Great River Co-op's Inaugural Member Event A Success

WALPOLE, NH - The Great River Co-op recently hosted its first-year event at the Walpole Town Hall, with over 100 member-owners present at the celebration of this up-and-coming cooperative food store. Serving the Fall Mountain and Bellows Falls areas, the Great River Co-op will be an area alternative for healthy choices - a source for local, organic food that is more environmentally sound, cost-effective and much more convenient - as oppossed to driving to a co-op in Brattleboro or Rutland.

"The member-owner celebration last Tuesday night was an affirmation of all the hard work that our board volunteers have done so far," Steve Fortier stated in a recent interview. Fortier is the Great River Co-op Board President. "We've volunteered thousands of hours to the dream of a co-op to serve the Great Falls region. To be in a room full of people that share our vision was really special. We were expecting around 50 to 60 member-owners and had 106 people present for our presentation."

The presentation from the co-op board included discussions on the current successes in creating a founding board of directors, the hiring of two staff members, an update on grant loans and the evolving plan for the future co-op store, as well as an update on the market and financial study which is currently under way.

The co-op has already been awarded two grants; a $9,000 matching grant from the Food Co-op Initiative in order to hire a Project Manager and Communications Coordinator, as well as a $18,270 grant from the USDA toward the cost of the market research study.

"The study is being conducted by Cooperative Development Services based in St. Paul, MN and Madison, WI," Fortier said. "They are the leading consulting company working with food co-ops on start-up, governance and operations. By definition, we are a full-profit organization because we will be re-investing profits back into the growing business."

Also present for the event was Bonnie Hudspeth, the Membership and Outreach Coordinator of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, who spoke about the important role that co-ops play in strengthening both local and regional economies and food systems.

“The recent increase in the number of New England communities coming together to organize new food co-ops demonstrates the growing recognition of the co-op model’s effectiveness in helping communities meet their own needs,” said Bonnie Hudspeth, Membership and Outreach Coordinator for the Neighboring Food Co-op Association.

The co-op gathering also benefited Our Place Drop-In Center (located in Bellows Falls) and the Fall Mountain Food Shelf (Langdon, Charlestown), as members donated over 160 pounds of non-perishable food items at the event.

"I hope that each of the 106 participants at last week's event was inspired to contribute what they can to keep the project moving forward," Fortier said. "Whether by volunteering on our Board or one of our committees, or by encouraging their colleagues and friends to join them as a member-owner."

There was also a bountiful buffet table offering a variety of locally-made specialty foods, treats and a gift basket raffle. Local contributors to the buffet included Ting Food in Walpole; The Enchanted Baker in Chesterfield; O So Fine in Westminister; The Farmers Table in Springfield and the Walpole Creamery in Walpole.

Moving forward, the co-op will be continuing to spread the word and gathering new members, while offering a minimum of four events throughout the year. The next event is scheduled for April 2, when officers and a permanent Board of Directors will be voted upon by member-owners.

"There's a lot more to be done to make this regional food co-op a reality," Fortier concluded. "We look forward to working alongside even more of our fellow member-owners and local farmers and producers in the year ahead." To learn more, visit the Great River Co-op web site at www.greatriverfoodcoop.com.