Future Visioning

Spent the day attending our food co-op retreat at our General Manager's house.  Most of the day focused on the future of our new building project.  Looking ahead 30-40 years is mind boggling, but that's exactly what we talked about.  Future visioning about our food supply is such an interesting subject, especially the GMO issue. 

After spending all day indoors, I came home and spent some time outdoors weeding another one of our hosta beds.  Turned out to be a pleasant 67 degrees day.  No fighting the mosquitos while weeding....nice!

After Seven Months

I attended my first official food co-op meeting this morning. Yes, I am now a Board of Director for the Menomonie Market Food Co-Op. Well actually, I've been attending the meetings since last September. After seven months, I was eager and ready to participate in discussion. There is so much to learn, and so much to catch up on with past business and Board decisions. My first meeting went very well.....I was excited and totally prepared.

Our first exciting news from Crystal, our General Manager (GM).....the co-op bought a bread oven! Hello crusty artisan bread. It was the right time to buy at a bargain price. I'm giving Crystal an A+ for her purchase.

Of course these raspberry chocolate chip scones are my all-time favorite, especially right out of the oven!

I walked around the store at our break time during the meeting this morning. The vegetable isle is my favorite part of the store. This is where I fell in love with red kale! Today I bought some fresh mushrooms and a nice big red pepper. Since the weather tonight was perfect for grilling, I threw together a mix of potatoes, mushrooms, red pepper and shallots. Toss everything with olive oil and seasonings and grill in foil @ 350 degrees. Forget the meat, I just like to feast on the tender vegetables!

The weather today was beautiful, so Bike man and I spent the afternoon raking and cleaning up our yard. I went for a late afternoon run and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Kind of feels like April!!!!

My Secret Revealed

It's official as of tonight, I am now a Board of Director for the Menomonie Market Food Co-op! I gave you all a hint about six weeks ago with my Lego accounting workshop. I have to admit that I was giggling when some of you commented back thinking I was leaving my job!

After attending six board meetings of observing and learning, I was excited for tonight. Finally, the night of membership elections and the annual meeting. Did I vote for myself.....I sure did!!! The annual meeting lasted two hours and consisted of the General Manager's report and financials for 2011, and lots of stories from co-op members looking back to the 70's. My first co-op experience was in 1981 when I moved to Menomonie, Wisconsin. I still remember the small store and discovering carob chips.....a nice substitution for chocolate.

We were all treated to healthy snacks tonight, which is always the highlight of any meeting. So as of tonight, I will now be involved in the future expansion of our food co-op, which is very exciting for our local community. I love to be around people that believe in sustainability of our environment , local foods, and organic foods. I'm looking forward to the next three years!