This is an exciting time in the life of our Co-op.  We are going to have a new store, one which we design to reflect our values and meet our needs for the foreseeable future.  It will be environmentally sound, large enough to expand our product lines, expand opportunities for health and nutrition education, and involve more of us in cooperative action both internally and with the larger progressive community in the Capital District.  Our store exemplifies what cooperative communities can do to support a food system that is filled with healthy whole food options.  Take a moment to bask in the HWFC sun logo and to dream and contemplate the possibilities for our future.  I hope that feels as good to you as it does to me.

Back to the reality of now, we have to do some things together to bring our collective dreams to fruition.  I’m not sure yet how much the new store will cost, but our financial wizards tell us we need to raise between $8 and $11 million.  To make the project feasible we’ll have to raise a percentage (plus or minus $2 million) from our shareholders in the form of loans, which will help not only make the project feasible, but make it attractive to local financial institutions to lend us the rest of the money we will need.  We have almost 5,000 shareholders who own this Co-op.  If every shareholder agreed to invest in the Co-op by loaning us money to the best of their ability, the less we would need from the formal institutions.  I hope that each of us will maximize the amount we can invest in the Co-op when the loan drive begins.

As the Board and the Collective Management Team (CMT) have discussed the needs and logistics of trying to raise such a large sum of money, I have been drawn back to thinking about why I joined HWFC, and what it means to be a co-op and not just another grocery store.  I know we need to make intelligent business decisions, listen to the “experts” who advise us on what works in loan raising, and do all the right things financially (as our able treasurer keeps reminding me).  But I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that we need to maintain our cooperative spirit and sense of “We Own It!”  What can all of us do, regardless of our financial ability, to show our support for our Co-op?  I have a few ideas to suggest:

-Do all your grocery shopping at the Co-op.

-Recruit new shareholders.

-Ensure that all the adults over 18 in your household own a share.

-Remember the Co-op as a source of gifts (Check our HaBA and the specialty foods section.)

-Promote the Co-op to friends and acquaintances, share a sample of something from the store, help them appreciate the difference between us and other stores.  Tell them about our emphasis on organically grown products and locally grown food.

-Invite friends and co-workers to Co-op events.

-Stimulate the local economy by giving or lending your tax rebate to the Co-op.  As I write this, the federal government is about to pass legislation for a tax rebate to stimulate the economy.  Perfect timing for our business to be stimulated.  If you can’t lend or donate, then try to spend it at our store.

-Pay cash.  (Using debit and credit cards costs one percent of our budget: plus or minus $100,000.)

What can you add to this list?  Will you commit yourself to one or more of them?  If you are in a financial position to do more than the rest of us, will you maximize your loan/?