annual report election issue 2013
published by: NEW PIONEER FOOD CO-OP 22 S. Van Buren St. • Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 338-9441 open daily 7am–11pm 1101 2ⁿd St. • Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 358-5513 open daily 7am–10pm ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 22 S. Linn St., Unit 2A • Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 248-6400 open Mon.–Fri. 8am–5pm
In this Issue Board President's Letter
p. 4
Board Treasurer's Report
p. 6
Education and Outreach Updates
p. 8
Ballot and Candidates' Statements
p. 15
www.newpi.coop EDITOR Allison Gnade MANAGING EDITOR Jenifer Angerer CATALYST DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Laura Engel CATALYST PHOTOGRAPHY Ben Partridge & Eric Andrews PRINTER Royle Printing
Board of Directors Meetings All members are welcome! Annual Member Meeting 11:30am-2:30pm Oct. 27, 2013 Kirkwood Room (Governor's Ridge), 515 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City Please visit newpi.coop for early winter meeting schedule. Members are welcome to share their views with the Board:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(year indicates when term expires) President SARAH WALZ (2015) (319) 466-0908, walz.sarah@gmail.com
Vice President JANET RAZBADOUSKI (2014) (312) 476-0943, jraznpboard@newpi.com
Secretary CAROLINE DIETERLE (2013) (319) 338-8674, caroline-dieterle@uiowa.edu
Treasurer HENRY T. MADDEN (2015) (319) 338-5689, h-mamadden@mchsi.com
RAMJI BALAKRISHNAN (2013)
(319) 466-0261, ramji.balakrishnan@gmail.com
JEN KNIGHTS (2013) (319) 331-6631, knightswhowrites@gmail.com
CALVIN NORRIS (2014) (319) 355-2603, cal_norris@msn.com
New Pioneer Food Co-op Mission Statement New Pioneer is a cooperatively owned business, fully serving the needs of the natural products consumer. We emphasize high quality, fair prices, and product information. We are an environmentally and socially responsible member of the community we serve. New Pioneer’s mission is to serve the needs of its members and to stimulate the local agricultural production of natural and organic foods by
providing a market for such foods. The Cooperative fully recognizes the value and dignity of work and shall place a high priority on the health, welfare, and happiness of all its employees. The Cooperative shall strive to set a community standard for the best possible working conditions, training, wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement for its employees.
General Manager: Matt Hartz
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find it remarkable that over 100 million Americans belong to a co-op of some kind. Most of these are related to finance, farming, housing, and power utilities. Only about 1 million belong to food co-ops. Given the size of the U.S. food economy, this leaves great potential for expanding consumerowned grocers. Co-ops are independent and locally controlled organizations created for the benefit of their owners. This is different from corporations that exist to maximize financial return for their shareholders. As a consumerowned and democratically governed organization, New Pi can focus on things other than just profit generation. The Co-op supports numerous community and school gardens, funds full-time staff for education and outreach, pays fair prices to local farmers, and supports benefits for employees well above the grocery industry norm. From the International Co-operative Alliance’s Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade: “Co-operatives don’t simply appear different, thanks to some image makeover – they fundamentally are different. Their abiding values of participation and sustainability are not just bolted on to a conventional business model, but structure how they are owned, governed, managed, and evaluated. With consumers increasingly cynical about ethical ‘green-washing’ of corporate brands, co-operatives have an authenticity that no other ethical business model can match.” At New Pi, any member can run for the Board. Such service is a profound duty, and we should all appreciate those who have stepped forward for this year’s election. I encourage all members to read the candidates' statements and participate in the annual election of Board members, as this is something that distinguishes co-ops from most corporations. I also want to express great appreciation for our departing Board member, Ramji Balakrishnan. Ramji has toiled many hours over the past six years in service to the Co-op and has brought solid financial and operational guidance to New Pi.
Co-operatives don’t simply appear different, thanks to some image makeover – they fundamentally are different.
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Board President: Sarah Walz
New Pi members will be glad to hear that the stronghold of the co-op movement and growth is right here in the upper Midwest!
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ack in april, i had the privilege of attending a National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) meeting in St. Paul, MN. For those who don’t know, NCGA represents 134 natural food co-operatives running 171 stores (and counting) in 36 states across the U.S. The meeting brought together general managers and board chairs representing nearly all of these co-ops to discuss our various plans for growth. We have much in common with other co-ops, beginning with our histories, which are uncannily similar. Like New Pi, most of our peer co-ops were founded in the early 1970s and grew slowly through the 1980s and 1990s. Like New Pi, many co-ops established second or larger stores in the early 2000s and have since experienced considerable growth. Over the years, co-ops have become (and have had to become) much more professional in stewarding the business that supports our mission. While there are diverse stories of successful co-op expansions from far-flung locations in Vermont, North Carolina, New Mexico, Washington, California, and New York, New Pi members will be glad to hear that the stronghold of the co-op movement and growth is right here in the upper Midwest. Co-ops are thriving and growing in college towns like Iowa City, Ames, Madison (WI), Urbana (IL), Bloomington (IN), Lawrence (KS), and East Lansing (MI),
as well as in big cities like Minneapolis/ St. Paul and Milwaukee, and small towns like Viroqua (WI) and Decorah (IA). Some of you already know that Dubuque is poised to open its own co-op (the Dubuque Food Cooperative) in 2014 and has hired New Pi’s own Patrick Brickel as its general manager. Success for one co-op is a boon to us all. As we plan for a possible third store, there is a wealth of experience out there that New Pi can draw upon. If you attended any of our member forums during the vote for expansion, you heard that the Board is evaluating a set of store models that are proving successful for our peer co-ops, including small to medium size stores with a goal of investing our resources wisely for the long-term. Our management team will be working with other co-ops and with NCGA, comparing notes on everything from site development and new store design to member engagement and market analysis. One of our founding principles, “Cooperation among Cooperatives,” will be a source of strength as we plan for new growth.
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Board Treasurer: Henry Madden
You will be happy to know that New Pi sales and earnings remain solid and our capital structure is exemplary.
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ou will be happy to know that New Pi sales and earnings remain solid and our capital structure is exemplary. However, sales in the 2012-13 fiscal year did not exceed the level of the previous year. We believe that sales were affected by the recent arrival in our sales area of a strong competitor, Costco. As mentioned last year, we have maxed-out our sales in the Van Buren store due to sales space and restricted available parking. Sales growth at the Coralville store, we believe, was lessened by this new competitor. We must bring on new programs in our marketing efforts. The initial numbers for this ensuing year, however, appear to be rebounding. Profits have remained steady and we have been able to continue paying dividends, as we have for the last six years, as well as maintaining our 5% matching contribution to employee 401(k) plans, and contributing to our community efforts including New Pi’s Earth Source Gardens, Soilmates Organic Garden Education, and monetary
contributions to local non-profits Table to Table, Local Foods Connection, and many more. It is notable that Fresh Market, another organic and natural foods competitor started about 10 years ago in North Carolina, now has over 100 stores and has leased space and is moving into Cedar Rapids. This could affect our sales to members in Cedar Rapids. As always, we are studying how “to stimulate the local agricultural production of natural and organic foods by providing a market for such foods” (from our mission statement inside the front cover). These studies require reviewing the whole market area and the many means of accomplishing this stated goal. We continue to thank, encourage, and praise our skilled and hard-working employees for their efforts.
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Education & Outreach: Theresa Carbrey
Can the private sector address hunger? I dream of gardens in every park, church yard, and school yard.
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n 2013 we partied with the chickens! Chickens are just so silly… and also delicious. We even created a giant chicken trellis at New Pi’s Earth Source Gardens (ESG) in their honor (see photo at left). Educational programs with Misha Goodman of Iowa City Animal Control helped urbanites decide if chicken-keeping was for them. At garden parties we admired various chicken breeds, and everyone who wished to could hold or pet a chicken. Like the tough dinosaurs from which they supposedly descended, the chickens took it all in stride. Although light-hearted in tone, the Co-op’s ‘Year of the Chicken’ echoed themes similar to the previous years in which we focused on annual veggies, and fruits and berries. In each case, we seek to demonstrate how to grow your own food, and help connect with the local folks who are doing so. Perennial plantings that went in the ground three years ago now are bearing fruit, literally and figuratively. We produced gooseberries the size of dimes, with flavors of wild plum and cherry! We had delicate, delectable strawberries on teeming plants with runners from the plants marching in every direction. There are cherry, plum, and apple trees, both at Sweet Gift Orchard (embedded in Earth Source) and the Alley Orchard (behind the Iowa City store), trying so hard to grow up and make fruit. Some are succeeding! The annual vegetables continue to thrive at Earth Source community gardens. We created new, smaller plots to allow more to participate, and hosted over 70 families gardening this year. The full sun, fertile soil, shared tools, and camaraderie among gardeners make for enjoyable exercise and generous harvests. We sure do like to apply natural mulch to suppress weeds and maintain moisture! We all like to eat. Do you think about hunger? How can we address hunger as a community? At Earth Source, we donate surplus from the Co-op demonstration beds to the Food Bank, and make
garden plots available to groups who wish to grow for the Food Bank. When the Co-op co-hosted the film A Place at the Table with FilmScene, I found several of my ideas challenged. Hungry people in our culture may not be thin; the abundance of cheap refined carbs may lead them to be overweight, while malnourished. This sensitive film explored how flat wages, farm subsidies, and the economic recession have increased hunger exponentially since the ‘70s. The statistics tell us that one in four American children lacks healthy food. Many hungry people conceal their condition, believing they themselves are to blame. When farm subsidies make ‘junk’ foods prepared with corn and soy significantly cheaper than fruits, vegetables, or protein, we taxpayers play a role in sending the working poor towards obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Plus, funding for proven-effective food programs has been slashed. Can the private sector address hunger? I dream of gardens in every park, church yard, and school yard. I imagine widespread classes in freezing, drying, and canning. A Place at the Table directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush suggest we need to look to government to address this problem. Can we help our leaders see that funding food programs is a worthwhile investment at every level? I suggest watching A Place at the Table, available on Netflix. I sure do appreciate the rain that fell this year, the great educational parties, and the support of New Pi’s garden working members. (Yes, working members can help in the garden! Interested? Email tcarbrey@newpi.coop.) I feel deep appreciation for the generosity of Doug and Linda Paul, and Julie Decker, of Harvest Farm and Preserve for the use of their land. I look forward to 2014, the Co-op’s ‘Year of Milk and Cheese’!
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Education & Outreach: Scott Koepke
We’re not only growing food, but we’re closing the food loop: taking food that isn’t being consumed and, instead of wasting it in a landfill, composting it to create the organic matter necessary for the next cycle of food.
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begin and end every day with thanksgiving. Thank you, New Pioneer. How many grocery stores have a fulltime position dedicated to teaching children about how to grow food and compost?! Absolutely beautiful. Soilmates has had a year of tremendous growth. More classes, more gardens, more composting. And not just in Iowa City… The Corridor calls. Organic gardening, soil science, and local foods are focuses of our Soilmates class content. I can’t wait to share an exciting new prop with my classes: an “AquaFarm” from Back to the Roots, an aquaponic garden complete with betta fish. Regenerative salad greens grow in a tray above the fish tank. The fish are fed. The fish feed the plants. The plants clean the water. Repeat. What a great food loop! Soilmates classes (provided by New Pi free of charge) start with an introduction to growing plants called “Let’s Eat!” and an interactive compost class called “Food for the Food” for primary grades. Secondary students receive classes in soil and local foods: “Where the Soil Meets the Root,” and “Let’s Grow It Here.” New classes include “Soil First” for middle schoolers, incorporating both gardening and composting components with a prominent theme of biodiversity. “Life Skill Garden,” a new class for at-risk kids struggling with behavioral issues, walks through eight life skills learned in the garden experience: Balance, Respect, Patience, Nurturance, Resilience, Healthy Choices, Trust, and Listening. This is perhaps the most rewarding class I’ve ever taught – I’ve witnessed the healing effects of gardening on people in need of nurturing. Not only can we integrate core subjects of math and science into school gardens, but I’ll even go so far as to say that in the garden kids also learn self-reliance and how to resolve conflict peacefully. Beyond veggies, the school garden designs I consult on increasingly include flowers, herbs, grains, specialty legumes, fruits, and
nuts in the mix. New Pi’s Seed Money grants, annually-renewable $500 grants for school garden clubs to start school gardens, went towards supporting 20 local school gardens this year! They’ve also funded rainwater catchments and season extenders like hoop houses and cold frames. More and more schools continue to work with Soilmates on separating cafeteria and kitchen food waste for compost operations, either by diverting it to the Recycling Center (with help from City of Iowa City Recycling Coordinator Jen Jordan) or, ideally, converting it to compost on-site. New Pi’s Seed Money grants can also support these projects. A message I hope I’m expressing effectively is that we’re not only growing food, but we’re closing the food loop: taking food that isn’t being consumed and, instead of wasting it in a landfill, composting it to create the organic matter necessary for the next cycle of food. Children aren’t the only ones receiving instruction. One of the most enjoyable lectures I deliver for adult groups is called “51%”. The name is a reference to the fact that a majority of what we eat here didn’t come from Iowa (actually 90% is imported), and a majority of what we throw away could be composted (current estimates say 70%!). We can quibble about statistics, but we can all agree it's a clear majority. This class is an opportunity to connect both food policy and food waste management systems into the same cycle – yet another food loop. One of my goals with Soilmates is to sprout the next generation of potential producers who not only grow more local food, but understand that a prerequisite is to first grow healthier soil. Economic, political, and cultural issues are all addressed in “51%”. We examine why we import and throw away most of our food, and what is being done to reverse those behaviors in both public and private partnerships. When I get frustrated with the snail’s pace of political change, I return to the garden with children where I rediscover essential perspective and, so importantly, hope. annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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Events: What your Co-op's been up to!
1. The May “Old Pi to New Pi” group family ride from New Pi Iowa City to New Pi Coralville concluded with music and snacks. 2. Wine-lovers reconnect with former Iowa City store specialty staffer Robert Morey at the Wine Freak Out in November. 3. Tasting is believing! Dave Braverman, left, of Friendly Farm in Iowa City shares heirloom tomato samples with shoppers at the September 2013 'Meet the Locals' Sample Fair.
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4. Dance on the longest day! Body Moves Studio whips out a Nia Jam for our Summer Solstice at Earth Source Garden Party in June, 2013. 5. Real live chicks delight guests at the Urban Chicken workshop led by Misha Goodman of Iowa City Animal Services in April, 2013. 6. Chris Vinsonhaler's songs and storytelling delighted guests at the 2012 Fall Equinox member appreciation party.
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the ballot You must hold a New Pioneer Food Co-op membership in your own name to participate in voting. • Only the shareowner may vote. Spouses and household members without their own shares are not eligible. Check the name on the mailing address of this publication, inquire at a store register, or call Sandy at (319) 248-6404 to determine the name in which a membership is held. • To vote in the 2013 New Pi Board elections, you must have been a member as of September 12, 2013. • Read the candidates’ comments ( pages 17-27 ) and select up to 3 . • Mark your selections in the ballot on the next page, 15, with a pen. • Print your name, sign your name, and print address, phone number, and New
2013 Voting Procedure make your mark on new pi. we’re different because you care.
Pioneer member number below your vote selection. Remember, your membership must be held in your name, and all fields must be completed, or your ballot will be invalid. • The ballot is a self-mailer. No separate envelope is needed
) and fold on designated lines. Tape at the sides • Cut the ballot as shown ( (very important—DO NOT tape at bottom, the post office needs this free of tape), and mail or drop off at either store.
mail promptly • Mailed ballots must arrive at the accountant’s office by October 25, 2013 to be counted. • You may also drop your completed ballot in a ballot box at either New Pioneer store until stores close on October 26, 2013 to be counted.
make sure we can count your ballot! • All information on your ballot must be accurate. • Be certain to fill out your ballot completely. • Print your name. • Sign your name. • Print address and phone number. • Verify your member number.
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Ballots due
Ballot
By mail: Oct. 25, 2013 In store: Oct. 26, 2013
New Pioneer Co-op 2013
This election fills three Board seats.
You may vote for up to 3 candidates.
John Boller
Joseph Hodgson
Caroline Dieterle
Jen Knights
Shanti Elangovan
Brad Lynch
Jon Fogarty
Joanna Mouming
All fields must be completed.
You must hold a New Pioneer membership in your own name to participate in voting. member name signature address
phone # member # Ballot will be opened and viewed by Bergan Paulsen & Company only. Results will be announced at the conclusion of the Annual Member Meeting Sun., Oct. 27, 2013 from 11:30am–2:00pm. annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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John Boller Occupation
Special Interests
Director of Coralville Ecumenical Food Pantry
Increasing the accessibility of real food, engaging in socially responsible and cruelty-free consumption habits, and eating New Pi's cashew/jalapeño spread with a spoon.
B.A. in Social Work – University of Iowa
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: For the past 12 months I have worked as Director of the Coralville Ecumenical Food Pantry. During this time, I have had the privilege of networking and collaborating with countless community organizations and businesses (including New Pi!) to implement events and initiatives aimed at reducing hunger. My time has also been spent managing a team of 75+ volunteers, securing funding through grant proposals and special events, increasing public awareness through marketing campaigns, and providing direct services to food pantry clients.
plots at the community garden space in Coralville. Thanks to this great collaborative effort, our garden space has been successful and many food pantry clients are able to enjoy fresh produce throughout the growing season. As a New Pi Board member I hope to foster a similar collaborative spirit among Co-op management, employees, member-owners, and the wider community.
exercise a great deal of fiscal responsibility in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Co-op Q: As a Board member, how would you guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values reflected in its mission statement?
A: Nearly five years ago, my wife and I decided to adopt a plant-based diet. Without New Pi, transitioning to such a Q: Have you served on a board of direc- lifestyle would have been entirely difficult. But thanks to the Co-op’s mission tors before? If so, please describe the of “fully serving the needs of the natural organization and your role. products consumer,” we have been in good A: As Director of the Coralville hands. It has been interesting to see the Ecumenical Food Pantry, I attend all natural products movement evolve over board meetings and have been actively the past several years. Though more and involved in formulating annual budgets, more consumers are dipping their feet in, developing strategic plans, amending it is still a fairly exclusive movement. As a bylaws, and devising short- and longBoard member, I hope to guide the Co-op term goals for the organization. towards a future where there is less exclusivity and more room at the table for those unsure about natural products or unable Q: In your opinion, what is the role of While working for the food pantry, I the Board of Directors in the operation to afford them. Whether it involves have become increasingly aware of the outreach to those who are hesitant, or of New Pioneer Food Co-op? fact that eating fresh and local food is fighting for those with limited resources, I a luxury many cannot afford. Since my A: The Board of Directors should strive am eager to help grow the natural prodfirst day on the job, I have been on a to only enact positive changes that are ucts consumer base. mission to put more fresh food in the congruent with the mission of the Co-op hands of those with limited resources. and the values of its members. In other This past spring, I partnered with food words, New Pi's mission should strongly continued on page 25 pantry clients, enthusiastic gardeners, guide each decision made. The Board Coralville city officials, and organiof Directors serve at the pleasure of the zations like Seed Savers Exchange, entire Co-op member base, so it is vital Backyard Abundance, Local Foods that they stay tuned in to the opinions Connection, and the Iowa Food Systems and ideas of New Pi management, Council to plan and manage garden employees, and members. They must also annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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Caroline Dieterle (incumbent) Occupation
Special Interests
Retired
Organic gardening/farming, environmental activism and food politics, reading, crossword puzzles, local progressive politics
Academic Adviser at the University of Iowa 1980-2006 Librarian The Daily Iowan 1977-2013
Education University of Michigan B.A. (Botany) 1959
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op.
University of California at Berkeley M.A. (Botany) 1961
achieved the provision of a living wage with health and retirement benefits for Co-op staff. I’m a strong supporter of the A: My employment required me to be a Earth Source Gardens project and the practical problem solver, a good negotia- A: The role of the Board is to represent other community outreach activities and tor, and a careful record keeper. the members as it hires and evaluates the charitable donations that New Pioneer is general manager (GM), to understand contributing to the Iowa City community. Q: Have you served on a board of direc- and to approve the annual budget, and My idea to allow members to donate their tors before? If so, please describe the to provide guidance to the GM on policy patronage dividend checks in an organized organization and your role. questions and long-term planning. The way to Local Foods Connection (and now Directors also must be available and ready also to Table to Table) has provided good A: I have served on the New Pioneer Board of Directors since 2002, serving as to hear members' input: their comfood to many people. plaints, questions, suggestions, and ideas Board Secretary throughout that time. I have ensured that detailed minutes of all for their Co-op. I shop at New Pioneer I have worked for, and will continue almost daily, and the conversations I have to strive for, openness in the Board’s open meetings of the Board have been with the staff and many members that made available to members. I also have proceedings and for providing as much kept minutes of Board executive sessions, I meet there continually reinforce my information as possible to members appreciation for members’ insights and Board retreats, and New Pioneer member regarding both Board actions and the enthusiasm regarding New Pioneer. forums and kept files of the supporting foods and food choices before us. “All polidocuments to which the minutes refer; tics are grassroots politics”: this means to Q: As a Board member, how would you me that the only way to solve the national as Secretary, I am also the Chair of the guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values food problems of food safety and availBoard's Governance Committee, which reflected in its mission statement? is responsible for keeping the Articles of ability is to educate people about them Incorporation, Bylaws, and Board Policies A: I strongly supported the establishment and to act locally for change. up to date and for reminding the Board of the Mission Statement Monitoring of their content if there is any question. I reports and their availability to all continued on page 25 believe that a well-informed membership members. I have been an advocate for and diverse opinions openly discussed organic/no-pesticides-applied farming and are vital for a democratically organized gardening for many years. I also believe Co-op and a truly representative Board. that 'buying local' is the wave of the future Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Board of Directors in the operation of New Pioneer Food Co-op?
in order to safeguard our food supply. I am proud of the fact that the Board has 18
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Shanti Elangovan Occupation
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: Having spent the last 15 years working with mission-driven organizations such as The Red Cross, Chicago Children’s Museum, and various schools, I understand the commitment of the Board to stay true to the values of New Pi while also ensuring continued financial stability and growth. In a market in which stores are often opening and closing their doors, this is no easy task. However, current health issues such as childhood obesity have been at the forefront of my work in both education and public health and I passionately believe that greater access to local, natural foods is vital to curbing these epidemics. To compliment this passion, I am currently working towards an MBA that will aid in the strategic planning of New Pi’s future so that the Co-op can continue to fulfill its mission. Q: Have you served on a board of directors before? If so, please describe the organization and your role. A: Apna Ghar ("our home") provides holistic services to women and children across immigrant communities in the Chicago area to end the cycle
After working as the 5/6 teacher, Technology Coordinator, and Director of Mentorship at Willowwind School, I have decided to join the full-time MBA program at Iowa's Tippie School of Management. By combining my education and public health experiences with a greater knowledge of business, I am better prepared to serve the needs of schools and organizations like New Pi.
Education Tippie School of Management, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Master of Business Administration Expected Graduation: May 2015
Teachers College, Columbia University New York, NY Master of Elementary Education May 2009 Boston University, Boston, MA Master of Public Health May 2007 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations May 2004
Special Interests I love all things food: growing fruits and veggies in my garden, exploring New Pi and the farmers’ market, experimenting in the kitchen with new ingredients, eating a meal with good friends and dissecting each bite, and more than anything, sharing my passion for food with others, especially my students. When not playing with my food, I love to be outside hiking and camping.
of domestic violence. As a member of Q: As a Board member, how would you their board, I worked to secure financial guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values contributions through fundraisers and reflected in its mission statement? events that ensured operational stability. A: Above all else, New Pi is a cooperative; as a Board member I would therefore Q: In your opinion, what is the role of work to ensure continued transparency the Board of Directors in the operation and communication between members of New Pioneer Food Co-op? and the Board. Further, it would be my A: The role of the Board of Directors is to: job to continually pose the ‘tough’ quespreserve the character of New Pi through tions to both fellow Board members and the General Manager. At the core of each adherence to the mission; represent the decision, no matter how fiscally advantaneeds and communicate with Co-op members; strategically plan for continued geous, needs to be the question of whether stability and growth through sound fiscal that decision represents the needs of our decisions; and hire and assess a proficient members and adheres to New Pi’s mission and knowledgeable manager. The day-to- of offering high quality, fair prices, and product information. day operations of the Co-op should be delegated from the General Manager to store managers and then to staff – this is not the role of the Board. While as a member of the Co-op I may hope to see a particular item on the shelves, as a Board member, my job is to represent and serve the needs of all members.
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Jon Fogarty Occupation
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: I suppose I got into this business in the mid 1990's when I was part owner of a clothing shop that specialized in hemp and organic cotton clothing. I was motivated to use commerce as a force for positive change in society. My interests turned to food and now, some years later, I've spent two years as an apprentice on a local certified organic farm; spent over a decade working for cooperatives; and worked with a variety of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) around the country advocating for strong organic standards and strong family farms. Q: Have you served on a board of directors before? If so, please describe the organization and your role. A: I served on Kokua Market's board for just over a year. I had to resign before the end of my two-year term due to changes in my educational program. In my role at National Cooperative Grocers Association I am also the board administrator so I serve the board instead of serve on it. But I can tell you that you don't watch a well developed board of professionals perform its duties for over five years and not learn a thing or two. 20
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I have been employed at National Cooperative Grocers Association for the past 5.5 years as Executive Support/Project Manager. My current projects involve some policy work on agricultural and food issues, establishing a pilot project to allow organic foods in the WIC program and administering all of the corporate governance duties for two boards of directors. Previously, I worked for a year at CROPP Cooperative (Organic Valley) and I worked at New Pi for two stints totaling five years. While attending
Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Board of Directors in the operation of New Pioneer Food Co-op? A: The role of the Board is to advise and direct the General Manger on matters of strategy affecting the business. A competent Board does not get involved in the details of the business unless absolutely necessary. Details are for management. The only time the Board should get involved in details is in the case of potential fiscal or legal jeopardy. In addition, a responsible board member protects the interests and responds to the needs of the owners. Q: As a Board member, how would you guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values reflected in its mission statement? A: The demand for organic foods is growing and that's a great thing for consumers and producers alike. The problem is that others recognize this growing market and are taking it from us. If we are going to fulfill our mission of setting the community standard for employees or foster more domestic
graduate school, I served on the board of Kokua Market, a retail food cooperative in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Education BA in Religious Studies, Certificate of Entrepreneurship, University of Iowa MBA from Hawaii Pacific University
Special interests Certified organic agriculture, pizza on the grill, heirloom veggies. Local control & global responsibility, private gain = private risk, public risk = public reward.
producers by growing the market for organic products, we need to be fighting for the lead in the market. If we, as a business and community, sit content with middle of the pack or less, we are going to be subject to the standard instead of setting the standard. Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: I see New Pi's greatest challenge in the growing competition for the organic food dollar. If we don't go out and fight for the market, it will be taken by someone else and inflation will eventually whittle away at everything our cooperative has built. I am strongly in favor of aggressive growth and expansion of New Pi to other markets in our area.
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Joseph Hodgson Occupation
Special interests
Production Control Technician at Kinze Manufacturing. Kinze manufactures large agricultural equipment including large planters and grain carts.
Health and Fitness. Health Science.
Education Bachelor of Business with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Supply Chain Management.
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op.
A: I would continue to search for unique local, fresh, organic foods that we could make native only to New Pioneer. As a Board member, we could possibly sit A: I have studied marketing techdown and review the purchasing power niques and graduated with a degree in that we have (especially with opening a Marketing. I know strategies to put the new store) to provide products at a lower focus of customers on a target product. price. Finding new ways to market the Over the years, I have been a supplement Co-op is another critical process for the representative for many different supplesuccess of the store. I believe messages of ment companies in which I created health and nutrition need to be conveyed promotions, marketed, and answered more to the end consumer. Many people product questions. I have held customer do not know the benefits of natural service positions and know how to organic food as opposed to processed, enhance a customer's experience. commercialized food. I also think it is the responsibility of the co-op to gather Q: Have you served on a board of direclike minded individuals to take action on tors before? If so, please describe the political issues effecting the freedom to organization and your role. buy and sell local, organic food. A: No, I have not. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Board of Directors in the operation of New Pioneer Food Co-op? A: To guide the Co-op along the best possible path to ensure that citizens of Iowa City and surrounding areas are supplied with local, fresh, organic food. Q: As a Board member, how would you guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values reflected in its mission statement?
needs to expand service offerings so that a consumer does not travel ½ a mile down the road to Hy-Vee and pick up the same product at a lower cost. The need to become a provider of unique food items is very important. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community? A: To provide consumers a variety of fresh, local, organic food for healthy nutrition. To provide farmers with a common place to sell and promote their produce, meats, and other goods. To bring both the consumer and the farmer together in a fun, trendy, reasonably priced atmosphere.
Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: I believe the largest challenge in selling local, organic food is to convey the benefits of doing such. Many people see the price of these items and decide not to buy. That should not be the case. New Pioneer needs to convey the health benefits of choosing such foods as well as the economic impact on local farmers and the negative side effects of commercialized toxic food. I also think New Pioneer annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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Jen Knights (incumbent) Occupation
Special interests
Assistant Director, Faculty/Staff Philanthropy, The University of Iowa Foundation
Local/organic/natural food (obviously), cooking, gardening/ horticulture, gluten-free lifestyle, community building, politics, civic engagement, writing, design, music, knitting, sewing, parenting
Education Bachelor of Arts, University of Iowa, 2000
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: I worked as an employee at New Pioneer from 2003 to 2005—first in customer service, and then as the marketing coordinator and Catalyst editor. Working in customer service gave me the opportunity to meet many fellow members, and gave me a great familiarity with how the stores function. As marketing coordinator, I was deeply involved in promoting the Co-op, its products, and its involvement in the community. Since leaving employment at New Pi, I have worked as a communications professional in the nonprofit/ fundraising sector, which has further deepened my understanding and appreciation for what motivates and sustains values-driven (and not profit-driven) people, businesses, and communities. Q: Have you served on a board of directors before? If so, please describe the organization and your role. A: I have served on the New Pioneer Board of Directors since 2006, serving as chair of the Board’s Member Relations Committee.
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new pioneer food co-op’s newsletter
Q: In your opinion, what is the role of and economy of our community. That includes expanding the market for such the Board of Directors in the operagoods wherever possible, and growing our tion of New Pioneer Food Co-op? own local business to the extent that it A: The Board represents the memberowners in ensuring the long-term success is prudent, sustainable, and beneficial to the community. I will continue to support of the Co-op. We are elected to be the and advance the many ways New Pioneer voice of our member-owners, and are charged with steering long-term strategy is setting an example in our community as an outstanding employer, in terms of based on the needs, values, and collecwages, benefits, and work environment. tive opinions of the member-owners, as I will also do what I can to promote well as the sustainability and success of and expand the co-op's commitment to the Co-op as a collectively owned busioutreach, education, and outstanding ness. The day-to-day management of community involvement and support. the business is the responsibility of our very competent staff and management, but the Board’s function is to articulate a vision that serves Co-op members and staff along with our community, while also making responsible strategic business decisions to maintain and expand upon our financial success. Q: As a Board member, how would you guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values reflected in its mission statement? A: I will encourage—and try to model—fresh thinking, creativity, and cooperation in fully serving the needs of Co-op members, staff, and customers. I would like to continue and expand the good work of the current Board and management in supporting local agriculture and local producers, not just because it’s profitable for New Pioneer, but also because it’s good for the health
Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: The main challenge for New Pioneer now is to manage our growth without sacrificing excellence. The Co-op has enjoyed stunning successes over the past several years, even in the midst of a national financial crisis. New Pi has a responsibility to continue investing in our community, responding to the growing demand and providing an ever-expanding market for local, natural, and organic foods.
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Brad Lynch
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: In my work, I had to learn how to engage in professional discussions, disagreements and all, to carve positive paths forward, sometimes while in crisis mode. Working in retail and other food service jobs has helped me develop my perspectives on service, operations, and working in groups successfully. I am professional, respectful, and honest with people from all walks of life. That's what makes the cooperative experience such a rich one for me. I have met people and encountered their ideas that I couldn't have imagined before coming to know the Co-op. Respecting the bigger, strategic picture of the Co-op, while empathizing with the day to day good work that must be done to get us all there is important to me to keep in mind at all times. Q: Have you served on a board of directors before? If so, please describe the organization and your role. A: Yes. I served half of one term on the board of directors for the Sustainable Food Trade Association (www.sustainablefoodtrade.org). I had to resign the post when I left New Pioneer, which is
Occupation
Supply Chain Professional (APICS)
I am a developer at a hybrid co-op (with worker and consumer memberships) called CoopMetrics. We provide financial reports for co-ops, non-profits, and other local, independent businesses. The reporting we provide them helps them compete using technology and analytical tools normally afforded by larger corporations. Before working at CoopMetrics, I began working at the New Pi Deli in 2000. Soon after I moved over to the POS team printing shelf tags and helping build data systems. From there, I helped build the IT support team.
Other IT support certifications.
Education Bachelor of Arts, University of Iowa
a member organization and a requirement for board service. The Sustainable Food Trade Association is an industry association with members ranging from farmer through the supply chain to the retailer. The members, big and small, throughout the supply chain are able to work together on issues concerning sustainability, learning practices from each other that can be used in their businesses. Members learn how to frame and build a sustainability program into their operations while funneling their operational data in an organized manner into an annual report in order to communicate this work to employees, boards of directors, customers, and the community at large.
Special interests I am interested in how technology can help co-ops succeed in our modern world while holding true to the cooperative principles. I believe that modern data systems can help co-ops have better visibility across their supply chains, help them work together/ leverage each others’ ideas, and further support them in their mission. In my work, I find myself fascinated by the sixth co-op principle, 'cooperation among co-operatives.' There I think lies continual benefits for all of us to learn from each other, help each other grow, and plus, I think it's fun to work together!
general manager, and to ensure accountability of the general manager, and as stewards to help make sure the financial statements are sound and to ask questions about them. It can be very positive if the Board is able to participate in Co-op events and to converse directly with members about Co-op matters. Clear, open, and positive engagement by Board members (both speaking and listening) can only help us to keep an accountable Board with the mission of the Co-op as well as the aspirations and interests of the members in mind. A Board should trust operational, day to day matters to hired professionals, but I do see the Board needing to pose questions to management if data is needed to make informed decisions.
Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Board of Directors in the operacontinued on page 27 tion of New Pioneer Food Co-op? A: To me it's multi-faceted. The Board is there as a support mechanism for the annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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Joanna Mouming Occupation
Special interests
Legal Assistant, Mears Law Office, Iowa City
Local and sustainable food production and distribution, prairie and wildlife habitat preservation and restoration, human rights, cooking, gardening, wellness, architecture
Farmers' Market Vendor (Downtown Iowa City), Yum Yum Farm
Education University of Iowa Bachelor of Social Work with emphasis in Women Studies
Q: Please summarize the aspects of your work experience that you feel would be helpful to the New Pioneer Board and New Pioneer Food Co-op. A: Joining Kalona Organics in its first year of operations, I played an instrumental role in early marketing, brand development, and growth strategies. Through my eight year tenure, I was involved in nationwide sales, product development, branding, and building relationships with manufacturing partners. My sales experience gave me the opportunity to visit and understand the missions of other co-ops, independent, specialty, and large national natural food grocers.
committees for a variety of projects related to my work in local food production. While I have not served as a board member, I worked with directors in their roles as committee chairs on issues ranging from membership to fundraising and event planning.
mission. At Kalona Organics, we pursued a similar mission – to produce products of exceptional quality, and make those products available to as many people as possible, while ensuring a fair return to the producer. All stakeholders must benefit from the Co-op's mission.
Q: In your opinion, what is the role of Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you the Board of Directors in the operahelp meet these challenges? tion of New Pioneer Food Co-op? A: To represent the needs and concerns of Co-op membership and to work with management to lead a fiscally sound organization, operating in a manner consistent with its mission. Board members must provide strategic vision, and enthusiastically represent the Co-op and its important role in our local food economy to the communities it serves.
A: The Co-op's membership and sales exceed the capacity of its physical plant. We have endorsed the need for expansion, so the most obvious challenge is how we expand in a manner that is within As the Director of the National Alliance our means, that enhances the value to of Mentally Ill of Johnson County members, and increases opportunities for (NAMIJC), I worked with members, local producers to market their products. educators, mental health professionals, As our community grows, so does the and the board of directors on fundraislikelihood of outside competition, so it ing, program development, education, event planning, budget management, and Q: As a Board member, how would you is imperative that we continue to provide guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values the greatest possible value to current goal strategies. reflected in its mission statement? members, and to identify and pursue Q: Have you served on a board of direc- A: The Co-op's mission statement reflects strategies to increase our membership and broaden our impact in our community. tors before? If so, please describe the the fact that it serves, employs, and organization and your role. is directed by a community of people that share common goals and needs. As A: I have extensive experience working continued on page 27 a director, I would seek to recognize, with a governing board of directors in support, and celebrate the roles that all my capacity as director of NAMIJC, of us play in pursuit of our common and have served on numerous planning 24
new pioneer food co-op’s newsletter
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John Boller Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: One of New Pioneer's primary challenges going forward involves accessibility. Historically, the Co-op has succeeded at making many of their natural food products accessible to consumers with limited resources (i.e. by offering Weekly Real Deals). I would like to continue such initiatives as well as address further barriers preventing consumers from enjoying the benefits of Co-op membership. Another challenge for the Co-op is expanding its influence while maintaining its local and independent identity. With members recently voting "Yes for more Pi," the Co-op has an opportunity to impact the Corridor in a unique and meaningful way. During this exciting time, I will work with other Board members to ensure that the friendly neighborhood food oasis we all love does not become just another grocery store. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community? A: The role of the Co-op is to support, engage, and invest. It is to support the growing number of discerning consumers, offering a vast array of goods and services that fit their unique needs and passions. It is to engage the community by stimulating conversation and mobilizing action around environmental sustainability, nutrition, and local agriculture. It is to invest in the local community by supporting agencies and projects working towards enacting positive changes in society. As the Co-op fulfills this role, it reinforces its identity as the community
standard for high quality goods, ethical business practices, and environmental and social responsibility.
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Caroline Dieterle Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: New Pioneer’s success and its growing membership bring important questions: Shall a new store be built? Where? How big? Members have voted to give the Board full discretion for 3 years to decide what to do. A great burden of responsibility therefore falls on the Board to decide the size and location of any new store and how much to pay for it. As a fiscal conservative, I am very mindful of the need to protect the job security of our staff as well as to preserve and expand NPC as a key market for local growers and suppliers as we undertake this needed expansion. I believe that maintaining members’ access to information regarding the Board’s decisions as well as close adherence to our Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation must be part of our undertaking. We must remember that we are a democratically organized co-op. We should grow to accommodate members’ needs, not ‘grow for the sake of growth’ as the conventional corporate model dictates. Accordingly I think it would be sensible to plan in the longer term for two smaller stores, rather than one very large store: ideally, a 3rd store in Iowa City to protect and solidify our base (let's remember the flood threat at Van Buren St.), and soon thereafter another one in the Linn County part of our trade area to better accommodate members there.
Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community? A: Food safety and food politics continue to be very alarming: mass distribution of tainted products; the pesticides/chemicals/antibiotics residues in and on food; increasing antibiotic resistance; infectious animal diseases; the possible hazards in consuming genetically modified organisms (GMOs); the corporate efforts to resist labeling GMOs, to dilute safety and organic standards, and to avoid adequate testing. The Co-op must strive to offer the best and safest food available; to take the lead in the community as an example of a good employer and a charitable business; and to be a democratically organized and managed, environmentally aware organization that supports the efforts of others in the community to deal with the above threats and to better the living conditions for all of us.
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Shanti Elangovan Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: When I moved from New York City to Iowa City, I left not only a wealth of food resources, but also a plethora of small, local stores all within walking distance. I worried that the driving aspect of Iowa would leave me without this sense of community and I would be relegated to shopping at big ‘chain stores.’ After my first visit to the Co-op, I quickly realized that the Co-op offered this sense of community and much, much more. I believe New Pi’s greatest challenge is safeguarding this feeling of community while also expanding and improving access to continued on page 26 annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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continued from page 25 natural items. We live in the center of American agriculture yet the majority of Iowans are completely disconnected from local producers – often purchasing highly processed food that has traveled for thousands of miles. While many of us worry that more New Pi stores will extinguish the beauty of constantly bumping into people that you know, I believe that it is the responsibility of the Board to ensure measured growth that improves access to high quality items while staying true to the intimate feeling of the downtown location. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community? A: A few months ago, I searched the shelves of New Pi for a particular Asian hot sauce and could not find it. I assumed it was out of stock but a few visits later, I found a ‘homemade’ Co-op version in the refrigerator section. I asked one of the friendly staff members why this had happened and he told me that they had realized the hot sauce contained an ingredient that the Co-op did not believe was safe for its customers but that people loved it so they wanted to offer an alternative. As a consumer, it is not always easy to decipher between the multitudes of available products. I shop at the Co-op, as many of you do, because I trust that the staff ensures the quality of the products. The diligence and knowledge of the staff makes it easy for community members to shop responsibly.
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Jon Fogarty When I was supervising cashiers at New Pi, I would serve at least one customer 26
new pioneer food co-op’s newsletter
a week who still had a member number from the store in Cedar Rapids, a store that had been closed for well over a decade at that point. New Pi currently has owners scattered across the eastern part of the state. In my years on staff, I saw regular customers coming from the Quad Cities, Fairfield, Grinnell, and the Cedar Rapids metro area. Where we have owners, those owners have neighbors who are potential new owners.
Whatever you love about the Co-op, whatever motivates you to shop there, more New Pi means more of what you love about it and for more people. It means more sales for local farmers and ranchers, more jobs in the community, and a greater force for positive change. I see New Pi as the wonderful combination of market forces and better human behavior all wrapped up in a nice, neat bag of groceries.
I know that there is some aversion to the risk of opening new stores based on what happened with the Coralville store. I was continued from page 22 on staff when Coralville opened. I remember, I lived those hard times and the mistakes that were made. The mistakes New Pi is known as the best place in were many and they were unfortunate. But the environment is far different today. town to go for natural, organic, and fine foods and wines—and we will continue to lead and thrive as long as we provide the There is an incredible national support best possible products and the best possystem for co-op grocery stores that wasn't even dreamed of when we opened sible service. Over the next few years, we will establish at least one additional locaour second store. I can tell unequivocally tion to serve the needs of our members, that the mistakes of the past cannot and and to accommodate and accelerate our will not be repeated. existing growth patterns. I have been on the Board during several critical years of Q: In your opinion, what is the role of strategic planning and decision-making the Co-op in the community? that have led us to be poised for growth A: The Co-op is many things to many and ready to execute our plans. We are people. Everyone I know from New Pi absolutely up to the challenge, and I am loves New Pi in their own way. For me, eager to continue playing a leadership role I started shopping there because it was during a very exciting era of growth for the one place in town that had RBGhNew Pioneer! free milk. So I started shopping there for produce and dairy. Over the course of two Q: In your opinion, what is the role of years, I had begun reading labels, trying the Co-op in the community? new products, and was shopping excluA: First and foremost, New Pi’s funcsively at New Pi. My diet today is largely tion in the community is to provide organic, far more healthy, and definitely high-quality natural foods at fair prices. more thoughtful than it was before I But because we do that so well, and started shopping at New Pi. It was a fundamental and profound change in my because we’ve been successful at it, we are also responsible for giving back to our early adult years that has shaped me to this day. I want to see that change happen community by providing information and education about natural foods and again and again for others. healthy lifestyles, by sponsoring events
Jen Knights
that harmonize with our mission, by supporting community groups that make our area a better place to live, and by ongoing investment in our local economy. Because New Pi is owned and controlled by 28,000+ members, we have the power and responsibility to make a positive impact in our community.
in good to great condition for people to work, shop, and enjoy. Our Iowa City store is an example of a facility needing attention in order to protect it (whether in the same location or not), and our employees' livelihoods. I could help by being engaged in this work at the Board level, asking questions. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community?
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Brad Lynch Q: As a Board member, how would you guide the Co-op in fulfilling the values reflected in its mission statement? A: By paying attention to the financial statements, asking questions, being engaged in committee work and Co-op events. I would work hard to ensure that everything we did was in deference to the mission of New Pioneer. I would look backwards to lessons learned, and forward to apply them. I am able to put my personal ideas aside in order to support the organization's greater goals and needs. I am a firm advocate of enabling personal and professional development which is a core concept in our mission. Personal and professional growth is fun, it feels good, and it makes us all better at what we do. Q: What do you feel are New Pioneer's primary challenges and how could you help meet these challenges? A: I feel that New Pi's primary challenges lie in continuing to grow our business in the vibrant, modern marketplaces in which we exist, as well as ensuring the safety and growth of our employees and assets. Balancing that growth with a high quality business environment will be challenging, but it is not insurmountable. Our members want to be part of our mission while also ensuring that our facilities are
A: To me, the Co-op has always been a celebration of food and people, whether it's amazing produce being rung up, a Co-op event, or people in our community just talking about the Co-op and its impact. I think this is a fun and just way of delivering healthy food and ideas to our community. The Co-op has a track record of giving back to our community in the form of money and time and that is noble and should certainly be continued, but I also find that its very existence and continued prosperity is enabled by the enthusiastic engagement and support of our members. To me that dynamic – between the Co-op and the community we exist in – should be honored and never taken for granted. Co-ops can help solve problems through people coming together and supporting our values. New Pi has helped teach me that food is more than what I eat and to me that is a really fun, valuable education.
me to be part of a team that guides the Co-op through its next stage of expansion. Q: In your opinion, what is the role of the Co-op in the community? A: The Co-op plays a very important role in our community. How we choose to nourish ourselves has a profound impact – on our soil, our water, our economy, and our physical well-being. Good healthy food needs to be accessible and affordable. The people producing it need to be able to make a living. The Co-op should not be exclusive; rather, we should strive to make available to as many people the best quality products, locally produced, at fair prices. In addition, the Co-op should be a resource for information about food, wellness, and nutrition, and educate the communities we serve about the impact our purchasing decisions have on our health and our local economies.
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Joanna Mouming My experience as a member, a farmers' market vendor, and a sales/brand/growth strategist for a nationally distributed organic product line uniquely qualify annual report 2013 • www.newpi.coop
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VOTE! VOTE! BALLOTS DUE OCT. 25 BY MAIL OR OCT. 26 IN STORE.
22 S. Van Buren St. Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 338-9441 open daily 7am–11pm 1101 2nd St. Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 358-5513 open daily 7am–10pm www.newpi.coop Change Service Requested
PARTICIPATE ask questions rd get 3 &Store THE
scoop
election results
SUNDAY,OCT.27th
11:30AM-2:30PM ♦ KIRKWOOD ROOM (GOVERNOR’S RIDGE) 515 KIRKWOOD AVE., IOWA CITY
Meet the MCHICKENS eat
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Butterfly Organics, 2019 Vincent Ave. NE., Solon, IA
• Meet a local poultry farmer • Find out what’s involved in raising meat chickens • Learn how to respectfully process a live bird • Refreshments and children’s activities