about the world of organics.

That brings me to the thank you I have to give the management staff and workers for their patience with me as I learned the intricacy of their work. The place that we hold in the world of organic retailers is a very important one, as we were the second retailer to voluntarily become certified in 2002. Hours and hours of work went into helping write the regulations and then to holding our store up to the high standards that were set. It is a point of differentiation for us, but more importantly it is another link in the safety chain that we take so seriously in our quest to bring you healthy, safe products that we can trace back to their origins. This last year we certified our deli department and now our front end and administration department. That brings us to a place where the store is not only certified but where every department is individually inspected on a yearly basis. Our own Co-op Partners Warehouse and Gardens of Eagan farm are also certified.

Although I have always belonged to rural electric and food co-ops, as well as credit unions, I didn't understand the importance of membership until I got here—what a powerful way to run a business. When the members participate in many different ways, we all have ownership in what is going on. I've seen many of you get involved when we've asked you to help us change government regulations, or keep them the same. We've asked you to help us help the local farmers during floods, raise money for the disasters in Indonesia and Haiti and contribute to local food banks. You've signed your names to help us save Gardens of Eagan from the pipeline that was proposed in Farmington. For 10 years you worked with us to help identify the pasture rules that will keep organic farming strong and true to its mission, and now the USDA has just announced we finally have what we all worked so hard for. You are a very powerful group

I look back on some of the major accomplishments we have achieved over the past five years. When I arrived CPW was up for sale to a couple of different groups. We decided to make it work by increasing the size and the mission, and work it has. We have become a place where local farmers and producers can connect, find a way that is beneficial for all and get their products to market. We now sell more than just produce; we include frozen, dairy and dry goods, all as local as we can get and distributed to the different places we service in as many ways necessary. We deliver to service co-ops, small independent businesses and restaurants in four states. We partner with Equal Exchange and the Three Farmer Alliance to be more efficient in our delivery systems, and the team of people we have over there are always looking for ways to help both the producers and the businesses they work with.

We are well into the plan to finalize our purchase of Gardens of Eagan. The initial purchase was of the equipment and name. We are in the third year of a five-year lease with the option to purchase at any time. The farm has presented us with some very interesting opportunities. We put up hoop houses for season extension and grew ever-bearing strawberries for the first time last year. Selling our extra strawberry plants in the store helped us realize that we needed to offer other organic plantings, which we will do this year.* The non-profit Organic Field School is up and running ahead of schedule with a full board of directors from all avenues of interest.

The store itself has undergone some major changes in the past five years (though we still haven't figured out how to get more parking, or indoor seating). We changed the colors from teal and burgundy to warmer earth tones, and the visual focus is on our partnership with the growers and producers that bring you your food. We felt the placement of the products in the store should make more sense to you, and we just completed a reset with which you have been very patient. We are enjoying the feedback and have been changing some of the products around due to your comments. Keep them coming, please.

I have sat on the board of the National Cooperative Grocers Association and am sitting on the board of the National Cooperative Business Association. I've spoken in front of the National Organic Standards Board and with many of the organizations that work to bring us safe, healthy food both locally and nationally. I see so many projects ahead that will strengthen our ties with all of these people. The timing for cooperative businesses to flourish is now. We are a better co-op for our work with Equal Exchange, The Southern Federation of Co-ops, the credit union community and the rest of the food co-ops. NCBA has helped to get the United Nations to declare the year 2012 as the Year of Cooperatives, and we will be involved in a big way. Look forward to it!

In closing I again want to say a great big Thank You to all of you. You have welcomed me in a huge way to your community. I couldn't ask for a better job, and you make every day something different and something to look forward to. Thanks!

~ Lindy

*Seed catalogue at: www.gardensofeagan.com/GOE_starter_plants_catalog.pdf