Our first 2023 update: 610 members and counting
Welcome to our February newsletter. We now have over 610 paid members! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already joined us. For anyone who is interested in becoming a member, you can do that here:
https://charlesriverfood.coop/join
You can also help us spread the word by forwarding this email, by printing and posting a flier on a local community bulletin board, or by sharing our posts on social media.
We’re in the Globe!
If you missed last Wednesday’s copy of the Boston Globe’s Food section - we have you covered. Please share our article on your social media or with friends - we’ve seen quite a few new members thanks to this coverage and welcome if you found us this way.
Member Spotlight
We are going to start highlighting a Charles River Food Co-op member in each newsletter. First up, our raffle winner from October. If you want to be featured in an upcoming newsletter, please email us at info@charlesriverfood.coop.
Meet Sarah - Member #496! In her own words: “I live in Watertown and I run a start-up that makes nuclear bomb detectors. I am a member of the co-op because I miss Russo's and want to be part of creating the next-generation store for magnificent produce.” When we asked what her favorite fruit or vegetable is and how she prepares it, she called it an “unanswerable question.” “Raspberries are my favorite fruit, and they go straight into my mouth. My favorite way ever to prepare vegetables is a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe for heirloom tomatoes with sumac, shallots, basil, and pine nuts. It's almost as good as raspberries.”
Sarah also won our raffle late last year that we ran with the Neighboring Food Co-op Association - pictured here with the goodies she took home. Thanks so much for joining and being a member, Sarah!
Message from the Board
We are hard at work preparing for the next steps in our exciting food co-op journey. We are continuing to work with Columinate, a company that does financial feasibility studies and specializes in co-ops. We are evaluating the Pro Forma they put together for us, and assessing how all the financial pieces will come together. We are starting to look at available locations in Newton, Watertown, and Waltham, seeing how the rent and expenses in those areas fits into our financial plans. We are also in the final stages of choosing a vendor for a Market Study, which will shed some light on what our expected revenue might be based on location, square footage, parking, and store offerings. These numbers will go into the Pro Forma to give us some solid membership and fundraising goals.
For more information on the steps it takes to open a food co-op, you can read the FCI’s Food Co-op Startup Guide. (It’s long but super interesting.) We are working through their list of tasks. See below diagram for where we are right now on our journey. We are at stage 2a, and we plan to have our first annual membership meeting this fall.
Community News
We’ve discovered that the folks at Walden Mutual, a cooperative bank, are investing in food sustainability. Check them out here: https://www.waldenmutual.com/for-individuals-launch
In December we partnered with the Russell Cooperative Preschool, donating a Charles River Food Co-op membership to their holiday fund-raiser auction. One of the seven principles of co-ops is “cooperation among cooperatives” so we were happy to help out our fellow co-op, while at the same time helping to spread the word about our own co-op.
Watertown is hiring for a part time Farmer’s Market and Program Coordinator. The City of Watertown seeks a qualified individual to coordinate on-site operations of the seasonal Watertown Farmers’ Market and assist with off-season market and Live Well Watertown programs. This is a Part Time At-Will Position. Learn more here.
How You Can Help
The biggest thing that you can do to help us is simply to forward this email to your friends and community listservs, post on social media and other groups like NextDoor, put up a flier in your local ice cream shop or house of worship, and just generally help us raise awareness. If you have any other ideas for how we can reach new potential members, please let us know!
Although it’s too cold out for tabling events right now, we are looking for volunteers for specific roles. Here are our top few needs, but please reach out to us if you have any other skills you think we could use!
Newsletter writer
Social Media coordinator
Accountant/Bookkeeper
Gift Memberships Available
You can now purchase a gift membership on the website for anyone you choose. When you purchase a gift membership, an email will be sent to the recipient alerting them of the offer. When they choose to accept the offer, the recipient fills out the online membership form and they and their family become a fully qualified lifetime member. You can use the link below to get started:
https://charlesriverfood.coop/gift
As always - thank you so much to all of you for your support and please spread the word by forwarding this email to a few friends.
In co-operation,
The Charles River Food Co-op Board
(Nick, Melissa, Thomas, Tim, Christina, Lissa, Lew, Benny, & Jen)
