|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's a First! The Creamery Co-op's Annual Meeting
An attentive and supportive crowd of about 80 Co-op member-owners joined together for the Old Creamery Co-op's first annual meeting on Sunday, October 20, at the Cummington Community House. Everyone enjoyed good Creamery food, asked thoughtful questions, engaged in important discussion, and heard a series of reports on the Co-op's first eights months in business: our finances, the status of the renovations, and the Co-op's focus for the upcoming year. The meeting began with a delightful two-minute video created by Rose Wessel and Patty Kimura reflecting on the many who have contributed to our coming full circle to co-op again and the important values we hold dear. If you click on anything in this email, click HERE and watch this video.
.
Here are some highlights from the presentations:
- The renovations are substantially complete, with the paving of the new parking lot happening this week. A shutdown day scheduled for Thursday, November 14, will enable us to finish the store layout and complete remaining contractor tasks.
- Our sales for this summer were less than anticipated in our budget, primarily due to the delay in completion of the renovations during our busiest time of the year.
- Although we had planned on an operating loss for this initial period, our loss was greater than anticipated because of the delayed renovations. Our agreement with Florence Savings Bank is to achieve our profitability goals by December 2014.
- Our renovations project will be 14% over budget when all work is completed. Additional excavation, adding air-conditioning capacity, and painting the outside of the building are the major items contributing to this overrun. Some of this work may be delayed until next spring.
- Over the last year, 100 more people have become member-owners of the Co-op! (Thank you!) Our current total is 645 member-owners.
- The primary focus of the Co-op's board of directors over the next several months will be to hire a new General Manager, to communicate with member-owners, and to provide avenues for member-owner involvement.
Appreciation was given to the original steering committee and the board members who guided us through these first years of planning and the creation of the Old Creamery Co-op. Special recognition was given to board president Kimberly Longey, who is stepping down from the board to serve on its finance committee; to Alice Cozzolino and Amy Pulley, the creators of the Creamery experience and the inspiration for the creation of a co-op; to departing General Manager Karen Doherty, who helped guide us through a difficult start-up year; and to Peter Lapointe, our architect who has donated substantial time and talent to our renovation project, beginning with the concept phase three years ago.
It was noted that Michael Kalagher, current member of the board, will become Acting Manager when Karen leaves on November 20.
Doing as much of our shopping at the Creamery as we can will ensure the success of the Co-op and a sustainable Creamery into the future.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
Member-Owners Ratify Bylaws and Elect Board Members
Member-owners cast a total of 169 absentee and on-site ballots at our annual meeting. The Co-op bylaws were approved with a single "no" vote. The following new and returning board members were elected:
Three-year terms: Michael Kalagher, Patty Kimura, and Hattie Plehn
Two-year terms: Ann Irvine, John Jones, and Joshua Wachtel
Your Co-op board has additional vacancies. Member-owners who are interested in serving should let any board member know, attend a board meeting to experience what the board does, and read HERE for background information.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
October Is Non-GMO Month, and . . .
Next Wednesday, October 30, is GMO Awareness Day at the Creamery. The Massachusetts Right to Know network, which was formed by and includes many of our Hilltown friends and neighbors, will host an information table in the store to answer your questions about this important issue concerning our food system and our health. We will also have information and handouts from the Non-GMO Project. The Mass. Right to Know group is pushing state legislation requiring labeling for all products that contain genetically modified ingredients. The Non-GMO Project is focused on certifying products that are GMO free. To support this two-pronged approach, the Old Creamery Co-op will donate 8% of sales next Wednesday to help with these important efforts (alcohol, tobacco, and newspaper sales excluded).
Come meet these dedicated people, learn about GMO issues and concerns, sample some GMO-free Creamery offerings, do some extra shopping to help support these worthy initiatives, and pick up a Non-GMO Project cloth shopping bag while they last.
The Co-op remains a strong advocate of labeling all products that contain genetically modified ingredients. We believe everyone should be able to make an informed choice about what they consume. Read the Co-op's full policy HERE.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
Wow! Do you people ever like milk in glass bottles!
 We introduced Mapleline Farm milk in glass bottles last week, and you bought out the Creamery's initial stock in about two days! We ordered four times that amount for this week. We hope we can keep up with you. The milk comes in half-gallon and quart glass bottles, there are glass quart bottles of chocolate milk and coffee milk. A $2.00 deposit on each glass bottle is refundable when you return the empty. We are very happy that we now carry an alternative to plastic milk jugs! Other Mapleline products we've added include half-and-half in pints, heavy cream in pints, and 12-ounce coffee and strawberry milks in our Grab 'n' Go case. Learn more about Mapleline HERE, a local family farm since 1904.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
Cheese of the Week
 This week's featured cheese is Gisele from Boston Post Dairy. Nestled in Enosburg Falls, Vermont, and named after the old road that runs through the property, Boston Post Dairy has been run by the Gervais family since 1962 and is the winner of the 2013 Green Pastures Award for Vermont Farm of the Year. The Gervais family makes a variety of goat's milk and cow's milk cheeses, including Gisele. Named after Mrs. Gervais, Gisele is a Swiss Appenzeller style cheese made from a mix of goat's and cow's milk and finished with a wash of spiced apple cider. Gisele is then aged for three months. Come in this Saturday and have a taste of this delicious seasonal cheese! Remember, we'll take 10% off the regular price of this cheese all day! |
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
Price Reduction on Thanksgiving Turkeys!
We are reducing the price of pre-ordered Diemand Farm turkeys to $3.79 per pound. We arranged to pick them up at the farm to avoid the delivery charge.
These delicious Diemand Farm free-range, fresh turkeys are available from 12 to 27+ pounds. They're raised in Wendell, Massachusetts, as they have been for the past 25 years, and they're free of hormones and antibiotics. Diemand Farm has been a local, family farm since 1936. Signup sheets are at the register. Just ask the cashier.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
The best local fruits and vegetables are at the Co-op. Fresh in the store from:
Scott Farm (Ashfield, Mass.) Apples Cortland Empire Spencer Macoun Jonagold Kitchen Garden Farm Butternut squash Kohlrabi Beets: Golden and Chioggia Broccoli Red Butterhead lettuce Fydenkevez Farm Sugar pumpkins Delicata squash Acorn squash Paddy Flat Farm Sunshine squash Suntan peppers Sweet Dumpling squash Watermelon Scott Farm (Dummerston, Vermont) Apples Roxbury Russet Blade Oxford Baldwin Northern Spy Bromely's Seedling Caville Blanc Zabergau Reinette Orleans Reinette Hudson's Gold Gem Hidden Rose Knobbed Russet Honeycrisp Belle de Boskoop
Black Guiliford (Sheep's Nose)
Blue Pearmain Bear Run Farm Cauliflower Cilantro Collard Greens Green Kale
See all of our local farms HERE.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
Stay in Touch! We Love to Hear from You! For questions about Co-op membership, product requests, or suggestions or other feedback, please send a note to info@oldcreamery.coop. We'll make sure your note is sent to the appropriate person and that you get a prompt response. If you'd like to contact the Co-op's board of directors, simply send your email to board@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by the board. To reach Karen Doherty, the Co-op's general manager, send an email to gm@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by Karen. If you're thinking of becoming a valued volunteer of the Co-op, you can reach Shirley Todd, volunteer coordinator, at volunteer@oldcreamery.coop. There are many opportunities for volunteers. Emails sent to this address go directly to Shirley. |
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
Help us spread the word! Encourage your friends to sign on to receive the Creamery's weekly email newsletter. Better yet, encourage them to become member-owners of the Co-op. You can forward this email to your friends and relatives (for best results, use the "Forward email" link in the white space at the bottom of this page). Rest assured, we won't clog their inboxes and we will respect their privacy. We will not disclose your or their email addresses to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time. Thank you for your interest, commitment, and support.
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
Many items are on sale every week at the Creamery. Look for the brightly colored shelf tags. These items are 15%-45% off regular prices. We work hard to find bargains on many different items, including staple groceries, treats like chocolate, juices, refrigerated items, personal care products, and supplements. The shelf tags indicate when the sale price expires. Some sale items are one-time opportunities that remain on sale until sold out. Many are purchasing opportunities that can be replenished over several weeks at great prices. Enjoy the savings!
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
Your continued patronage supports the ongoing success of our community-owned, values-based cooperative. Thank you for supporting the Old Creamery Co-op as a member-owner, as a shopper, as a friend. We value every contribution to the success of the Old Creamery Co-op.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
___________________________________________________________
|
|
445 Berkshire Trail
Cummington, Massachusetts 01026
413.634.5560
|
|
|
