2 minute read
From the Board President
Seasons of Change
By Alana Lucia, Board President
Another harvest is upon us.
Personally, we’re bringing in the last of summer’s bounty and tucking it away for winter, tidying up the beds, winterizing the barn. As a child, my grandmother would always beam when she looked into a pantry full of homegrown, homemade jars of goodness; I’ve inherited her deep sense of pride and gratitude. When I sit on the porch and shell beans with my grandson, I feel all’s well with the world.
Our work on the Board also has a cyclical nature. Soon, we’ll review next year’s budgets, plan recruitment for the next Board election and continue monitoring our policies. We’re also harvesting — reaping lessons learned during the most recent “new normal.” There were many challenges, and we found new methods of doing things with less time and resources. We’re proud of our new technological skills. While we’re all taking different personal approaches to navigating today’s world, we agree as a co-op we’ll follow the state’s mandates and that kindness and compassion will lead our actions.
As the recently-elected Board President, I’d like to tell you a little about myself. I worked at BriarPatch in 2007 — the final months in the Joerschke store and the first few months in the Sierra College Drive store, in the Produce Department and as a Cashier. It was a fun place to work, but not as organized as we are today. Once our daughter was born, I stayed home with her for the first few years, gardening and focusing on the home. I’m looking forward to lending my perspective and experience to stewarding the Co-op through our expansion to Auburn.
Gardening hasn’t come easy to me; I’ve worked hard for any food I’ve grown. What I did grow was a deep respect for our own local farmers. As the years pass, I’m a better gardener and we now grow a good bit of our own food. From seed to plate, there’s so much work and planning to make food available for people. In my work on the BriarPatch Board, I’ve gained a keen appreciation of the "other" work in this process. I’ve always been active in environmental causes; one of our biggest impacts is how we procure our foods. Our work on the Board influences our small, local community and hopefully ripples out to create a positive global impact. I’m excited how we’ll continue with what we’ve learned over these past couple of years, focusing on a new sense of community as we expand to a second store and continue to meet the community’s needs…and also decide on past practices to return to.
