Dear Friends of the Co-op,
Greetings from your interim general management team. We are grateful for the warmer weather, fresh local produce beginning to grace our shelves, and the chance to be outdoors following our bliss! We are also grateful, daily, for your shining faces and the many ways you support our little store. Here, briefly are some updates on how the co-op is doing:
First quarter of 2017 has seen sales trending upward. Unfortunately, some extremely cold weather in January left us with sales below our predictions that month. All told, with sales increasing lately, we are showing just a moderate loss for the quarter thus far.
We are still hoping to achieve a mini-remodel of the front of the store this year! We are currently gathering equipment quotes, and will need to source a loan, but we are excited about the possibilities of refreshing our store front and product selection with you in mind! Stay tuned for updates on this process as the year progresses.
Your management team is also working to get our website updated, and begin some new advertising campaigns. As always, if you would like to volunteer your time helping us with any of these projects, we would be most grateful! Feel free to sign up at the front of the store, or speak with a staff person about your interests.
And speaking of community, here is reason #2 to shop at your local co-op!!! We, unlike any other health food store in Ft Collins are a true community endeavor! Owned by our members, showcasing products created by many within our city, not-for-profit, and seeking only to support the local food economy, we embrace counter-cultural objectives.
A few stories from our “community”
- Co-op member #1: got engaged at one of our “school desk” tables out front of the store (aww!). He asked if he could purchase said table as a wedding gift to his bride. We couldn’t resist! We wish them the best.
- Co-op member #2: local business owner. Over the holidays bought several $10.00 gift certificates to the co-op. Gave them out to the homeless.
- Co-op member #3: came in to get her last deli card stamp. Rejoiced at finally having it filled!!! Moments later a young man came in, pleased as punch to have been given a full deli card by a kind young woman, in exchange for playing the piano in the alley next door.
- Co-op members #4, #5,#6: friends who came together to set up an anonymous account (and filled it with $$$) for a senior neighbor who they perceived to be food insecure. What a pleasure, watching the neighbor’s face when she learned she could buy groceries after her food stamps ran out for the month!
These are just some of the stories that fill our hearts. We are privileged to be here each day, to witness acts of kindness and support for others within the community. This is a big part of what the co-op is about! And why we each love working here.
We look forward to seeing each of you again soon!
Your interim management team,
Chris, Kalidas, Oakley, Stephanie, Tara, Theron and Trinity
Meet Our New Board Members!
We’d like to welcome two new board members who are filling vacant spots on our Board of Directors for those who had to leave us. We are so happy that both of them have stepped forward to represent our member-owners as they are both very qualified, passionate and long time Northern Colorado residents!
Cindy Griffin
Being a member of a Food Coop and shopping sustainably has been a part of my life since the 1980s. I joined the Fort Collins Food Coop with my husband and son when we moved here in 1993 and have been actively supporting and shopping at the Coop ever since. For 23 years, I served as a member of the CSU Faculty, teaching in the Department of Communication Studies and Women’s Studies, and have just retired from that chapter of my life. The Coop serves such an important role in our community, offering people healthy, ethical and sustainable food choices; supporting local farms and businesses as they practice and engage ethics of sustainability; and making our shopping affordable and fun. My goal is to help all of this continue on and to grow.
Maria Winnie
Maria has always loved cooperative markets, and considers the Fort Collins Food Coop her happy place. With years of experience in small business and the local economy, she’s excited to support the Coop in any way she can. Her experience includes supporting more than 10 small businesses over the years in capacities from tech support to business development. She has a BA from Colorado State University, and has lived in Fort Collins since 1989.
Staff Picks
Each month we choose some of our favorite items in the store to tell you about. Check them out on the Staff Favorites page.
Check out what’s new, and local!
Nummy Nibbles is a Denver based food company specializing in Gourmet Peanut Condiments in flavors from around the world.
The company was launched in 2016 by Subhash & Jyothi, a Denver couple, whose experiments with creating a spicy peanut butter led to some amazing, tasty, global flavors and eventually to a new product line – Gourmet Peanut Condiments!
All our products are inspired from world cuisines – foods we have grown up on and experienced during our travels. Nummy Nibbles is founded on the philosophy that preparing flavorful foods should be easy, fun and uncomplicated. Our peanut condiments offer a quick way to make dips, marinades, sauces, curries…or just as a spread for sandwiches and burgers. We take great pride in using only Natural ingredients in all our products with No Artificial Anything.
We happen to be using their medium flavor in our Peanut Pineapple Express Kale Salad! Come check it out in the deli.
Healthy Harvest is a Golden-based company with a passion for educating people about the benefits of traditional, whole foods from around the world. For over a decade, they have been the sole importer of organic olives and olive oil from a fourth-generation family farm in Sparta, Greece. The owner, Karl, and his son have visited the estate to learn their production methods and hand-pick the heirloom koutsourelia olives, which are then fermented in a low-sodium sea salt brine. The olives are raw and have never been heated or pasteurized so they retain the healthy, live active cultures on the surface of the fruit. Because of the antioxidants, healthy fats, and vitamin E, olives have been a key staple of the Mediterranean diet for hundreds of years. And after you’ve eaten the olives, the brine makes a delicious salad dressing, marinade, or addition to soups, stews, and sauces.
