Syracuse Real Food Co-op

Annual Report

2009-11-04T12:46:00.002-05:00

This just in! We have wrapped our annual report for 2008-09. Download a copy here. We will have 50 copies available at our meeting tomorrow, if you want to be sure to get a copy, please print one for yourself.

See you there!
Meeting%20Packet-Final.pdf

Say Yes to Food Education!

2009-10-28T13:47:00.003-04:00

On Monday, October 26th, the Syracuse Real Food Co-op (618 Kensington Road, Syracuse, NY 13210) will host a group of students from the Say Yes to Education After School Program. 2nd and 3rd graders from the program will visit our community owned food co-op to learn about healthy eating habits. Say Yes to Education students will get a tour of the co-op (including our produce department where they can see pictures of the farmers that grow their local food), paint pumpkins, purchase healthy snacks, and create posters highlighting healthy food.

Say Yes to Education ensures that all Syracuse County School District students receive necessary academic supports to provide the foundation for promising and productive futures. These supports are designed to address all areas that impact a student's readiness for college as they progress through grades K-12, culminating with the promise of free college tuition for students who meet graduation, residency and college admissions requirements. Say Yes support includes after-school programming that builds upon student interests and styles of learning.

Leafy Green Rule Raises Concerns

2009-10-26T13:26:00.002-04:00

Lancaster Farming reporter, Meagan Crandall reports on the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) hearings in Syracuse on Tuesday the 20th. Read her report here.

Participate in Your Co-op!

2009-10-22T15:00:00.003-04:00

Run for the Board of Directors!

Voting begins November 5 – December 5.
All board applications must be submitted by October 31.

5 steps to joining the board of directors:
1. Download the Board Application Package , and submit it with:
2. A resume and/or background information
3. Answers to these questions (250 words max for each question):
Why do you want to serve on the Board of Directors?
What makes you passionate about Syracuse Real Food Co-op?
What unique skills or perspectives will you bring to the Board?
4. A picture of yourself. We will publish this information for our member/owners to read.
5. Prepare and present a 3 minute statement for our Annual Meeting on November 5

Send electronic submissions of items 1-4 to amanda@syracuserealfood.coop or drop off your information in the store by October 31.

Questions? Contact Amanda@syracuserealfood.coop

Syracuse Co-op and National Organic Coalition

2009-10-20T17:04:00.002-04:00

Amanda Gormley from Syracuse Real Food Co-op testified today (10/20) in alignment with the National Organic Coalition against a National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement. The proposed Agreement was created by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service in response to the 2006 E-Coli outbreak. It is modeled after California's Leafy Green Marketing Agreement which many attribute to California leafy green grower's desolation of farmland and unsustainable farming practices.

The Agricultural Marketing Service proposes this Agreement as a voluntary means for the industry to regulate production of leafy greens. The AMS, however, is not a food safety advocate, nor does the AMS have any experience regulating food safety.

Download a copy of our testimony and reasons for opposition: LGMA Testimony

2009-10-12T16:34:00.001-04:00

Our Co-op in the News!

2009-09-30T18:00:00.002-04:00

Check out the Post Standard article about our upcoming expansion here!

Real Food, Real Money, Real Impact

2009-09-15T00:38:00.002-04:00

NCC News', Rachel Silver posts this report about the Syracuse Real Food Co-op: Real Food, Real Money, Real Impact.

Proposed Bylaws

2009-09-09T17:46:00.003-04:00

The final, proposed version of the Syracuse Real Food Co-op are here! Please post your comments and/or questions in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

Voting begins November 5!

You can see the current bylaws here: SRFC%20Bylaws%202002.pdf

Now Hiring!

2009-08-21T11:56:00.002-04:00

Merchandising Manager Needed!!!

The Syracuse Real Food Co-op is a growing natural food store in the Greater University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, N.Y. Established in 1972, this neighborhood institution has over 1,600 active consumer-owners and annual sales growing to $1.6 million. The recent growth in business has lead us to plan a major expansion and relocation, and we project that we will grow to over $5 million in sales in our new store. We are located in Central New York, where we enjoy all four seasons, thriving arts and culture, beautiful parks, and countryside just minutes from the city. The Greater University Hill Neighborhood was named one of the top ten neighborhoods in America for 2008 by the American Planning Association.

We are seeking a dynamic person with retail management experience to lead our grocery department. Grocery sales average $25,500 weekly, and include dry grocery, perishables, bulk foods, and health, beauty and cosmetics. Well-qualified applicants will have excelled in managing a larger department. Candidates must be flexible and work well in a tight knit team. The ideal candidate is skilled in human resources, margin and category management, grocery systems, has demonstrated success displaying excellent customer service and is extremely passionate about local, organic, and natural foods. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including health, dental, vision, retirement, and a staff discount. EOE

Qualified candidates are encouraged to e-mail a letter of interest, resume, references and salary requirements by August 30^th to: travis@syracuserealfood.coop or by snail mail to: Travis Hance, General Manager, Syracuse Real Food Co-op, 618 Kensington rd. Syracuse, New York, 13210 www.syracuse.coop

Co-ops Serving as a Bi-Partisan Health Care Model

2009-08-08T11:06:00.001-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/health/policy/07coop.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Sunflowers can Brighten Anyone's Day!

2009-08-05T17:32:00.002-04:00

These sunflowers are bringing a little extra joy to the co-op today, so we thought we'd spread the love!

SRFC is Growing Up!

2009-07-14T12:18:00.003-04:00

Gloria, Thane, Travis, and Amanda talked about Syracuse Real Food Coop and our potential as a community on the Aha Moment tour bus.

Watch us here!

AhaMoment Tour

2009-07-06T11:33:00.003-04:00

SRFC was invited to participate in the Aha Moment tour tomorrow (Tuesday, July 7th). We'd love to have some of owners participate in the discussion. When did you decide to become an owner? When did you realize what a valuable asset our member owned organization is to the community? Please join us in discussing these topics on film.

E-mail amanda@syracuserealfood.coop for more information.

Owners Gathered June 25th for a Discussion about Recommended Bylaw Revisions

2009-07-01T16:32:00.002-04:00

On June 25th, SRFC hosted an Owner Forum. Thank you to the owners who helped to organize this event, and those who attended.

At the Forum, a number of important issues were raised surrounding the Board of Directors recommended bylaw changes. We discussed their implication on our co-op, expansion plans, owner participation, and other general concerns. Please visit http://www.srfcforum09.wordpress.com for complete notes on the forum. You can also browse the recommended changes, and leave your comments. What do you think about these changes?

A follow up Forum will be held Thursday, August 13th. We need volunteers for this event! Please e-mail amanda@syracuserealfood.coop if you are available to help make phone calls about the forum, set up for the event, or clean up after the event.

Announcement!

2009-06-25T13:33:00.001-04:00

Bylaws Revision Forum

Tonight!

Due to a high number of RSVP's, we have moved the forum to:

1085 E Genesee St.

United Methodist Church

Come for a discussion of our Board’s proposed Bylaws revision!!!

For More Information

Contact:

Amanda Gormley

315-420-9775

Bylaw Revision Tool Kit

2009-06-09T17:52:00.002-04:00

Download a PDF of the Bylaw Revision Tool Kit here!

In advance of the Owner Forum on June 25th, participants can download a copy of the tool kit documents following the link above.

As a reminder, here is the Owner Forum information:

What:
Question/Answer Session with the Board of Directors
Re Recommended changes to the SRFC By-laws and other directives

When:
Thursday, June 25th
6:00pm

Where:
Syracuse Real Food Co-op*
618 Kensington Road
Syracuse, NY 13210

Syracuse Real Food Co-op will be hosting an Owner Forum on June 25th at the Co-op. This forum, sparked by recommended by-law changes by the Board of Directors, will be held as a question & answer format. Participants are encouraged to come with their questions and/or general comments or suggestions about the Co-op.

Please RSVP to amanda@syracuserealfood.coop!
*The location is subject to change, depending on the level of participation. Any venue changes will be posted to the website.

Owner Forum, June 25th

2009-06-04T15:10:00.003-04:00

Tell Congress what you think about GE foods!!!

2009-05-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

Here at the Co-op, we have been dedicated to providing safe, clean, and healthy organic and natural food to the Syracuse Community for over thirty years. We have done this according to cooperative values that ensure equality of all people, and democratic control of our business. We believe that access to safe, healthy food is a global human right.

A Senate bill introduced to increase funding and and food security in developing countries (Global Food Security Act) also requires that foreign agricultural development aid include investment in genetically engineered (GE) crops. This effort to fight global hunger and poverty would force GE crops on countries and farmers that don't want them.

You can read more about this at the Center for Food Safety, including a protest letter to congress.

Comments due by June 1st, 2009!

Plant Sale

2009-05-19T21:07:00.002-04:00

Syracuse Real Food Co-op is hosting a plant sale Saturday, May 23rd. Please join us! Come meet Karl and Allison Frost from Frosty Morning farm, and Rose Ryan from Harvest Home Organics. They'll be bringing their young, organic vegetable and herb plants; ready to be transplanted to your home garden. Come meet the farmers, ask them your questions about gardening, and enjoy an afternoon at the Co-op. Hope to see you there!

Meet Amanda, Our New Marketing & Member Service Coordinator

2009-05-08T16:09:00.004-04:00

Amanda Gormley is our new Marketing & Member Service Coordinator. If you see her in the store, please give her a warm welcome. Ask her about her two favorite topics: real food, and community!

Amanda is deeply connected in these areas. She is involved with a number of movements based in Syracuse such as Autism and Breast Cancer awareness. She is also familiar with local farms and farming practices, having worked on a local dairy farm for the past year, as well as served for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm.

Amanda has joined our team as the Marketing & Member Service Coordinator. Her job is to bring you value. Please help her do so by completing this survey.

Make it Your Co-op, Share Your Suggestions!

2009-05-06T16:43:00.003-04:00

Our new suggestion box (The Bird Box), is up and running at SFRC! As always, we are thankful for your ideas, suggestions, and comments on how we can make the co-op a better place. "A Little Birdie Told Me..." will be a regularly featured column in the New Leaf where we respond to your submissions. (Don't worry, we'll still be posting answers on the bulletin board.)

We look forward to your comments!

Bylaws Revision Update

2009-04-01T17:57:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update about our Bylaws revision! We have a final draft together, and we are in the process of retaining an attorney to give us a legal opinion of our proposed changes. We are very excited about the proposed changes because:

A new capital system will allow us to bring more funds into the cooperative to allow us to expand and grow.
The co-op will issue common stock, phyisical evidence of your capital contribution.
The co-op will declare and issue patronage dividends in accordance with section 1835 of the Internal Revenue Code. This will keep more of our money in the community by reducing corporate taxes that the Co-op has to pay, and you, the owners, will get a patronage refund check!
Any entity will be allowed to be an owner, not just individuals.
Sets the quorum at 5% for decisions by owners and will allow voting by mail.
We will add the office of Vice President.
Our fiscal year will change to end the Sunday closest to the last day of June.
We will require only one annual meetingg instead of two.
Annual Financial reports will be required to be circulated at the annual meeting.

Once we have a Legal opinion, we will have the bylaws available for you to look over at your convenience, and we will vote to ratify these revisions this fall. It should be noted that we haven't had a wholesale revision of our bylaws since the mid 70's! These new changes will empower you, the owners of the organization.

Thank you all so much for your input at member forums, and be sure to talk with our Board Members when they are in the store on Saturdays, or, call the store anytime to talk with our General Manager, Travis.

My Co-op ROCKS!!!!

2009-03-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Let's show the national Cooperative Community how our Co-op Rocks!

You could win a Macbook, a $500 gift card to your Coop, or a FlipMino HD mini digital recorder.

If you want to film in the store, be sure to contact our General Manager, Travis, to set something up.

Read all about it here.

Co-op Appreciation Day!!!!

2009-03-06T18:31:00.004-05:00

Stop by tomorrow for our monthly sales event, we have some goodies in store, including...

Sampling new products! We have, for your consideration...

Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese, 4.99/lb Regional, Cooperatively Produced, and what a bargain!
Cooperstown Cheese Co. Toma Celena, 16.59/lb Another case of a New York Cheese standing up to Italy's finest. Our current favorite!
Clawson Dairy's Mature Cheddar with Malt Whisky, 7.59/lb Okay, we know this one is from the other side of the pond, but it's WHISKY IN CHEESE!!! How could we resist?

Of course, we will have free coffee for Cooperative owners, and we will have Board Members in the store to engage with you all.

We should have a lot of fun, can't wait to see you!