[cgfc] General Membership Meeting Information and Packets!!!

[Amy Clay]

Come one, come all to our summer General Membership meeting 
and potluck this Sunday August 15. 
The potluck will be at 5, 
the meeting will be at 6.

And if you would like, you can come prepared. Below you will 
find the GMM Agenda, Proposals and Reports--all with 
supporting information. The information will be provided in 
text and as an attachment. You can also find hard copies in 
the store.

Additionally, we have someone running for the board, a copy 
of her application and statement is attached to the hard 
copies of this packet that you can find in the store--right 
next to the newsletter---up by the register. 

Read on for more information.....................


Proposed GMM Agenda: 08/15/2004

Agenda Items:
1.	Evaluations and Process – Report prepared by Kate 
and presented by Eric 
2.	Budget Calendar/Financial Update – Report prepared 
by Lisa and presented by Adam
3.	Pay Raises – Proposal by the board (pending)
4.	Bylaws Report – Report prepared by Mike and Eric and 
presented by Eric
5.	BP/United Price structure changes – Report prepared 
and presented by Molly
6.	Board Elections/voting procedure/change in term 
limits and schedule of voting – Process explained by the 
board and carried out if needed

###################EVALUATIONS INFO####################
 Common Ground Food Coop
Coordinator 
Performance Appraisal
Process Proposal

Background
It has been brought the attention of the board at the last 
two GMM’s that the membership would like to see the 
coordinators evaluated.  As a group responsible to the 
membership, it is the duty of the board to comply with this 
need.  Evaluations will give everyone a better sense of all 
coordinators jobs as well as assess how well the store is 
operating under the current structure of coordinators.  As 
budgeted in the first quarter GMM, coordinators have not 
been paid for hours worked.  In order for the membership to 
grant more hours, a performance appraisal of each 
coordinator is necessary. 

Phase One
	Form Creation
A chance to add/subtract any information that coordinators 
feel all job performance appraisals should include or not 
include.  Comments and changes due in the Board Box by 
Wednesday, May 26th, 6:00 p.m.

Phase Two
	Evaluating amongst Coordinators
Final forms returned to the coordinators by Wednesday, June 
2 at the Coordinator weekly meeting.  A member from the 
board attended this meeting and explained in detail the 
process for filling out the forms.  At this time it was the 
responsibility of the coordinators to evaluate their co-
workers.  The evaluations were returned to the Board Box by 
Wednesday, June 9, 6:00 p.m.

Phase Three
	Summary of all Evaluations by Board
The board summarized the evaluations of all coordinators 
onto one evaluation form.  The board looked over each 
coordinator’s performance appraisal and assessed the 
coordinator’s job.  This was done by June 18th.

Phase Four
	Personal Evaluations
Once the evaluations were summarized, the Board set up 
meetings with each coordinator to go over their job 
performance.  We scheduled these meetings for the last week 
in June.
Phase Five
	How to Improve
During the evaluation, the board went over the highlights of 
coordinator jobs.  The area of greatest concern from the BOD 
perspective was how do we gauge improvements.  This was our 
proposal.
1.	During the Evaluation, we looked at pieces of 
coordinators’ jobs that were unsatisfactory.  These are 
areas that needed improvement for the overall functioning of 
the Coop.
2.	With the coordinator a plan was mapped out on how to 
improve this area(s) of their job.  

In three months the issues will be discussed again and the 
job requirement will be re-evaluated.  If nothing has 
changed and the coordinator in question is not striving to 
make adjustments, than a firing procedure would be initiated.

###################FINANCES###############################
2004 June Budget Packet


Enclosed are the 2004 figures and explanations and some 
budget proposals.

Highlights from 2004

We are running at a profit! This is largely due to us not 
spending any money on improvements thus far.  Most of the 
categories are on target.

Some Definitions of the Categories:

Expenses: The total expenses for the store
Cost of Good Sold:  Actual cost of good which we sold.   
This is after distributor discounts, and does not 
include money spent in increasing inventory.  
Payroll: Includes all taxes and net pay which have been 
paid.  
Improvements:  Anything bought for the store which is 
durable.  
Repair & Maintenance:  Parts and labor to fix broken items 
in the store.  
Outreach:  Expenses related to attracting new or currently 
non-shopping members.
Education:  Expenses related to education members or staff 
about any food/coop related issues.  This 
includes trade, labor, health, marketing, etc.
Telephone:  Phone bills less donations made in the phone jar.
IDF Utilities:  The set amount we reimburse the IDF for 
utilities.  
Misc.  Losses:  The gross losses due to non sufficient fund 
checks, member charges, and waste.  
Credit Card Fees:  The fees our processor charges us.  This 
is currently 2.51% of each credit card sale.
Recycling:  This is a set amount charged to pick up our 
cardboard.
Licensing:  Fees charged by the department of agriculture to 
certify our scales.
Supplies:  All non-durable goods purchased for the store.  
This was amended up to reflect our high 
	purchases.  A detailed listing of supplies purchases 
follows.
Sales Tax Paid:  The actual amount of sales tax paid.  
Insurance:  Liability insurance, etc. for the store.  
Legal Advice:  Money to consult an attorney or tax 
professional for clarification of issues.  


Income:  The total of our various sources of income.

% Markup (effective):  This number is provided for 
comparison to our standard 25% markup.  It may run 
	higher than 25% due to a higher markup on vitamins 
and coop made foods.
% Margin: This is the (Member Sales- Cost of Goods)/ (Member 
Sales) expressed as a percentage.
Member Sales Margin:  The Member Sales less cost of goods.
Member Sales: Our sales after net core worker discount and 
non-worker bump.
Sales Tax Collected:  YTD sales tax taken in.
Equity Gain (net):  The total equity taken in less that paid 
out.
Interest/Dividends:  Any interest or dividends from our 
distributors or the bank.
Sales Discrepancy :  Our net loss or gain due to mistakes at 
the register.  A positive number means we had
	too much money; a negative number means too 
little.   It is on the income side since it has always
	been there, and makes year to year comparisons 
easier.
Fundraising:  Donations made to the coop.  
Misc. Gains:  Includes members charges paid off and NSF 
checks repaid

Income-Expenses:  The net income minus expenses.
Useable Income-Expense:  The net income-expenses- equity 
gain.  (In the past, members decided that
 equity should be earmarked for capital improvements and not 
spent on store operating expenses)


The Worksheet:
The first column shows the budget as it was most recently 
approved.
The last column shows our current figures.  An inventory was 
done, so margin calculations are fairly accurate.


Details of Various Categories:

Improvements:
.
Supplies :

This includes markers, tape, register and credit card tape, 
labels, mop heads, scissors and random office supplies, 
printer cartridges.  Usually this is itemized, but the list 
is quite long.  If you’re interested in seeing the itemized 
list, please leave a note in my mailbox.  This year it also 
includes bags used in the store, which is a big part of the 
reason it is so high.

******QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFO IS AVAILABLE IN THE 
SPREADSHEET FORM AS AN ATTACHMENT AND IN THE HARD COPIES IN 
THE STORE****************
###################BUDGET CALENDAR PROPOSAL##################

Budget Calendar Proposal: 07/28/2004

In order to accomplish the budget process in a timely manner 
and to relieve the pressure of completing this process 
before the beginning of a fiscal year, it is proposed that a 
budgeting calendar is implemented that stretches back 
several weeks from the time it is desirable for this process 
to be completed (i.e., our 4th quarter GMM).  In this way, 
budget data can begin being compiled earlier and budget 
items can be discussed thoroughly by both the coordinators 
and the board.  The schedule laid out here is flexible in 
terms of the number of weeks any one step can take, but a 
deadline that allows for presentation of the budget in 
November, before the new year, is considered highly 
desirable in the eyes of the board.

The calendar is as follows:
10 weeks prior – September 1st – Budget called to action
6 weeks prior – September 29th – All proposals and 
departmental budgets from the coordinators are due
4 weeks prior – October 13th – Budget meetings commence
2 weeks prior – November 1st – Budget is made available for 
the membership to review
Day of – November 14th – Budget is presented at the 4th 
quarter GMM


##############################PAY RAISES###################
Proposal for Hourly Pay Increases for CGFC Coordinators

“On August 21, 2003, Governor Blagojevich signed a law 
increasing Illinois’ minimum wage in tow installments 
starting January 1, 2004, when persons 18 years of age and 
older would be paid an hourly rate of not less than $5.50 – 
up from the current $5.15 – and, beginning on January 1, 
2005, $6.50 per hour.”

Thus, on January 1, 2004, the state minimum wage increased 
35 cents, and will increase one dollar on January 1, 2005.  
We recognize that an increase in the minimum wage reflects 
an increase in the costs of living in Illinois, and for this 
reason we propose a policy effective immediately, of 
increasing the wages of the coordinators when and as much as 
the minimum wage increases.  We also propose to immediately 
raise the paid staff’s wages 35 cents.  Our proposal does 
not include retroactive reimbursement of wages paid since 
the January 1, 2004 increase.

We understand that research is being done by some 
coordinators in regard to a living wage, and we support this 
research and its possibilities for the future.  However, 
this proposal deals solely with the relationship between the 
wages of the CGFC’s paid staff and the state minimum wage, 
and in no way blocks a future proposal for a living wage.  A 
process has been initiated to calculate the living wage for 
our area and to research the possibilities of budgeting for 
that pay rate for our staff.  Furthermore, an effort will 
commence to create a compensation packet to be proposed to 
the membership at the November GMM.
#################BYLAWS##############################

Bylaws Report: 08/15/2004

	As stated at the last GMM, the board, under the 
advisement of Laddie Lushin, created a bylaws document 
consistent with the CGFC reincorporating as a cooperative.  
Since then, the board has been revising those bylaws to more 
accurately reflect the way the co-op operates.  Due to 
concerns of the IDF about the co-op changing its tax status, 
we thought it best to rewrite these bylaws where 
appropriate.  The majority of changes were grammatical edits 
to make the document easier to understand.  In certain 
sections of the bylaws, unresolved underlying policy issues 
have been identified and a discussion has been initiated at 
a joint meeting of the coordinators and the board.  Issues 
include: 1) enforcement of membership status, 2) maintaining 
minimum board membership, and 3) differentiating the duties 
of the board treasurer and the finance coordinator.

1)	Enforcement of membership status:
a.	whether to sell CGFC-produced items to non-members
b.	whether to give periodic membership dividend rebates 
(get term from Molly) 
c.	whether to have electronic membership cards
d.	whether to enforce ineligibility
i.	failure to adhere to equity payment plan 
ii.	pattern of inappropriate and disruptive behavior
2)	Maintaining minimum board membership
a.	we’re constantly in danger of BOD membership falling 
below minimum
b.	in an attempt to maximize the benefit of competent, 
motivated board members, it is suggested that an unlimited 
number of consecutive year terms would be permissible
c.	in cases where board membership falls below the 
minimum number of four, the board may appoint interim new 
members or allow for outgoing members to stay on until a 
vote takes place at the next GMM to bring the number up to 
minimum.  Appointments will be made on a timely basis so as 
to include as many acting board members as possible
3)	Issues to be determined

######################BP--UNITED CHANGES#####################


Blooming Prairie Conversion to United Natural Foods:
An Update for the Common Ground Food Co-op
3rd Quarter General Membership Meeting
August 15th, 2004
By Molly Stentz

There will be a slew of new changes at Common Ground in the 
coming weeks as a result of our main grocery supplier 
becoming United Natural Foods East.

Over two years ago, members of Blooming Prairie Co-
operative, Common Ground’s main wholesale supplier of 
grocery items, voted to sell their warehouses to United 
Natural Foods. After having made a steady series of 
incremental changes to Blooming Prairie’s operations over 
the past two years, United will be switching the remainder 
of Blooming Prairie’s operations over to the United system 
starting August 1st, 2004. They will now be a fully 
integrated member of United’s East Coast network. In many 
ways, for us, it is as though we are switching to a whole 
new distributor, which is a major undertaking.   

What This Means for Common Ground Food Co-op:

What’s New for Us:

	New PLU numbers for most everything in the store

	New special order forms to use

	New catalogs to use

	New shelf labels

	More products available 

	Twice as many deliveries for better service 

	Hopefully, far fewer out-of-stocked items and errors 
on deliveries

	Better communication about items that will be 
discontinued @ the warehouse

	New prices 

About the Changes

The biggest change that you will notice is that the cost of 
products that we purchase will change. For some items, it 
will go up. 

As many people speculated at the time of the sale of BP, 
price increases may be in the future. Sure enough, that day 
has come.  As a company, United takes a different approach 
toward serving us, the customers.  They have doubled the 
size of the warehouse in Iowa City that we buy from and have 
invested in retrofitting and upgrading its operations by 
installing a more extensive computerized inventory system. 
They goal is that this will increase their accuracy in 
getting us the products we have ordered. The newly enhanced 
warehouse now carries over 14,000 items, which is designed 
to give customers options for purchasing many more items 
easily and to provide a better opportunity to for the 
sellers of natural foods to do so through a well organized 
channel. 

The staff of Common Ground Food Co-op has taken this 
opportunity to reassess our pricing structure. Financially, 
the Co-op is not in a position to absorb the cost of these 
price changes without making adjustments to the shelf prices 
and it would be irresponsible to ignore changes of this 
magnitude.  The average price increase will be 5%, though 
there will be products that won’t change, and products whose 
price will increase more than that. 

Throughout August, bear with us as we get in the groove of 
working with a new system. If you have any questions about 
anything, please talk to Molly or Jill in the store.  

Also of Note:
Common Ground Food Co-op has also begun to work with an 
Employee-owned grocery distributor, Kehe Foods, out of 
Chicago.  They carry an extensive assortment of products, 
many of which members have been asking for. We will also 
continue to support Natural Farms, a small, independently-
owned natural foods distributor in Madison, WI, that was 
created from the demise of North Farm Co-op. 

The ability for our Co-op to continue to have choices in 
distribution is quite a necessary thing for a Co-op of our 
size, with such relatively small purchasing power on our 
own. Competition is useful in ensuring accountability to 
customers, in the absence of a Co-operative structure. 

Why are these changes are happening?  Some history:


Blooming Prairie Co-operative
Blooming Prairie has been Common Ground’s main distributor 
ever since the early days of Co-op history. We have much 
history with Blooming Prairie, having “grown up” with them 
over the years. Blooming Prairie Co-operative had built 
their business by serving the unique needs of co-ops, buying 
clubs, and other small natural food stores. They were a 
regional distributor, servicing stores in the Midwest only. 
Blooming Prairie was born in an era when many small 
distributors existed all over the country, all serving small 
market niches. They grew to be the leading natural foods 
distributor in the Midwest by possessing a deep 
understanding of the needs of their customers and providing 
them with high quality products at reasonable prices. They 
had strong management, which was filled with individuals who 
had pioneered the naturals foods movement and who provided 
leadership to the larger Co-operative movement. 

Co-op Warehouses: Then
Blooming Prairie built a financially sound company, but 
other natural foods distributors in other parts of the 
country did not fare as well. They watched as other 
distributors quietly went under (North Farm) or sold to the 
rapidly expanding United Natural Foods (Rainbow). Blooming 
Prairie attempted to acquire a few other distributors along 
the way, but was unsuccessful. A few years ago, they also 
tried to forge a partnership with the other large regional 
Co-operative Warehouses: Northeast Co-operative, Tucson Co-
operative, and Ozark Co-operative, with the idea that they 
could unite to form a single Co-op distribution network that 
was national in scope. The other Co-operative warehouses had 
to choose between continuing to operate independently versus 
working in unison to achieve goals that were larger than 
their original intentions. The other 
Co-ops decided to hedge their bets on continuing to operate 
on their own, and chose not to form a national Co-operative 
warehouse. 

With a vision of where the natural foods wholesale industry 
was heading, Blooming Prairie management began trying to 
determine an alternate route for its future. The best 
available option seemed to try to forge an arrangement with 
United.  They brokered a deal and BP members were given an 
option to sell their warehouses to United at a premium 
price. After much debate and soul searching, BP customers 
decided to approve the deal.  Common Ground members decided 
to cast Common Ground’s votes against the sale, but were 
outvoted by the many other larger Food Co-ops who had much 
more invested in Blooming Prairie. They felt they were 
taking a much larger risk in assuming that BP would continue 
to thrive as a regional distributor in an age of national 
consolidation. With the recent collapse of North Farm Co-op, 
many Co-ops were feeling the sting of having lost all of the 
time and equity they had invested, and did not want to see 
that happen again.

Co-op Warehouses: Now
Since the failure to agree on a national Co-op warehouse 
network, each of the Co-op warehouses continued on different 
paths. Northeast saw financial decline and sold to United 
Natural Foods (for a much lesser price than BP).  Tucson and 
Ozark continue to operate, though, their futures seem 
uncertain to many, as many stores that are the members of 
those warehouses express that they are finding better 
pricing and service from United. There are now plans 
underway to organize Food Co-ops to make bulk purchases 
together from a single distributor to get the best prices. 
If implemented on a national scale, that distributor they 
choose will have a competitive advantage and at this point 
seems certain to be United. Many fear that to have many Co-
ops switch most or all of their purchasing to United would 
mean significantly eroding Tucson and Ozark’s customer base, 
rendering them unviable as a business and irrelevant as a Co-
op, whose charter is to meet the needs of their members. 

################BOARD ELECTIONS AND PROPOSED CHANGE IN TERM 
LIMITS/ELECTION CALENDAR##################################

***COPIES OF JEN'S APPLICATION AVAILABLE IN THE HARD COPIES 
IN STORE****

Board Term Limits:
Terms are for one year.  After each term, board members must 
be elected to serve additional terms.  It is proposed that 
there are no limits to the number of consecutive terms a 
member can serve.

Schedule for Voting:
It is proposed that Board elections are to occur during the 
2nd and 4th GMM, unless otherwise required.  The CGFC will 
make provisions for voting outside of the GMM

Voting Procedure to Elect Board Members: 
1.	Applications
Board applications are to be turned one week before the 
meeting in order to give members a chance to view each 
application
2.	Quorum
a.	In order for an official vote to take place, a 
quorum of members must be present. 
b.	Quorum is equal to 10% of active membership or 25 
members, whichever is less.
c.	If a quorum is not present, a candidate must be 
elected at two consecutive GMMs
d.	Those members elected without a quorum will serve 
provisionally until the next GMM, where they must be 
reelected
e.	If new positions open up at the 2nd GMM, a separate 
election takes place
3.	The Vote
a.	Prior to the vote, applicants are allowed an 
opportunity to make a statement
b.	Members are then allowed to ask applicants questions
c.	Applicants are then asked to leave the room
d.	Members may discuss any concerns about candidates
e.	Paper ballots are distributed
f.	On the ballot is a list of the names of each 
candidate with a box next to each name
4.	Determining the Outcome
a.	A candidate must receive votes from a majority of 
members present to be elected
b.	When the number of candidates is equal to or less 
than the number of open positions on the board, members mark 
an X in the box for the candidate they want
c.	When the number of candidates exceeds the number of 
open positions on the board, members rank order the 
candidates they wish to vote for up to the number of open 
positions
i.	The top vote getters are elected
ii.	In the case of a tie for the last available 
position, rank orders are totaled for the tying candidates.
d.	Candidates are invited back into the room to find 
out whether or not they are elected

SO, COME ON OUT TO THE GMM AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH 
YOUR CO-OP








"He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise."
William Blake, ETERNITY
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