The New Orleans Food Community, Inc. announces our annual member meeting on Wed., October 15, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Holy Angels cafeteria at 3500 St. Claude, at Gallier. We’ll be electing our new board of directors for the following year, and will vote on any proposed bylaws changes (members may propose changes at the meeting). This will also be an informational meeting to discuss the progress our co-op has made since last year’s annual meeting, and changes in our future store location (the Sept. 3 meeting was cancelled due to the hurricane evacuation).

Anyone can attend this meeting, but you must be a member of the NOFC to vote. It is necessary for a person to be paid in full before they are a voting member of the NOFC. We encourage those who are making payments toward membership to complete their payment before or during our annual meeting so that you can participate in this democratic process.

Nominations for Board of Directors

We are now accepting nominations from those wishing to serve the community on our board of directors. Any member of the New Orleans Food Community, Inc. is eligible to serve on our board of directors. Our board of directors will consist of no more than nine and no less than five members. Any member is eligible to run for a board position. We are encouraging those who have a strong commitment to our community and vision for the NOFC to consider running for the board of directors. Also, members with co-op or grocery, business/financial, legal, or previous nonprofit board experience would be an asset to our future board.

Please know that serving on the NOFC board of directors is a commitment of both time and energy. Those intending to serve on the NOFC board of directors should plan for the following: regularly attending our monthly two-hour board meetings, serving on one of our committees, spending a minimum of 5 hours a week on co-op related activities, and attending a retreat in early November for board training and team building as well as other, ongoing, capacity-building opportunities.

If you are interested in serving the NOFC on our board of directors, please include a statement with your reply to this e-mail. This statement could include a summary of your work, education, and general background, especially as it applies to cooperatives; special skills or qualities you bring to the process of governing the co-op; and your intention for serving on the board of the NOFC. All candidate statements will be sent out via e-mail to our members before the Oct. 15 meeting date, and copies will be available at the meeting itself. All nominees will have an opportunity to make a statement during our annual meeting. Nomination at the member meeting is also allowed.

Site Search Committee

It is unfortunate that we will not be able to open in the Healing Center on St. Roch and St. Claude as once planned. Our membership is actively searching for a new location and we encourage you to be part of this process. We are forming a Site Search Committee, and any member of the NOFC can be a part of this committee. The first Site Search Committee meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the Flora Cafe and Gallery, 2600 Royal St., corner of Franklin in the Marigny. If you are interested in being a part of this committee you can reply to (Amanda Zug-Moore) azugmoore (at) gmail (dot) com, or to (Erin Laine) erin (at) nolafoodcoop (dot) org, or just show up at Tuesday’s meeting.

Members Are Owners

Remember, as a member you are an owner of our co-op. Our yearly democratic election that takes place at our annual meeting is one of the great things about being a member of a co-op and sets us apart from other grocery stores. I look forward to seeing you on October 15 as we come together as a co-op and come closer to our dream of opening a cooperative grocery store.

Sincerely,

Erin Laine
Secretary, New Orleans Food Community

The Site Search Committee of the New Orleans Food Co-op will finally have it’s first meeting! We will meet at Flora Coffee Shop at 2600 Royal St., in the Marigny, next Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, 2008, at 6:30pm.

Contact Erin Laine (erin@thelaines.org) or Amanda Zugmoore (amandazugmoore@mac.com) if you have any questions.

Proposed Agenda:

I. Introductions
II. Discuss purpose of the committee
III. Select a committee chair
IV. Work on a plan of action and timeline

Our annual member meeting on Wed., October 15, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Holy Angels cafeteria at 3500 St. Claude, at Gallier. We’ll be electing our new board of directors for the following year, and will vote on any proposed bylaws changes. This will also be an informational meeting to discuss the progress our co-op has made since last year’s annual meeting, and changes in our future store location (the Sept. 3 meeting was cancelled due to the hurricane evacuation).

Anyone can attend this meeting, but you must be a member of the NOFC to vote. It is necessary for a person to be paid in full before they are a voting member of the NOFC. We encourage those who are making payments toward membership to complete their payment before or during our annual meeting so that you can participate in this democratic process.

The next meeting of the New Orleans Food Co-op Board of Directors will be Tuesday, 9/16/08 at 6:00 pm in the NOFC office, 621B N. Rendon Street. That’s in the Mid City neighborhood.

Any member is welcome to attend.