OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP Established 1973 Volume OO, Number 10 June 9, 2020 First Virtual General Coop’s Meat Supply Chain Stable Despite Meeting Focuses on Rollercoaster By Hayley Gorenberg espite a huge spike in sales in the early days of the pandem- Struggling Coop Finances Dic followed by a steep plunge, the Coop’s meat supply has been relatively stable amidst Covid-19, showcasing the resilien- By Leila Darabi cy of smaller, more responsible he Coop made history on the evening of producers and processors. TMay 26, convening the first virtual Gener- The stability contrasts sharply al Meeting of its membership. No voting took with the major disruptions in the place during the meeting, which focused heav- more industrial national meat ily on the financial blow the Coop has weath- supply chain as several consol- ered over the past two months due to citywide idated factory meat processors Covid-19 safety restrictions. More than 750 par- shut down amid Covid-19 out- ticipants joined the meeting, including the staff breaks among workers. and board slated to speak. Using the virtual conferencing system Volatile Sales Zoom, the Chair Committee, Board Members “There might be volatility, but and the General Coordinators moved briskly ILLUSTRATION BY TOMMY KANE we’re okay,” said Meat Buyer and through reports on the availability of products Receiving Coordinator Margie at the Coop, safety updates to the facility, and over the course of the evening that the board Lempert, who has been navigat- a pre-recorded financial update from General and staff might be braced for member criticism. ing the wild ride with the Coop’s PHOTOS BY JOHN MIDGLEY Coordinator and Treasurer Joe Holtz, who was That criticism never came, with live and typed meat producers. Margie Lempert, the on the call to take live questions. comments remaining nearly universally positive. In pre-pandemic times, the Coop’s Meat Buyer and Despite the challenges of the new format, Q’ryn closed stating “we love this Coop, and Coop each week purchased sev- Receiving Coordinator, has the meeting ran smoothly with only a few of the we want it to be here, and I personally want it eral tons of chicken and two or built her career around muting and unmuting challenges now familiar to be here like it was.” two-and-a-half whole steers from small livestock farming. to any member who has pivoted to working from Following this statement, Board Member Bill Slope Farms and Lancaster Farm home or helped a child log into a virtual class- Penner, who is up for reelection, briefly intro- Fresh, as well as supplemental cuts amounting to another steer room. One member typing in the Zoom ques- duced himself to those on the call, as is the from Hardwick Beef, and additional supplemental ground beef tion and answer feature declared it “the best-run tradition ahead of board elections. Given the and other cuts multiple speaker call” of the pandemic. somber times, he opted not to cite his resume from Thousand Throughout the evening, members typed in but instead echoed the sentiments of gratitude Hills. “For a questions and comments, many offering praise expressed by Q’ryn. single store, we for the General Coordinators for their work sell an extraor- steering the Coop through this transition. Sales Down, Costs Up dinary amount Ahead of the GM, members received an of beef!” Lem- A Message From the Board email linking to the Treasurer’s preliminary pert said. The meeting opened with a statement from financial update reporting on the 12 weeks But in the the board presented by Board Member Imani ending April 26. Referencing this update, weeks lead- Q’ryn, who cited these “extraordinarily hard Holtz shared during the meeting that sales are ing up to New times” and shared that the Board had con- down by about $410,000, while expenses are York’s order to ferred with the Coop’s counsel to confirm that up around $240,000, resulting in a negative shelter in place, they could legally host a Board Meeting and swing of around $650,000. According to the A few days after the shelter in place order Coop members General Meeting virtually. It was determined report, average weekly sales through April 26 meat sales fell off a cliff. went on a buy- that they could. were $994,554, down $145,727 from the same ing spree and The Board also discussed potentially raising 12-week period last year. “overall demand in the store skyrocketed,” Lempert said. “We the markup of goods sold at the Coop by 3%, These numbers do not yet reflect the full toll were almost in holiday mode for three weeks, breaking our sales but determined that to pursue this course they of the Coop’s current reduced capacity, Holtz records week over week. Going into the pandemic, people start- should take this question to the GM for a vote warned, as this financial report spans a time ed shopping in droves, and we were constantly running out of in the future, she said. (Later in the evening period that began in February before the store meat, as we were with lots of products.” when member Paul Hogan asked if the Coop’s was impacted. All of the reported losses took Suppliers tried to meet Coop demand, running through some finances would look different today if the board place in the last five weeks of the financial peri- back stock. “Then they literally start running out of animals,” had raised markup by 3%, Q’ryn responded: od, when the Coop reduced hours and capacity. Lempert said. Some suppliers could not keep up with the vol- “not much.”) ume or the Coop’s desired timelines. In an emotional update, Q’ryn shared that she Federal Loan Then the shelter in place order went into effect, and “sales was “moved being here” and moved by the Gen- As previously shared on the Coop web- fell off a cliff,” Lempert said, “because we were constraining eral Coordinators’ work. The tactics deployed to site, Holtz noted that on April 22, the Coop entry into the store, because we had to create a safe space—and make the Coop safe for shopping and to keep it received a Federal Paycheck Protection Pro- because there’s only so much we as paid staff can handle without open were taken with “our health and our Coop gram loan of $1,454,763 from the Small Busi- 14,000 members’ help!” in mind,” she said, asking for “compassion in ness Administration. These funds offer some For a couple of weeks the Coop discounted more meat than questions and comments.” It was the only hint CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Read the Gazette while you’re standing on line OR online at www.foodcoop.com 2 June 9, 2020 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY Virtual GM sales and profit levels. He also referred CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 members to General Coordinator Ann Herpel’s response in the Gazette to relief, he said, but will not make up questions about whether the Coop has for continued sales losses. “It is pos- considered alternative models such as sible [the loan] will be partially or curbside pickup and delivery. entirely forgiven,” Holtz said, “but we don’t know that.” Member-Owner Equity He also noted that the Coop had Campaign raised $300,000 in member contribu- Later in the program, General tions between April 12 and May 24 Coordinator Lisa Moore went into following the announcement of a cam- more depth on the equity program, paign calling on members to increase announced the day before on the Coop their buy-in. website and in an email to members. “The biggest question is when can Any member can increase the initial we bring back the member labor sys- buy in amount they contributed when tem, built with love for decades and joining the Coop. These increased decades,” Holtz said later during investments from members yield four the question and answer period, in benefits, Moore outlined: response to whether these increases 1. Building the Coop’s cash reserves would bring the Coop back to normal 2. Creating a stronger financial posi- tion overall Board member and opening speaker, Imani Q’ryn, highlighted the 3. Helping pay back any por- extraordinary hard times and the superb response mounted by the General tion of the PPP loan that is not Coordinators and staff. forgiven 4. Strengthening the Coop order to pre-package bulk items of said, explaining that farms and community rice, beans and flour. food companies prioritize the She also noted that while the Shoppers may also notice larger Coop as a client. Coop office has been closed, sized items available on the shelves Szladek also said the Coop has there is some capacity to rein- to reflect the fact that members are been “largely insulated” from the state members previously on stocking up on items like peanut meat shortage caused by meat pack- leave and to review the status butter and yogurt. ing plants shutting down across the of those on alert or on leave. “People are shopping less often country because Coop buyers gener- and buying more frozen fruit and ally avoid nationwide suppliers. Keeping Food On the vegetables,” he said, adding that Shelves supermarkets everywhere have Revamping the Physical Store General Coordinator Joe had trouble keeping these items General Coordinator Elinoar Szladek shared a report on in stock. Astrinsky shared a facilities update the Coop’s efforts to keep He noted the Coop is also “buying on how the Coop has transformed food in stock.