Participation in your Co-op
The co-op depends on the participation and involvement of all of our members to make our store work and to continue to reflect and serve our member’s needs and wishes. As a member you have the opportunity and responsibility to be involved in maintaining and managing our store by offering suggestions and feed-back to our staff and the co-op board. You can do this at any time in the store-front, or by attending one of the monthly Co-op Board meetings, or our Co-op’s Annual Membership meeting.
Working members are particularly vital to both the ideals of the co-op and the co-op’s day-to-day operations. The staff depends on members coming in daily to help out with bagging bulk foods, pricing items, stocking shelves, cleaning, and other daily store maintenance tasks. In addition, working members help with tasks outside of the store such as picking up bread, washing containers for bulk items, and unloading weekly deliveries. (see below)
All members are encouraged to express their creativity and commitment to our co-op in any way that works for them and benefits the community as a whole. Any member may initiate a change by discussing it with a staff or board member and taking responsibility for making it happen. This is your store!
Annual Dues
$12.00 per adult member of the household, whether working member or general member. Membership runs for one calendar year from the time of joining.
Annual Meeting
Once a year the co-op holds our annual membership meeting. This is a time to discuss and decide on any large issues, which need membership approval, to give and receive feedback from members to staff and board, and to elect any new board members needed for the coming year. It is also a wonderful social time, usually accompanied by a potluck, and serves as an opportunity to reconnect with other members
Non-Members
Anyone may shop at the co-op and pay the marked price.
Senior Members
Anyone over 60 years old can qualify for working member discounts on co-op purchases. Dues and work commitment are optional, especially for those who are unable to afford, or physically unable to perform them, but are most appreciated from all others. Our senior members have played and continue to play a central role in fulfilling working member responsibilities, and being involved in co-op decision-making, We are fortunate to have them in our co-op community.
Non-working Members
Anyone may become a member, and co-owner of the co-op by paying the annual dues. For this you receive a 2% discount from the price listed on all purchases and you are allowed to vote at the membership meetings and have access to other Co-op functions.Working Members
The co-op has a very dedicated, working membership. These members contribute one hour of work to our store, per adult in their household, per month and receive a 10% discount on most purchases. You can perform your work commitment at the store by talking to one of the staff to arrange work that suits you and is most helpful to the co-op take part in one of our community outreach projects. Among those are a weekly Community Dinner, held every Thursday for the past 16 years at the United Church in Hardwick, the co-op’s quarterly Greater Hardwick Area Community Learning Exchange, and an annual Harvest Festival and Clothes Swap.
How to be a working member
Working members work one hour per adult in their household, per month, for the co-op. They then receive a 10% discount on most items in the store. Working member status is attained on a month-by-month basis, as your schedule permits. Should you choose to be a working member, the staff will make every effort to help you find your niche, so as to accommodate and call upon your unique skills and abilities. One member of a household may do the work for other or all members of your household. You are also able to work ahead on your member work obligation, stock-piling hours for future use.
There are many ways to fulfill your member work obligations. The simplest, is to sign up on the Working Member Possibilities Chart, on the bulletin board opposite the front register. There you will find a schedule of work needs in various store departments and a place to sign-up with your name and phone number. Tasks include everything from prepping vegetables in the Café, to helping to bag chocolate covered pretzels 9in the bulk department. Not on the sign-up chart are things like general cleaning (especially in those spots that need extra help like in the coolers, or under shelves etc). Other tasks include straightening stock on shelves, helping with filing in the office, and organizing the recycling room. Some other options outside the store include;
Picking up bread for the co-op from one of our bakers. Speak with Lori, our Bread Co-ordinator, for more info.
You can also fulfill your work commitment by writing an article for our co-op newsletter, the Buffalo Bullsheet. This quarterly publication includes articles about co-op happenings and information about food politics, sustainable living and related subjects. If you’d like to submit an article, speak to Robin at the co-op, or e-mail him at buffalo1@vtlink.net. Again past issues are available for reading at our website, www.buffalomountaincoop.org
One of the ways we seek to fulfill our educational mission is by sponsoring and organizing the Greater Hardwick Area Community Learning Exchange. It is an informal offering of workshops 4 times a year designed to celebrate the sharing of the wonderful wisdom and skills to be found amongst us. If you would like to teach or suggest a future workshop, speak with or leave a message for Kate, Lori or Robin at the co-op. Workshops offered for free are eligible for working member credit at the co-op. You can take a look at past workshop series at our web-site, www.buffalomountaincoop.org
As part of our outreach and community support mission, the co-op sponsors the weekly Hardwick Community Dinner, every Thursday at noon at the Hardwick United Church, as it has done for the past 15 years. All are welcome to share the meal cooked by co-op volunteers who arrive to start cooking at 9:30am. Somewhere between 80 and 100 very diverse community members come share the meal every week. Both helping cook, and staying for clean up, which lasts until 2:30 or so, can be used as working member credit.
Serve on our Co-op Board of Directors. Directors are elected at our late winter Co-op Annual Membership Meeting. They serve for a two-year term. Monthly Board Meetings, and occasional committee meetings are their primary duties. Serving on the co-op board is a great way to have a role in implementing our mission and shaping our future. Speak to one of our board members (listed on page___) for more info.
Keeping Track of your Working Hours
When you complete member working hours, they need to be entered onto the working member work record chart, which is located behind the front register. A co-op staff person will help you enter your hours on the chart, and will then enter them into our computer, so that your purchases will automatically receive the correct discount when wrung-out on the cash register. Your register receipt will also indicate when your working member status will come to an end unless you perform more work for the co-op.
At the Register
Please either show your member card, or tell the cashier your name or member #. Your current member status and discount will then automatically be figured into your purchases by our cash register computer. In order to save time and confusion at the front registers, please have the PLU #, or price of bulk items written on your purchases if at all possible before bringing them up for check-out. There are little labels, and pens located in the bulk area for your usage. Let someone know if you are unable to locate them. It is also important to have pre-weighed your glass jars or plastic containers so that their weight can be deducted from the price of your purchases for bulk items. The cashier will be happy to help you bag your groceries, but in fairness to other shoppers who may be waiting in line, you can help a great deal by bagging your own purchases. If at all possible, please pay for your purchases with a check or cash. Credit and debit cards cost the co-op an additional 3.5 % on purchases which can amount to a huge out-lay for us. If you forget your checkbook, or for another unexpected reason, cannot pay for your purchases, members can temporarily charge items up to a limit of $50.
Co-op Member Orientations
Every three months or so we offer a member orientation meeting for members new and old, or prospective members, who’d like to talk a little more about how the co-op works, and have a more in-depth tour of co-op policies and procedures. They are a great opportunity to discuss how your unique skills and abilities might best utilized here at the co-op. They are generally held on a week-night, and last about an hour and a half. Signs are posted and e-mail notices sent out prior to their being held. Speak with Robin for more info