Creating a food cooperative has long been Jenny Becksted's vision.; however, like any savvy entrepreneur, Jenny quickly realized she could not do it alone. In April, 2014, she called together a group of trusted collaborators and advisors to help create what has now become Thrive New River Community Market.
The evolution has been rapid, and we are taking strategic action.
In April, group members handed out and posted surveys to determine whether a market for healthy foods existed here in the New River Gorge area. The results were clear. People are hungry for healthy alternatives here in the Mountain State,, and the time is now.
From concept to creation, in just under one year, New River Community Market has evolved from a group of collaborators to a Board of Trustees to a fully-formed Limited Liability Company operating as West Virginia's first multi-stakeholder food co-op..
In July, 2014, we received a grant from the Value Chain Cluster Initiative (VC2) to hire a consultant Leslie Schaller, Director of Programming for The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (AceNet). Having created her own worker-owned cooperative, Casa Nueva in 1985, Leslie is an expert in the creation of food co-ops, With Leslie's guidance, we are in the process of creating a business plan and bylaws, ensuring a solid foundation of success for founding members, owners, workers, farmers, distributors, and others involved in the process of bringing food from farm to table. Leslie will be conducting further training as we move forward.
Leslie came to Fayetteville in July to present a full-day training on cooperative board governance and owner-operator business models. In August, Leslie arranged for members of the NRCM community to visit The Wild Ramp, a fully-functioning retail food cooperative in Huntington, West Virginia. We also visited Leslie's restaurant, Casa Neuva, in Athens, Ohio. A grant from the Ohio Cooperative Development Center made that trip possible.
At the same time, founding members are lobbying for state legislation to support local food cooperatives and other food and farm initiatives. Those same members are monitoring the progress of West Virginia's laws regarding the formation of cooperatives. Other members are creating the foundational bones of Thrive New River Community Market, LLC to ensure a radically sustainable future for our multi-stakeholder food cooperative. We are talking to community leaders and looking for a location that will allow us to thrive.
As with all evolution, we have had many changes, and the way has been bumpy. Our newest and freshest change is the awareness that as we continue to grow and thrive and to seek financing to fully implement our business plan, we want to begin by creating an online Buying Club that will allow members and others to purchase healthy foods and other products online and pick them up at a location in or near Fayetteville. We are in the process of evaluating buying club software and looking for a location that fits our needs.
(On ________________, we will be hosting a Launch Celebration to meet you, to celebrate our success, and to answer any questions you have about the benefits of a food cooperative to you, your family, our community, our region, and our state. Leslie will be speaking at that event. Click Here to join us.)
The evolution has been rapid, and we are taking strategic action.
In April, group members handed out and posted surveys to determine whether a market for healthy foods existed here in the New River Gorge area. The results were clear. People are hungry for healthy alternatives here in the Mountain State,, and the time is now.
From concept to creation, in just under one year, New River Community Market has evolved from a group of collaborators to a Board of Trustees to a fully-formed Limited Liability Company operating as West Virginia's first multi-stakeholder food co-op..
In July, 2014, we received a grant from the Value Chain Cluster Initiative (VC2) to hire a consultant Leslie Schaller, Director of Programming for The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (AceNet). Having created her own worker-owned cooperative, Casa Nueva in 1985, Leslie is an expert in the creation of food co-ops, With Leslie's guidance, we are in the process of creating a business plan and bylaws, ensuring a solid foundation of success for founding members, owners, workers, farmers, distributors, and others involved in the process of bringing food from farm to table. Leslie will be conducting further training as we move forward.
Leslie came to Fayetteville in July to present a full-day training on cooperative board governance and owner-operator business models. In August, Leslie arranged for members of the NRCM community to visit The Wild Ramp, a fully-functioning retail food cooperative in Huntington, West Virginia. We also visited Leslie's restaurant, Casa Neuva, in Athens, Ohio. A grant from the Ohio Cooperative Development Center made that trip possible.
At the same time, founding members are lobbying for state legislation to support local food cooperatives and other food and farm initiatives. Those same members are monitoring the progress of West Virginia's laws regarding the formation of cooperatives. Other members are creating the foundational bones of Thrive New River Community Market, LLC to ensure a radically sustainable future for our multi-stakeholder food cooperative. We are talking to community leaders and looking for a location that will allow us to thrive.
As with all evolution, we have had many changes, and the way has been bumpy. Our newest and freshest change is the awareness that as we continue to grow and thrive and to seek financing to fully implement our business plan, we want to begin by creating an online Buying Club that will allow members and others to purchase healthy foods and other products online and pick them up at a location in or near Fayetteville. We are in the process of evaluating buying club software and looking for a location that fits our needs.
(On ________________, we will be hosting a Launch Celebration to meet you, to celebrate our success, and to answer any questions you have about the benefits of a food cooperative to you, your family, our community, our region, and our state. Leslie will be speaking at that event. Click Here to join us.)