The purpose of the Wheatsville Co-op is to promote a transformation of society toward cooperation, justice, and non-exploitation. We are constantly exploring what this work means as our co-op evolves from the organization that was born on March 16, 1976.
October is Co-op Month: a time to appreciate the power of cooperation. Many of you know the story of the Rochdale Pioneers, the community often seen as first to implement the cooperative business model as we know it. They were motivated by the need for staples that were fairly-priced, unadulterated, and sold with honest weights because they lived in a company town. The textile mill owned their housing and the stores, which had false scales for weighing goods and used gypsum to cut the ground flour that they sold. The founders of Wheatsville envisioned a place where the community could come together, could find health foods such as whole wheat and tofu that were not readily available at that time, and where we could participate in an economy that was created to serve people (in contrast to the paradigm that people exist in service to the economy). What does Wheatsville mean today, in a time when there are many competitors who sell similar foods? We are constantly asking this question and would love to hear your thoughts as well. We always look for new ways to effectively serve the needs of Owners and customers and to cultivate community connection through food.
At our May 2019 board retreat, we spent the morning with our entire management team focusing on financial performance and how we need to respond to increasingly challenging market conditions. We are always trying to strike the optimal balance between fair prices to vendors, fair wages to staff, and fair prices to consumers. We appreciate our Owners and customers who know that the grocery cart is a powerful vehicle for social change. Because we all need to eat, the choices we make about how we engage in the food economy have a profound impact on what does and can exist in the world. We know that many local vendors have been born and have managed to grow because the Wheatsville community was able to support their emerging business before they were able to produce the volumes required by larger chains. We know that smaller local farmers could not exist without a local market to serve. We know that the co-op, which exists to meet people’s needs, is constantly looking for high-quality products that consumers can trust. We also know that the power of the co-op comes from the ripple effect that we can all have, such as by rounding up for Community Action Partners.
The afternoon focus of the May board retreat was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) along with strategic Owner engagement. We reflected on the origin of our name (the first community of freed slaves in Austin, founded by James Wheat, near the neighborhood where our co-op first opened it’s doors), and discussed what the strategic governance work of the board could look like in relation to DE&I. Wheatsville has entered a partnership with Austin’s SAFE Institute, a well-regarded local organization that specializes in helping businesses foster respectful and inclusive environments. I am personally very excited to discover how our cooperative community can promote the much-needed transformation of society in this realm.
On August 1, the Board formally accepted the resignation of longtime GM/Chief Executive Grocer, Dan Gillotte. We thank Dan for his service to Wheatsville, and appreciate his many accomplishments and contributions to our co-op through over two decades of service.
We are very excited and grateful to have an Interim General Management Team in place, consisting of three highly-experienced and long-time management team members: Niki Nash, Dana Tomlin, and Bill Bickford. Niki, Dana, and Bill have a combined 52 years of Wheatsville service including 44 years of working together as a management team.
Please join us on October 5, 2019, at our South Lamar location for the Annual Owner Meeting, beginning at 11:00am.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is for Co-op leadership to provide an in-person update on Wheatsville. It is also an opportunity to meet the Board of Directors and Board candidates who are listed on the ballot. We will be sharing important updates about our financial condition and organizational priorities for the coming year.
We encourage you to participate in the Annual Meeting as well as the Co-op Vote. This year’s election will include election of three directors and selection of our Community Action Partners.
Thank you for being part of the Wheatsville Cooperative Community!
