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honest
SLATE
Honest Slate is published monthly by HWFC’s Communica ons Commi ee to
A pla orm for communica on among HWFC Membership, Staff, Management, and Governance:
• Promo ng transparency • Repor ng news without bias • Sustaining community
The Annual Report is here!
novemBer 2018 Honest Weight Food Co-op 100 Watervliet Avenue Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667
• honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop h ps://www.honestweight.coop/
•CONTENTS•
bring you news about the store, commi ee ac ons, recent Board decisions and more about our unique enterprise.
Cooking up a Storm ................ 2-3
in this issue: •November finds us preparing for
Coffeehouse News ..................... 4
Connec ng with Community ...... 3 Fabulous Farro ........................... 4 NEC Survey ................................ 5
the month’s upcoming seasonal tradi ons. Join local U.S. veterans for a bite Monday, Nov. 12 and honor their service (this page); find out how the Meat Department is readying for Thanksgiving (page 5 ); and read contribu ons from Co-op community members reflec ng on gra tude (page 8). In a feature we trace the meline behind a project intended to benefit the Co-op which ul mately fell through. Find out how and why on pages 2 and 3. This month we also introduce our first of what we hope will become regular recipes geared towards conscious nutri on with an informa ve accompanying ar cle by Erin Donahue (page 4). Honest Slate cordially welcomes the Nutrion and Educa on Commi ee’s monthly survey to its pages. This month’s ques onnaire concerns Thanksgiving prepara on; turn to page 5 to par cipate. And as always, catch up on commi ee news (page 7) and Board decisions (page 8).
We now have a limited number of paper copies of the current Honest Slate issue available in the store. If you are reading a print version, please consider passing it along to a friend or colleague when you are done reading; or return to the store for others to enjoy as well. Let’s share sustainably, and happy holidays! —HWFC Communica ons Commi ee
Meat & Seafood News ................ 5 From the Board .......................... 6 Commi ee Corner ..................... 7 Gra tude .................................... 8 Board Decisions ......................... 8 Q&A/Sugges on Box ................. 9 Care to Share? ......................... 10 The Annual Report covers progress made in Fiscal Year 2017-18 within HWFC. It is accessible to all readers as it contains no proprietary or confiden al informa on. (Member-Owners can obtain financial statements separately). For in-depth news from all corners go to: h ps://www.honestweight.coop/page/ annual-reports-211.html And click on: 2017-2018 Annual Report Or pick up a copy in the store. Read all about it!
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Email: honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
Find current and past edi ons of Honest Slate at: h ps://www.honestweight.coop/
Cookie Challenge! .................... 10
DONUTS for VETERANS On Monday, Nov. 12, HWFC will provide free coffee along with complimentary Cider Belly donuts to veterans between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Last year, veterans from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marines took advantage of this special event. Once again, daughters of local veterans will be serving the coffee and donuts. This is an annual event at HWFC to honor our veterans for their dedica on and service, and we thank Cider Belly for its generous dona on. —Maria Schollenberger
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Cooking Up a Storm by Carol Ostrow Editor’s note: Barbara Chepai s approached Honest Slate about telling her story and agreed to an interview format to allow clarifica on of the issues. Local author Barbara Chepai s wanted to produce an Honest Weight cookbook. Working in the HWFC kitchen as a Member-Owner from late 2014 through 2016, she loved the posi ve atmosphere; she recalled that it was “the best place ever... I’ve never seen a kitchen like it.” So about 8 months in, “I did what writers do; I inves gated,” speaking with Staff and Management at the me—primarily former Communica ons Director Lily Bartels. “I asked Lily about it, pursued it with the chef and we sat down to structure the recipes. Lily was very into it.” Barbara envisioned a community-oriented cookbook en tled “The Coopera ve Kitchen.” Popular publica on or outmoded medium? “Lily had men oned something about a cookbook in early 2016, but the Board of Directors didn’t know any details,” said current Board member Nate Horwitz, one of the newer Board members at that me. “There was also the issue of usefulness,” he added, no ng that he cooks daily and has an “enormous” cookbook collec on; yet when he looks up a recipe now, it’s online. Barbara recalled, “I kept saying to Lily, ‘do I need to communicate with the Board?’ And she said she would handle it.” So Barbara created a dra , met with a publisher at SUNY, and signed a contract. SUNY paid her a $5,000 advance to research, write and structure the book; she intended HWFC to receive the royal es, if there were any. “Lily knew we [Barbara and SUNY] signed off on the contract and that everything was a go.” “Then I got word that the Board wanted to talk to me” … a er Lily le . A management restructuring had eliminated the Communica ons Leader posi on in mid-May 2016; Barbara signed the SUNY contract in late May. Did she realize that
the project hadn’t been approved? “I have to say,” said Nate, “that when you’ve been nego a ng with a management that’s in such upheaval and then your contact is let go, to go ahead and sign the contract without checking in with the new people just doesn’t seem like a wise move.” In August 2016, Barbara made a presentaon to the Board at which she recalls saying, “If there was any lapse in communica on I apologize but I thought you knew about it.”
CommunicaƟon Calamity? Some weeks before her presenta on at the Aug. 23 Board mee ng, Barbara met with two then-Board members, who were joined by Rick Mausert and two staff members: then-Member-Owner Coordinator Janet Sorell and then-Educa on Coordinator Georgia Julius. According to Janet, who now serves on the Board, Barbara had been asked to bring the contract and all materials to the mee ng but did not do so. At the mee ng, one of the Board members informed Barbara that the Board would not decide whether the project could move forward un l the terms of the contract were known by the Board.
“I had the contract and management knew about it.”—Barbara Chepai s At the September Board mee ng, a er having received and reviewed the contract, the Board discussed and ul mately voted against publishing a cookbook. According to current Board member Carolynn Presser, who was also one of the newer Board members at the me, the Board’s mee ng minutes reflect their public discussion about the Board’s legal concerns and unknown potenal costs to HWFC, and their decision. However, the Board’s correspondence records show that the Board Secretary emailed Barbara right a er the public mee ng to make sure she knew the Board’s decision as soon as possible (otherwise there is a generally a month’s delay before decisions and minutes are posted.)
November 2018 Barbara stated that she contacted the Board asking them to explain why, but no one responded. Forced to return her advance to SUNY, she said it damaged her professional reputa on. “If someone had explained what happened that might’ve helped. I s ll don’t understand. I do not feel the fault was [previous management]’s,” Barbara noted. “The Board acknowledged hearing about it. To me that was the main problem.” Carolynn explained, “The issue was beyond whether individual Board members just knew about the cookbook. They had not approved it.” She conveyed that the main problem was that Barbara’s contract was between SUNY and her alone; and that Barbara had promised SUNY she could use the Co-op’s resources at her (and by extension, SUNY’s) discre on. HWFC wasn’t part of the contract and therefore had no say in any of it. Since HWFC was not a party to the contract, the Co-op was under no legal obliga on to accept the arrangement. According to Carolynn, Barbara’s error was in making a promise to SUNY without defini ve backing of the Co-op. “Her contract with SUNY was hers alone, yet the recipes, materials, Staff me, and the name were Honest Weight’s. It seems that she did not consider any financial impacts on the Co-op,” Carolynn said. “This was a me when the Co-op was really trying to tamp down on spending,” Nate added. “The books did not look good. We needed to be austere in spending. Spending several thousand dollars seemed like a very bad use of the Co-op’s money.” The Board explained their reasoning publicly at the September Board mee ng with their specific objec ons detailed in minutes posted in October 2016. Not having personally received a detailed explana on, Barbara wrote the Board sta ng that she had contacted a lawyer; and asserts no one tried to resolve the issue amicably. “Did the Board realize that the contract was nego able?” she queried, sta ng that the con nued on page 3
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
November 2018
Honest Slate
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Cooking Up a Storm con nued from page 2 Co-op’s investment in the project was never explained to her and averring that she retains ownership of her cookbook concept. She suggested that “if they want to feel free to pursue a cookbook, they can buy me out for $5000. They can have all the work.” “I really believed strongly in this project,” Barbara said. “To me it was so posi ve. The moment they saw the contract they expressed dislike. [This treatment] was a total culture shock … I le the kitchen and am no longer a Co-op member. It was very painful and I felt betrayed.”
Such an arrangement “is not prac cal or reasonable. And we couldn’t re-nego ate a contract we weren’t part of in the first place.
What is to be learned? Barbara feels that lack of communica on resulted in shabby treatment. The Co-op’s posi on is that we were asked a er-the-fact to bankroll and give our name and resources to a project we had no say in.
“The problem was the process
“The process was the problem,” Carolynn said. “It’s unfortunate she feels jilted, because she is a member of our community, but we have no other obliga on to Barbara for our decision or the use of our own resources.”
of a emp ng to bind us to a ‘done deal,’ a private contract signed with a third party.” –Carolynn Presser
Making Amends? What would the author say to the current Board, given the opportunity? At this point, Barbara doesn’t want to talk to the Board. “I know it’s changed since then [but] I s ll feel bad personally that the project didn’t go through. It had a great deal of heart.” Carolynn responded that there are no hard feelings on the Co-op’s part. “It’s not personal,” she clarified. “I know Barbara didn’t like the decision, [and] I don’t dispute her inten ons. [But] a private conversa on with either management or a third party cannot bind the Co-op. That was the founda on of the Board’s objec on.”
“We had no influence over it and yet we were being asked to foot the bill … in food, staffing, me, talent, name and reputa on. It’s not logical or fair to Honest Weight. The rough cost es mate was $15,000 to $20,000—without knowing there was even a market for it, given the internet. We discussed all of this at the me.”
“I am sorry about the way they felt about the contract,” Barbara concluded. “It would feel good to resolve this in a more producve way. It’s been a wound; I miss the kitchen, [but] I’m trying to walk away.” “If they ever want to apologize to me they have my number. And they can include chocolate.” •
Nate expressed regret over the incident, sta ng that “Even the loss of one person ma ers.” As a former Membership Coordinator (now called the “MOC”), he wants to keep everyone happy. “There were no good choices in this situa on,” he allowed.
Connecting with Community Workshop at HWFC Please join us on November 27 from 7:00 un l 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room.
Don’t miss your last chance in 2018 to a end one of these community building events! If, how, and when we present these opportuni es in 2019 is up for discussion; there will be no Connec ng with Community Workshop in December. Please send us any feedback or comments you have about the experience and accessibility of community at YOUR Co-op. —Yeve e Buddeau
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
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Tuscan Farro Salad This recipe features warm nu y farro, tossed with dark Tuscan kale and roasted bu ernut squash, finished with a maple balsamic dressing.
Salad 1 bu ernut squash, chopped into ½ inch cubes 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small shallot, sliced thin ½ tsp salt 1 cup farro 1 ½ cups water nuts and/or seeds (op onal) 1 bunch lacinato kale 1 apple, diced crumbled tangy cheese, like feta or goat (op onal)
Dressing 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp maple syrup salt and pepper • Farro:
Recipe and ar cle by Erin Donohue
Directions Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Toss the bu ernut squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread onto a sheet pan. Roast un l tender, or about 2530 minutes, flipping once. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add farro and toast in oil for about 5 minutes, s rring o en. Reduce heat. Then, add water and salt. Simmer un l farro is cooked and tender (about 25 minutes). Chop the kale and place in a large bowl. Add a bit of the dressing and massage the kale un l it is so and wilted. Add the farro, bu ernut squash, shallots, nuts, apple, and cheese if using. Add some of the dressing and toss.
The Glorious Grain •
Providing six grams of protein and 20% of the Daily Value for fiber per serving, it is not surprising that Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder once referred to emmer as far adoreum, or glorious grain. Thousands of years earlier, it was one of the first eight crops of the Fer le Crescent. Farming provided a reliable abundance of food, specifically hearty grains, which allowed popula ons to boom and develop into early civiliza ons. Emmer, a nutri ous and rela vely easy-to-harvest grain, was shared and traded across the Old World. It was a staple component of ancient Egypan diets and has been found in the tombs of pharaohs. On the Italian Peninsula, emmer fed common people and soldiers, and was ceremoniously baked into sacred cakes and offered to the gods. Today, emmer is more commonly known by its Italian name, farro, as it has maintained a well-established culva on in Italy and is even grown as an Indicazione Geografica Prote a (a label that protects its geographic iden ty) in Tuscany.
November 2018
As agriculture developed, farmers selec vely bred grains to create new higher-yielding crops, like common wheat. Although hulled wheats were eventually cast aside in favor of these crops, farro is has made a strong modern revival. Its nu y flavor is a perfect complement to fall favorites, such as roasted root vegetables, winter squashes, and dark greens. Simmer toasted farro into a riso o in lieu of rice, or bake it pre-cooked as the base of a holiday stuffing or pilaf. Add a handful of it to soups and salads where its pleasantly chewy texture can shine. Farro can be sold whole, semi-pearled, or pearled. Pearling is a process that removes the hull and bran of the grain, effec vely cu ng cook me in half. To prepare, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan. Toast 1 cup of farro for about five minutes. Add 1 ½ cups of water and some salt. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer un l water is absorbed (about 25 minutes). You can find organic Italian pearled farro in the Bulk Department.
Coffeehouse News We just passed the 1-year anniversary for the coffeehouse and they had a great celebra on event about it. Many thanks to Joan Kosby and Paul Mercer of Alien Folklife for being the anniversary spotlight performers! We also would like to send out a message of gra tude to everyone who has contributed to this fun monthly event! Keep the crea vity coming! —Yeve e Buddeau Some Helpful Info: Owner = One who has purchased an Ownership Interest (formerly called a Share) at the Co-op Member-Owner = An Owner who is up to date on all me-investment hours and payments. Respect = A Happy Co-op
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
November 2018
EC NSu r ve y
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It’s Fall. The leaves are changing color from green to red, yellow and orange. The weather is ge ng cooler and we turn our thoughts to Thanksgiving. Whether you are a tradi onalist who prepares turkey and all the trimmings, or a vegan, it’s me to plan the feast.
November 2018
The Nutri on and Educa on Commi ee presents its November survey with ques ons & answer choices shown below.
• 1. Where do you plan on celebra ng Thanksgiving? My home Rela ves Friends Restaurant Will have it catered Other 2. What will be the protein choice in your main course? Turkey Chicken beef Duck Goose Fish Vegan Other 3. Did you know that the deli department can help you cater your Thanksgiving meal? Yes No 4. Do you intend to purchase most of your ingredients at the Co-op? Yes No 5. If not, why not? [Open answer]
• Visit our online link or go to h ps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFY3F5P
to share your answers.
Gears up for & t a Me Seasonal Sales
Seafood
By Moses Durr, Meat & Seafood Manager; and Stephen Quickenton, Director of Opera ons November and December are not surprisingly our highest sales months of the year in the Meat & Seafood Department. Within those months, our sales are highly concentrated in the week leading up to and the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas. With this uptake in sales, comes some stress, but also lots of excitement as we provide the centerpiece to our customers holiday dinners. We are grateful for this honor, and take the responsibility seriously. Each year as we are taking special orders for turkey’s, rib roasts, and tenderloins, we do everything we do provide as much honest detail about the product, and to fulfill every order to our customers expecta ons. Last year we sold over 11,000 lbs. worth of turkeys! To sell that many turkeys, we plan out our purchases months ahead with our distributor and local farms based on the prior year’s sales. We also bring in a temporary refrigerated truck to store what we can’t hold in the department. A er we close the store the day before Thanksgiving, we freeze our remaining turkeys and sell them frozen. This year we are happy to have con nuity: all the turkeys we are selling now are the same kinds which we sold last year. All of
our turkeys are fresh, never frozen, fed a vegetarian diet, allowed to roam free, and raised without hormones or an bio cs. About 50% of the turkeys we sell are Plainville Natural and Plainville Organic, but it’s the smaller farms that we’re most excited about. Misty Knoll has a cult like following at our store and others around Vermont. We sell their chicken and turkey yearround, and take pre-orders on their turkeys in sizes ranging from 11-28 pounds. Misty Knoll turkeys are fed a whole grain diet and allowed to range free in spacious, specifically designed enclosures. Turkeys are processed on-site in their own USDA-inspected facility and graded by hand. Working with smaller farms does have its challenges; some mes all of a farm’s birds are sold, and if they don’t reach the size they were expec ng, they don’t have anything else to send us. Each year at least one set of turkeys does not come in in the size we were told and expected. At this point, we convey the possibility of this happening to our customers up front as they place their orders and are grateful they work through this challenge of suppor ng small businesses with us. We appreciate everyone’s support through this fun and exci ng me. Also, if anyone is looking for a department to invest me in, we are always looking for new member owners. Sadly, this carnivore-friendly department is one of the least popular departments to invest me in! Happy Holidays from the Meat & Seafood Department!
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
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Honest Slate
November 2018
From the Board At the October Board mee ng, we had the pleasure of mee ng HWFC’s two new Staff representa ves to the Board: Alex Alois and Becca Dinhofer. Alex and Becca raised several important issues, among them the Board’s response to Staff ’s presenta on at the June Membership Mee ng. Staff asked Member-Owners what they thought of their ideas about higher wages, a possible upper Management wage freeze, a 1:3 wage ra o, and salary transparency. Without a financial context for Staff ’s ideas, Member-Owners naturally endorsed the proposals offered, showing their support of our highly valued and skilled HWFC Staff. There is no denying it: Our Staff badly need higher wages. We want our Staff to know that the Board hears you. We agree with you. We too want to offer a living wage to our employees. We are doing everything we can to increase your compensa on within our current constraints. When the Board hired the CCO and CFO in July 2016, it directed them to restore HWFC’s financial stability and to improve Staff compensa on and benefits as much as our finances would allow. The Board directed Management not to u lize layoffs or pay freezes. For every budget during their watch, Rick Mausert, CCO and Erin Mar n, CFO have adhered to the Board’s instrucons, examining every means to increase our sales revenues, curtail expenses, and use revenues and savings to, among other necessi es, improve wages and benefits. Rick and Erin have “run the numbers” to address wage issues, including wage compression and earnings required to advance all employees to $15.00 per hour. Such an across-the-board wage increase would raise HWFC’s employee expense by at least $493,000. In order to implement and maintain an embedded cost increase of $493,000, our profit margin dictates that we must first increase sales by at least $1.2 million per year without adding more Staff.
•Staff bonuses were paid in September with the Board vo ng to double the baseline amount to acknowledge our Staff ’s great work in facilita ng our success. •Reinstated Admin Supervisor Evalua ons so that admin Employees can provide feedback for supervisor evalua ons as Staff do in the sales departments.
Board of Directors member Janet Sorell; photo by Drea Leanza
If we were to adopt and embed a $15 per hour wage this year, we would breach our loan EBITDA requirements for the next five years. Freezing salaries or cu ng salaries to a 1:3 ra o conflicts with the values and policies of our Employee Manual which s pulates that salary cuts or freezes must apply to all Staff and cannot be applied only to some. All HWFC employees, including the CCO and CFO, are governed and protected by our Bylaws’ Just Cause provision which also protects the terms on which employees are hired. Rick and Erin worked hard to refinance our debt; and a er being rejected as “high risk” by two banks, succeeded in June 2017. The re-fi reduced HWFC’s overall debt by $1.1 million and cut our interest rate from 5.31% to 4.12%. Due to wise financial strategy, cost savings, and the steady hard work of Staff and Member-Owners, as of July 2018, we had reduced HWFC’s total long-term debt from $9,266,916 to $5,830,627—a phenomenal achievement but s ll a formidable challenge. While faced with severe financial constraints, we have tried to improve Staff ’s work environment and overall compensaon. In the past few months the Board has made these improvements:
•Finance Commi ee presenta ons at All Staff Mee ngs are ongoing. In the spirit of transparency, Dennis Caplan has a ended two All Staff mee ngs to share informaon and answer ques ons. •A Mission-Based Team of Educa on, Member-Services and Outreach Coordinators was created to steer, implement, and promote our mission including People, Planet, and Profit. The MBT will partner with the Marke ng Department to shape events and programs promo ng collabora ve and coopera ve awareness and prac ces ensuring that we stay true to our values both internally and externally. These improvements are in the pipeline: •Snow Policy development is in progress by Rick Mausert as requested by Staff and directed by the Board at our October mee ng. We want to ensure that parameters and procedures are in place this winter, and thanks to IT, an emergency text response is underway. •“Customer” Service Feedback op ons are under discussion by the Board so that Staff who have significant interac ons with other departments can offer their input. •Open Book Management should resume in 2019 in response to Staff requests for its return. We look forward to a produc ve rela onship with HWFC’s new Staff Reps. As we con nue to brainstorm ways to increase profits, cut expenses and, thereby, increase bonus funds, we welcome your ideas!—Janet Sorell •
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
Honest Slate
November 2018
committee corner: Monthly HWFC MeeƟng Summaries
by Stephanie Conde
This is a summary of preliminary commi ee reports submi ed to the Board of Directors for the Nov. 6 Board mee ng. Commi ee reports are available on the HWFC website upon Board approval. In October, most commi ees prepared for and par cipated in the Commi ee Fair at the Oct. 28 Membership Mee ng. Sales & Fiscal Performance / Finance CommiƩee The Co-op’s Profit & Loss Statement for the third quarter (July-September 2018) shows a pa ern of consistently accurate projecons for sales, cost of goods (purchases) and expenses, with the excep on of “Miscellaneous Income” which was $10k above the projec on. See the en re report for details. Personnel CommiƩee (PC) The PC con nues revising the disciplinary process sec on of the Employee Manual. The PC solicited readers to review its changes to the Employee Manual, and a MC member has agreed to help (see below). CommunicaƟons CommiƩee (CC) The CC completed its work on the Co-op’s Annual Report and delivered copies to the October Membership Mee ng. Copies of the Annual Report are available at the HWFC Customer Service Desk and at the entrance slat wall. The CC is pleased with the progress of Honest Slate and welcomes contribu ons from Member-Owners, Staff, Management and Board Members at any me. (Those interested in receiving me investment credit should first contact the commi ee for approval at honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop.) Honest Slate will con nue to feature one “floor” Department ar cle and one column from the Board of Directors monthly but will no longer rou nely request monthly contribu ons from Management. The CC requested that the Board reinstate a monthly or semi-monthly “Coffee with the Board” type event to allow direct
communica on between Member-Owners and Board Members in addi on to exis ng formal structures (monthly mee ngs and liaisons). Membership CommiƩee (MC) One MC member offered to provide requested feedback to the PC for revisions to the disciplinary process contained in the Employee Manual. The MC received Board approval to add minimum requirements to the Member-Owner Manual for Board service. MC members favor recommending certain quali es and experience (rather than setng requirements). Judith and Alan will incorporate ques ons about Board service into future orienta ons. The MC planned for and tabled at the Home-Grown Happening held on Oct. 20. At the Board liaison’s sugges on, the MC will consider holding the Ice Cream Social and Cabin Fever events in conjunc on with quarterly Membership Mee ngs instead of as stand-alone events. The MC hopes this approach will bolster a endance at the both the socials and the Membership Mee ngs. Some MC members will review and cross-reference the By-Laws and the Member-Owner Manual. Once these MC members complete their review, the MC as a whole will review the comparison. ElecƟons and NominaƟons CommiƩee (ENC) The ENC administered nomina ons and the elec on for GRC seats. ENC members reminded current GRC members who planned to run of the upcoming deadline. Member-Owners who voiced interest in other posi ons were contacted to determine possible interest in joining the GRC. The ENC is developing ques ons that mod-
7 erators will rou nely ask all candidates during “Meet the Candidates” events. Ballots for the Oct. 28 Membership Meeting were finalized and approved. The ENC requested that the Board approve their request that the By-Laws Panel review suggested changes to By-Laws Sec on 461 to ensure that it adequately describes the ENC’s responsibili es (par cularly in light of changes to the ENC’s du es over the last three years). Members of the Board will a end the ENC’s Nov. 14 mee ng to par cipate in discussions on proposed workshops to be organized by an ad hoc commi ee. NutriƟon & EducaƟon CommiƩee (NEC) The NEC received approval for its November survey ques ons. The NEC’s survey will now appear monthly in Honest Slate u lizing Survey Monkey. The NEC will work with Management following the Board’s approval to print the Food and Product Manual in a larger font and to move the FPM’s online link directly under the “Shopping HWFC” menu. Environment CommiƩee (EC) In October, the EC completed wri ng and edi ng its Report and Recommenda ons for Moving Toward Zero Waste at the Coop. The 13-page report summarizes the EC’s 15-month examina on of waste management prac ces and systems at HWFC and its subsequent recommenda ons. The EC requested Board approval on their report and recommenda ons as well as 1520 minutes on the next Board agenda to highlight their findings. The EC was pleased to find three or four poten al new members at the Commi ee Fair. CommiƩee Reports Not Included Here Reports for the following commi ees were not available for this edi on: Bylaws Commi ee, Honest Arts Commi ee, and Governance Review Council (GRC). Commi ee reports are rou nely posted on the HWFC website once approved by the Board.
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
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What are you grateful for? As one of the Co-op’s many first members, I am grateful for all the ingenious, knowledgeable, and talented people I have met while connected with the HWFC over the past years. With unique ideas and team effort, they have donated a tremendous amount of dedicated hours to establish a store for the community as well as for members. Their con nued efforts to provide sustainable food and products for themselves, their families, and the community are to be highly commended. —Joan LaChappelle
I am grateful for my growing family as well as, the healthy, natural and sustainable ideals which the co-op provides that make it easier for me to live and teach these ideals to the people important to me. Happy Thanksgiving! —Courtney Semoff I’m grateful for the Co-op’s triple bottom line—people, planet, and profits—and for the Co-op’s members, owners and staff who generously share their me, talent, and cooperave spirit. HWFC’s road is rocky from me to me; s ll, its people work diligently to fulfill its purpose. Thank you! I’m grateful for the safety of the food and merchandise available at the Co-op. The peace of mind and me savings I’m afforded while shopping are priceless. —Stephanie Conde I am grateful for the people at Honest Weight who listen and try to help others (and I am also thankful for our new Honest Slate ) —Maria Schollenberger
Submissions Policy We welcome contribu ons to Honest Slate at HonestSlate-AT- honestweight.coop observing the following policy:
• Word limit for ar cles is 500 words unless otherwise requested. Material is published at the discre on of the Honest Slate team; only signed ar cles will be accepted; all ar cles are subject to edi ng for length, grammar, style and cita ons. Ar cles deemed controversial will be reviewed before publishing. Writers must substan ate claims with facts and avoid inflammatory language. Ar cles regarded as harmful to individuals will be returned to the writer for non-personal rephrasing. Ar cles referring to HWFC policies and prac ces will be referred to the appropriate individual or body prior to publica on. We may consider unsolicited material but encourage individuals to first submit ar cle ideas. Spontaneously submi ed work is not guaranteed to earn me investment or acceptance for publica on and is subject to the same edi ng and proofing policies as assigned work.
Statement of Purpose: Honest Slate is a pla orm for communica on among HWFC Membership, Staff, Management, and Governance: promo ng transparency, repor ng news without bias, and sustaining community. Ar cles in Honest Slate are for informa onal purposes and are not intended to diagnose or treat disease. Opinions expressed in Honest Slate do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Honest Slate or Honest Weight Food Co-op. All contents ©2018 Honest Weight Food Co-op; any material appearing in Honest Slate may not be reproduced in any form without the express wri en consent of HWFC.
November 2018
board meeting decisions HWFC’s Board of Directors approved the following at the 6:15 p.m. Board Mee ng Nov. 6, 2018:
•The Environment Commi ee will add two items to its work plan: •Prepare a statement of conscience regarding a move toward zero waste which will be recommended to the membership for a vote. •The commi ee will determine three to five a ainable recommenda ons to tackle and note which exis ng personnel and/or Member-Owners would be the appropriate point people
•The Finance Commi ee work plan and the commi ee member me investment descrip on was approved. •The proposed Coopera ve Re-Commitment Job Descrip on Addi ons to the management job descrip ons were accepted with some changes discussed during the mee ng. •HWFC Member-Owners may earn up to three hours from December 1 through May 7 for a ending a board mee ng or mee ngs for as many hours of credit. • The following HWFC community members contributed to this issue: David Bulnes Yeve e Buddeau Stephanie Conde Erin Donahue Olivia Dunn Moses Durr Alena Gerli Joan LaChappelle Drea Leanza Carol Ostrow Carolynn Presser Stephen Quickenton Courtney Semoff Janet Sorell Tyler Varese Will you join us? Write a le er to the editors or inquire about repor ng, wri ng or producing at honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop.
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
November 2018
Q &A
from the Suggestion Box Q: Please take straws and put them out of sight at cash registers. Give customers one only if they ask. This will cut down on their use. Thanks! A: We have done away with the plas c straws. Biodegradable (compostable) straws are available at the juice/coffee bar. Plas c straws at the register are being phased out! Q: Why did you get rid of the mini carts? A: We found that the mini carts were a safety risk in our store. Please read the arcle on page 5 of September’s Honest Slate at h ps://www.dropbox.com/s/edommhcf1e12hnz/2018_9_September.pdf?dl=0. Q: We should be able to give customers the op on to email or have no receipt, maybe with a link to membership numbers. Mul ple customers have inquired about this. A: We are wai ng for the programmers with our POS vendor to write the so ware necessary to offer these op ons. Q: Keep being awesome. First me here and it is truly amazing! A: We’ll do our best! Glad you found us. Please come back o en to monitor awesomeness. Q: Vegetarian or vegan Reuben Sandwiches in Deli? A: We’ve tried it in the past with limited success. We may try it again as a special. Please stay tuned. Q: So kudos to Dan Hoh. All around great guy in many depts. friendly + helpful. A great employee! A: Dan has been a valuable member of our team in a few departments. His current manager Mo hopes he stays in meat. Thanks for reminding us about Dan’s greatness! Q: Zach, a cashier, is a delight to work with. What a smile! A: We love Zach! We’re glad that you took the me to remind us that he’s a cashier par exemplar!!!
Honest Slate
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Submit sugges on box comments and ques ons on forms provided at the Front End service desk.
Q: I want to ask that gluten free muffins always be made fresh. When they are old they are hard to eat! No fun ge ng home + finding it is inedible. Q: Please sell the salty oat cookies in larger A: We make our gluten free muffins and other baked goods fresh on a daily basis. packages (like you have for choc chip) A: Any of our baked goods including small cookies may be purchased by the dozen with Q: Label apples w/ info about what they are a 10% discount. Please ask a worker for a good for: Baking/raw, etc. I miss that. container. Your member discount s ll applies A: All of our conven onally grown apples have signage describing parentage, use, and and you may mix and match. taste. We are looking to expand the signage Q: Vary the soup choices for those who can- to the organic varie es in the near future. not eat dairy. Today, two were cream-based. Also – the split pea soup yesterday was not consistent with prior versions (meaning not as good) [frownyface] A: We try to offer at least one vegan and one no-gluten added soup daily. Thanks for letng us know that the split pea soup was not as you expected. We strive for consistency and will work on improving. Q: Need more electric car charging. 4 cars wai ng … only ONE of the 2 chargers work; when we get that one, we eat lunch + spend more me shopping. Can you please have the company fix the charger? A: Thanks for the informa on. We are monitoring our EV charging sta on usage as we consider long-term expansion op ons. We’ve been ac vely working with our vendor to resolve the issue with the le -hand charging sta on. Please bear with us and we thank you for your pa ence. Q: Hi and good a ernoon. I LOVE your chocolate Reese cake and chocolate cake. I would love if you guys could make it more than once a week. A: We’re glad that you enjoy our “Reese” and chocolate cakes. We receive many requests for our various baked goods. Some of our recipes are labor-intensive and/or require special ingredients. We plan to connue producing the chocolate and chocolate “Reese” cakes as o en as our produc on schedule allows. Q: Daily hot food service vegan protein food. A: Whether as a standalone entrée (tempeh, seitan, or tofu) or a composed entrée (enchilada or lasagna, e.g.). We strive to keep a vegan or vegetarian op on available every day. We are working on expanding our vegan op ons in the “Grab and Go” and sandwich areas as well.
Illustra on by Nicholas Gleckman
Q: Can we please look into ge ng freeze dried cat treats. PeeWee would love it. (Cat face) A: We’ll con nue to research freeze dried cat treats. We currently stock “Bravo” freeze dried turkey medley treats. Q: The peanut bu er chocolate chip cookies recently were good + a significant improvement over the usual plain chocochip. None today though; will they be repeated? A: We’re happy to know that you like the peanut bu er cookies! Our plain chocolate chip cookies are available every day. The p.b. chocolate chip is a special cookie baked on a periodic basis. Q: More decaf op ons for tea at the café – like a rooibos or decaf chai, please! A: We haven’t had too many requests for addi onal decaf tea op ons. Thanks for the sugges on. We’ll monitor demand but have no plans to expand the decaf tea opons at this me. Q: Deli: Gluten free carrot cake muffins. Thank you. A: We will definitely produce more carrot cake muffins with no gluten added.
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop
10
Ca re to
Sh a r e ?
Honest Slate
NOVEMBER IS HERE and we’re heading right into our busiest season of the year! If you’re thinking about inves ng me in order to help your most favorite and most local grocery store, this is a great me to do so!
Member-Owner Announcements and Opportunities by Yeve e Buddeau, Member-Owner Coordinator I’d like to start with a thought I picked up at a recent Co-op Conference: Remember years ago when food jus ce was radical and Co-ops led the way for communi es to collec vely invest their me, energy, and money into groups that were aligned with their values? Co-ops helped lead the way into the organic and sustainable food movement and now it’s everywhere. The fact that food awareness has grown to the level that it has is good for all of us. So what’s next? What will the next forty years of coopera ve values bring to the mainstream? Let’s talk about inclusion. Not the kind of inclusion that HR videos talk about in order to keep companies from liability lawsuits (no dig on HR people) but the kind of inclusion that happens when we each introspec vely assess what our personal effects are in our systems, in our communi es and in our coopera ve. Here’s to growing our collec ve ability to have honest dialogues around being a Co-op that values the experiences and contribu ons of all people. May we learn from those immersed in the real conversa ons that open doors for historically marginalized groups and may we help the movement by being a Co-op that lives the values of inclusion. Onward!
Our Grocery Department is looking for people to help with stocking during the busy season, especially during the early morning shi s on Fridays and Saturdays. Our Maintenance Department is looking for help with pain ng, maintenance, and landscaping winterizing help, as well as some targeted tasks around the store and property. The whole store will be increasing the volume of products that we move for the next month and every department will need extra help for Thanksgiving week. Are you interested in being one of our Greeters or Shopper’s Helpers? Let’s get started! The busiest season will also bring opportuni es for Parking Lot A endants (do you prefer to be outside at all mes of year?) to help bring carts inside and direct cars during the busiest mes of day. Speaking of Holidays, let’s talk for just a quick moment about the store hours for the next couple of months. Our regular hours are always 8 am un l 10 pm seven days per week.
November 2018 Here are a couple of excep ons: Wed. 11/21 (day before Thanksgiving) 7am-10pm Thurs. 11/22 Closed Fri. 11/23 Re-open normal hours Mon. 12/24 7am-6pm Tues. 12/25 Closed Wed. 12/26 Re-open normal hours Mon. 12/31 8am-8pm Tues. 1/1 10am-8pm For those of us that do invest me in the store, here are a couple of reminders about conduct. Please do not use your cell phone while on the floor. A good guideline to follow is that if you are wearing a nametag then you should not be on your phone (and if you are on the clock you should be wearing a nametag!) Please do not shop while you are on shi , you may do your shopping before or a er your shi , but not while you are doing your me investment. Our Member-Owners’ efforts are a large part of what makes the Co-op a great place to be, so thanks to all for all the a en on to detail!
Naughty or Nice? The Naughty or Nice Cookie Challenge presented by Honest Weight and The Times Union is back again!
Do you call yourself a baker? Do people line up to get a bite every me you bake for friends and family? If so then we need you here at the Co-op! On Nov. 29 and 30 in our teaching kitchen at the Co-op, we will be baking up the tasty treat cookies that will be used for the People’s Choice tas ng event Dec. 1. Only Bakers get an advance peek at the process! Contact Yeve e at member.services-AT-honestweight.coop to be one of this year’s Bakers. Recipes will be provided. Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Ave. Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667 • h ps://www.honestweight.coop/ honestslate-AT-honestweight.coop