BUFFALO MOUNTAIN FOOD COOP & CAFE

Happy New Year, co-op members! May it exceed all our expectations!

There are many changes happening in the world of co-ops, natural foods and Buffalo Mountain specifically. Many of these changes will affect our member-owners. In our last email we mentioned hosting a few member forums in the new year to discuss these potential changes at Buffalo Mountain. We have the dates and times now: Sunday January 20 at 4:00 and Monday January 21 at 6:00

THIS SUNDAY JANUARY 13 @4:30PM:
“Coops: Past, Present, and Part of a Positive Future”
Presentation and discussion by Annie Gaillard   Held at:

This presentation and the forums will be held at
The Center for an Agricultural Economy & Vermont Food Venture Center
140 Junction Rd, Hardwick, VT 05843 located behind Aubuchon Hardware

Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op is a retail food cooperative of 1800 members and sales of just over $2 million. We are looking for a General Manager to help us grow into our next phase of our business. The job of the general manager is to lead the co-operative so that it achieves the goals and objectives developed by the Board of Directors to make the Co-op an inclusive, active community institution for all. Located in the rural town of Hardwick in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, we are one of the anchor businesses in our village. Started in 1975, we have been the foundation for the local food movement in our area. We have operated with a collective management structure but with our size and competition we now need solid leadership and business skills to achieve our cooperative goals. Are you that person?

Responsibilities include:

• Establishing organizational goals (including store sales goals), performance objectives, guidelines and best practices that are based on Board Policy and strive towards achieving them.
• Oversee all store operations based on the goals, objectives, and standards of the organization. Maintain a viable Co-op store within a highly competitive and challenging marketplace.
• Oversee, assist, and supervise staff.
• Develop a budget, direct all financial operations, and report to board on financial performance.
• Implement a margin strategy with a goal of being price competitive while maintaining sufficient net income to support liveable wages.
• Ensure a welcoming and well-maintained store environment for customers and staff.

Qualifications include:

• 2 – 5 years experience managing a cooperative, natural foods store, or similar business environment.
• Knowledge of strategic planning, budgeting, pricing, margins, and product merchandising.
• Experience working with a Board of Directors under policy governance.
• Proven ability to build and lead a team through effective situational leadership.
• Personal and professional values that align with the cooperative principles and values.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency using QuickBooks, Excel, Word, Windows, and a POS system.
• Knowledge of the natural food industry, current trends in natural food co-ops, and local food systems.

This is a full-time position. Interested candidates should send resumes to board@bmfc.coop .

To our Membership and regular neighborhood patrons,

For the past 15 years, our humble café has been honored to serve creative hot lunches, delicious sandwiches, and beautiful omelets to the community. We want to thank everyone near and far who supported this tiny café with their regular patronage and enjoyment of what we had to offer. The Co-op is currently under transition with a lens on financial viability and sustainable functioning.   The café apart from the rest of the Co-op places a lot of demand on the structure of the business. We cannot continue to function in the manner we have been. So, we are ceasing the short order service breakfast and lunch menu. We are going to start this change the week of Thanksgiving, 11/19/18. The café will still be offering coffee/tea, a wider selection of baked goods, prepared cold sandwiches, salads, casseroles, noodle dishes and of course, our delicious soups. We want to provide the best options for organic, local healthy choices to our surrounding communities and folks who come through to enjoy our lovely area. Doing a better job from the perspective of financial well-being for the overall organization we hope will be beneficial for all.  Our focus will be on foods that will be delicious, quick and ready to go for you or stay and enjoy the space and free WiFi in our cozy space. We are excited to work with the Co-op community together to create a nourishing healthful environment for the café space.

Thank you for your patience and consideration.

PRE-ORDER your Stonewood Farm, Vermont fresh, turkey NOW through Monday November 12th @9AM

Pickup is Tuesday November 20st afternoon.

Turkeys start at 12 lbs and are ordered in 2 lb increments, so 12-13 lbs, 14-15 lbs etc…

The price is $4.00 per lb.

$10.00 deposit is due at time of pre-order.