The Bushwick Food Cooperative held its annual meeting on Friday, April 12th at the MayDay Space. The Governance Committee organized the gathering, which featured presentations by Fran Sanhueza, the BFC’s General Manager, the BFC Board of Directors, and the Finance Committee.

Charlie and Jen from the Governance Committee began with a presentation of cooperative principles and the structure of the co-op. For owners looking to get more involved in the co-op, there are openings on BFC’s Board of Directors and committees. Other ways to support continued growth and success for the co-op are to recruit owners, participate more frequently, and shop more often.

Next, owners split into small groups to participate in a series of workshops:

• Emma Tao and Leslie Tu led a hands-on tutorial on creating reusable shopping bags from single-use soft plastics.

• Brittni Zotos quizzed owners on cooperative history trivia.

• Fran Sanhueza led a discussion on building a survey to learn more about co-op members’ shopping habits and preferences.

• Rebecca Webster walked owners through the new conflict resolution policy drafted by the Governance Committee.

• Gerry Volel led a garden talk, complete with a tutorial for planting and caring for seedlings.

After reconvening after the workshops, candidates for the Board of Directors gave short talks, which were followed by a vote by owners. Online voting was open prior to the meeting in addition to the in-person vote that took place. Candidates included Rebecca Webster, Amy Rahe, and Sarah Overholt, and all three were elected to the Board of Directors. Click here to learn more about the new BFC Board of Directors.

The State of the Store was presented by our General Manager, Fran. She covered staff team introductions, in-store updates, the co-op’s 10 year anniversary, the seven cooperative principles and how they apply to BFC, GM strategic planning, and general co-op reminders like practicing friendliness and professionalism when working or shopping in the store.

The Finance Update by was presented by our Finance Committee Chair, Jesse. He covered the 2018 highlights, equity investments, sales trends, 2019 projections, and a call to action for anyone interested to help out on the Finance Committee.

Finally, the State of the Co-op was presented by Ali and Jason. It included reflections on 2018, owner growth, sales trends, board focus and changes, and a call for ownership to Speak Up, Show Up and Stock Up!