The Lehigh Valley Food Co-Op Update!

From the most recent Lehigh Valley Food Co-Op e-mail:

We are very pleased to be opening our Virtual Farmers' Market with Coop Store very shortly. We will commence our first ordering cycle starting Feb 17th. It will run until March 16th with delivery on March 19th if everything goes as planned. We need your help with ideas on what types of Bulk, Personal Care, Household care, and Produce items that your family usually buys to run your household. Keep in mind the brands you prefer. We will compile the list for easy ordering via our website. Please respond promptly.

Come to the Macungie Fire Company on Feb 17th from 7-9pm for the Launching of the website, check out the facilities and meet some producers! Address is 31 S. Walnut St. in Macungie, PA 18062 - RSVP to the e-mail or 610-965-6198.

Membership work hour shifts are in need of being filled for weekly Thursday Delivery. Now is your time to help!

Wednesday will be a 2 hr shift for bulk break down - We need 4 people for this. Times will be approx. 12-2pm?? TBA

Thursday Distribution Day 2-3 hour shifts available starting at 11pm and ending at 9:00pm depending at which site you choose to work.

Here are the drop-off sites:

• Macungie site- 3hr shifts 11-2pm - at least 5 people needed
  
  

• Macungie site - 2-8pm - 8 people needed
  
  

• Unity Church in Emmaus (3rd st)- 3:30-5:30- 2people needed

• Swain School, 31st St Allentown - 3:30-6:00 - 2 people needed

• St Lukes UCC Church 417 7th St Allentown - 4:00-6:00 2 people needed

• South Bethlehem site (TBA)- 4:30-6:30 - 2 people needed

• Nurture Nature Org, 518 Northampton St Easton .5:00-7:00 - Truck driver and helper will work at this site

Other sites - (TBA) eventually we will have other sites (Coopersburg, Fogelsville, etc ) as membership increases, in the meantime, we are looking for members to take turns picking up multiple family orders in their areas they live and bringing it back to their homes for pick-up. The times can be scheduled by individual members for these neighborhood sites - food credits will be allotted.

Restaurant and Home/Business Delivery Service - TBA call 610-965-6198 for information

We look forward to being able to compensate all member worker volunteers with Co-op food dollar credits for volunteering for the Co-op.

Jobs in need:

Distribution Day Sorters - Workers need to receive the orders from the producers at the Macungie Site and place them in the customer boxes and coolers according to customer name and drop-off site.

Truck Driver - This shift starts at approx 2pm and ends approx 9pm. CDL preferred. Will be required to drive to the sights above and help unload the truck to the drop-off sites. Please contact 610-965-6198 if you are interested in this position. Will be required to work at the last drop-off site until approx 7:30pm to then go back through the sites for a empty cooler pickup. Shift ends at the Macungie Fire Company where coolers will be stored.

Drop-off site workers- We need members to volunteer time slots at the above sites.

As we evolve there will be volunteer hours need for office work, newsletter, membership, anyway you can think of helping, etc. stay tuned. Members have the ability to bank hours eventually as our membership increases.

Let us know what times look good for you.

Thanks,

Board of Directors

LVFoodcoop

610-965-6198

www.lehighvalleyfood.coop

Veggie Wednesday: The Lehigh Valley Food Co-op

Did you know there was a food co-op in the works for the Lehigh Valley? Good stuff, isn't it? I am reprinting here (with permission) the most recent email from the LVFC Board of Directors. If you're interested in a food co-op here, or you know of someone who is, please take a moment and read this through. Thanks!

Hello All,

We, the Board of Directors, have been working hard to get the Lehigh Valley Food Co-op up and running. We apologize for the length of this letter, but there is a lot of ground to cover. Some good things are about to happen!

Contents:

1) A Change of Strategy

2) Our Model

3) How it will work

4) How you can help



1) A Change of Strategy

For several reasons we have decided to change strategies. Rather than pursue an immediate opening of a storefront, we believe it wiser and more fiscally-responsible to take things one step at a time. What does that mean? The opening of a virtual farmers’ market where members can order online and pick up healthy and local food at a site near their home.


Do we still want a storefront? Absolutely. Why then are we not attempting to open one immediately? First of all, it would mean at least six more months of work before any storefront opens its doors. Secondly, with the economy in its present state and considering that we have a widely-dispersed membership, we think it better to begin at a point that will not put us in a significant amount of debt. Lastly, it has always been a part of our vision to service the entire Lehigh Valley; the virtual farmers’ market is a way to do that.



2) Our Model

The model we intend to imitate can be found at www.oklahomafood.coop. This model will help us establish relationships with our members and our member-producers while we raise capital for a physical store-front. Check it out and let us know what you think. We are retooling our business plan to include this model. We are working on our website to include a shopping cart; we anticipate that it will be up and running by the end of February.



3) How it will work

Members will be able to order once per week online through the Virtual Farmers' Market. Each Producer will have their place on the website for members to shop. We aim to have Fruits, Veggies, Meat, Poultry/eggs, Dairy, Bulk Foods, Personal care products, Household/paper goods, and Artisan items. Purchased items will be delivered weekly to an operation center in Macungie. They will be separated according to member and drop-off site. Members will pick up their food from a choice of several pick-up sites, located across the Lehigh Valley. We aim to make this convenient for people's work schedules. For those who cannot pick up their orders, we hope to allow for a direct drop-off (home delivery), albeit with some extra charge.



4) How you can help


Take a survey!

As we would like this part of the Co-op to be representative of your wants and needs, please take this survey about the Virtual Farmers’ Market:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ldL9TQvKCX60glEIDEl9gQ_3d_3d



Donations are now tax-deductible!

We have been approved by the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities to have them be our fiscal agent for like-minded sustainable community efforts. The Alliance has agreed to oversee grants and tax-deductible donations given to the Lehigh Valley Food Co-op that are aligned with their purpose.


Drop-off Locations!

If you know of a place that would like to be a drop-off location, we would like to know!


Lastly, we welcome anyone with time or ideas to share.


Thanks for your patience,

The Board of Directors
Lehigh Valley Food Co-op
www.lehighvalleyfoodco-op.com
610-965-6198.