Giving Thanks: The Co-op Way!

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, "Your seeds shall live in my body, And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.” 

-Khalil Gibran

Gratitude happens when we slow down and find space to appreciate the things that sustain us. Thanksgiving is perhaps the perfect Co-op holiday - a tradition rich with gratitude and the underlying premise that cooking and eating together is an expression of love. Our Co-op community is bound by a vision that what and how we eat matters in ways large and small. 

This Sunday brings our 2nd Annual Co-op Potluck - a pre-Thanksiving treat in which our larger Co-op community to comes together to celebrate. Let's cook for each other, eat together, and give thanks for this ever growing Community that is changing Richmond's food future. Join us for a feast of a celebration! 

If you can't read the last one it says: Co-ops make the world a better place!

-Michele Lord, Co-Founder & Project Manager

Community Forums Are Back!

Have you heard the word? Community Forums are making their fall debut next Wednesday, September 17th at 6:30pm! This month we will meet at Gather (409 E. Main Street). The forums are free, open to the public, and the best way to get in the know about Richmond's food future. If you're not a member yet come join us (and join us!) for an overview of cooperative principals, the benefits to having a co-op in Richmond, and the reason that membership = ownership.

If you are a member help us spread the word - our Community Forums are the best way to grow our membership because once people know about the Co-op how can they not want to join?! Invite your friends to become a part of the movement.

Also, any existing members who want to get involved can join us at the same time and place for a Co-op Cohort Ambassador meeting. It's time to get back to your Co-op!

Earth Day 2014!

Earth Day 2013 Memories

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. —Jane Goodall

Happy Earth Day! This year as you think about your impact on this world of ours, we invite you to join us in doing our part on the local level.  The choices we make on a daily basis around where, how and what we consume not only reflect, but actively shape this world. The Richmond Food Co-op offers you the opportunity to make those choices meaningful. Commit to the our earth, our future, and our Co-op.

Welcome Earth Day and honor this commitment to a happy, healthy food future for Richmond. Help us reach our member half way mark this week! 500 by Earth Day! 

This kind of a commitment calls for celebration - join us Thursday for happy hour at En Su Boca to toast to a healthy and happy food future in Richmond. Bonus! We will be giving away an En Su Boca gift certificate to one lucky person committed to growing the Co-op - become a member at (or before) the event, or bring a not yet member friend with you to be entered to win!

Earth Day also marks the beginning of our tabling season - to volunteer at the Co-op information table this Saturday (or at a future event later this spring/summer) send us an email. 

It starts with you!

Thank You For Loving Your Co-op FUNdraiser

Were you at last week's Love Your Co-op FUNdraiser? If you were you know it was a HUGE success - live music, great prizes, and an outpouring of cooperative spirit. And did I mention that the event helped to raise over $3600 toward opening Richmond's only member-owned grocery store? An event this good requires a few words of thanks, so here they are:

Team Co-op: 

• Thank you Erin Ball and Patrick Basloe for helping to organize the biggest event this Co-op has ever seen
• Thank you to our amazing volunteers who never fail to make this operation run smoothly (and to Katherine Hill who coordinates them!): Matt Ball, Emily Banks, Dominic Barrett,  Ronnie Childs, James Crenshaw, Meghan Harris, Inderdeep Huja, Mark Lewis, Cheryl Marschak, Frances Martin, Jamie Nowakowski, Carter Severson, Mary Vidra, Tim Vidra, Taylor Whitehouse
• Thank you to Emily Ellingsworth & Anna Meshejian for being decor goddesses and creating such a beautiful space with their artistic and crafty skills

Co-op Creatives:

• Thank you Liana Mensh who has defined the visual identity of this Co-op - and did it once again with the visual of love
• Thank you Jay Paul & Danny Spry for capturing these Co-op moments, and creating photobook after photobook of our Co-op community

Guest Stars:

• Thank you Donna Steele from Coalition Theater for bringing the "date" auction to life with her emcee skills
• Thank you to our awesome bands - The Hullabaloos & Obscurity Exchange Commission put on 2 great dance-worthy shows

Food!

• Thank you Brandon Walton for making sure we had lots of the yummy treats
• Thank you Balliceaux for the yummy curried cauliflower & edamame hummus
• Thank you Cabot Creamery Cooperative for our cooperatively made cheese
• Thank you Costello Personal Services for making sure we had our veggies
• Thank you Dutch & Company for the drool-worthy stroupwaffle treats 

Goodies:

• Thank you to our "dates" - The Balls of Richmond, Ronnie Childs, Deborah Saidel,  Anna Meshijian, Brandon Walton, John Evens
• Thank you for donating amazing prizes:

Arbonne (Laura Georgiadis)

Boho Cyle Studio

Brooke March

Butler Photo Artistry

Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Casey Hues

Christine Severson

Coalition Theater

Contrary Jewelry

David King

Deborah Saidel

Eleanor Stickley

Elizabeth Bowie

Elizabeth Mastropierro, L.Ac.

Emily Ellingsworth

ER Face Paint

Fig Hill Group

Gather

Hill Gallery and Studio

Jay Paul Photography

Katherine Hill

Kitchen 64

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Lockhart Family Farm

Mark Lewis

Martha Tyler

Matt Genier

Invoke Community Acupuncture

Patricia Michelsen-King

Rag and Bones Bicycle Cooperative

Richie Collins

Rita Root

Ronnie Childs

Susan Boisseau

Susan Hill

The Apple Cart

The Yoga Library

Tom Karnes & Susie Hansen

Vegan Cuts

Village Garden RVA

Plus! A big thanks to Gallery5 for providing the perfect venue, and everyone who attended for helping to bring the FUN! 

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

First Annual Boulevard Pumpkin Festival: A Cooperative Dining Experience

Greetings Coop Family!

I am pleased to be writing about a collaboration that has been in the works for months - The Boulevard Pumpkin Festival - which will be held this Saturday, October 26th from 12-6pm. This is an original vision between local start-up Experience RVA (myself and James Crenshaw) along with the Richmond Food Co-op’s Michele Lord and Susan Hill. After a long road, and a lot of hard work, we are extremely excited for an event that will feature delicious local food, a COOPERATIVE DINING AREA, craft beer, wine, live music, and a family friendly Kid’s Zone.

It has always been our vision to create a locally focused event to draw attention to the up and coming neighborhood of Scott’s Addition. As the Co-op grows we feel as though this was a unique opportunity to be integral participants in its transition from an underutilized industrial zone to a vibrant community. After all, this is our future new home!

At the Boulevard Pumpkin Festival this the Richmond Food Co-op will be running the Cooperative Dining area. What is the Cooperative Dining area, you ask? It is one of the best opportunities to expose our mission to nearly 10,000 festival-goers. We will have a full street on North Boulevard to get out en masse and spread the Co-op Gospel. This is a MEMBERSHIP DRIVE! We are hoping to decorate each table with a Co-op table top, get as much signage as possible, and utilize our burgeoning member/owners to be at the front lines talking about the Co-op, signing up new member/owners, and discussing the importance of the Co-op as an integral part of the Scott's Addition community.

Friends, this is a call to arms! We need you to fully take advantage of this opportunity by signing up with our Volunteer Coordinator Katherine Hill, katherinescotthill@gmail.com. I promise a great time with friends new and old, delicious Pumpkin food, and a membership drive to remember! 

Kindest Regards,

-Andrew LaBonte (Member/Owner)

Join Us: 1st Annual Richmond Food Co-op Member Meeting

We are so excited to be holding our first member/owner annual meeting tonight and hope to see you there!

When: Tonight — Monday October 7th, 2013 from 6:00-7:30
Where: Feedmore 1415 Rhoadmiller Street Richmond, Virginia 23220 Directions — HERE

We are looking forward to recapping just how far we have come since starting our membership drive back in February. We've had some exciting happy hours, potlucks, community forums and our first annual picnic. Of course, we have some business to take care of too and will be electing some new board members!

To recap, the following 3 members are up for election are:

Board nominees: Julietta, Tom and Kelsey

• Tom Karnes, professor at VCU. Learn more about Tom here.
• Kelsey Miller, local Tax Associate and Scott's Addition resident. Learn more about Kelsey here.
• Julietta Singh, English professor at the University of Richmond. Learn more about Julietta here.

In other exciting news, we have just been awarded with and are eager to announce a $10,000 seed grant from the Co-op Initiative, a cooperative assistance nonprofit. What does this mean and how will it help your Co-op? Find out tonight!

We also have plenty of committee signup opportunities. Are you awesome at outreach, event planning, or have you just been itching to get involved in a community garden? These are some of the avenues where we can use your help (and awesomeness). This is a great chance for you to get involved with your Co-op!

Then there is the fellowship. Fellowship is one of the main drivers of a good Co-op. What is the definition of fellowship?

Fellowship: friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests.

"They valued fun and good fellowship as the cement of the community."

So come spend some time with us tonight and meet other member/owners and share in our joint interest of community, local healthy food, and our vision for a Co-op in Richmond, Virginia. It's long overdue, don't you agree?

-Tim Vidra, Board Vice-Chair

Community Forums Return!

Back to school..back to work..back to life...back to your Co-op!

It's time to get back at it! With Labor Day fast approaching it may be time to say goodbye to summer, but it also time to say hello to the return of the Co-op Community Forums - a monthly opportunity for us to strengthen our shared vision and get one step closer to opening our doors. The Fall Community Forum series will be held on the third Monday of the month, September through December, and we will be relocating our meetings to FeedMore (1415 Rhoadmiller Road). The schedule each month will be an Information Session for prospective and new member/owners at 6pm, and a General Meeting for existing member/owners at 7pm. 

The information session will cover cooperative basics and provide an overview of this community grown venture. Anyone interested in learning more is welcome to join. We also encourage new member/owners to attend this orientation session once (and bring a friend!).

The general meeting for current Co-op member/owners is a monthly gathering for those who want to contribute to the process of starting this venture. Member/owners will have the opportunity to engage with committee representatives, contribute to projects, and receive monthly updates.

For all the details visit our website.

This is your Co-op. This is your community. Welcome back.

Farm to Table Fun

On August 23^rd, the Lockhart Family Farm will be hosting the 1^st of its on the farm workshops, and this one is going to be extra special. As a farm with a social conscious, we aim to re-connect people with the things they eat through educating the public, preserving heritage breeds, and ensuring that people from all income brackets (and those left out) have access to good quality, local food. We are in our first year, but have already made a commitment to donate 10% of all our produce to local food banks and offer scholarships and work training programs for Refugees in the Fredericksburg and Richmond area.

At our farm workshop, we will be giving a tour around the farm introducing you to the different components of our permaculture inspired system, our heritage animals (some of which are endangered), and give you the opportunity to taste some of these elements. Following the tour, we will sit down with you to enjoy a meal cooked by a local chef with many of the ingredients encountered on the tour (and some from other local farms). The workshop and meal costs $65 to attend.

Being a social business ourselves, we find it important to support other socially conscious businesses. Not only are we members of the Richmond Food Co-op, but we are committing to donate $5 from every ticket to the Co-op to ensure it hits the ground running and is able to provide good food to the people of the Richmond metro area. If you are not a member of the Co-op, make sure to join before buying your ticket as Co-op members get an additional 7.5% off of every purchase (including workshops) from the Lockhart Family Farm through the Buy Local Program.

Click here to purchase tickets. Co-op members email info@richmondfoodcoop.com for the promo code.

-Josiah Lockhart, Co-op Member/Owner

Principal #7

"For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people's love and concern for each other." -Millard Fuller

If you haven't brushed up lately on your Cooperative Principals, I recommend it. They lay out the framework for who we are as a Co-op community, and what we aspire to be. In past blog entires I have focused on the concept that Co-op = Community; this concept derives from Principal #7 - Concern for Community. This week we are focusing on putting this principal into action in a very tangible way. Last Sunday's 1st Annual Picnic was a huge success on many levels and speaks to the joyfulness that we can tap into by coming together as a community. 

This weekend I invite you to join us yet again, this time to participate in a volunteer day at Shalom Farms. Shalom Farms is an awesome non-profit community farm project with the overarching goal of increasing food security in the Richmond region, particularly in low-income urban neighborhoods. It is an organization worthy of our attention, support and shared action. By spending the day together with dirt on our hands and the sun on our back we have the opportunity to put our values into practice. Slow Food RVa will be partnering with us to make this day happen so it will also be a great time to expand our network with those who support good, clean and fair food in the greater Richmond area. Details and pre-registration for Saturday are available here. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required - we hope to see you on the farm!

This volunteer day launches the start of what we would like to see as a regularly occurring opportunity for the Co-op to contribute to our community. If you are interested in helping to plan and organize our volunteer days, or have an organization that you think we should support please email info@richmondfoodcoop.com

I do! Do you?

June is Membership Month here at the Co-op!

What does that mean? 

It means we want to take a minute and say a great big thank you to the 200+ amazing Founding and Pioneering Member/Owners who have taken a leap of faith and said YES! Sign me up! I believe in this Co-op! I believe in this city! I believe in my community!

It also means the time has come to commit. 

Maybe you've had a secret crush on the Co-op for a while. You dream about your future together, strolling down the aisle of fresh beautiful food. You long for that grocery love you can call your own. But for now you watch from the sidelines, not wanting to be the one to make the first move.

Maybe you've been flirting with the Co-op for a while. You've had a few drinks, checked out our Facebook page, liked a few pictures. But you've been keeping your cool, knowing you'll join when you're ready.

Maybe the Co-op is almost everything you've ever wanted - so close to that ideal you've been waiting for all your life. But you worry that it requires compromise to make it work.

Maybe you've just met the Co-op and you feel a flutter with feeling. But you're worried that it all seems so fast.

Well the time has come. The C word. This is one relationship you want to be in for the long haul because your Co-op loves you back. We are committed to caring for you, growing with you and creating memories together.  But here's a little secret - this relationship is reciprocal and your Co-op needs you. If everyone who likes our Facebook page, follows us on Twitter and reads this blog joined today we would have more than enough members to open tomorrow. If every existing Member/Owner referred just one friend we would be half way there. 

We are all in. We are popping the question. We sure hope you say yes. Let's start our food future together.

It's time.

Earth Day Principles

Earth Day.  Earth Week.  Earth Month.  Earth Year.  

As this formal celebration of our home planet winds down, let's reflect on our actions, decisions, and commitments to the environment.  We are indeed charged with the responsibility of making changes that will help align our values with our conduct.  Our industrial food system as it is today is loud, big, and destructive.  We know that.  Food cooperatives remediate this impact by exchanging it for locally grown, sustainable, healthy, happy produce and products. 



A big welcome to Giles, one of our new Earth Day member/owners



It’s time to do your best for our bitty part on the Earth called Richmond.  If you haven’t yet become a member/owner of the Richmond Food Co-op, the time is now.  For those of you who have already made this commitment, refer a friend.  Act out your Earth Day principles.

Eat:  Fresh food.  Eat it.

Act:  Don’t stand by the sidelines.

Recycle:  Co-ops are great recyclers.  

Together:  Cooperation is where it’s at.

Healthy:  Food. Mind. Body.  

Decision:  If you have the choice, make the right one.

Affordable:  Shop at the Co-op, knowing you are paying a price that’s as low as possible.

Yours:  And Mine.  And Ours.  The Co-op belongs to us all.

Growing our membership opens our doors. 

Next year let’s celebrate Earth Day together at the Co-op!

Spring Into Action!

Did you hear that winter's over?  The basil and the carnations cannot control their laughter. The nightingale, back from his wandering, has been made singing master over all the birds.  The trees reach out their congratulations. -Rumi

If you have ever met me, the least you could say is that I am enthusiastic, especially when I discover something amazing.  To me, the Richmond Food Co-op is beyond amazing!  When I met Michele Lord last fall, I practically flew to her side where she stood next to the trusty chalkboard announcing the news, “Food Co-op Coming Soon”.  I’ve had the privilege of working for the Co-op ever since.  

We have recently reorganized our original Steering Committee into a few sub committees focused on the Co-op’s most pressing needs at this point in the start up process – the Outreach Committee, Events Committee, Buy Local Committee and an Advisory Council. I am excited to Chair the Events Committee, as events are the most tangible (and fun!) way for us to stay connected to our growing community. We have many great plans in store in the coming months - it will be a busy spring and summer! Dates and details for all of our future events will be posted on our website and Facebook page.

Are you a member/owner and looking to lend a hand?  Consider becoming an official Co-op volunteer and help us spread the word at our events.  We are building a trained volunteer support team that we will call on to help promote and staff our events and we need your help! Email me at Frances@richmondfoodcoop.com if you are interested in learning more. It’s time to get busy and Spring Into Action!   Work with me to help make our dream into our reality! 

Additionally, we need our entire Co-op community to join us next Tuesday, April 16^th for the i.e. Start Up Competition at Richmond CenterStage.  In addition to the grand prize of $10,000 there will be an audience vote for a $2500 award – your attendance matters! Tickets to the event are free - please register today. Please note that audience members will vote electronically – so be sure to bring a smart phone or laptop with you to the event. We look forward to seeing you there. 

-Frances Martin, Events Committee Chair

Co-op = Community

The co-op model is unique in myriad ways, but I would argue that the most important is the sense of community that transforms a shared vision into a brick and mortar store, where food shopping becomes a way to put values into practice. Co-op equals community. We are excited about engaging and growing our Co-op community and are planning lots of opportunities to get together in the months ahead. 

We are keeping the fun from Hardywood going with monthly social gatherings. On Feb. 26^th we will host a cocktail hour at Olio Uptown – the event is open to all and there will be special perks for existing members (or those who sign up at the event!). Our happy hours have been well attended and well loved, so we plan to keep these going, as well as adding in a diversity of activities in the months to come. As the weather warms up we will be spending time together outdoors with picnics, farm tours and more!

This spring we will also be hosting monthly Co-op Community Forums at the William Byrd Community House on the third Monday of the month. The forums will consist of an information session for prospective members who want to learn more and a general meeting for existing members to keep up to date on our progress and development. The first in the series is this coming Monday, Feb. 18th.

Additionally, in March we will start Co-op Potluck Parties – a way for you to invite your friends and neighbors to join the Co-op community. Member/Owners will have the opportunity to host a potluck (or food swap, or wine & cheese pairing, or coffee & cookies, or ___ ...) and tell those they love why they love the Co-op. A Board/Steering Committee member will join the party and be available to answer any questions. Hosting member/owners will actively take responsibility for getting the Co-op the members we need to open. They will be sharing the Co-op experience with friends. They will be having a fun party. They even get a special thank you host gift. What’s not to love?

Visit our website for details on our upcoming events. I look forward to seeing you soon!

-Michele Lord