We've been busy with summer school! Well, not literally, but we have been taking advantage of many opportunities to learn about cooperatives and to pass that knowledge along to the community. So far, this has been a wonderful summer filled with learning. Here are some highlights:
Food Shed Co-op owners came together for our very first Owner Orientation. Owners shared individual reasons for joining the co-op, talked about the vision for our store and discussed the way forward. The meeting was a big success!
Our wonderful volunteers were busy spreading the word all over the county! Volunteers marched in the Crystal Lake Independence Day Parade, the Cary Public Library invited us to show Food For Change: The Story of Cooperation in America and organizations around the county welcomed our volunteers to give presentations about our co-op.
Members of our board attended Illinois Food Co-op Startup Day in Urbana, IL to connect with and learn from other members of the cooperative community. We heard from representatives of other co-ops about the exciting things that are happening in their communities and gained insight into what lies ahead for Food Shed Co-op.
Join us at the County Fair!
To get the doors of our community-grocery store open soon, we need to add more owners quickly! Continuing to spread the word is imperative to that goal. The McHenry County Fair offers us a wonderful opportunity to reach a wider audience and educate about the advantages of cooperatives and how and why we are working to open one of our own.
We are looking for volunteers to help out! Sign up for a shift (or two, or three, or...) on our website and you will be given a free pass for admission to the fair on the day (or days!) that you are volunteering.
If you are planning to attend the fair, please plan to stop by our table and say hello. This is a great way to introduce your friends and neighbors to Food Shed, too!
How can you help?
In order to get the doors of our store open quickly, we need more owners! We estimate that we'll have around 1,000 owners before the store opens. Our next goal, which will move us into Stage 2B is 500 owners. (Click to learn more about the stages of co-op development and view our timeline.)
If you are not yet an owner, please consider joining today!
If you have already signed up (thank you!) you can help out by telling everyone you know why you joined the co-op and urge them to do the same. Use the tools in the Owner Toolkit to kickstart telling your Food Shed story.
We are also looking for motivated, dedicated volunteers. In addition to volunteers to represent FSC at events, we need help leading and organizing events and communicating with our volunteers. If you'd like to learn more about volunteer leadership opportunities, please send us an email at [email protected].
You can also visit the Events page on our website to sign up to help at a specific event and find out more about volunteering in general on the Volunteer Information pages of our website.
To get the doors of our community-grocery store open soon, we need to add more owners quickly! Continuing to spread the word is imperative to that goal. The McHenry County Fair offers us a wonderful opportunity to reach a wider audience and educate about the advantages of cooperatives and how and why we are working to open one of our own.
We are looking for volunteers to help out! Sign up for a shift (or two, or three, or...) on our website and you will be given a free pass for admission to the fair on the day (or days!) that you are volunteering.
If you are planning to attend the fair, please plan to stop by our table and say hello. This is a great way to introduce your friends and neighbors to Food Shed, too!
How can you help?
In order to get the doors of our store open quickly, we need more owners! We estimate that we'll have around 1,000 owners before the store opens. Our next goal, which will move us into Stage 2B is 500 owners. (Click to learn more about the stages of co-op development and view our timeline.)
If you are not yet an owner, please consider joining today!
If you have already signed up (thank you!) you can help out by telling everyone you know why you joined the co-op and urge them to do the same. Use the tools in the Owner Toolkit to kickstart telling your Food Shed story.
We are also looking for motivated, dedicated volunteers. In addition to volunteers to represent FSC at events, we need help leading and organizing events and communicating with our volunteers. If you'd like to learn more about volunteer leadership opportunities, please send us an email at [email protected].
You can also visit the Events page on our website to sign up to help at a specific event and find out more about volunteering in general on the Volunteer Information pages of our website.
July Events
07/17, 2:30-6pm McHenry Fiesta Days We will host a children's game during the Ice Cream Social. Information, ownerships and merchandise available tomorrow!
07/18, 8am-1pm Woodstock Farmers Market Look for us on the square! Information and ownerships available this Saturday!
07/23, 8-8:30pm Info & Updates Webinar Spend 30 minutes learning about our progress and how you can get involved. Register today!
August Events
08/01, 8am-12pm Community Garden Day Volunteers of all skills levels are welcome to come tend the Food Shed Co-op plot at Soulful Prairies
08/01, 12-8pm Summer Stomp Information, ownerships and merchandise available, volunteers are needed
08/05-09, 10am-10pm McHenry County Fair Information, ownerships and merchandise available, volunteers are needed
08/07, 6-8pm First Fridays at Crystal Lake Brewing Information, ownerships and merchandise available
08/08, 10am-12pm Coffee and Conversation at Ethereal Confections Information, ownerships and merchandise available
08/15, 8am-1pm Woodstock Farmers Market Look for us on the square! Information and ownerships available
Where else should we be? Who should we talk to?
If you have any ideas about events that the Food Shed Co-op can participate in or places where we can present, please send them to [email protected]. Trained volunteers and members of our board are happy to speak about FoodShed Co-op anywhere we're welcome!
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