New Boston Cooperative Handbook.
First Draft November, 2007
Revised December, 2007
Name:
New Boston Cooperative
New Boston was originally proposed as the name for Lawrence when being settled in the 1850’s. The name implies a return to a foundation of cooperative principles in Lawrence.
Decision Making:
Day to day decisions are made by the coordinator with the understanding that these decisions can be challenged at any meeting. Major decisions such as changes in fee structure, delivery location, and position changes can be proposed by any member and will be decided upon through consensus and with majority rule when consensus cannot be met.
*participation in decision making will include all active members. An active member is defined as anyone who has paid their membership fee and is contributing to the function of the coop.
Reevaluation of Policies:
The handbook and all policies contained within will be reviewed and opened for revision annually. All current and past members will be encouraged to provide input with only current members having voting opportunities.
Need for Handbook:
This handbook serves as a tangible guide to the operations of the cooperative. It is a working, living document that fosters understanding among members. The handbook also serves as a history of the cooperative allowing members to review past policies collectively.
Grievances:
If a decision or action is made that a member feels is not within the cooperative’s best interest it is that member’s obligation to bring such grievance to the cooperative. This will open a discussion of the issue and act as a formal request for change.
Goals and Purposes:
The goals and purposes of the cooperative include:
To collectively coordinate food buying so as to avoid retail prices
To foster community
To use cooperation to ensure the success of the cooperative
To support and encourage a healthful lifestyle and planet
To educate ourselves and others on organic agriculture, food safety, appropriate technology, charity, and all fields socially relevant to the cooperative
To share knowledge and tools
Meetings:
The cooperative must actively work towards the stated goals and purposes by:
Respecting the policies and procedures of the handbook
Respecting one another and the work members contribute
Maintaining an active volunteer base
By committing time, talent, and participation
Membership:
Eligibility for membership is granted to anyone willing to fulfill the responsibilities of full membership.
The responsibilities of membership include:
Paying the membership fee.
Ordering from the cooperative at least 50% of the time. This is calculated on opportunities for the cooperative to order, not on successful orders. There is no minimum order amount for households.
Being at pickup on time with payment in hand
Supporting the goals and purposes and sharing them with potential new members
Contributing a reasonable amount of volunteer hours every year
Fees and Dues:
The membership fee is a one time $20.00 fee payable upon entry into the coop and refundable upon exit. The fee gains no value for the member and serves only to pad the bank account so that there is no risk of bounced checks. Any interest earned on the membership fee is understood to be a donation to the coop.
Members are encouraged to subscribe to the pricelist service for $1.16 per month. To do this, contact the coordinator with your address.
Because of limited operating cash, credits issued to members will not be distributed to members until the cooperative receives the credit from UNFI (usually the next order cycle).
It is important that payment is received at pickup
There is currently no limit on the number of members the cooperative may have. At the time of handbook review the membership and resulting allocation of jobs will also be reexamined.
Jobs:
Jobs are an important aspect of the cooperative’s success. It is the sharing of responsibilities among cooperative members normally incurred by a retail grocery that we are able to avoid retail prices. Without work from members, the cooperative will not work.
Job Contribution:
Jobs may not necessarily require equitable time contributions. It should be understood by all members that certain jobs may inherently require more time. With the rotation of jobs and active communication, all members should end up contributing a similar number of hours. Members performing a defined job are free to delegate this job among other members at their own organization. The single member in charge of that position will still ultimately be held responsible for that job.
Job Assignment:
Because jobs are of a volunteer nature, the assignment of job positions is also on a volunteer basis. Members should consider their talents and how they fit in with respect to the goals of the cooperative. In the event that there is no volunteer for a job, a nomination process will open with all members voting in a new volunteer. In the event that the coordinator resigns, a meeting will be held to elect a new coordinator by majority. The outgoing coordinator is expected to train the incoming coordinator.
Job List:
See volunteer descriptions.
Cooperative Basics
This section serves as a guide to the general operation of the cooperative.
Ordering:
Orders will arrive on Wednesdays. Orders are due to be submitted to UNFI by 3:00pm on the preceding Friday. Because UNFI deals on strict deadlines, it is important that members also respect deadlines. Members may try to submit late orders, but the collator/coordinator reserves the right to refuse such orders.
Orders are due to the coordinator by 10:00pm CST on the Thursday prior to order delivery.
New Boston orders arrive on week 4 of the delivery calendar. There is schedule for delivery weeks in the back of your pricelist and online at www.unitedbuyingclubs.com.
The preferred method for submitting orders is with the online order form also found at the website. You may also come to the meeting and submit your order in person. If you cannot be at the meeting, please submit your order with a friend planning to attend, to the coordinator, or via email.
Non-members are allowed to order through members but all responsibility will be placed on that cooperating member.
Pricelist:
The following information is a guide to the pricelist. All members are encouraged to purchase a
subscription to the pricelist at $14.00/year. To do this, contact the coordinator.
The pricelist requires a few minutes of careful study to become comfortable with. The most important column in terms of ordering is the 6 digit product number. This number brings up all of the other information when place into the electronic order.
Unit $ is the cost of one item within a case. For example, a can of tomatoes may be 1.83 with a case price of $21.96. The means the cost is $1.83 per can. You have to buy the entire case, this simply helps you to know a more “retail” equivalent price.
The WRHS/INFO column is also important. We order from the Iowa warehouse which is indicated by an “I” in that column. If there are no letters in the column, this means that the product is available from all warehouses. For example, CGI = we can get this product; GAN = we cannot get this product; blank = we can get this product.
Fodlink:
Foodlink is a program designed by United that allows computer access to the pricelist and the submission of orders directly to the coordinator via the internet. The software is free and self-explanatory. If a member wishes to use foodlink she should contact the coordinator to receive the setup file.
Delivery:
The order arrives at 7:30am on Wednesday of week 4 at Local Burger. A group of volunteers will receive the order at Local Burger and transport it to the home of a member for distribution later that evening. When you arrive to pick up your order you will receive an invoice. Keep these for your records. Use the invoice to make sure you receive everything you ordered. It is the member’s responsibility to review the invoice and items delivered.
If you ordered something that did not appear on your invoice this likely means that the item was not in stock. Verify this with the breakdown coordinator and the UNFI invoice.
If there is an item on your invoice that you do not receive, be sure to alert the credit person. They will make sure you are credited the next month.
The invoice also includes your amount due. This is the amount you pay no matter what. Any discrepancies will be handled after the driver is paid.
Sales tax is included in your invoice.
A delivery charge of $15.00 is charged to New Boston Coop. This is automatically split between members and will change from month to month depending on the number of members ordering.
Contact information:
www.newbostoncoop.org
Coordinator:
Andrew Roberts
newbostoncoop@gmail.com
785 840 194
Website:
Corey Roelofs
newbostononline@gmail.com
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