CITY FOODS UPDATE!

As you may know, City Foods’ Board Members and other active volunteers have been working very hard for nearly three and a half years to create a member-owned, full-service grocery in downtown Lafayette. Much of this time has been spent setting up accounts, attending seminars and conferences, visiting other co-ops, fundraising, and educating the community, and more.

One year ago our Board of Directors worked with the generous help of Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network’s Jillian Miller to develop a Strategic Plan which outlines steps to be taken in order for City Foods to reach its’ goals. During the development of this plan one of the conclusions that were made was that in order to open our food co-op, we need to start small.

There has been great success in getting support and capital for City Foods through community outreach such as having a presence at the Lafayette Farmer’s Market and holding fundraising events and educational workshops. However, those efforts have simply not been enough in the way of growing the membership base and gaining capital funds for the store. 

Through research and surveying City Foods supporters it has become apparent that the divide between where City Foods is now, and reaching the goal of a full service grocery cooperative, needs to be bridged. The best way to do this is through an online store—a place where we can market our goods with the least amount of overhead, allowing us to build a member and customer base and bring in steady income before moving into a physical storefront. Customers will order products through the City Foods website and pick up orders on specified days at the distribution location. Anyone will be able to order, however, City Foods members will be entitled to special benefits during this transition period. Further, City Foods supporters who are on the fence about investing in a membership will gain a clearer understanding of City Food’s mission and have a chance to see the co-op in action!

After months of researching products, health codes, storage, and distribution possibilities, we are launching our online store this month! This is a very exciting time, and we hope that you share in our excitement!

It is in regard to this news that we are sending this message.

This is a Call to Arms

 We need your help.

Currently we do not even have enough volunteer power to reach our goals. City Foods is a community-owned and operated food co-op. In order for the co-op to operate, we need our community to step forward and help us.

Below is a list of tasks that must be staffed by additional volunteers in order for the online store to be viable:

1.       Tech Support—We need at least 3 volunteers working week to week. The tech support team would help add products to the online store and maintain our website. Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below. *Approx. time commitment: 1-2 hours each week*

2.       Packing Lists Coordinator(s)—This person will organize, print, and deliver the packing lists to the “packers” every ordering period. Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below.
 *Approx. time commitment: 1-2 hours every two weeks initially (with more than one PL Coordinator this would be reduced)*

3.       Repackaging—We will be receiving products in large amounts and will need help repackaging these products about every two weeks. The more volunteers, the merrier! Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below.
*Approx. time commitment: 1-3 hours for one packing session. No long term commitment, sign up for as many packing session as you wish to participate in*

4.       Order Prep—Initially, online store orders will be picked up every two weeks. The night before pickup we will need at least 2 volunteers to put our customer orders together. Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below.
        *Approx. time commitment: 1-2 hours per each order preparation day. No long term commitment, it is up to you how often you sign up and participate *

5.       Distribution—We will need at least 2 volunteers every order pick-up day to collect money and hand out orders when our customers pick them up. Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below.
        *Approx. time commitment: 3 hours per order pick-up day. No long term commitment, it is up to you how often you sign up and participate*

6.       Inventory—We will need 2 volunteers to do a manual inventory after/ at the end of each pick up day to ensure that our online inventory is correct. Sign up using our volunteer web form listed below.
        *Approx. time commitment: 1 hour per order pick-up day. No long term commitment, it is up to you how often you sign up and participate*

Now it’s time to get working! Fill out  this quick volunteer form to get involved! Please email us at contact@cityfoods.orgif you have any questions about the volunteer positions listed or if you have any trouble accessing the Volunteer Form listed above. We encourage you to sign up for as many positions and time as you are interested in and able to participate in.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THIS STORE UP AND RUNNING.

volunteer form