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Vol. 25: Issue 11 • November 2014 The Co-operator The monthly newsletter of the East End Food Co-op • Pittsburgh, PA Co-operators Visit Local Farm by Shawn McCullough, Finance Manager Last month, Produce Manager Evan When we arrived at the farm, we were Diamond organized an outing to Who greeted by three clamoring canines Cooks For You Farm (WCFYF) on as we pulled into the drive. Chris October 7th. The purpose of this trip first gave us a tour of a field that is was to help our staff gain insight and presently cover cropped with a clover further appreciation for our local and alfalfa seed mixture. Cover crops providers. Though only five of us were are a sustainable farming method wherein crops are planted primarily to able to attend, we represented multiple manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil departments of the store and we all quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, learned a lot from our adventure into biodiversity, and wildlife. Clover and the wilds of Western PA. alfalfa both add nutrients back into the soil and encourage the habitation of WCFYF is best known for their beneficial bugs. heirloom tomatoes, which you can Swiss chard. Serving the Pittsburgh and some other sundry herbs. At this find at the Co-op, along with their area since 2009, WCFYF is a 10-acre After touring a few more small fields, point of the tour, EEFC employee Sam head lettuce, salad mixes, pea shoots, farm in New Bethlehem, PA. The farm Chris showed us WCFYF’s hothouses, discovered a molted snakeskin, which prompted Chris to share a story about microgreens, cilantro, parsley, red is Certified Naturally Grown and a including an herb hothouse which a copperhead snake that had previously tomatoes, sweet peppers, radishes, and member of the Pennsylvania Association contained a large rosemary bush, cilantro, for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), gotten stuck in a small pipe in his as well as a Pennsylvania Buy Fresh, irrigation system where it met its demise. Chris had to pull the snake Buy Local Partner. Owners Chris and from the pipe and nearly ripped it in Aeros work alongside six employees two. Ahh, the joys of farm life… to cultivate a vast array of vegetables, culinary herbs, and some fruit. They We ended the tour with a home-cooked work to ensure sustainable growing meal of a very substantial vegetable practices that encourage healthy soup and some fresh, handmade bread. soil systems, beneficial insects, and A special thanks goes to our hospitable pollinators because they believe “food friends at Who Cooks For You Farm is the foundation upon which healthy for the tour and great information! To communities thrive, both human and learn more about WCFYF, visit their non-human.” website: www.whocooksforyoufarm.com. IN THIS ISSUE: CO-OP DEALS FLYERS: November 5th - November 18th November 19th - December 2nd CO-OP NEWS 2-3 MEMBERS ONLY: THANKSGIVING PREPARATIONS 4-5 Be sure to use your 10% quarterly discount by December 31st! The next quarter goes from January 1st – March 31st. THE FOOD YOU EAT 6 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: STAFF NEWS 7 The next meeting will take place on Monday, November 17th at 7 PM. CAFÉ MENU 8 NEW MEMBER ORIENTATIONS: To register, call 412.242.3598 ext. 438 or email [email protected] UPCOMING EVENTS 8 HOLIDAY HOURS: Your Co-op will be closed Thursday, November 27th. East End Food Co-op • 7516 Meade St. Pittsburgh, PA 15208 • www.eastendfood.coop • 412.242.3598 • Open to Everyone, Every Day 8 AM – 9 PM DO NOT DELAY NOT DO DATED MATERIAL: DATED PERMIT NO. 1800 NO. PERMIT PITTSBURGH, PA PITTSBURGH, PAID Pittsburgh, PA 15208 PA Pittsburgh, U.S. POSTAGE U.S. 7516 Meade St. Meade 7516 ORG. NONPROFIT East End Food Co-op Food End East CO-OP NEWS GM Report Board Corner by Justin Pizzella, General Manager by Mike Collura, EEFC Board of Directors Vice-President These last few The 2014 annual election for the newsletter layout, rather than including months I have Co-op’s Board of Directors has come to them as a separate insert. a close. This year you may have noticed spoken with a that there were some changes in our Another change this year was our voting number of members election process. Elections are actually period. Voting ran from August to the at a variety of quite challenging to manage, and involve end of September, giving members a bit events, meetings, coordination between multiple directors more time get their votes in. Additionally, and around the store and staff members. We have to go from we extended the close of voting past the accepting candidates, to distributing our Annual Meeting this year. Our goal was about the topic of our formal candidate announcements and to maximize the time that members had Volunteer Program promotions in a rather short timeframe. to become familiar with our candidates ending recently. Part of this is due to the production and and gather the information they needed to I’ve appreciated the printing schedule of The Co-operator, make an informed decision. but it’s also prompted by our desire to get input and feedback the candidate information out to members This year there were three open seats, with I have received, and with enough time for everyone to be four candidates running for election. Two I’ve been sharing informed before voting gets underway. of the candidates, Tina Russell and Dennis it with others in Schauer, were board incumbents. After the the organization, This year we made many efforts to close of the election, on October 1st, two streamline the election timeline. First, we directors from the Board Perpetuation and including our board began our call for members’ submissions Elections committee counted the ballots. of directors. of candidacy a bit earlier this year, at the end of June instead of July. Another way The final results of the 2014 election are This month, on we improved the candidacy process was as follows: by converting to an electronic submission Thursday, November 6th at 6:30 PM Prior to this meeting, we hope members form. We believed this would allow the Maria Bowman - 79 we will be hosting a meeting with will take a moment to review a number most flexibility for our candidates and that Tina Russell - 63 our members to further discuss this of items available on our website. At the it would ensure that candidacy packets Dennis Schauer - 59 decision’s timeline, the reasons behind were evaluated and recorded by the Molly McHolme - 54 time of writing, a “Frequently Asked announced cutoff time without confusion. it, and allow folks another opportunity Questions” document was posted that to share their thoughts and concerns. Previously this process was cumbersome Abstentions - 63 address the matters most commonly due to the number of people that Ballots counted - 107 Additionally, we are planning to spend physically handled these packets. With a considerable part of the meeting inquired about. We have also shared more people involved there was greater Congratulations to Maria, Tina, and working through a problem-solving a Department of Labor opinion letter possibility of error, or delay in internal Dennis on their election to the EEFC provided by our lawyer, Alan Blanco. mail delivery, preventing a packet from Board of Directors, and thanks to process to explore possible ways being received by the deadline. everyone who submitted candidacy that the volunteer program can be Additionally, we will provide articles applications and voted in this year’s legal, vibrant, and impactful on our relevant to the topic from various We also made some changes to the election. Your support and participation community. co-op sources. We will continue to post physical ballots themselves. You may are greatly appreciated! To those members have noticed that we printed ballots on who may be interested in running in our information that we think may provide standard stock rather than card stock for election next year, please start inquiring The meeting is planned to occur here insight to the reasons behind this decision this election. This small change helped early. That June 30th deadline comes in the Co-op’s Administrative Offices’ to keep our members better informed. to reduce costs significantly. We also faster than you’d think, and we would Training Room, though we will Visit www.eastendfood.coop/archives/6993 made the process of distributing ballots love to introduce you to the world of explore options for a larger, handicap- in The Co-operator much more efficient cooperative governance and ensure that to find these materials. and cost-effective by incorporating the you have the information you need to accessible venue if the number of statements and ballots directly into the decide to declare your candidacy. RSVPs we receive surpasses the Training Room’s capacity. Members We hope to see many of you there, can RSVP by calling Customer Service and appreciate your commitment to the at 412-242-3598. Co-op! 2015-2017 EMBERS OARD M EEFC B Your Co-op is pleased to announce our newly elected board members: Dennis Schauer Tina Russell Maria Bowman Page 2 East End Food Co-op November 2014 CO-OP NEWS ENDS POLICY STATEMENT East End Food Co-op exists to enhance Members Speak Out! physical and social health in our community. To these ends, we will create: • A sustainable member-owned business Please get fresh hormone/antibiotic free liver. open to everyone • An ethical and resilient food infrastructure All of our meat is antibiotic and hormone free. We get an order of fresh liver every • A vibrant, dynamic community of happy, Thursday.