June 3, 2025, Board Meeting Recap
It’s meteorological summer, let the gardening begin! The Moscow Food Co-op Board of Directors held their June Board meeting on Tuesday the 3 rd at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Present were all eight Board members, our General Manager and Board Administrative Assistant, our Board Meeting facilitator, and one Co-op owner.
The General Manager presented her monitoring reports for the B1 Financial Condition and Activities policy for the first quarter of 2025. The B1 monitoring report includes sales growth and net income, liquidity and solvency, ownership growth, loan agreements, and other financial obligations. The monitoring report also includes financial statements for profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and budgeting. Sales growth for the quarter was an outstanding 7.4%, which exceeded inflation by just over 5%. Great work, everyone! All sub-polices in the B1 report were in compliance with their respective policies, and the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.
Monitoring reports for Board policies C2, The Board’s Job, and C3, Agenda Planning, were included in the Consent Agenda and were accepted in compliance when the Consent Agenda was approved. The Board assigns two directors to review each policy and if there is agreement between the two reviewers on compliance, then the monitoring report is included in the Consent Agenda. If there are issues that need to be addressed, the monitoring report is put on the Business Agenda for discussion. Furthermore, if a director disputes the initial finding of compliance, the report can be moved from the Consent Agenda to the Business Agenda during the meeting.
For our Board education work, we are reading and discussing “US History in 15 Foods.” Melinda Schab, our General Manager, led a discussion on the tofu chapter, which highlighted how it was associated with civil rights issues and environmental concerns during the 1960s and 1970’s, and how soybeans were a good protein source, were ecologically friendly and cheap to grow, and could be produced outside the mainstream economy. David Nelson led the discussion on the chicken nugget chapter, which described how food industries at that time promoted chicken as a convenience food that was a healthier alternative to beef; however, chicken nuggets were part of the increase in ultra-processed foods that contributed to an increase in diet-related diseases. These chapters illustrate very well the importance of our Co-op in providing healthy food options! We are reading this book as a Board to help educate ourselves on how we can best serve our community as described in our Ends policy (see below).
For our Study and Engagement Series, the Board heard from Peg Kingery representing Casting for Recovery (CfR), which is a group started in 1996 in Vermont by a breast reconstruction surgeon and professional fly fisher to bring women together who have had or currently have breast cancer. The founding surgeon observed the gentle fly-casting motion to be beneficial for women who have undergone radiation or surgery. In the following years, CfR has expanded nationwide, and is active in our area of northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Each year, fly fishing retreats are held where women can experience healing outside of traditional methods, and can find connection, community, and a chance to feel whole again. Peg reported that for some women, being at a retreat gave them the opportunity, for the first time, to talk with another woman about their cancer. We can support CfR through donations, volunteering, or letting someone we know that is dealing with breast cancer about CfR. More information can be found on their webpage at https://castingforrecovery.org/.
Our Study and Engagement Series helps Board and staff members become better informed about issues and activities that affect our community. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles states that we have “Concern for Community,” and listening to people describe issues of concern in our community is directly tied to our Ends.
If you have questions or comments regarding these recaps, please email me your thoughts at mthorne@moscowfood.coop. It would be good to know that they are reaching our owners.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for July 1, 2025, at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center (411 S Main St, Moscow, ID). The meeting will run from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Current Co-op owners can attend in person or via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, contact the Board’s Administrative Assistant at boardadmin@moscowfood.coop for more information and to RSVP.
Further information about our Board meetings is at https://www.moscowfood.coop/board- meetings.
Sincerely,
Mark Thorne, Board President
Moscow Food Co-op Ends Policy
The Moscow Food Co-op is at the heart of a thriving, healthy, and inclusive community where:
1. We embody and embrace cooperative principles and values.
2. All community members have local access to environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and
healthful choices.