Yes. The Board of Directors consists of the elected representatives of the Co-op ownership. As such, three years ago the Board initiated communication with the ownership and community about expanding the store. The process began with a shopper survey about expansion that was completed by nearly 800 Co-op supporters. Over 85% of the people that took the survey supported the idea of an expanded co-op, 13% were neutral, and less than 2% opposed.
The Board also did in-store tabling to discuss expansion, held an owner forum, interviewed focus groups with several local stakeholders and local organizations, and learned from other co-op’s that have successfully expanded. In the fall of 2015 we held an owner equity drive focused on building cash for our new store. We tripled our goal and raised nearly $30,000 in one month!
Using the information gathered from this work the Board developed a 5 Year Strategic Plan that serves as a guide toward our expanded store and the increased positive impact we seek to have on our community. Most recently, we gave an update on our expansion at our September 2016 Annual Meeting.