A Huge Thank You from the GBCFC Board of Directors
The 2023 Shopper & Customer Survey Review by Dominic Silva-Martin, President (pictured left), and Erin Hanna-Butros Meyering, Director (pictured right).
When they said, "it takes a village", what they really meant was IT TAKES A COOPERATIVE.
Our cooperative leadership, that is to say, the store management team and the board of directors, relies on the voice of the membership to plan our future. In our time serving on the board of directors, we have never seen this level of response - We received record engagement on this year’s membership survey with nearly 600 replies! This year, we offered an online and in-person survey, which allowed us to compound our data and ensure it provides meaningful information to the co-op and its members.
A few of the highlights/What you had to say:
- The Foodshed Cafe (and the debut of the local, organic salad bar) is desired by many. Following closely behind ... to offer community workshops and gatherings.
- That our staff rocks! 95% of folks said our staff members were friendly and courteous; AND ranked extremely high in being knowledgeable of our products and of local food.
- We seem to be meeting many of your product needs, but have room to grow, especially in the ready-to-eat foods (another thing the cafe project will help with).
- The folks that shop with us the most (and responded to the survey) are less than 5 miles away - over 85% of survey respondents.
- Advocacy surrounding local food does not fall on deaf ears in this crowd. Nearly 90% of you listed advocacy efforts as either important or very important when it comes to getting more people and policymakers involved in transforming our food system.
Simply put, thank you for your feedback and for being a willing and active member in this co-op. Meaningful input and constructive feedback is what helps us continue building stronger community, better food, and happier members.
Kitchen's New Spring Greek Salad
From the Housemade team comes this delicious new Greek Quinoa Salad! Packed with all organic ingredients: quinoa, cucumber, feta cheese, kalamata olives, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pine nuts with a lemon, garlic, mint, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil dressing.
Available with either vegan or omni feta.
GBCFC E-LETTER ARCHIVES
Ever want to take a look back in time and see all of the E-letters that we've sent out over the last few years? Archived E-Letters are now live on our website. Take a seat, sip on some coffee, and dig in! Knowledge is POWER.
What's Going On With the Foodshed Cafe?
You made it clear in the recent survey (and all of the daily in-store questions/requests on the subject) that you want the Foodshed Cafe back!
The Foodshed Cafe was our upstairs restaurant that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The cafe utilized more local products than any department at the co-op (besides D.R.O.P.P. - R.I.P 🫶🏻). We offered delicious options for all dietary types... vegan, paleo, gluten-free, comfort food organic, healthy/clean eating, raw...
Back in 2020, we had plans to open Reno's first fully organic and local food-based salad bar up in the Foodshed Cafe. The grand opening was going to be on Friday, March 26th but that weekend prior, the state of Nevada received news that everyone needed to enter lockdown mode and only essential businesses could remain open if all workers and patrons were fully masked.
Included in the statewide shutdowns were salad bars... after working so hard to get this massive new salad bar upstairs and borrowing a crane from our cousin's construction site (Thanks Angelo, cousins, uncles, and friends!), this provided some comedic irony in the 11th hour. Either way, it would not have mattered since we were immediately thrust into 16-18 hour days with all registers open and lines out the door. 🔥
Salad Bar restrictions were released sometime in 2021 and while we could have opened the Foodshed Cafe & Salad Bar then, we decided not to after carrying through as an essential business for nearly two years. We were tired and struggling to find quality help. What we all needed was a month-long nap.
Fast forward to early 2023 - we've picked up all of the help that we needed over the past year and are finally back to pre-COVID employment levels. Our wonderful ops manager, Melanie (Mel) Stephenson, has returned to live in Reno and be with the co-op. THIS IS A GAME-CHANGER! If you have not yet met Mel at the co-op, then you're missing out on a very sunny feeling place in Reno. 🌞
Last fall, we started planning to reopen the Foodshed Cafe. Just before our former Edible Landscape Architect Jana Vanderhaar moved back to Denmark, she recommended that we put a deck extending from the Foodshed cafe's North facing wall out above our parking lot. She thought it was the perfect view of the Sierra NV mountain sunsets... she was absolutely right. The whole team and board fell in love with the idea and we started working with an architectural and structural engineering team. Here is one of the drawings that the architectural firm produced for us. We won't be moving forward with the solar panels at this time as there is not a sufficient return of energy on the investment required.
Extending our seating capacity with a deck would not only allow for a gorgeous view but would give us back the seating capacity that we lost when we opened No City Coffee and installed our salad bar in the main cafe dining room (also in the top 3 most requested items in the recent member & shopper survey... we were a little bit ahead of y'all there).
We sought out several bids from General Contractors and have decided on a contractor to move forward with. We would love to kick off construction this summer since having the parking lot compromised isn't as dire as it is in the winter. However, we need a healthy influx of cash to initiate this project since it would also include internal cafe renovations. Now that we have three years of cafe food service operation under our belts, we can easily see all of the inefficiencies in that space. We want to revamp the former Foodshed into the cafe of our dreams. The goal is to secure $300K in working capital.
We already have access to this amount between our own cash reserves and a commercial line of credit but the interest rates right now are just ridic. We don't want to go there. Instead, we are looking to do this project the way we've done all projects in the past 18 years - with membership equity and low-interest member loans.
For $20 a year OR by paying off your "fully vested" amount of $200*, you can help make this dream a reality! *$200 for now. At $200, our co-op remains as one of the lowest "fully vested" equity amounts (or $20 payments per year for 10 years). Several co-ops are in the process of moving up to or are already at a full share investment of $400. We are discussing this potential increase at the next board meeting. If you have thoughts on the subject please send them to board@greatbasinfood.coop
When we moved to Court St we raised nearly $80K of equity in just a couple of months. We also received nearly $800K in member loans that have all been paid back plus interest. If you are excited about this project and would like to loan your co-op money, please email gm@greatbasinfood.coop. We can discuss the options and repayment terms (with interest ☺️).
Thank you,
Amber Sallaberry
Co-Founder & GM
Saying Goodbye to Mary Rubin
This week we are celebrating and saying goodbye to longtime co-op employee, Mary Rubin, who started working at the Food Co-op in August of 2016, approx 6.5 years ago. Mary started in the juice bar and eventually worked in every single department at the co-op (including DROPP) before she made her way to management. For the last couple of years, Mary has helped to both support the role of and serve as the Local Food & Sustainability Coordinator.
She has recently been accepted to nursing school with plans to pursue a path in acupuncture 🪡 - we are all so happy and proud of our YUNG MURPH 💫🌟
You will likely see her around the co-op over the next several months until her courses start full-time. Mary's also doing the incredibly hard work of setting boundaries with the people she loves… yep, you guessed it, that’s us. While we all love shooting the shucks with Mary, the less that you see her at the co-op, you can be assured that she is learning how to say no 🙌🏽
Jokes aside, there is no one like Mary Rubin. A genuine weirdo (said in the highest regard from the weird womb sisters), a helper, a laugher, a true friend, and one of the bright souls leading us into the future. 🥰
We love you Mary and we can’t thank you enough for being with us all of these years. 😭 🤗 🙌🏽♥️
This is Mary Rubin as a baby and our GM Amber Sallaberry as a teenager. Mary is wearing one of Amber’s (Drellicks) character dress-up wigs. 1996…where it all started.
Weekly Rotating Soup Schedule
All soups are made daily with ❤️ in the co-op kitchen. We use all certified organic ingredients and as much local as seasonally available.
OMNI - short for omnivore. All soups in this listing are always Gluten-free.
Sunday
Omni Loaded Potato Soup / Vegan Thai Tofu
Monday
Omni Lamb Stew / Vegan Lemony Lentil
Tuesday
Omni Sausage Kale Potato / Vegan Tomato Bisque
Wednesday
Omni Chicken Tortilla / Vegan Pumpkin Chili
Thursday
Omni Broccoli Potato Cheddar / Vegan Carrot Ginger
Friday
Omni Chicken (Turkey) Noodle Soup / Vegan Curried Squash
Saturday
Omni Chicken Mulligatawny / Vegan Mulligatawny
$1 Off
Stellar Snacks
(Carson City, NV)
On Sale March 1st - 31st
Regular price $3.99
Stellar Snacks is a local, women owned company baking delicious pretzels in Carson City. From their hand picked seasonings to their sustainably harvested flours, they take pride in the natural ingredients used to make their ambitious flavors. Pictured above, Stellar founders, mother daughter team, Elisabeth and Gina Galvin
4 for $5 Organic Ataulfo Mangos
On Sale March 1st - 14th
Regular price $1.49 ea
15% off Harmonic Arts Functional Mushrooms
On Sale March 1st - 31stRegular Prices Vary
New Vegan Pesto Potato and Chorizo Breakfast Burrito
$2 off
On Sale March 1st - 31stRegular Price $12.99
New Raspberry Lemon Scone
$1 off
On Sale March 1st - 31st
Regular Price $3
$1 off No City Matcha Latte
Excited to announce the newest drink on our menu... MATCHA LATTE! Artisanal, premium, second-harvest Matcha is a vibrant, organic, and tasty addition to the menu at No City Coffee. Available in 8,12 or 16oz options.
(Pro Tip: it pairs well with our housemade almond milk)
Come upstairs and give it a try!
On Sale March 1st - 31stRegular Price $5, $6, $6.50
E-GIFT CARDS... PERFECT GIFT
We've got the perfect gift for any occasion! Buy a co-op gift card online and then text or email it to your recipient. They can scan it from their phone at the register to pay for their next grocery trip. 🥳
ORDER YOUR ONLINE E-GIFT CARD
Anyone can shop, everyone can join!
Open everyday from 7:30am – 9pm
Great Basin Community Food Co-op
240 Court St Reno, NV 89501
775.324.6133
info@greatbasinfood.coop
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