The next meeting of the NOFC Board Meeting will take place on Monday April 26th at 6:00 PM at the home of  Board Treasurer, Rachel Riezman (517 Telemachus St).

A draft agenda will be posted here 1 week prior to the meeting and a final agenda will be published three days prior to the meeting.

The next Potluck Working Group Meeting will be on Wednesday, April 21st at 6:00 PM. The Healing Center will be under construction by then so we will be meeting at Holy Angels Convent (3500 St. Claude Ave.)

The Agenda will be similar to those previous, with a half hour for eating and greeting followed by time for working groups to strategize, and then time for them to come together for any larger collaborative work.

The draft agenda will be posted 1 week prior to the meeting and will be considered final 3 days before the meeting.

Hope to see everyone there!!

New Orleans Food Co-op Board of Directors Meeting

March 6, 2010

New Orleans Healing Center (2372 St. Claude Ave)

Board Members In Attendance: John C, Mimi D, Scott G, Mac L, Rachel R, Michael S

Non-Board Members In Attendance: Jim B, Victoria B, Leah F, Mark G, Elisa M

1) Meeting called to order at 11:12am.

2) The meeting agenda was reviewed by those present. Victoria requested an addition to the agenda to request an expense for a new web hosting system. John C asked for clarity regarding

3) The NOFC Mission was read aloud by Scott G.

4) Announcements: Elisa M let everyone know that Louisiana apparently has a cooperative housing law. Leah F announced that an application for the Sunday Grocery will be submitted today. Scott acknowledged the work that Michael S has done in moving the Capital Outlay request forward.

For the purpose of transparency, Jim B stated that he is considering applying for the job of NOFC GM in the future.

5) The Working Group Reports were reviewed by those present. The Communications Work Group gave no report. Discussion was held regarding the need to recruit more volunteers to support the Communications Work Group and the Sunday Grocery Work Group. The Communications Work Group is a bottleneck right now, so there needs to be some new volunteers to support that work group chair. The Sunday Grocery Work Group will need at least 3 volunteers beyond the co-chairs each Sunday.

Scott G moved that the Board directs the Communications Working Group to reorganize it’s structure so that more than a single person has the rights and responsibilities to ensure that Communications Working Group expectations are met. Motion carried unanimously.

John C asked for clarification regarding current NOFC organizational structure. Mac clarified that he is acting as a fill-in for project management until a GM is hired. Therefore, specific tasks that are not being followed up on can be brought to him as the Board chair.

6) Sunday Grocery Report was given by Leah F, and reviewed the Sunday Grocery timeline and opening budget. Those present discussed the Sunday Grocery timeline and budget. The Sunday Grocery plans to be opened as a farmer’s market the first week of April. It will be open to the public for shopping, and be sourced wholesale. Outstanding issues include permits, sourcing, finding volunteers and securing donated equipment rather than buying new. Leah will send her needs to Victoria who will ensure these needs are communicated

7) The Treasurer’s Report was given by Rachel R. Rachel provided a balance sheet for all NOFC accounts, outstanding invoices yet to be paid, and profit/loss statements for the time that the current Board has been sitting (October 2009 – March 2010). Rachel has created reports showing all the profit/loss since the NOFC began, and has balanced all the Quickbooks accounts.

Rachel requests that any expenses that will be incurred to sent to her via email as soon as the person who needs reimbursement or will incur the expense knows about it. Rachel will continue to create these reports, probably around the middle of each month, and will report to the Board about them at each Board meeting.

Web Forum Communications report was given by Victoria B. She has been researching web forum software so that all NOFC communication can be viewed in a simple manner on the website by anyone. She researched various options. At the last meeting, the Communications Working Group was authorized $120/month to pay for the web forum and mass email function. Victoria requested the Board to authorize a one time payment of $2,235.00 for web-design and web hosting services as well as to purchase ExpressionEngine software; an entirely new web package that would also require $125 annual cost.

John C made a motion to approve Victoria’s request for $2,235.00 for the expense of migrating the NOFC website using ExpressionEngine, provided the hosting services are located within the United States. Rachel R seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

9) Proposed Membership Policy changes. John C and Mac L drafted seven specific motions for membership policy changes that are attached. The membership brochure needs to be updated, and the membership sub-committee needs clarity on member benefits to get the brochure updated.

Scott G is interested in the NOFC seeking legal counsel from the attorney that did our reincorporation to weigh in on the legality of changing the member policies when the NOFC has a different contractual relationship with its members, because we are changing the nature of equity interests and property rights in the corporation.

Victoria B is wary of the NOFC altering the membership policy in midstream [while capitalizing the start-up store]. She also suggests the NOFC develop clear criteria for what low income actually means, rather than change the policy to make it easier for the co-op. This can be a guideline on the brochure. She suggests retaining the current structure and further emphasizing donations beyond equity investment.

Mimi D asked whether we need to discuss whether we want to create a membership fee.

John C made a motion to establish a patronage refund system. Michael S seconded the motion. Motion passed by a vote of 5 yays, 0 nays, and 1 abstention.

The Membership Sub-committee will seek legal advice to establish the legal mechanism to make policy changes that affect the nature of equity interests and property rights of the co-op owners.

Scott made a motion to authorize and direct the Membership Sub-committee to hire a lawyer to establish the legal mechanism to make policy changes such as the substance of the proposed membership policies that affect the nature of equity interests and property rights of the co-op owners. John C seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

10) Sunday Grocery Budget Proposal. Motion made to allocate $2,685.47 of NOFC funds for the Sunday Grocery proposal attached, as it complies with local and state ordinance and health law. Motion passed unanimously. Sunday Grocery will make all attempts to get donated or second hand equipment to reduce costs.

11) GM Search Committee Budget Proposal. Motion made to allocate $3,630.00 of NOFC funds for the GM Search Committee Budget Proposal attached, to include CDS consultant costs. Motion passed unanimously.

12) GM Search Committee Timeline. Motion made to approve the GM Search Committee Timeline. Motion passed unanimously. Leah F suggested that the functions of the GM Search Committee should be decentralized to allow for maximum member involvement.

The next NOFC Working Group Meeting Potluck will be held on Wednesday, March 24 at 6pm at the New Orleans Healing Center.

The next NOFC Board Governance Meeting will be held on Monday, March 29 at 6pm at the New Orleans Healing Center.

Meeting adjourned at 2:22pm.

The NOFC Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday March 29th at 6:00 PM at the New Orleans Healing Center.

DRAFT Agenda 3/29/2010

6:00 PM Call Meeting to Order Review Agenda (5minutes)

6:05 Read the Co-Op Mission (1min)

6:06 Announcements (10 min)

6:16 Invitation for Member Input (9minutes)

6:25 Treasurer’s Report (5 minutes)

6:30 Unfinished Business (0minutes)

6:30 New Business (20 minutes)

6:50 Time and Date of Next Meeting (5 minutes)

6:55 Over-Run Time (30 minutes)

7:25 Adjourn Meeting

The Board of Directors will be holding a special meeting on Tuesday March 16th, 2010 at 6:00 pm at the NOFC office 621 B N. Rendon.

The purpose of the meeting is to approve spending $1000 to become the lead sponsor of New Orleans Veggie Fest.