September Board Meeting Recap
Fall is finally here, and we're getting ready for our 2026 Annual Meeting! At our September 1st board meeting, we reviewed the plans for our annual meeting, talked about community engagement, and started thinking ahead to the 2027 Board of Directors elections.
Community Engagement
This month we heard from Holly Greystone, Executive Director of SPIN, Suicide Prevention of the Inland Northwest, about QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer.
While QPR can help someone experiencing a medical crisis, QPR gives people simple tools for supporting someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. I liked the comparison to QPR: you don't have to be a medical professional to learn skills that could help someone in a crisis.
It was a good reminder that community is about more than sharing a neighborhood or a grocery store. It's also about noticing each other and being willing to show up when someone needs support.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or suicide-related crisis, you can call or text 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org to connect with a trained crisis counselor, 24/7.
Annual Meeting
Our 2026 Annual Meeting is Sunday, September 13, from 5:30 pm–7:30 pm at Shattuck West. All Owners in good standing are welcome.
The Communications and Elections Committee has finalized the plans for this year's meeting. We're also working on some new ways to reach and educate potential Board candidates about what it means to serve on the Co-op's Board.
The Board approved some updates to the Communications and Elections Committee charter as part of this work.
Grocery Story
We continued our group reading project of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants by Jon Steinman. The book looks at the history and role of food co-ops, asks what makes them different, and also what that can mean for the communities they serve.
Each month, we’re reading a couple of chapters together and talking about how the ideas connect to our own Co-op.
This month, we discussed Chapters 7 and 8, which look at food co-ops as community spaces and their role in food access and affordability. We talked about what those ideas look like here in Moscow and how we can continue thinking about the Co-op as more than just a grocery store.
Looking Ahead
We ended our regular meeting with an Executive Session for future planning.
Our next Board meeting is October 6th.
In the meantime, I hope to see you at the Annual Meeting on September 13th. It's a great opportunity to learn more about your Co-op, ask questions, and be part of shaping its future.
Thanks for being part of our cooperative community!