Moscow Food Co-op - Outreach Programs

Outreach Programs

Outreach Programs
Written by Carol Spurling

The Moscow Food Co-op's Outreach Programs are designed to meet needs in our community for education (nutrition, wellness, cooking, self-sufficiency, sustainability, etc.), social opportunities, service opportunities, and friendship and fun. The Co-op has a part-time outreach and membership coordinator, Carol Spurling, who works closely with volunteer coordinator Sequoia Ladd and other Co-op staff to organize classes, groups, store field trips, special events, and regular activities for people of all ages. Carol is available by email at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Outreach Update December 2011
Outreach Update November 2011
October 2011 Outreach, Marketing, and Membership Update
Outreach, Marketing, and Membership Update September 2011
Outreach and Membership Update August 2011: Please read!
Outreach Update: May 2011
Outreach and Ownership Report: 21 percent growth in 2010!!
2010 Best Ownership Year Ever!
December 2010 Outreach Report
Co-op Annual Report 2009
Outreach and Membership Thanksgiving Report
Outreach and Ownership Report
July Outreach Report

Outreach Update December 2011
by Carol Spurling, outreach and ownership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

If you've been enjoying the Co+op Deals coupons books this fall, please note: the coupon books for January and February will be available in the store only—they will NOT be mailed to you. This is due to the expense of sending them through the mail, and our fears that we are contributing to the junk mail problem. The advantage of having them in the store is that you won't forget to bring it along on your shopping trip, and you can get as many as you like. Please don't take more than you can use, of course. We'll also have stacks of individual coupons from the book that you can pick up and use, so if you have a favorite product and want to buy it and redeem a coupon for it every single day that it is on sale, you can do that.

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Our A Dime in Time recipient for December is My Own Home. Please read about this wonderful organization and remember your shopping bags, so you can donate your dimes. November's recipient was CROP Walk, and January's recipient will be Backyard Harvest. The October recipient, The Humane Society of the Palouse, received $589.35 in dimes from you generous shoppers—they, and we, thank you!

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I interviewed the Co-op's new manager of marketing and communications, Sandi Day, this month. I hope you'll read the article I wrote to introduce Sandi; she is a great addition to the Co-op team.

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The Co-op attended the City of Moscow Employee Wellness Fair in November, and the Buy Local Winter Market in early December. In January we are going to welcome once again the fabulous young people from Central America who visit and learn about the Co-op as part of the Central American Youth Ambassador (CAYA) program. And we are looking forward to the Washington State University Wellbeing Fair after the start of the new semester. Watch for us there!

Outreach Update November 2011
By Carol Spurling, outreach and membership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

I’m sorry to say goodbye to warm weather but on the other hand, I love the holidays and the onset of weather that occasionally gives me a good excuse to stay home and cook with my family.

In November the outreach team is so happy to bring back Tasteful Thursdays, this time with a local twist. We hope you enjoy them.

Be sure to check out our co-op class listings for November and December. Tessa Graham (Sprout Wellbeing) and Kimberly Jackson (Backroads Farm) are offering some excellent classes this fall through the Co-op. To sign up for the class info mailing list, email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

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Our September Dime in Time recipient, Dinner in the Garden (LCSC Center for Arts and History), earned $502. Our October recipient is the Humane Society of the Palouse, and our November recipient is the CROP Walk.

The Dime in Time application and our community contributions application have been slightly modified recently to reflect our Co-op’s giving priorities. Applicants whose projects help improve access to healthy food in our community will be given priority over other projects – but all projects are considered and we encourage all types of organizations to apply. The next deadline for DIT applications is December 1. Questions? Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

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I had a great time being a panelist/presenter on “Healthy Food = Healthy Kids” at the annual Provender Alliance conference earlier in October. Folks really appreciated hearing about what we’re doing through our field trips, the Mamas and Papas, Co-op Kids, and Banana Club to help children eat well in our community.
It was great to hear about organizations like Gorge Grown who are promoting local producers in the Hood River area, and about the amazing garden classroom that Hood River junior high has integrated into all its curriculum areas. I also got to meet someone whose work I’ve long admired: David Yudkin, of Hot Lips Pizza and Soda in Portland, Oregon. They don’t make enough Hot Lips soda for it to be available here at the Moscow Food Co-op…but hey, it’s just fruit juice, sugar, lemon juice, and carbonated water. Maybe someone here could create our own local soda??!!

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Early in October we also welcomed a group of food writers from around the Northwest and abroad, who were on a tour of Northern Idaho sponsored by the Idaho Department of Agriculture. Our kitchen prepared them a wonderful local lunch and I gave them a tour of the store. Afterwards, they visited the Univ. of Idaho Soil Stewards Farm. They were so impressed with the Co-op and it was wonderful to get to know Leah Clark, of the Dept. of Ag, better. We look forward to more fun events with them in the future.

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The Idaho chapter of the American Planners Assn. also visited Moscow in October, for their annual conference, and I had the honor of being their keynote speaker. I encouraged them to use their land-use expertise to help address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity, pointing out that we all could eat like kings here, if we managed our resources a little better. I also pointed out that starting a food co-op or buying club in a community is a good way to improve access to healthy food. It only takes a few people and it’s not rocket science!

A group of planners visited the co-op for a tour and a “Taste of Moscow” and Jessica and I filled them up with our delicious local and Idaho specialties such as apples and grapes, Bronzestone hummus, Virginia’s salsa, Rollingstone chevre, Caruso honey, Little Bear yogurt, Organics are for Everyone date syrup, our own bakery’s bread, Amy E’s pecan toffee, and Cowgirl Chocolates. They were mightily impressed and some seemed quite ready to relocate to Moscow. Thanks to the Idaho APA for including us in the conference.

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Our wonderful field trip volunteer, Erika, recently entertained a group of Univ. of Idaho early learning center preschoolers in the produce department, and is planning several other field trips this fall. Contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to find out about scheduling a field trip in the store.

Thanks to Tom Lamar and Laurene Sorensen who staffed our booth at the UI Staff Appreciation Fair, and to Erika, who helped me with our booth at the SEL Wellness and Learning Fair. We were also at the UI Wellness Fair!

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Jesica DeHart and some of our friends (thanks Kenzie Femreite of the Extension Nutrition Program!) helped us distribute almost 1800 Banana Club Cards to children throughout the area, to help them get more healthy fruit into their diet. The Banana Club is currently a pilot program that ended on Oct. 31, but we hope to bring it back in a permanent form. Let us know how you and your children liked the Banana Club by sending comments to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or by submitting a comment card in the store, up by the front bulletin board near the exit doors.

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October also saw our first ever Festival of Fair Trade, with special Facebook trivia contests, special demos of Fair Trade products, and visits from Fair Trade vendors all month long. We hope you caught some of the special documentary films that we showed on Tuesdays, and enjoyed the finale: a short film, panel discussion, and Fair Trade dessert extravaganza. Thanks especially to Julia Parker, Theo Chocolate, Cravens Coffee, Equal Exchange, and Frontier for being on our panel and sharing your delicious Fair Trade products with us!

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We wrapped up our season of Preserve the Harvest workshops in October, and the Tuesday Growers market finished up as well. What a delicious season it was. Thanks to the local vendors and coordinator Britt Heisel for another fun Tuesday Market season, and to our workshop instructors (Kimberly Jackson, Rebekka Boysen-Taylor, Marci Miller, Bridget McNassar, Sandra McCurdy, and Lauri McKean) and all the class attendees for sharing your love of great local food with us.

October 2011 Outreach, Marketing, and Membership Update
By Carol Spurling, Outreach and Membership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The harvest season is winding down and we have just a few more super-fun Preserve the Harvest workshops to prepare for winter. Does marinara sauce, plum chutney, and apple pie filling made from local produce sound good to you?? Workshops are on Saturdays at noon. For more information email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or get your tickets from a Co-op cashier. They’re $15 for the public and free for SNAP/WIC recipients and Co-op employees.

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On Oct. 3rd the Co-op is hosting a visiting group of professional food writers from all over the world who will be touring Northern Idaho courtesy of the Idaho Department of Agriculture. The kitchen is preparing the group of 20 a special lunch featuring local dishes and our outreach team will give them a tour of the store. Thanks to Leah Clark of the State of Idaho for including us in this very special event.

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The Dime in Time recipient for October is the Humane Society of the Palouse. Our August recipient, Friends of the Clearwater, received $550.80 as a result of your generosity. Thank you! We’ll let you know next month how much Dinner in the Garden, our September recipient, received.

The Dime in Time committee met in late September to decide the grant recipients for upcoming months. Watch for news about CROP Walk in November, My Own Home in December, and Backyard Harvest in January! Congrats to these organizations.

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In September we partnered with Mackenzie Femreite of the University of Idaho’s Extension Nutrition program for a program called Shopping Matters. SNAP-eligible residents signed up for a tour of the Co-op led by Mackenzie and our own Jesica DeHart to help them learn how to make healthy and economical choices. Thanks to Kenzie for including the Co-op in her nutrition education programs – we hope to partner with her on Shopping Matters as often as there is interest.

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On September 1, 2011, following the lead of our favorite co-ops nationwide, we launched our first ever Banana Club – allowing children age 10 and under to get a free apple, banana, or carrot whenever they come to the Co-op. Jesica has been distributing club cards as widely as she can in classrooms throughout the region, with the goal of helping every kid on the Palouse to develop a healthy snacking habit to last a lifetime. The Club continues through October so if you haven’t yet gotten your kids their club cards, stop in right away or get in touch with Jesica at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ! We hope to be able to do the Banana Club again in the future.

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September marks the 3rd anniversary of the Co-op’s outreach and membership coordinator position, and the 1st anniversary of our product demonstration and education coordinator. In that time our co-op has become nationally-known – and locally legendary - for our fabulous mix of outreach and promotion activities both in and out of the store.

The days before we had Dime in Time and Impulse Giving, Community Contributions, the Good Food Film Series and Book Club, Co-op Kids and Mamas and Papas, Tasteful Thursdays, the Tuesday Growers Market, the Vendor Table program, and were able to sponsor Empty Bowls and Blood Drives, and to go to events like health and wellness fairs, Palousafest, and the Green Fair, seem like ancient history.
We’re proud of creating campaigns like Bag It!, which resulted in city support for the reduction of plastic bag usage in our community and the elimination of plastic bags from our own checkout stands. And all this month you’ll be enjoying an incredible array of fun and education during our Festival of Fair Trade.

We’re also proud of the growth in membership and in customer numbers that our co-op has experienced in spite of the economic downturn that has made it difficult for many retailers to survive.

We couldn’t do it without a great crew of participating members, cooperation from every Co-op department, and support from the member-owners and customers who take part and support the Co-op enthusiastically. You can buy groceries anywhere but shopping at the Co-op actually makes life better for all of us here on the Palouse and around the world. Thanks to all of you for helping our store become so vibrant, nurturing, and fun.

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At press time I am preparing for a couple of upcoming speaking engagements: a 400-level marketing class at Washington State Univ., the Univ. of Idaho Nutrition Club (along with Mark Ostby, from the Co-op kitchen), and a panel on Helping Kids Make Healthy Food Choices at the annual Provender Alliance conference in Hood River. We love to share information about the cooperative business model and about our Co-op. If your group or club is interested in having a guest speaker from the Co-op, please get in touch with This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

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Moscow is privileged to be the site of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association’s annual conference in October. This year’s conference theme is “Plan vs. Food.” Because of their interest in food issues, the Co-op is privileged to be included in their conference agenda. I will be addressing the group during their opening breakfast on Thursday, October 13, and we’ll be hosting a tour and tasting at the Co-op during the conference for some of the conference participants. Several of our member-owners and friends will be presenting at the conference, too, on issues related to food and planning. Check out the conference info at http://idahoapa.org/

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The Cookbook Committee has been working behind the scenes for over a year collecting and formatting recipes from our website, newsletter, and FACT program. Soon we’ll begin work on designing a new Co-op Cookbook – hopefully one that we’ll be able to sell for the holiday season next year in order to benefit local food security efforts. It’s not too late to contribute your own favorite recipes for our cookbook, that will feature lots of local specialties. If you’d like to submit content please contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Outreach, Marketing, and Membership Update
By Carol Spurling, outreach and ownership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

We are thrilled to welcome Seth Marcantonio as our new general manager later this month. Be sure to give him a warm welcome when you see him in the store.

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Later in September, active members of the Co-op will receive their Co+op Deals coupon books for October/November in the mail. The coupon books will also be available in the store for members and non-members to pick up and use as needed.

In the past we have touted these coupon books as a member benefit, but actually the books are not designed for members only; they are meant to help all our customers save money when shopping at the Co-op.

The postage to send this coupon book to members is being paid by the NCGA (Nat’l Cooperative Grocers Assn.) who puts the book together and negotiates all the good prices on so many products we get from our distributor. We’ve decided that when the NCGA will send it for free, we’ll take advantage of that, but when the postage would be on us, we’ll skip that expense and just have stacks of the coupon books in the store for everyone to pick up when they come in.

We hope you enjoy your coupons and feel free to pick up an extra book for yourself or for a friend who is new to the Co-op. The more people shopping and saving money at the Co-op, the better it is for all of us.

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Our Preserve the Harvest workshops have been a blast and they are continuing through September and into October during the most bountiful time of the year here on the Palouse. Don’t miss making salsa, chutney, applesauce, pie filling, and other delicious treats during tomato and apple season: sign up for the workshop info mailing list at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or just get tickets for the Saturday workshops from a co-op cashier. Workshops are $15 for the general public but SNAP/WIC recipients and Co-op employees get in free!

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We’re partnering with UI Extension nutrition educator Mackenzie Femreite for the “Shopping Matters” program in September. SNAP recipients are eligible to join Kenzie on a free guided tour of the store to learn how to make their dollars go further, and they’ll even get $10 to spend on fruits and veggies!

Shopping Matters tours will take place at 10 am on Sept. 16 and 30; contact Mackenzie at (208) 883-2267 to sign up.

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Last spring the Co-op wrote a letter of support and promised $500 in matching funds for a USDA Rural Business Enterprise grant written by the Latah Economic Development Council for a feasibility study for a Latah County Food Innovation and Resource Center.

Thanks to support from us and many other organizations, businesses, and government entities in Latah County, the grant application was successful! We look forward to learning the results of the feasibility study, which is a critical step in determining how our region can develop its local food economy.

It’s exciting for the Co-op to realize that one of our strategic goals is enthusiastically shared by the wider community. Congrats to Aimee Shipman and the LEDC for securing the funds for this important study.

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Another group that is working on our local food economy is the Palouse Food Action Coalition (PFAC), a loosely organized coalition that meets on a regular basis to share news with each other about food-related initiatives, grant availability, and opportunities for collaboration. Folks from UI Extension, the UI Sustainability Center, the LEDC, Rural Roots, and others including the Co-op are all involved.

I attend these meetings as often as I can and I was so glad to learn of Palouse Prairie School’s initiative for a farm-to-school lunch program as well as Extension’s current work on a community food assessment, which, like the food innovation center’s feasibility study, is a very important step forward that will provide us with a comprehensive look at where we are and where we need to focus our energies.

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The Engagement and Outreach Committee has had the summer off and we look forward to getting back to work in September. It’s time for the Co-op to revisit our strategic plan (it’s now 3 years old!) and for each committee to evaluate how it is doing on its strategic goals.

In 2009 and 2010, in order to strengthen the connection between members and the Co-op, we focused on bringing you patronage dividends as a member benefit. Now that the legal ducks are in a row on that one, we’re looking at how we can widen the co-op community, which will benefit us in multiple ways.

Increasing the co-op community requires some thinking and heart-searching, especially as we deal with the perception that the Co-op is exclusive, not inclusive, and out of reach for many during these difficult economic times. How to change those perceptions will be the topic of many of our upcoming conversations in the E&O committee, I predict.

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The Dime in Time recipient for September is Dinner in the Garden, an event organized by the Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts and History. Please see their article to learn more. The July DIT recipient, READ for Life, earned $554.30 through the DIT grant, and we’ll soon learn how much the Friends of the Clearwater earned during August. Thank you for remembering your reusable shopping bags and donating your dimes. $500 or so makes a big difference for our DIT recipients.

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The Co-op is receiving more and more requests for sponsorships and donations, and we’re so glad to be able to respond to so many of them. There are many wonderful organizations of all types doing important work in our community, and we are thankful for each and every one of them. In the past we have contributed to many of them, and we hope to continue to do so.

Looking towards the future and in line with our strategic plan, goals and mission statement, we have decided to reserve the bulk of our community support and sponsorships for organizations that are working to insure that everyone in our community has access to safe and healthy food.

To apply for a donation or sponsorship from the Co-op, please pick up a Community Contribution form that is available by the front bulletin board. Thank you!

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Several of our programs are getting new coordinators this fall: Mamas and Papas, and the Business Partner Program, to name a few! Thanks and best of luck to Stacy Pettitt and Sara Cucksey who have done a great job for us. We also welcomed new Tuesday Music coordinator Chelsey Byrd Lewallen this summer. Thanks to all of you for your patience during the transitions from one coordinator to another; we’ll try to make it them as smooth as possible.

Outreach and Membership Update August 2011: Please read!

Members! Mark the next MADday sale, Sunday, August 21 on your calendars. For Member Appreciation Day (MAD), Co-op members get special discounts. 5% off purchases to $25. 7% off purchases between $25 and $75. 10% off purchases above $75.

Another MAD special for university students. Students, have your parents buy you a $55 co-op gift card, and they pay only $50. Take advantage of this super savings on August 21.

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Our membership numbers continue to climb every day and currently we have 6,704 active members. Yay! At the end of 2010, the Co-op had 6,564 members. For all of 2010 we had about 23% growth and I don’t expect to top that record again, but that’s okay. Slow and steady is what we’re after. Watch for a membership promotion in September as we reach out to the university communities and welcome folks to town during our annual influx of newcomers.

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We’ll be offering Essential Cooking classes this fall, and are looking to round out our schedule of Essential Wellness and Essential Living classes too. I hope to offer something every week. If you would like to teach a class through the Co-op, on a subject in which you have some expertise, please get in touch with me at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Financial advice, legal advice, elder care, decluttering, how to knit, how to paint, how to garden, how to plan your family, how to feed your family, how to make your own gifts for giving, how to build a straw hot box…. these are just a few ideas of the types of classes we’d like to make get scheduled for September, October, November, and December. Classes will be free or by donation for Co-op members, and teachers will be rewarded with a small Co-op gift card.

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Watch for the Co-op – and buy a great Co-op meal! - at the Lentil Festival during the evening festivities in Pullman, Friday, August 19th. We’ll be at Palousafest the next afternoon, Saturday, August 20th, on the Univ. of Idaho campus, starting at 5 pm. See you there!

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Our Dime in Time recipient for the month of August is Friends of the Clearwater. Our July recipient was READ for Life; the June recipient was the Spay and Neuter Clinic who received a check for $585; and the May recipient was the Moscow Community Garden, who received a check for $596.70. Thanks to all for remembering to bring your reusable bags and cups!

The Dime in Time committee will meet in September to award the DIT grants for November, December, and January. Please submit DIT grant applications by August 31st in order to be considered at the September evaluation meeting.

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Our calendar for the fall is filling up with events both in and out of the store such as wellness fairs, Palousafest, the Good Food Film Festival, all kinds of classes, and field trips. It helps us a lot with our scheduling if you give us plenty of notice when asking to schedule field trips or any other activities – so even if you don’t have an exact date in mind but are thinking of including the co-op in an activity, please get in touch with me as soon as possible – thanks!

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Figuratively speaking, summertime is always a time for recharging our batteries and this summer has been no different, despite its late start. Thanks to all who patiently awaited my response to an email or a phone call until I returned from my travels. A lot has been happening even while the outreach and membership “department” (we’re not officially a department – yet – but we think of ourselves that way!) staff have been on the road, farming, planning for the fall, and doing some big picture thinking. You’ll get lots more updates from Jesica DeHart (product education and promotions coordinator), Sequoia Ladd (participating member coordinator), and myself soon!

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Speaking of getting in touch: plenty of advance notice really helps with Community Contribution requests too. Our Community Contributions request form, available online and at the front bulletin board, has now been in use for well over a year, and most organizations who request funds from the Co-op are getting familiar with it and the requirement to submit the form at least a month in advance of when the funds will be needed.

Those who received support from the Co-op know that I haven’t enforced this deadline very strictly so far, because everyone was just getting used to it. But the time has come to get tough – no more exceptions.

We receive more requests than we can accommodate, and it takes some time and planning to prepare donations and keep careful watch on the limited community contributions budget. Even if the Co-op has supported your organization for a very long time, or even if you are a personal friend of mine (or our GM), be fair. Please use the form, and submit it on time. The more detail you provide on your application, the better. We really want to do a great job supporting our community and all the important work other organizations do, and you can help us do that even better. Thank you.

Outreach Update: May 2011
By Carol Spurling, outreach and membership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

What a thrill it was to be able to tell the members of People First of the Palouse about the $748.50 they earned as our Dime in Time recipients for the month of April! We knew that the number would be higher than in the past as a result of our Bag It! Campaign but we had no idea how much higher. We hope that lots of customers developed the habit of remembering their reusable bags and that we’ll be able to keep our Dime in Time donations growing every month. Can we reach $1000? Stay tuned!

The May recipient for our Dime in Time grant was the Moscow Community Garden, and our June recipient is the Spay and Neuter Clinic. Thanks for donating your dimes to these great organizations who serve our community!

In June the Dime in Time committee is meeting to award DIT grants for August, September, and October. If you want to apply for an award for November, December, or January, please submit your application by September 1.

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I spent a few days in early May at the National Cooperative Grocers Assn. annual “Marketing Matters” conference in Minneapolis. You can imagine how fun and inspirational it was to be hanging out and learning with (and from) about 100 other people with positions like mine at co-ops all over the country.

While I’ve mainly focused on building community and increasing engagement within our Co-op in my job so far, I am excited about working with Jesica (our demo and product education coordinator) and our department managers to use some marketing techniques to help more people in our community discover the Moscow Food Co-op and overcome any reluctance they have to give us a try.

Co-ops are model businesses and we want everybody to support MFC, not just those wonderful and loyal few who are already in the know. So we need to shout it from the rooftops!

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Field trips continued in May, with several visits from students at Palouse Prairie school, checking out how to make bread, and thinking about how to grow food in places you’ve never thought of before.

I’m happy to announce that volunteer Erika Szymanski will be our field trip coordinator next fall. She loves interacting with children of all ages and will be happy to tailor the field trip to each teacher’s expectations, if possible. Other volunteers will help with field trips as needed.

We also do group tours for folks of any age – and can custom design them to meet your needs: gluten-free, shopping on a budget, shopping in bulk, lunch packing, etc. We appreciate field trips being scheduled well in advance; email me at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and we’ll save your date!

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I need some ideas about reaching out to people who aren’t so obviously served by the Co-op right now. We’ve got great programs for new and expecting parents, preschoolers, and through Community Food Works we’re reaching out to low-income families and everyone who is interested in being more self-sufficient and eating well on a budget.

We’re offering wellness classes whenever instructors step up and offer to teach a class, and I’m in the process of coordinating regular Co-op cooking classes with Tessa Graham of Sprout Wellbeing, for starters. I hope to invite more of our wellness-related business partners to offer classes in the future too.

But some food co-ops also have programs for seniors, for youth, and for teenagers. Some food co-ops have Monday classes on all sorts of topics taught by all kinds of folks from the community. What do YOU think we need to offer in order to better fulfill our mission, vision, and the 7 co-op principles? Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it with ideas!

Outreach and Ownership Report: 21 percent growth in 2010!!
By Carol Price Spurling, outreach and ownership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

At the end of 2008, we had 4954 active members. At the end of 2009, we had 5442. And, at the end of 2010, we had 6564 active members.

So, while we had about 10 percent overall growth in membership in 2009, in 2010 we had almost 21 percent overall growth, almost all of it coming in the first half of the year.
21 percent. Yowza!

All I can say is WELCOME to all the new members who joined us for the first time in 2010, and THANK YOU to all the renewing and lifetime members who continue to make our Co-op the wonderful thing that it is.
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So what has outreach been up to lately? Giving in-store field trips to students from the Univ. of Idaho children’s center and visiting Central American students, visiting a class at Palouse Prairie School on behalf of Community Food Works, attending the City of Moscow’s Wellness Fair, attending the Emergency Preparedness Fair on behalf of Community Food Works, planning and implementing the Community Food Works extensive programming for 2010, attending the UI President’s Sustainability Symposium, coordinating a blood drive, working with Moscow Recycling and Gritman Medical Center to sponsor the April film “A Chemical Reaction,” planning the Earth Day Co-op Clean-up event, participating in both the UI and WSU Earth Day festivities, and working with an incredible bunch of volunteers to make sure our Co-op Kids! and Mamas and Papas and everything else keeps going. We are so fortunate to have a dedicated and qualified crew of people to help us meet our outreach goals.
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I am very excited to welcome long-time volunteer David Hall to a new volunteer role as Co-op historian. David will be helping us sort through piles of photographs and newspaper articles to make some sense of them all. (Don’t you wish you could have someone do this for you at your house?? I do!) Watch for a new Co-op blog or web page dedicated just to Co-op history – designed for you to share your memories and stories, and for you to help fill in some of the gaps in the collective memory!
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David Hall had been our newsletter photographer for a long time, and the role of Co-op photographer is now being filled by another long-time volunteer, George Bedirian. Many of George’s photos are posted to the Co-op Flickr photostream. Look up Flickr on the web and find our page – maybe there will be a picture of you there that you can share with friends.

2010 Best Ownership Year Ever!
Written by Carol Spurling, outreach and membership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

We knew mid-way through 2010 that community members were joining and renewing their memberships at the Co-op at a more rapid rate than we had seen before. We are thrilled to share the news that in 2010 membership investments increased 22.9 percent from 2009. This doesn't exactly mean we have 22.9 percent more members than last year because this figure measures dollars, not people. One member might have paid off a $150 lifetime membership all at once, while another member is a senior citizen and paid $5 for this year's installment. Next month I'll report on actual member numbers in 2010 and share some interesting facts and figures. In the meantime, we are very pleased that so many people made the commitment our Co-op, our mission, and the cooperative way of doing business. Thank you!!

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I taught an Essential Cookery Dinner with Class cooking class in January on omelettes and frittatas and had such a wonderful time sharing a relaxed, delicious, and healthy meal with a really "sympa" (that's French for super nice) group of people. Our menu featured sparkling beverages, tomato bisque soup, green salad, bread, omelettes and frittatas, fruit and cheese, chocolate truffles and lemon wafers, and hot tea or Inka with dessert. We ate, we learned, we tried Julia Child's omelette technique with varying degrees of success, we talked, and ate some more. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of our series in February and March featuring crepes, French onion soup, and raclette. If you're interested in signing up please see the City of Moscow Parks and Rec brochure for this winter, or call them at 883-7085.

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During January we welcomed groups of students of very different ages: some little ones from the Moscow Parent-Toddler Co-op, and some high school students from Central America. We love giving field trips and sharing good food with our visitors. If you would like to arrange a Co-op field trip for a group of any age, please contact me and we'll arrange a suitable time.

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The Good Food Film Series and Book Club have become part of Community Food Works and both are more fun than ever. Please watch for the ads, posters, bookmarks, Facebook posts, and other info about ways you can ingest some "Food for Thought." In January the Good Food Film was the Real Dirt on Farmer John. It's hard to imagine a more interesting or touching film about the life of one particular farmer and farm. If you missed it, don't despair, the public library has it available on DVD! In February, the film is a brand new documentary, "The Vanishing of the Bees." Mark your calendars for February 16th at the Kenworthy!

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The blood drive on January 19 was great, with 31 donors! In 2010 we doubled our blood drive participation and we'd like to do the same in 2011. Our next blood drive is in March, during spring break. Please come if you can - thank you!

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We hope our members enjoyed the Member Appreciation Day sale in January. Look for another one later in 2011! And, we hope you found us at the WSU Wellbeing Fair on February 1. We love going to these and giving away lots of information and samples of some of our products. Look for us next at the SEL Green Fair later in March.

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We have results back from the Customer Survey that we asked as many people as possible to take last fall. It is SO interesting and helpful to all of us who work for you here at the Co-op to have the information from the survey, so thank you very much. I hope to share some info from the survey each month with you, so watch for that starting next month.

December 2010 Outreach Report
By Carol Spurling, outreach and ownership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it.

We’ve just finished the season of wellness fairs and field trips! Thanks to all the organizers and attendees of the SEL Wellness Fair, the Univ. of Idaho Wellness Fair, and the Univ. of Idaho Staff Appreciation Fair for inviting us to come. A big thanks to the teachers at Lena Whitmore, Emmanuel Preschool, and the Univ. of Idaho children’s center who brought their classes to the Co-op for a field trip. And thanks to the volunteers who helped us at these events, and who also helped us give away all-natural candy and free fruit coupons at the Homecoming Parade and for Halloween!

Dime in Time

The Dime in Time committee met in late September and awarded DIT grants for November, December, and January. Your dimes in November went to Adventure Learning Camps Inc., in December they are going to Rendezvous for Kids, and in January to the WSU Vet College PATH Program. Thanks for your continued support of our Dime in Time organizations!

Recent recipients of the Dime in Time award have received:
October – Moscow Parent-Toddler Co-op: $482.92
September – REACH: $482.20

Impulse Giving

Remember your Impulse Giving donations are matched by the Co-op through December 31st. Each month the Co-op can give a total of up to $500 in matching funds, so be generous with your Impulse gives during this season of giving. Thank you.

With the Co-op’s matching funds in October, these organizations received checks for October for these amounts:
Sojourner’s Alliance: $66.18
Backyard Harvest: $342.00
Genesee Daoist Hermitage: $250.94

Membership Cards Always Free

Membership cards will continue to be issued to members free, and now, even replacement cards will be FREE! If you’ve lost your card, come in and get a new one.

Co-op Annual Report 2009

Outreach and ownership coordinator Carol Spurling discusses patronage dividends in this excerpt from the Moscow Food Co-op's 2009 annual report. Just follow the link below. To see the complete annual report, click here.

Co-op Annual Report 2009- Outreach Programs [pdf]

Outreach and Membership Thanksgiving Report
Written by Carol Spurling, outreach and membership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

This outreach report will look a little different from the others, because instead of giving you a rundown of all the stuff we've been doing, I just want to take a moment to thank the volunteers and other staff people at the Co-op who make our outreach efforts possible.

When I gave a presentation earlier this year at a national conference about our outreach and membership programs, many managers at other co-ops were amazed at the amount of things we offer here. The most amazing thing that I didn't even mention is that I only work part-time. I did give credit to our volunteers; the only reason we can get so much done is because of them and the incredible teamwork that happens every day.

Take Mamas and Papas for example. It requires work from our volunteer graphic designer Melissa Rockwood, on-going consultation with the Wellness Department, cooperation with the front end and the finance office to handle all the coupons we give away to group members, and most importantly, the dependable organizational skills of our devoted and talented coordinator Stacy Pettitt, who schedules the speakers and special guests.

Co-op Kids! was created by the amazing volunteer Rebekka Boysen-Taylor and rolls along under her direction, week after wonderful week.

All the various wellness and green fairs that we attend wouldn't be possible without the help of uber-volunteers Blair Van Pelt and Donna Mills, who are quick to make their outgoing, intelligent, and charming selves available for all sorts of special events.

The Good Food Book Club is growing under the direction of Colette DePhelps, whose experience in sustainable and local food systems brings a welcome depth to those discussions.

The cookbook project is getting underway thanks to Laurene Sorensen. The low-income member discount will soon become a reality, thanks to the work of the Engagement and Outreach committee: Jamie Bentley, Tom and Aly Lamar, Mary Ellen Brewick, Donna Mills, Karen Jennings, Jolie Kaytes, Paul Charpentier, and Britt Heisel. Britt has also coordinated our Tuesday Growers Market this year.

Behind the scenes, but no less important, are our newsletter and website volunteers, mostly too numerous to mention here. But a special thanks to newsletter editor Bill London, PR expert Marcia Gossard, ad manager Jyotsna Sreenivasan, web editor George Bedirian, web master Lida Saskova, calendar guy Matt Kitterman, and web assistants Vika Prokhorova and Pat Hine, without whom we would have no media presence whatsoever!

On the membership benefits front, we're lucky to have Sara Cucksey watching over our Business Partner program.

Field trips wouldn't be nearly so much fun without all of the various department managers taking a moment out of their busy days to say Hello to the children, offer them samples, and show them how the cardboard bailer works.

Thank heavens for the passionate and talented Sequoia Ladd, who coordinates our volunteers, and our new product demo and education coordinator Jesica DeHart, who is equally passionate and talented. Joseph Erhard-Hudson in the IT department is as necessary to us as oxygen, and our leader Kenna guides us all with grace and good cheer. The front-end staff does their utmost to handle every curve ball we throw their way. With these staff members, and our volunteers, together we are accomplishing so many wonderful things around the Co-op and in this community. And we even have more to come!

What I am most thankful for, when I think of these people, is the positive energy they bring. Always ready, always cheerful, always sharing their ideas and their skills. They are truly being the change they want to see in the world.

Of course I can't mention all our outreach volunteers and Co-op staff in this itty bitty article. Please forgive me. But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, please know that I appreciate you all.

Outreach and Ownership Report
Written by Carol Spurling, outreach and ownership coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The Co-op's outreach and ownership coordinator, Carol Spurling, was invited to write an article about our outreach programs for Cooperative Grocer magazine.
The article was published in the March/April 2010 issue. You can download a PDF of the article here!

Traveling to Bloomington, Indiana, in early June for the CCMA (Consumer Co-operative Managers Association) conference was educational and fun. I was invited to present a workshop on outreach, on the strength of the Moscow Food Co-op’s outreach programs. What an honor, and a nail-biter, to be a first-time attendee as well as a presenter at this conference, amongst dozens and dozens of long-time co-op managers who have been going to CCMA for decades. How could I possibly say anything that they didn’t already know?

In reality, there were managers from co-ops of all sizes and ages, and it was a pleasure serving as a resource for co-ops who are just beginning to create their own outreach programs, and to share some new ideas with co-ops who have shared their own ideas with us over the years. The atmosphere was, ahem, cooperative. You can rest assured that all over the country, co-ops like ours are alive and well, staffed by wonderful people, just like ours!

I especially appreciated the keynote speakers (Bruce Philp, http://brandcowboy.blogspot.com/, and Michael Shuman, http://small-mart.org/) who reinforced what co-op owners already know: the cooperative emphasis on principles and ethical business practices gives co-ops an important advantage in the increasingly competitive natural foods business. Our democratic structure makes it impossible to forget that we exist to serve our local owners, not some faceless stockholders.
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This fall we will be conducting a customer survey both in the store and online to help us better meet your needs and also to help us compare ourselves to other co-ops to see where we are doing great and where we could use improvement. We hope you’ll help us by willingly taking the survey and answering the questions as candidly as possible. Surveys will be anonymous. Watch for more news about the survey in September.
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The June A Dime in Time recipient, Friends of the Moscow Library, received $478 from your donations of your bag refunds. Thank you! The July recipient was the HOPE Center, and the August recipient is Paint the Palouse.
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The Co-op is now offering wireless internet access to the public from 1 – 8:30 p.m. Outside of these times customers will be able to see the wireless connection on their computers but won’t be able to connect. We hope that these limited hours will be a happy compromise between the members who wanted wireless access at all times and members who didn’t want access at all or were worried about there being enough places to sit during the Deli’s busy times. Please let us know how it works for you.
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I’d like you to start thinking about whether or not the Co-op should charge people for each new paper or plastic bag that they use. After almost two years of the A Dime in Time incentive to encourage the use of permanent shopping bags, we’ve leveled off at a fairly low percentage of total transactions that use permanent bags. We appreciate the people who use cloth bags regularly. But what can we do to improve our usage of permanent bags? How can the Co-op save money AND lower our carbon footprint by reducing the number of paper and plastic bags that go out the door?
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The Pool Parties in July were a big hit. Families, employees, and friends gathered at the pool to cool off, laugh, and enjoy great Co-op snacks. I hope we can do it again next year. Let me know if you enjoyed it.
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July has been busy with fall planning, launching the Eat Local Challenge, hosting a field trip and smoothie-making session with a group of Pullman day-camp students, pool parties, food preservation workshops, and getting a bunch of new social media things happening, like our new Facebook pages, blog, and Twitter account. We hope you enjoy our expanded on-line presence, and “like” us often!
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The Engagement and Outreach committee has been discussing the possibility of creating a register discount for our low-income members who receive public assistance. We would appreciate any member comments about this possible new program. Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . Thank you!

July Outreach Report
Written by Carol Spurling, Outreach and Ownership Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

School is out, but outreach hasn’t slowed down any. Our May Dime in Time recipient, the Moscow Jr. High School Problem Solvers, earned $567.30 for their program. Thanks to everyone who chose not to use a paper or plastic bag, and donated their dimes to support this organization. The June DIT recipient was Friends of the Library (Moscow), and the July recipient (read their article in this issue) is The HOPE Center.

Early in June, I demonstrated “Cooking with Grains and Greens” at the Senior Fair at the Palouse Mall – what fun! It’s not so often I get to cook on a stage, speaking into a microphone. Everyone loved the Jeweled Quinoa Salad, the Green Tabouli, and the Spring Spinach Frittata that I cooked and then sampled out. Thanks to the FACT program for some of those great recipes.

We hosted a blood drive on June 2 and as always provided fabulous cookies, organic fruit and a variety of healthy beverages for people who took the time to donate blood. Thanks to those who participated.

Our Dime in Time/Impulse Giving Committee met in early June, evaluated applications, and awarded DIT for August, September and October. Our next meeting will be in September to decide the recipients for the months of November, December and January. We have also added the Genesee Valley Daoist Hermitage and the Friends of the Library to the Impulse Giving program. Remember, it’s easy to donate any amount at any time to your favorite non-profit – just tell the cashier you want to “impulse give!”

Our Engagement and Outreach Committee has a new Co-chair – board member Jamie Bentley (I’m the other Co-chair) – and several new participating members on board. We will be doing some education efforts related to patronage refunds this fall, and working out the details of some kind of assistance program for our Co-op’s low-income members, among other tasks, like helping organize our Fall Ownership Meeting! If you have suggestions for us or just want to get in touch, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

In August, I’ll have a report on my trip to the Consumer Co-operative Management Assn. conference in Bloomington, along with news about more classes that I’ll be offering, including Co-op 101 (a store field trip and orientation for any member, offered weekly or monthly) and Co-op Shopping on a Budget (a store tour focusing on strategies to save money every time you shop, offered weekly or monthly.) If you’re interested in having news about our classes and events delivered to your e-mail inbox, e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to sign up.