From the Board - Conversations for Thriving

This summer, the Wedge Co-op welcomed our 10,000th member. We've grown from a small Franklin Avenue storefront to the largest single-store consumer-owned natural food co-op in the U.S. We've changed to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse membership. We've added the on-site bakery and greatly increased the number and variety of products.

As with all consumer cooperatives, the Wedge's primary goal is to provide goods to its members. Our focus on member needs distinguishes our cooperative from privately owned stores that exist to generate profits for investors. To learn about member needs, we survey members periodically.

Earlier this summer a sample of members received a survey to learn more about member needs. The survey grew out of a series of meetings between the board of directors and management team over the past year. The meetings, known collectively as Conversations for Thriving, centered on how to improve the shopping experience for our members. Look for the results of the survey in future newsletters.

In June, some board and staff members attended the Consumer Cooperative Management Association annual conference in Lexington, Kentucky. CCMA is the trade association for natural food co-ops. After attending my third CCMA annual conference, it still felt like a religious revival meeting where everyone had religion before they arrived and we went home to evangelize about the co-op difference. Co-ops promote community and sustainability.

Other directors and I did not have to leave the Twin Cities to appreciate a strong local co-op community. Lexington has only one natural food co-op store. Conference attendees envied the Twin Cities co-op community and the Wedge's talented, innovative staff and strong financial position. Wedge employees working on national cooperative projects gave presentations at the conference. Elizabeth Archerd, Member Services Manager, participated in a presentation about the national co-op branding initiative. Dan Foley, General Manager, and Tak Tang, Information Systems Manager, described the new point of sale system that Tak developed to track data not captured by commercial systems. For example, the system tracks member virtual coupon use at the Wedge.

Co-op boards face similar situations and have developed a variety of responses. Attendees learned about what worked and why. As director Merle Borchers observed, "The most valuable part is seeing and learning how staff and directors of other co-ops present their store and membership."

Next year, when the Wedge will celebrate its 30th anniversary, Twin Cities co-ops will host the 48th CCMA annual conference.