Patrick Reagan (one of the organizers of the proposed Altadena food co-op) sends us this:
The next meeting of the committee to investigate an Altadena food
co-operative is scheduled to meet Thursday April 17th at 8:00pm at the
Coffee Gallery. Our core group is getting off to a good start but
others are welcome to attend if they are interested.The original idea for a food co-op got started during an on-line
discussion. There's been frustration at the closing of the Pasadena Wild
Oats and an interest in a wider selection of products than offered by
existing stores in our area. Plus there are general issues, such as
rising prices, neighborhood access to organic food and the environment,
that don't seem to be addressed adequately by conventional grocery stores.There are some wonderful co-ops in neighborhoods just like ours around
the country. They're member owned so they're very responsive to local
needs and contribute back to the community in many ways. They also play
a proactive role that normal businesses seem to have a hard time with -
helping communities develop demand for sustainable products.This next committee meeting is for people who are interested in, and
have the time to help research, what it will take to establish a food
co-op. No prior co-op forming experience is necessary. We'll be
addressing issues of financial management, fund raising, marketing, real
estate and grocery store management. So if you have experience in any
of these it would be great to have you with us. The goal of our efforts
will be to prepare for the next step - which is to hold a community
meeting to gauge general interest in our area.If you are interested then please attend. An RSVP to would be
appreciated. Please send it to...
patricksavesworld@dslextreme.com If you're interested but cannot make this meeting, respond with what
hours work for you and we'll factor this in to your meeting schedule
discussions. In the last meeting we decided to try alternating between
daytime and evening meetings.Feel free to pass this information on to others who might be interested
and to post this information to any discussion groups/blogs for our area.
Thanks,
Patrick Reagan