January 7, 2025, Board Meeting Recap
A new year has begun with plenty of uncertainty, but with opportunities, for sure! The Moscow Food Co-op Board of Directors held their January Board meeting on Tuesday the 7 at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Present were eight of our nine Board members, our General Manager, Board Administrative Assistant, and our meeting facilitator. There were no Co-op owners present or on Zoom.
The General Manager presented her monitoring report for policy B6, Staff Treatment and Compensation for 2024. The policy states that the GM must not treat staff in a way that is unfair, unsafe, or unclear. The B6 Policy is extensive and includes seven sub-policies, each with specific components including elements such as staff safety, having a discrimination-free workplace, and compensation. Data for the monitoring report are collected through staff surveys conducted every other year by a person from Columinate Consulting and is not employed by the Co-op. Survey responses are not traceable to individual employees and are confidential. The Board only sees the average scores for each survey question, which are compared to a compliance benchmark. Scores presented this year were collected two years ago, therefore were the same as presented last year. A new survey will be conducted this year, and results will be presented to the Board at the January 2026 Board meeting. The monitoring report was accepted in compliance with the policy by the Board. In addition, the General Manager presented financial information for the fourth quarter which shows positive sales growth compared with 2023 in both October and November. December sales data are not out yet but will be reviewed at the February Board meeting. Additional and interesting details from the January meeting can be found in the General Manager’s FYI report on the Meetings and Minutes page of the Co-op’s webpage.
The Board accepted its Global D policy monitoring report in compliance. The D policy covers the connection between the Board and Management and simply states that The Board’s sole point of delegation for the operations of the Cooperative shall be the General Manager. This policy prevents Board members from directing or evaluating any employee other than the General Manager. The Board also approved a set of questions and a scoring matrix for evaluating candidates for the upcoming Board election.
In other business, the Board discussed the first four chapters of the book “US History in 15 Foods,” which we are reading to help us better understand the relationships between food and social structures in our country. We are reading this book as a Board to help educate ourselves on how we can best serve our community as described in our Ends policy (see below).
For our Study and Engagement Series, the Board heard how we can support the Black Student Union at the University of Idaho. The Black Student Union is a student-run organization open to all students and strives to create an ideal intellectual, cultural, and social environment for students at the University of Idaho through awareness, education and action. The Black Student Union ensures that students not only have a safe haven to go to but also provides student academic support. With the loss of state and university support for Black students, students need to know they are welcome and have a place at the University of Idaho. One way we can support the Black Student Union is to attend the upcoming Black Excellence Gala being held January 31 at 7 pm at the Pitman Center International Ballroom. Furthermore, we can assist financially by purchasing tickets for students to attend. The Black Student Union can be contacted by email at bsu@uidaho.edu or by phone at (208)-885-7716. More information can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BlackStudentUnionUI/. Tickets for the Gala can be purchased through Venmo which can be accessed using a QR code found on their Facebook page.
Our Study and Engagement Series helps the Board and staff members become better informed about issues and activities that affect our community. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles states that we have “Concern for Community,” and listening to people describe issues of concern in our community is directly tied to our Ends.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for February 4, 2025, at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center (411 S Main St, Moscow, ID). The meeting will run from 6 - 8 pm. Current Co-op owners can attend in person or via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, contact the Board Administrative Assistant at boardadmin@moscowfood.coop for more information and to RSVP.
Further information about our Board meetings is at https://www.moscowfood.coop/board-meetings.
Sincerely,
Mark Thorne, Board President
Moscow Food Co-op Ends Policy
The Moscow Food Co-op is at the heart of a thriving, healthy, and inclusive community where:
1. We embody and embrace cooperative principles and values.
2. All community members have local access to environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and healthful choices.