Greetings to all! The April Board meeting was held Tuesday, April 4 at the Latah County Fairgrounds. The meeting was a hybrid of in-person and Zoom participation and included Board members and Co-op staff. This April’s meeting was a time of big transition for the Board and the Co-op. We gave a big round of thanks to our outgoing Board members: Alice Ma, Rob Ely, Isabel Barbuto, and Julia Parker! Alice and her husband, Nikita, are moving to Portland, OR, to start a new chapter in their lives, so Alice decided to step down from the Board during this election cycle. Rob, Isabel, and Julia also have next-chapter activities ahead of them and decided not to run for re-election this year. Again, we wish them all the best and they all deserve our gratitude and appreciation for the many hours of service they gave to the Co-op!
On the flip side, we warmly welcomed four new Directors to the Board: Priscilla Schmidt, Kelsey Manning, Stephen Barbuto, and David Nelson! It is great to have these smart and talented people on the Board who are willing to share their talents and time.
As for regular business, the Board reviewed Melinda’s monitoring reports for our Ends, or the A Policy, which is the overall vision from the Owners communicated through the Board to the management to guide the direction of the Co-op. It is astonishing to see the impact the Moscow Food Co-op has on the community ranging from supporting local producers, establishing relationships with many great organizations like the Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition, supporting needs in our community, and being a valued community gathering place for all! The Board also reviewed policies pertaining to how the Board governs and the meaning of the concepts we have incorporated into our policies.
As part of the Board’s new Study and Engagement series, we heard from Mary Jo Hamilton who gave a very heartfelt and inspiring presentation about the Weekend Food for Kids program, which provides meals for kids in the Moscow school district during the summer when school food programs are not available. The program started in 2014 and is filling a major need in the Moscow community. Local support is coming through the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the Rotary and Lion’s Clubs, local food banks, Backyard Harvest, and volunteers that do the shopping, bagging, and distributing. Volunteers are needed as well as financial support and timely contributions of fresh produce and fruit, which are more difficult to store. More information about the program can be found at: https://palouseuu.org/weekend-food-for-kids/
The next Board meeting is scheduled for May 2, 2023, in the Fiske Room at the 1912 Center (412 E 3rd St, Moscow, ID). The meeting will begin at 6:00 pm. Current Co-op Owners can attend in person or via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, contact the Board's Administrative Assistant at boardadmin@moscowfood.coop for more information and to RSVP.
Further information about our Board meetings is found at https://www.moscowfood.coop/board-meetings.
Sincerely,
Mark Thorne, Board Chair