Give Thanks for Your Co-op Potluck

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs in upstate NY, I am a huge proponent of local and homegrown businesses.  Having lived in Richmond for the past 12 years, I wouldn’t say I had much experience with what a co-op was or what it stood for.  Coincidentally, I have a cousin who lives in Brooklyn who introduced me to the Park Slope Food Cooperative seven years ago.  While I understood the general idea of a co-op, I honestly didn’t give joining one much thought until April 2013, when a good friend of mine was pitching her business model for online clothing line at the Carpenter Center.   Serendipitously, Michele and Susan were also there giving their presentation for starting the Richmond Food Co-op.  It didn’t take much to convince me to jump on board.  I started out as a pioneering member, but quickly found an opportunity to use my experience as a Coordinator at Capital One to help grow and advance the Richmond Food Cooperative initiative.  I’ll be helping to plan our events and implement creative opportunities to expand our membership.  Our goal is to have a brick and mortar establishment that will provide local, organic and sustainable goods to those who may not have previously had access to healthy options. 

Given the time the season, we all start thinking about how we can give back to the community.  Partnering with Re-Establish Richmond, we are hosting a member-driven potluck.  This will be an opportunity to share the mission of the Co-op with friends and family.  This could also be an opportunity to share some of your favorite holiday recipes with your fellow members/owners the week prior to Thanksgiving.  I know myself, I plan on taking some of this culinary inspiration with me back home to NY to show off my newly-acquired cooking skills.

The Potluck will also serve as the launch of our Give the Gift of the Co-op Campaign - what better time of year to share your Co-op with your loved ones? Walk away with a gift of community and good food for that special someone in your life.

So let’s all take a couple hours on November 24^th to meet, greet, eat and give thanks to this first (and very successful) year of the Richmond Food Cooperative.  I look forward to meeting each and every one of you on Sunday. 

-Patrick Basloe, Co-op Events Chair