It's time for the Spring General Membership Meeting! Twice each year, we all come together as member-owners and soon-to-be member-owners to get updates on the Co-op's progress, ask questions directly to the Board and other committee members, and socialize with each other. In addition, at the Spring Meeting we hold our annual election for the Board of Directors. Click here for information about the seven Director candidates, a proposed by-law change, and a downloadable absentee ballot.

We'll start things off with some snacks provided by Caramella Gourmet Popcorn and drinks at 6pm and begin the agenda at 6:30pm.

Agenda:

1)   Welcome

• Approve minutes from October 2013 Membership Meeting (Download draft of minutes to review)
• Review of voting procedure for new board
• Review by-law change

2)State of the Co-op
3)Financial Snapshot
4)Member-Owner Engagement
5)Site Selection Update
6)Questions and Answers

Traveling to PEP Community Room:

• Enter through the courtyard on Federal Street.
• Street parking can be found on Broad or Federal, or on Carlisle behind PEP (west of Broad off Federal). Parking availability varies with the time of day.
• Via SEPTA, take the Broad Street Subway (Orange Line) to Ellsworth-Federal Station, or take the route C bus to Federal Street.

It's possible that you've heard a little bit from us in the last few weeks about 599 and YOU: our spring membership campaign with the goal of reaching (or topping) the 600 member milestone. 

We've made some pretty cool t-shirts:

We're pretty excited about our new Co-op T-shirts. Here only till the end of #599andyou—get yours today @ Black&Brew! pic.twitter.com/3ZslDsBk4V

— SouthPhillyFoodCo-op (@SPFoodCoop) March 22, 2014

We've had some super fun and educational events. 

We've kept you posted about all of our great new members on Facebook and Twitter:

Another beautiful day brings another beautiful new member-owner household! Welcome Steve and Laura referred by Jean!

— SouthPhillyFoodCo-op (@SPFoodCoop) April 22, 2014

We've consumed quite a bit of coffee. 

And now we're in the home stretch and OH. SO. CLOSE. to hitting our goal of 600 members. So we're having a party. And we're feeling so confident that we're just going to go ahead and call it a Victory Party. 

That's right: Join us on Monday, April 28th, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) where you can:

• Celebrate the success of our recent campaign (and find out how the new, official membership count!)
• Hang with fellow members while enjoying one of South Philly's best new bars
• Get updates on the Co-op's next steps
• Purchase your limited-time only t-shirt (see above)
• Hear about our next big event — the 4th Annual South Philly Garden Tour
• PLUS: Win fabulous prizes from these Shop South Philly partners and other great local businesses:

We're in the home stretch!

The final week of our spring membership campaign, 599 and You, has arrived! Here's how you can help bring us across the finish line:

1) Join the Co-op — and encourage your friends and family to do the same! The only way we can move forward, sign a lease on a location and open our doors is if we increase our membership. Plain and simple. Click here to join our ranks!

2) Buy a T-shirt! We love our "theoretical grocery store" tees, inspired by our friends at the Passyunk Post. But they won't be around for long! Get yours at a Co-op event, or at the Occasionette on East Passyunk. P.S., kids sizes are available!

3) Visit us at Coffee with the Co-op! We'll be at B2 on East Passyunk on Saturday morning from 9 to 1, talking to folks about #599andyou, selling T-shirts and drinking a ton of coffee. Come say hi!

4) Attend our Victory Party! This is a really important one — we're so close to making our membership goal of 600, but every new person counts! We'll be at Boot & Saddle on Monday, April 28, from 6 to 9 p.m. Come for the camaraderie — and stay for the sweet raffle prizes!

Save the Date

Please mark your calendars for our Spring 2014 General Member-Owner Meeting, to be held Thursday, May 22, 6-8 p.m. at PEP Community Room, 1200 S. Broad St. To answer your questions: No, you don't have to be a member to attend, and yes, there will be snacks!

Click here for the full agenda, which includes board elections. Hope to see you there!

Bring the kids to enjoy some food-oriented fun in the neighborhood!

When: On the 3rd Saturday of every month, from 9:30am - 11:30am. Next Date: Saturday, May 17th

Where: Gold Star Park (on Wharton Street, between 6th & 7th Streets)

The South Philly Food Co-op and Friends of Gold Star Park were awarded a grant from the Fairmount Park Conservancy to hold a kids’ play group this summer in Gold Star Park. Friends of Kirkbride Elementary has joined the fun as well.

We will be meeting once a month for food-oriented games and healthy snacks.  Our first playgroup meeting will feature fun with Mr. “Potato” Head, using different fruits and vegetables.  The park has a jungle gym and other toys will be available for the playgroup.

Gold Star Park is a pocket park that features a summer concert series and fall Halloween festival.  The Co-op has worked collaboratively with Gold Star Park for several years, tabling at concerts and holding a potluck event to reach new members. This event series is a great way for parents of young children to learn more and get involved with the Co-op!  

This April, in support of our 599 and You membership campaign, the South Philly Food Co-op is hosting three fabulous events with Co-op members and neighbors to give you valuable food knowledge and a full belly! Join us for one session or all three!

Here's what's coming up:

April 6: Chocolate and Beer Pairing with The Chocolate Clinic

April 10: Vegan Cooking with Miss Rachel

April 19: Good Fats with D'Arcy Webb

More details after the jump! 

Are you and your friends the foodiest foodies in all of South Philly? There is but one way to find out:

At the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Food Quizzo.

Come out on Wednesday, March 12 with your food-savviest pals for an epic throw-down of South Philly, Food and Co-op knowledge!

Spring is a time for growth — especially for the South Philly Food Co-op! A robust membership is the No. 1 key to finding a location for our store and opening our doors to the community.

With this in mind, we’re excited to announce that on March 1, we’ll launch our ambitious spring membership campaign, 599 and You, with the sole goal of reaching — or exceeding! — 600 member-owners by the end of April 2014. We’ll host tons of public events, recruitment parties, Coffee with the Co-op sessions and more, so keep an eye on the blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts for announcements throughout the campaign.

Why 600? We know it’ll take a village to make the South Philly Food Co-op a reality. Based on all of our hard work and research into best practices, 600 is the magic number the Co-op has determined it needs in order to support signing a lease and moving forward with the store opening. When we reach this important milestone, our pens will be ready!

Where will the Co-op be located? Our real estate committee has been working nonstop to find a space that fits our needs, pounding the pavement and coordinating with real estate agents and conducting site visits to assess square footage, parking, access to public transportation, costs and other important factors. Don’t worry – when a suitable location is found, you’ll hear about it!

What happens after 600? We’ll continue to grow, and work toward our next goal of 800 member-owners. The more member-owners we have, the stronger we are. We believe that when it comes to the monumental task of opening a grocery store in South Philly, slow and steady wins the race. Achieving our milestones is crucial to our success, and we will move forward only when we have the membership to support our financial and organizational needs.

How will we get there? If you want to help open the South Philly Food Co-op’s doors, the first step is to become a member. If you’re already on board, help us recruit more members! Think of it this way: If each of our current members recruited just one new household, we’d be 1,000 strong! During March and April, the Co-op will host a variety of fun events tailored to bring folks together and encourage not-yet-members to take the leap. Here’s what’s coming up:

• March 1: TEDxManhattan viewing party at Theatre Exile’s Studio X, 10am – 6pm
• March 12: Food-themed Quizzo at the Wishing Well, 7pm
• March and April: Member-hosted Eat & Greets
• April: Coffee with the Co-op
• April 28: Victory Party at Boot & Saddle, 6 – 9pm

More events and initiatives will be announced soon, so make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Twitter or sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop!

Will you or someone you know be our 600th member? 

The South Philly Food Co-op is hosting a Board Nomination Q&A and signature gathering event on Sunday, February 23 from 2pm to 4pm at Shot Tower Coffee (542 Christian Street). Representatives of our Leadership Committee will be present to answer questions and we will conduct a "speed dating"-style signature exchange to help you get the 15 signatures required for nomination. Potential nominees need not be present to gather signatures so if you can find someone else to bring your form along, you can still take advantage of this event.

Nomination forms can be downloaded using this link (pdf).

Full details about the procedure and requirements for getting on the ballot and a complete Board Member job description can be found on our website. The most important attribute for Board service is commitment of time and energy to complete the Board’s work. It is vital that every director accepts the responsibility to contribute and honors that commitment. Member-owners who serve on the Board of Directors for the two-year term beginning July 1, 2014 will be part of a group that will take the Co-op through one of the most critical points in its history.

Even if you're just curious about what it means to be on the Board or you want to offer your signature to some candidates, join us on February 23 at Shot Tower Coffee.

Questions and completed nomination forms can be emailed to Leadership Committee Chair Aubrey Jones at [email protected].

WHEN: February 23, 2014 at 2pm - 4pm

WHERE: Shot Tower Coffee
542 Christian St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
United States

TEDxManhattan 'Changing the Way We Eat'

A Viewing Party

Presented by the South Philly Food Co-op and Edible Philly:

A VIEWING PARTY

Saturday, March 1, 2014
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (doors open at 9:30 am)
Studio X at Theatre Exile
1340 S. 13^th Street (at Reed)

This event is FREE to attend, but we ask that you please register on our event page here.

The South Philly Food Co-op and Edible Philly are teaming up to give you front row tickets to TEDxManhattan, “Changing the Way We Eat,” a one-day conference features a dynamic and diverse group of speakers addressing issues in the sustainable food and farming movement.

We’ll be streaming an exclusive LIVE webcast from The TimesCenter in New York City giving you FREE access to some of the most exciting ideas happening in sustainable food. If you care about what you eat and where it comes from, you’ve gotta see this…these ideas are definitely worth spreading!                      

2014 TEDxManhattan speakers include:

• David Binkle, Director of Food Services, Los Angeles Unified School District
• Congresswoman Chellie Pingree - US House of Representatives (Maine)
• Alison Cayne, Founder, Haven’s Kitchen
• Matthew Moore, President/Founder, Digital Farm Collective
• Virginia Clarke, Executive Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders
• Peggy Neu, President, The Monday Campaigns
• Tom Colicchio, Chef/Owner, Craft Restaurants; Head Judge, “Top Chef”
• Andrew Gunther, Program Director, Animal Welfare Approved
• Myra Goodman, Co-Founder, Earthbound Farm
• Michael Rozyne, Executive Director, Red Tomato

More speakers listed at www.tedxmanhattan.org/speakers! 

Complimentary breakfast refreshments (locally-roasted coffee included) will be provided and food trucks with a conscience will be on site for lunch. In the afternoon we'll enjoy a round of sustainable snacks and local craft beer to keep the conversation going from Studio X onwards into the evening.

Representatives from the South Philly Food Co-op, Edible Philly, Fair Food, GMO Free PA, How Does It Grow, Greensgrow, and more will be on hand to spark discussion and make connections as we share ideas in (and eat) sustainable food. Whether you drop in for a specific speaker or topic, come and go throughout the day, or stay for the long haul, we’ll be glad you came!

About The South Philly Food Co-op
We're a group of community-minded South Philly residents committed to bringing a member-owned grocery store that carries local, high-quality foods at a fair price to our neighborhood. While the end result will be a food store, we’ll be much more. The Co-op will actually be owned by our local community. More at southphillyfoodcoop.org.

About Edible Philly
Edible Philly, a member of the James Beard Award-winning edible Communities magazine family, tells the story of local food. From source to table, we spotlight the growers, producers, fishermen, vintners, retailers, chefs, homecooks, brewers and others who energize our culinary community. More at ediblephilly.com.

About Theatre Exile
Theatre Exile engages audiences by producing new and reinterpreted plays that explore the complexities of the human condition and contain Philadelphia grit and passion.  Whether through humor, sarcasm or deep drama, Exile has proven to be a place where local artists can take their biggest risks by matching challenging scripts with Philadelphia’s top talent. More at theatreexile.org. 

About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

WHEN: March 01, 2014 at 9:30am - 6pm

WHERE: Studio X at Theatre Exile
1340 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
United States
Google map and directions

Be sure to RSVP and save your spot on our event page here!

We have this theory here at the South Philly Food Co-op that every single member (we're talking to all 533 of you lovely people) knows at least one other person who ought to join. We like to call these folks "not-yet members," and we need your help to realize their potential!

If you're a member of the Co-op and you're ready to help grow our membership by recruiting those neighbors, family members, block captains and businesspeople we need on board to help open our doors, consider hosting an Eat & Greet!

Here's how it works: These house parties are fun, informal gatherings — pot-luck suppers, dinner parties, wine-and-cheese events, brunches — hosted by current Co-op members. In between bites or hors d'oeuvres and sips of wine, a Co-op representative will share information about the Co-op, speak about the importance of joining, and answer any questions your guests may have. All you have to do is open up your home to your favorite folks and let the Co-op rep do the talking!

Three ways to help:

1) Most importantly, we need hosts! If you're willing to invite some friends into your home to share food and talk about the Co-op, let us know! 

2) If everyone in your circle's already a member but you love throwing parties, become a venue volunteer and we'll do the recruitment work for you!

3) We're also looking for co-hosts — those who know a bunch of not-yet members but don't have the space to host. We'll match you up with a venue volunteer and together you can do great things. 

Benefits for our Hosts: In addition to sharing some good food and hospitality with your friends and neighbors, hosts of Eat and Greets will receive the following perks:

• 8 hours of volunteering credit
• A Co-op coffee mug or $5 off a Co-op t-shirt (coming soon!)
• 1 raffle ticket for every member who joins are your Eat and Greet - raffle of gift certificates to take place at our 599 and You victory party on April 28th at Boot and Saddle
• And don't forget, some our Shop South Philly partners may offer the perfect items for your party:

• 5% off your purchase at Mariposa Food Co-op
• 10% off at Kermit's Bake Shop
• $1 off growlers on Mondays and Tuesdays at The Bottle Shop
• 10% off gifts and home goods at Occaisionette

Interested in hosting or co-hosting an Eat & Greet? Please fill out this simple form or contact Membership Committee member Mary Kay at [email protected] or 215-839-8213.

And don't forget: If you already know someone who's ready to join, send them to our website!