weavers way co-op ends report 2014
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
PREPARED FOR:
Weavers Way Board of Directors
PREPARED BY
Glenn Bergman, General Manager Weavers Way Management Team
SUBMITTED:
01/27/2015VALID FOR:
FY2014
ENDSREPORT
WEAVERS WAY CO-OPCommunity-owned food markets open to everyone.
Weavers Way Co-op2
OUR MISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
ABOUT US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
THE ENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
GLOBAL ENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
LOCAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
FARMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
PERSONNEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
MEMBERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
OUTREACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
COMMUNICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 21
WWCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chestnut Hill
Next Door Across the Way
Mt. Airy
Design: Annette AloePhotos: Weavers WayIllustration: Kate Deregibus
Weavers Way Co-op 3
OUR MISSIONIt is the mission of Weavers Way Cooperative Association to operate a grocery-based consumer organization that is owned and governed by its members, and to build community, both within its membership and in the Northwest Philadelphia area.
WE DO THINGS COOPERATIVELY .
We encourage each member to contribute to and participate in all activities we undertake as a cooperative. We follow and promote the International Cooperative Principles, support other co-ops and cooperative efforts and educate our members and our community about consumer issues and the cooperative movement.
WE’RE COMMITTED TO EACH OTHER AS MEMBERS .
We maintain a welcoming store that operates in an atmosphere of trust and respect. We provide an equitable and rewarding workplace for our member-employees. We offer products and services that both reflect our members’ needs and balance quality and cost.
WE’RE COMMITTED TO THE COMMUNITY .
We support local businesses, wholesalers, community groups and institutions in ways that strengthen our community and benefit our members. We embrace diversity and seek to reflect that diversity in our membership.
WE’RE COMMITTED TO THE ENVIRONMENT .
We work to sustain a healthy planet, promote environmentally sound products and practices, encourage and support local and organic farming and try to act with environmental consciousness in all our endeavors.
TRUST
RESPECT
Weavers Way Co-op4
ABOUT USThe Co-op’s purpose is to do good things that support our membership, the community, the environment and cooperative principles, as guided by our Ends. We achieve our Ends in many ways throughout the year. The following report illustrates our work within each of the following areas that we have identified as important to the Co-op’s success:
SALES n LOCAL PRODUCTS n FARMS n ENVIRONMENT PERSONNEL n MEMBERSHIP n OUTREACH n COMMUNICATIONS
SALES • LOCAL PRODUCTS • FARM
S • E
NV
IRO
NM
EN
T • MEMBERSHIP • OUTREACH •
PERS
ON
NEL •
CO
MM
UN
ICA
TIO
NS •
Read how our nonprofit partner Weavers Way Community Programs also fulfills Weavers Way’s Ends: WWCP Appendix.
Weavers Way Co-op 5
WEAVERS WAY ENDSWeavers Way Cooperative Association exists to provide commercial and community services for the greater good of its members and community, to champion the cooperative model and to strengthen the local economy.
AS A RESULT OF ALL WE DO:
END 1 There will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.
END 2 Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods.
END 3 There will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.
END 4 Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values; relevant environmental, food and consumer issues; and the Co-op’s long-term vision.
END 5 Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.
END 6 The local environment will be protected and restored.
END 7 Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, inclusiveness, and respect.
Dedicated to Weavers Way founding member Dorothy Guy,
1922-2015.
Weavers Way Co-op6
Welcome to the Fiscal Year 2014 Ends Report, summarizing the work of our staff to meet the Ends (long-term goals) set by the Board of Directors and member-owners of Weavers Way.
Glenn Bergman General Manager
FROM THE GM
After 42 years, Weavers Way continues to be a financially strong neighborhood market, but our reason for being is much more than just our financial health. We continue to ask the important questions: How do we control prices while still following the Ends and desires of our owners for social justice and a “triple bottom line” business philosophy? How do we address market competition? What path should we recommend for the future?
If you are new to the Co-op, you will learn by reading this report that the “enterprise” (as one of our dear owners calls Weavers Way) is much more than a grocery store. Even as our sales increase year over year, it is in the Ends that staff and member-owners find the inspiration to be more than just 9,000 square feet of retail space in Northwest Philadelphia.
In FY14, some exciting things happened:
S Revenue continued to grow at double digits, 12% compared to 4-5% for the industry.
S Local sales trended above 30% of our total sales as we continued to focus on supporting the local economy and small producers.
S Weavers Way Farms production was good, the loss was almost zero on a calendar-year basis, and the composting program at Saul High School is attracting citywide attention.
S Environmental advances included increased organic produce and bulk sales and work on sustainability reporting.
S We increased our minimum wage to $10.50 an hour and worked to move staff into the $11.50 range. Staff received bonuses totaling $95,000. We continued to implement additional training programs.
S WWCP expanded its educational programming at Martin Luther King High School, Stenton Family Manor and Weavers Way Farms.
As in any organization, we did not meet all of our goals. We saw a decline in working members and slow membership growth overall. We are working to improve customer-service response and documentation and to ease price hurdles for those on fixed incomes or public assistance.
I am proud of our team’s efforts to meet the Ends and our continued commitment to our member-owners, the community and the mission of Weavers Way.
I write this the same week as the passing of Dorothy Guy, who many years ago helped organize the buying club that became Weavers Way. Every day we miss our founding members and are honored to help keep this wonderful experiment in alternative economics alive and growing.
Weavers Way Co-op 7
SALES
Weavers Way Trended Financial Information
Mt. Airy Chestnut Hill TOTAL ANNUAL GROWTH RATE
FY2008 $7,726,421 $7,726,421
FY2009 8,490,918 8,490,918 +9.9%
FY2010 8,611,227 $773,094 9,384,321 +10.5%
FY2011 7,148,695 7,717,225 14,865,920 +58.4% *
FY2012 7,102,371 9,150,806 16,253,177 +9.3%
FY2013 7,098,656 10,130,354 17,229,010 +6.0% **
FY2014 8,849,487 10,474,863 19,324,350 +12.2%
Store sales support End 2 (“Our community will have access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods”). Sales in FY14 increased 12.2% year over year, more than double the year-over-year increase for FY13. Mt. Airy store sales have risen to a new high since the opening of the Chestnut Hill store and the two-month closure of Mt. Airy for renovations in FY13. Increased sales and transactions indicate that our community is accessing more great Weavers Way products than ever.
Annual Sales Growth
$25,000,000
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
0FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14
MA CH Total Weavers Way
Note: Mt. Airy totals include Ogontz Avenue sales.
* includes opening Chestnut Hill**Mt. Airy closed for renovations (7/12-9/12)
Weavers Way Co-op8
Number of Transactions
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
MA CH TOTAL WEAVERS WAY
Three Springs Fruit Farm and Beechwood Orchards
Adams County, PA
localapples99¢
/lb.
Working Member Price94¢
/lb.
on Wednesdays and Thursdays during Apple Season*
*Apple season starts at the end of August and ends sometime between the end of January and beginning of May, depending on supplies.
s e l e c t e d
FRIDAYNOV. 27 ONE DAY ONLY
shop localon
Spend $25at Next Door or Across the Way on Black Friday and get $5off
a Co-op purchase of $25 or more between Dec. 26 - 31.
610 Carpenter Lane8426 Germantown Avenue
BLACK�iday
Weavers Way Co-op 9
LOCAL PRODUCTS
Local sales have trended up by 12-13% a year since 2012. We estimate the Co-op will do $7.1 million in local sales and $1 million in regional sales in FY15, for a total of $8.1 million.
LOCAL LOCAL + REGIONAL TOTAL SALESAS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SALES
$6,098,473 $6,984,929 $19,426,368* Local Local + Regional
31.68% 35.95%
FY2014 Sales
* Sales numbers and percentages in this report are based on items sold as recorded in the point-of-sale system, prior to discounts.
Purchasing supports End 1 (“a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community”) and End 2 (“access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods”) by procuring and promoting locally made and locally grown products and working with small businesses throughout our region.
Weavers Way considers products local if they come from within about 150 miles of Philadelphia. In FY14, we had 261 local vendors. Of those, we internally classified 46 as “locally grown,” meaning the producer grows and/or produces the primary ingredient (e.g. fruit, vegetables, preserved food, meat, cheese, dairy). The other 215 we classified as “local” — they provide non-farm products that are locally produced but may have primary ingredients that are not local (e.g. hummus, bread, shampoo). We also track “regional” products, defined as coming from within 300 miles of Philadelphia.
Weavers Way Co-op10
Percent of Local and Locally Grown Sales by Department
Prepared Foods 99.7%Bakery 81.9%Meat & Seafood 50.4%Refrigerated Grocery 49.0%Vitamins 25.2%Frozen 20.0%Produce 17.9%Deli 11.3%Housewares 8.3% Health & Beauty 4.9%Grocery 7.2%Floral 3.7%Bulk 3.4%Pet .7%
New Local Products in FY2014
Grocery Backyard Beans coffee, Fire Eaters pizza, Weckerly’s ice cream, Castle Valley Milling Flours, Waffatopia, Jenny & Frank’s Gelato, Take Me Bake Me pizza
Bakery Taffets Gluten-Free, Chesire CatProduce Oyler’s organic apples, Charlestown Farm greensRefrigerated Grocery Conebella cheeses, Juice Room juicesMeat Stryker Farms pork and goat
Additional Products Common Market (our primary local wholesaler, who deals directly with local and regional growers): local frozen vegetables, Solebury Orchards apple butter.
Purchases from Local Vendors and Local Farms:
TOTAL: $ 3,735,885
Locally Grown $827,568
Local $2,908,417
Weavers Way Co-op 11
FARMS
The 2014 growing season saw the first implementation of a restructuring of the farms as a part of a three-year plan. Here are the major changes:
S Apprenticeship hiring put on hold.
S Field manager, harvester and record-keeper positions created.
S Six full-time employees in the 2013 growing season downsized to 3.5 full-time equivalents.
S Two farm locations managed “as one” to coordinate plantings, harvests and distribution to increase efficiency.
S Increase in prices to Co-op produce departments.
Weavers Way Farms support Ends 2, 3, 5 and 6 by providing “access to high quality, reasonably priced food, with an emphasis on local, minimally processed and ethically produced goods”; by participating in “active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community,” including W.B. Saul High School, Awbury Arboretum and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; by giving members opportunities to “actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community” through volunteer labor at our farms; and by using small-scale, sustainable methods that “protect and restore” the local environment.
grown inPHILADELPHIA
(180410)
FY2014 Financials
Total sales $145,241 To Weavers Way 26,570 To others 60,125 CSA 58,546Fundraising (net) 11,244Total Income $156,485Total Expenses $165,280Total Farm ($8,795)
2014 Farming Season Financials
Total sales $159,765 To Weavers Way 27,438 To others 71,038 CSA 61,289Fundraising (net) $11,802Total Income $171,567Total Expenses $171,575Total Farm ($8)
Weavers Way Co-op12
FIELD YEAR 2014 SUMMARY
Weather conditions were fairly good. After a late start in the spring due to a long, wet winter, summer heat and pest damage was less than previous years. However, groundhog pressure at the Mort Brooks Memorial Farm at Awbury set back production.
Labor proved to be insufficient so a second part-time harvester was hired halfway through the season. A full- time seasonal assistant position for each site will be implemented in 2015.
The part-time seasonal record keeper position will now be year-round. Data collected in 2014 on crop profitability is still being analyzed.
With help from our local buyer, we diversified the product mix and increased sales with the transfer of popular products from the stores to the farmstand at Saul High School.
Volunteer Scott Blunk expanded the composting program at the Saul farm, providing compost to the farms, and for sale at Weavers Way stores and local businesses and to community members.
FIELD YEAR 2014 HIGHLIGHTS
S Largest ever blackberry harvest at Saul farm. S Fourth Harvest on Henry raised approximately $13,000 (net). S Volunteer days and working CSA shareholder positions were
expanded to the Mort Brooks farm. S We cover-cropped a new section at the Saul farm, which will
enable a fallow section rotation in 2015. S Total harvested: 39,821 pounds (through December 2014). S The 2014 calendar year data shows a loss of only $8 for the
season!
Weavers Way Co-op 13
ENVIRONMENTWe work to fulfill Ends 1, 4 and 6 (“providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and community,” keeping members informed about “relevant environmental, food and consumer issues” and protecting “the local environment”) by choosing local and sustainable products and practices as practical for our product lines and in support of our operations. In addition, we’ve begun participation in the National Cooperative Grocers’ program to measure and track data related to sustainability.
ORGANIC PRODUCE
Sales of organic produce — and all produce — are up in both stores.
SUSTAINABILITY
The staff Environment Committee wrote a job description for a staffer to help us set and achieve sustainability goals, and Chestnut Hill Front End Manager Nick Rosica has taken on the job in addition to his existing duties. We also enrolled in the National Cooperative Grocers’ Co+Efficiency program, which provides tools to evaluate success in becoming more sustainable by measuring waste, energy, water and refrigerant use; product sustainability; staff makeup; and other practices related to achieving the triple bottom line. Since this is just getting started, there are no numbers to report yet.
TRASH AND WASTE
Each store has two 2-cubic-yard landfill dumpsters, picked up six times a week, and two 2-cubic-yard recycling dumpsters, picked up four or five times a week. Mt. Airy also uses city recycling, moving about 36 cubic feet of plastic, metal and paper at each weekly pickup. This is relatively unchanged from last year. The stores also compost vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds and similar materials via Scott Blunk’s composting operation at Saul High School. This material amounted to 69,400 pounds in FY14, compared to 64,000 in 2013, an 8.35% increase.
FY2013 FY2014 CHANGE Mt. Airy organic produce $360,000 $512,000 +42%Chestnut Hill organic produce 830,000 949,000 +14%Total organic produce sales 1,190,000 1,460,000 +23%Total produce sales 3,000,000 3,500,000 +17%
Weavers Way Co-op14
Paper and Plastic Bags Our shoppers consumed about 39,900 large paper shopping bags (31,000 were sold). Many shoppers continue to use our discarded cardboard boxes, which hopefully then get recycled at home. About 228,000 plastic produce bags were used, mostly for produce and bakery; about 34% of shopping trips consumed a plastic bag.
Bulk Sales
We observe shoppers frequently bringing containers to refill in the Mt. Airy bulk department, but we don’t track this.
Deli ContainersWe went through about 327,100 plastic deli containers and lids (about 900 per day). Some 277,500 were post-consumer recycled plastic and are recyclable again to a limited extent, and 49,600 were “virgin” plastic, #1 recyclable. We also tried a slightly cheaper square plastic container made from up to 100% post-consumer plastic but they were mostly dropped in Mt. Airy as shoppers lodged many “too difficult to open” complaints.
Meat TraysWe used about 44,000 meat trays, which are petroleum-based expanded polystyrene and non-recyclable. We experimented with a more sustainably produced, biodegradable fiber tray but both stores found fiber trays did not hold up well once wet, so we went back to Styrofoam. We continue to investigate more sustainable options for meat trays.
PACKAGING AND SUPPLIES
The Co-op uses a great deal of packaging and supplies such as deli containers, foam meat trays, office paper, trash can liners, bags (paper, plastic and cellophane), toner and scale labels. Though we source sustainably to the extent we can and made some progress in FY14, this is an area where there is still much room for improvement. A few examples:
$400 Germantown Life Enrichment Center$300 Kelly Green/Wister Elementary, East Falls
Community Garden $250 Wyck $200 Blair Christian Academy, Cooperative
Nursery, Landmarks/Grumblethorpe, My Place Germantown, PA School for the Deaf, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Waterview Recreation Center
$100 Roxborough Development Corp.
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
The member Environment Committee provides grants for projects such as planting trees and gardens and environmentally focused educational programs. They are funded by donations and electronics recycling events. The Committee distributed $2,750 in FY14.
MT. AIRY CHESTNUT HILLTOTAL BULK
SALESCHANGE
$869,056 $485,461 $1,354,517 +23%
Weavers Way Co-op 15
PERSONNEL
In addition, the various employment partnerships we’ve developed with organizations throughout the city, which provide meaningful jobs for ex-offenders, formerly homeless people and individuals with intellectual disabilities, helps the Co-op fulfill End 3, “there will be active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community to achieve common goals.” Finally, our hiring practices ensure a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, thus helping us to achieve End 7, “Weavers Way will have a welcoming culture that values diversity, inclusiveness, and respect.”
STAFFING AND COMPENSATION
The Co-op increased head count in the last year to keep up with sales growth. Full-time staff now represent more than 70% of the Co-op’s total work force. On July 1, 2014, the Co-op’s minimum wage for regular employees was increased to $10.50, and a two-tier raise schedule implemented to ensure that all regular staff can earn $11.50 by their one-year anniversary. In September 2014, the Co-op paid out staff bonuses totalling over $95,000, the largest staff bonus ever paid out by Weavers Way. We will continue to review our compensation and benefits package in light of upcoming competition. Our goal remains to attract and retain top talent by paying industry-leading starting wages, offering best-in-class benefits and giving our employees opportunities for input and advancement.
By supporting full-time jobs at a rate of pay higher than our industry and above Philadelphia’s “livable wage” threshold, and by offering our employees an industry-leading benefits package, Weavers Way meets End 1, “there will be a thriving and sustainable local economy providing meaningful jobs, goods and services to our members and the community.”
$400 Germantown Life Enrichment Center$300 Kelly Green/Wister Elementary, East Falls
Community Garden $250 Wyck $200 Blair Christian Academy, Cooperative
Nursery, Landmarks/Grumblethorpe, My Place Germantown, PA School for the Deaf, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Waterview Recreation Center
$100 Roxborough Development Corp.
Weavers Way Co-op16
RACIAL DIVERSITYADMIN MT. AIRY CHESTNUT
HILLFARM/WWCP TOTAL
FY Total staff
% non-white
Total staff
% non-white
Total staff
% non-white
Total staff
% non-white
Total staff
% non-white
2010 23 0% 45 20% 52 23% 9 0% 129 19%2011 22 0% 47 21% 56 36% 7 0% 132 23%2012 24 0% 51 31% 71 46% 6 0% 152 32%2013 25 0% 48 31% 73 44% 6 0% 152 31%2014 27 4% 54 28% 73 44% 12 0% 166 29%
STAFF TURNOVER
36%
COMMITMENT TO FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT
FY 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Full time 78 85 94 103 117Part time 52 47 58 49 49Total 130 132 152 152 166
Gender DiversityTotal StaffFemale 68 73 83 77 83Male 62 59 69 75 83ManagersFemale 16 14 14 15 15Male 10 11 14 12 12
Age Diversity66+ 2 4 7 8 956 to 65 26 22 23 24 2646 to 55 24 27 24 22 2736 to 45 14 13 16 17 2126 to 35 29 35 35 40 49
16 to 25 35 31 47 41 34
Weavers Way Co-op 17
MEMBERSHIP
The Membership Department accomplishes Ends 2, 3 and 5 — signing up new members who will have “access to high quality, reasonably priced food,” supporting “collaborative relationships with a wide variety of community organizations” and offering members abundant opportunities to “actively participate in the life of the Co-op and community.”
In FY14, the Membership Department continued to focus on increasing the total number of members and working members. We believe that working membership fosters deeper engagement, which in turn contributes to member retention. To that end, the
Membership Department has evaluated the efficacy of the Working Member Program and is poised to make changes to improve productivity and increase the value of cooperator hours to staff while enhancing the member experience by providing meaningful and operationally supportive tasks.
FY14 also saw the emergence of one of the most significant programs ever to be implemented at Weavers Way. Food For
All was conceived of and developed throughout the year so that its rollout would be ensured midway through FY15. FFA has the
potential to significantly increase access to high quality, reasonably priced food for low-income members. Not only will FFA serve as an incentive for existing members to continue to support the Co-
Weavers Way Co-op18
MEMBERSHIP DATA FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 CHANGE
Total Members 6,920 7,192 7,488 +8%
Total Active Members 4,907 5,163 5,234 +7%
Working Members 1,855 1,791 1,706 -8%
Non-Working Members 3,052 3,372 3,528 +16%
Working Member % of Active Members 37.8% 34.7% 32.6 -5.20%
Inactive Members % of Total Members 29% 28% 30% +1%
New Members 831 869 784
Resigning Members 498 366 200
CUSTOMER SERVICE METRICS
The Co-op documents all customer-service issues, good and bad, through the Membership Department. This system is based on the celebrated Zingerman’s “ZingTrain” customer-service program.
op, it encourages community members who, in the past, may have considered membership and shopping at Weavers Way to be out of reach, to join for the first time.
Total membership increased from 5,163 in FY13 to 5,234 active households in FY14. During that period and consistent with past years, there was a decline in working member households from 1,791 to 1,706. The total number of resigning members decreased quite significantly from 366 in FY13 to 200 in FY14.
CODE RED: Documented Complaints Tracked and Analyzed for TrendsProduct Concern or Complaint 32Service Concern or Complaint 45Missed Discount 21Foreign Object Found in Food 7Complaint About Staff 8Other Complaint 14CODE GREEN: Documented Compliments by/for Staffers for a Job Well DoneInternal 12Positive Feedback 7
Weavers Way Co-op 19
OUTREACH
In FY14, we pursued End 3 (“active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community’”) with sponsorships and donations and by collaborating on programs and platforms.
We ensured that End 4 (“members and shoppers [were] informed about cooperative principles and values, relevant environmental, food and consumer issues, and the Co-op’s long-term vision”) was fulfilled at our Welcome Meetings and community events, through member committees, by displaying and distributing membership materials in our stores and via panel discussions and presentations.
Throughout the year, consistent with End 5, we invited “members and shoppers [to] actively participate in the life of the Co-op and Community” through our working member program, our committees, our public events, and our collaborative partnerships.
We did our part for End 6 (“The local environment will be protected and restored”) by supporting the work of the Weavers Way Environment Committee and through our community partnerships with organizations like the Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, the Sustainable Business Network and many more.
In all of these efforts, we observed End 7 (“a welcoming culture that values diversity, openness, inclusiveness and respect in all that we do”), paying attention the comfort and well-being of fellow Co-op members, shoppers, neighbors and visitors.
As the social organizing arm of the Membership Department, Outreach takes actions, both close to home and in the community at large, to promote the mission of Weavers Way and the principles in our Ends.
Wish you had the know-how to, say, grow beautiful cucumbers and turn them into fabulous pickles? Get out your calendar — Weavers Way Farms’ 2014 Homesteading Workshop Series will have you in a
pickle, a jam, a mason jar in no time! Learn the skills you need to turn the inside and outside of your home into a DIY hub, and have a good
time in the process. Info: [email protected] .
SATURDAY, MAY 17 11 A.M. -1 P.M.
Transplanting Workshop and Plant Sale Weavers Way Farms Manager Nina Berryman will teach you all about transplanting your annuals, and all workshop attendees will go home with a transplant. There will also be a WW Farms-grown plant sale so you can stock up and get growing! At Weavers Way Farms at Saul High School. $15 at the door.**
TUESDAY, MAY 20 7-9 P.M.
Strawberry Vanilla Jam with Marisa McClellan Learn the basics of boiling-water-bath canning and jam-making with cookbook author and Food in Jars blogger Marisa McClellan. She’ll walk you through the steps of making homemade jam (it’s easier than you think!) and show you how to safely seal the jars so that they’re shelf-stable. All students will go home with the recipe and canning details, as well as a jar of the jam made in class that day. At Chestnut Hill Friends Meetinghouse, 20 E. Mermaid Lane. $30.*
TUESDAY, JUNE 10 4:30-5:30 P.M.
Composting at Home Tim Bennett of Bennett Compost has been helping Philadelphians recycle their kitchen waste into compost for five years. He’ll go over four options for home composters — worm bins, backyard composting, dropoff locations and pickup service. If you’re still unsure about doing it at home, Co-op members receive a free month when they sign up for Bennett Compost pickup service. Worms available for sale. At Weavers Way Farms at Saul High School. FREE.
THURSDAY, JULY 3 5:30-7 P.M.
Tomato Pruning Join Weavers Way Farms Manager Nina Berryman to learn different methods of pruning your tomato plants, all designed to give you maximum production. Learn how to properly care for the plants you bought at our sale in May! At Weavers Way Farms at Saul High School. $15 at the door.**
TUESDAY, JULY 15 7-9 P.M.
Low-Sugar Blueberry Jam with Marisa McClellan Love jam but can’t stand all that sugar? Local cookbook author and Food in Jars blogger Marisa McClellan will teach
you how to make perfect, perfectly delicious low-sugar jam using Pomona’s Pectin. She’ll walk you through
the steps of safe preserving (it’s easier than you think!) and show you how to process the jars so that they’re shelf-stable. All students will go home with the recipe and canning details, as well as a jar of the jam made in class that day. At Chestnut Hill
Friends Meetinghouse, 20 E. Mermaid Lane. $30.*
Weavers Way Co-op20
SPONSORSHIPS & DONATIONS
The Co-op supports local initiatives that directly benefit our members and/or positively impact the quality of life in our area. We contributed cash, made in-kind donations and offered sponsorships to many local organizations, including:
S Ambler Co-op S Central High School S Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment S Chestnut Hill Community Association S Friends of the Wissahickon S Germantown Sustainability Network S Global Citizen S Greene Street Friends School S Henry School S Howard Bowers Fund S Masterman School S Mt. Airy USA S Mt. Airy Baseball
S National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
S Pennsylvania Horticultural Society S Philadelphia Parks Alliance S TedXPhilly S Weavers Way Community Programs S Waldorf School of Philadelphia S West Oak Lane Jazz Festival S West Mt. Airy Neighbors S Pennsylvania SPCA S Humane League S WXPN
S American Cancer Society S American Red Cross S Awbury Arboretum S Books Through Bars S Chestnut Hill Business Association S Protect Our Waters S Food Trust S Germantown Jewish Centre S GMO-Free PA S Historic Germantown
S Philadephia Area Cooperative Alliance S Philadelphia University S Schuylkill Center for Environmental
Education S Saul High School S SHARE S Slow Food Philly S Temple University S Weavers Way Community Programs
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
The Co-op partnered on events, shared platforms and co-promoted common interests with select nonprofit organizations, including
WORKSHOPS
Members and staff propose workshops as a means of earning work credit and sharing information. Here are some of the workshops we offered.
S Visual Literacy S Blueprinting the Life You Love Living S Pet Nutrition S Grains & Glutens S Gut Health S Fats S Proteins & Dairy
S Smoothies & Superfoods S Transplanting S Home Composting S How to Knit S No More Back Pain (The Alexander
Technique) S Raising Spring Chickens
Weavers Way Co-op 21
COMMUNICATIONSThe Communications Department supports Weavers Way’s ends primarily in End 3 (“active collaborative relationships with a wide variety of organizations in the community”) and End 4 (“Members and shoppers will be informed about cooperative principles and values; relevant environmental, food and consumer issues; and the Co-op’s long-term vision”).
Our three primary outlets, the Shuttle newspaper, the Weavers Way website and the weekly eNews, as well as Facebook and Twitter, combine to keep members informed about what’s going on at the Co-op. We also use the Shuttle, eNews and social media, along with the online calendar, to promote community partners and Weavers Way Community Programs.
We support End 7 (“a welcoming culture that values diversity, inclusiveness, and respect”) by airing a variety of views. And like every other Weavers Way department, we do our best to support End 6 (“The local environment will be protected”). We print the Shuttle on recycled paper, keep the print order as low as possible and compost the returns. In addition, End 5 (“Members and shoppers will actively participate in the life of the Co-op”) is crucial, with so many talented working members contributing.
The highlight of FY14 in communications was the promotion and coverage of the 40th anniversary celebration in October 2013. We published a special Shuttle edition featuring an 8-page pullout with a timeline and hundreds of pictures. Two other strong Shuttle issues were February 2014, when we focused on chocolate, and the April Fools issue in April 2014, which generated a lot of conversation about legalizing chickens in Philadelphia and was also a lot of fun. Another highlight — if you can call it that — was how we handled the firing of our CFO for fraudulent credit card use. We advised Glenn to announce it at the spring General Membership Meeting, covered it in the Shuttle and then fielded questions from the local press, including, inevitably (but not very insightfully), “How could this happen again?” Ultimately, outside coverage was mostly positive.
Shuttle income of $80,108, all of it from ads, exceeded our expenses by $19,237. This does not reflect Co-op salaries or the value of the work of cooperators. Approximately 15 proofreaders, a half dozen photographers and dozens of writers earned member work hours.
Community Coverage Awbury Arboretum •Books Through Bars•Chestnut Hill Book Festival• Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment
•Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting •Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels • Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church•Dining for Women •Earth Quaker Action Team•Enon Tabernacle•Fair Hill Cemetery•Friends of the Wissahickon •Germantown Jewish Center•Grumblethorpe •Henry School •Historic Germantown •Houston School•Humane League•Johnson House• Kensington Community Food Co-op•Lovett Library•Manayunk-Roxborough Co-op•Mishkan Shalom •Morris Arboretum •Mt. Airy Art Garage •Mt. Airy Barn Dance•Mt. Airy Day •Mt. Airy Learning Tree •Mt. Airy USA• Mt. Airy-Chestnut Hill Teachers Fund
•Mutual Mt. Airy•Ned Wolf Park •NWPhilly Freecycle•Pa. Voting Rights Coalition•Penn State Extension• Philadelphia Interfaith Power and Light
•Philadelphia Open Studio•Philadelphia University•Philly Land Bank Alliance • POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild)
•Quintessence •Schuylkill Center •Shalom Center• St. Mad’s Mt. Airy Home Companion
•St. Paul’s Church•Stagecrafters•Summit Church•Time4Time • Unitarian Society of Germantown Urban Resources Development Corp.
•West Laurel Hill Cemetery•Wissahickon Valley Cohousing •WMAN Gateway Project•Wyck
Weavers Way Co-op22
ENEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The eNews focuses on Co-op and community activities and is “pushed” to about 9,700 email addresses every Thursday. Our “open rate” hovers at 22%, which is respectable.
Meanwhile, our Facebook and Twitter followings continue to grow.
FY2013 FY2014 CHANGEFacebook 3,234 4,074 +26%Twitter 2,084 2,656 +27%
ADVERTISING & PROMOTION SPENDING
We spent $20,546 placing ads with the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation, Grid magazine, Newsworks, the Chestnut Hill Local, Mt. Airy Home Companion, Philadelphia Inquirer and Edible Philly, and also bought space in numerous community event programs. This number also includes food samples for filming at the Mt. Airy store of the not-yet-released feature film “Funny Bunny” (which has a Weavers Way employee as a character).
WWW .WEAVERSWAY .COOP
More than 53,000 users accessed the Weavers Way website, looking at an average of 2.3 pages per session. The site’s “bounce rate” hovers around 50 percent. (The bounce rate is a mysterious Google metric that counts people who come to the site and then leave without doing anything else, such as going to another page or clicking on a link. Our rate is either average or a little high. It either means half of those who visited the site found what they wanted immediately or got confused and left. It’s a controversial statistic but everybody uses it.)
Weavers Way Cooperative Association559 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119www.weaversway.coop CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
INS IDEWhat’s in Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Weavers Way Community Programs . . . . . 4-5
GM’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Weavers Way Board Ballot Application . . . . 7
Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
Environment Committee . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
The Passionate Gardener . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Penn State Extension News . . . . . . . . . . 16
Low-Hanging Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Weavers Way Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Cheese of the Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Comp Shop Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chef’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Co-op Specials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Weavers Way Member News . . . . . . . . . . 26
Staff Celebrity Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cresheim Trail Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The ShuttleFebruary 2014 Vol. 42 No. 2 Community-Owned Food Markets Serving Northwest Philadelphia Since 1973
(Continued on Page 26)
by Susan Beetle, Weavers Way Finance Manager
Weavers Way is pleased to an-nounce the availability of ATM
service in our main Mt. Airy and Chest-nut Hill stores.
We have taken this step for sever-al reasons. Foremost, it provides con-venience for our customers, both mem-bers and non-member shoppers. Also, it should speed up our checkout process by reducing members’ cash-back debit trans-actions at the registers.
The ATMs are available during store hours and have a withdrawal limit of $200. The units are conveniently located near the registers at 559 Carpenter Lane (across the from the top of the stairs to the basement) and at 8424 Germantown Ave. (at the front of the store).
No ATM fee is charged on our end of the transaction. Users will need to check with their debit-card provider regarding any charge on their end.
Members can still get cash back using debit cards at the register, but the amount is now limited to $20. Members can also still, without charge, write a check for an amount greater than their purchase and receive the difference in cash. The cash-back limit for checks remains at $100. These cash-back services are a benefit for Weavers Way members only.
Other reasons for this decision in-volve the managerial and financial as-pects of providing cash-back services for members. We realize that credit and debit cards have become an integral part of merchant sales in recent years. That’s why, in 2010, Weavers Way stopped charging a transaction fee for credit and debit card purchases, and added Ameri-can Express to the list of cards we accept.
Co-op Adds ATMs to Stores
(Continued on Page 4)
By Glenn Bergman, Weavers Way General Manager
Last fall i received an email from Equal Exchange announcing
a study tour of cacao production in the Dominican Republic. The goal was to help the U.S. public see how cocoa is harvested and processed, to appreciate the hard work, investment and dedica-tion it takes to produce top-quality or-ganic cocoa. A few years ago, we sent our Purchasing Director and Deli Man-ager to Chiapas, Mexico, on an EE cof-fee tour; they said it was a life-chang-
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we have stories on chocolate, sustainability, health, chocolate, relationships, chocolate and more. Now that’s love.
Getting Chocolate Right
A Trip to Cacao Country
(Continued on Page 3)
Run for the Weavers Way BoardOur election cycle is in swing — we’re collecting nominations for candidates for a seat on the Weavers Way Board of Directors. See the nomination form on Page 7 for details and deadlines, and note these important dates
Candidate info session: Feb. 11Nomination deadline: Feb. 28Voting begins: April 1Voting ends: May 18New Board meets: June 3
I hope you realize how important our board is to the future of the Co-op. YOU could be the person who makes a difference!
For more information, go to www.weaversway.coop/2014-board-elections
— David Woo, Leadership Committee, [email protected]
by Mary Sweeten, Weavers Way Shuttle Editor
Chocolate flourishes 20 de-grees north and south of the
Equator — a segment of the globe that has seen a fair amount of economic ex-ploitation, wouldn’t you agree? But thanks to some socially conscious en-trepreneurs as well as some serious chocolate geeks, you can make a dif-ference — and eat better chocolate too.
It’s all about the supply chain.(Now, don’t stop reading, this is about chocolate.)
Ashley Cheuk, Equal Exchange
A cacao farm co-op manager shows how beans are extracted.
Mary Sweeten photo
Weavers Way cashier Summer Callihan shows the finished product.
The beans straight from the pod (above) and at the processing plant (below).
Glenn Bergman photos
Preorder Your Holiday Meal Online!
There’s Still Time to Get Thanksgiving Dinner Off Your Plate
Community-owned food markets open to everyone.
Chestnut Hill8424 Germantown Ave.
Mt. Airy559 Carpenter Lane
VISIT www.weaversway.coop
Let us lend you a helping hand!
Eat more apples, have more fun!
If an apple a day is good for you, just imagine...
Apple FestSaturday, November 22, 2-5 p.m.
The Backyard at Weavers Way Chestnut Hill
• Sample local apple varieties and products
• Hot cider and apples for sale• Taste apple and cheese pairings
• Apple print painting• Spiked for a Cause cider -
proceeds benefit Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels• And more!
Weavers Way Co-op 23
MISSION STATEMENTWWCP empowers children, youth and families with the values and knowledge to be healthy, strong and informed through experiential activities centered on urban agriculture, nutrition, and the cooperative economy.
In addition to our own dedicated and talented staff, WWCP made use of Weavers Way cooperators and volunteers, and interns from Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University Medical School, Temple University, Arcadia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
“ To be able to take home fresh produce and be able to say, ‘I
grew this!’ is an amazing feeling.“Isaiah (Saul High School junior
& WWCP summer intern)
WEAVERS WAY
COMMUNITY PROGRAMSWeavers Way Community Programs fulfills Ends 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 through collaborating with organizations that share in our mission and goals; by sharing our work with the Co-op community; by engaging Co-op members as active participants in — and supporters of — our programs; through protecting and restoring farm land using organic methods; and by creating and promoting a diverse, inclusive and respectful culture within WWCP and at our program sites.
In FY14, we completed our first formal strategic plan, continued to build organizational capacity, strengthened existing programs, launched a new program at Martin Luther King High School and diversified our funding while also creating an operating reserve fund.
Weavers Way Co-op24
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
WWCP provided farm and nutrition education lessons to 1,505 students.
S The Children’s Garden at Awbury adjacent to the Weavers Way Farm, serves to raise awareness about how fruits and vegetables are grown and enables students to consume fresh produce directly from the garden. Nine new schools visited for the first time in 2014.
S Farm Education at W.B. Saul High School connects real-life farming with the classroom by using the Weavers Way Community Supported Agriculture Farm as a land lab. In 2014, WWCP worked with students from 21 Saul classes ranging from Agro-Biotechnology to Food Science to Horticulture, as well as students from visiting schools. WWCP worked with the Philadelphia Youth Network and other youth organizations to provide paid summer internships for 11 teens. WWCP’s 15 raised beds enable students to bring fresh produce home to their families on a regular basis.
S The Hope Garden at Stenton Family Manor is a half-acre production and educational garden providing programs to residents at Stenton, the city’s second-largest emergency housing facility for homeless families. WWCP holds Garden Club twice a week with a dozen children ages 5-13.
S Farm Education at Martin Luther King High School provides life skills to students with autism and intellectual disabilities. WWCP works with students twice a week on gardening projects and meal preparation.
The Children’s Garden at Awbury
369 STUDENTS
Farm Education at W.B. Saul High School793 STUDENTS
The Hope Garden at Stenton Family Manor
154 CHILDREN
Martin Luther King High School
82 STUDENTS
Total Students and Children served in 2014
Weavers Way Co-op 25
WWCP is often asked to provide workshops at schools, libraries and in the community. In 2014, we made six of these visits, teaching 12 different lessons to 107 children, youth, and young adults.
The WWCP Farmstand produce grown at the Children’s Garden and the Hope Garden at Stenton enables the youth WWCP serves to develop job and leadership skills.
Production Yield: Over 3,500 poundsProduce Donated: Over 1,900 pounds (1,000
pounds to the kitchen at Stenton Family Manor)
Revenue Generated: $5,132 (46.2% increase over 2012)
Farmstand customers:
800-plus
WWCP-grown produce can also be found locally at High Point Café, Jyoti Indian Bistro, Earth Bread + Brewery and Weavers Way Co-op.
“ I like playing with the plants, harvesting, and seeing the plants grow because it shows what a good job we do.“
Josh (age 12, Stenton resident)
FINANCIAL REPORT (FY2014)
Not only has revenue increased over prior years (more than double what it was just two years ago), it is now more diverse. WWCP received first-time funding from eight new foundations in FY14, and has simultaneously become less dependent on foundation funding by significantly increasing individual donor support. Support from foundations is now 57% of revenue rather than 72%, and individual donor support has increased from 18% to 36% of revenue. To safeguard our strong programming, we established an operating reserve fund using our budgeted surplus from FY14. This action was consistent with our strategic plan and helps us meet best-practice standards for nonprofits.
Allocation of ExpensesSources of Revenue
Direct Weavers Way member support: Equity Donation 552 GT/Register 4350 High Five 9720 14,6224.6% of total revenue
Foundations$181,300
57%
Individuals$94,832
30%
Events $20,755 - 6%Earned $17,870 - 6% In Kind $2,063 - 1%
Programs$181,176
64%
Management$41,151
14%
Fundraising$63,310
22%
Weavers Way Co-op26
Weavers Way Co-op 27
CHESTNUT HILLFood Market8424 Germantown Ave.Philadelphia, PA 19118p: 215.866.9150 f: 215.247.2862
NEXT DOORWellness & Beauty8426 Germantown Ave.Philadelphia, PA 19118p: 215.866.9150 f: 215.247.2862
MT . AIRYFood Market559 Carpenter LanePhiladelphia, PA 19119p: 215.843.2350 f: 215.843.6945
ACROSS THE WAYWellness & Pet Supplies610 Carpenter LanePhiladelphia, PA 19119p: 215.843.2350, ext. 276 f: 215.843.6945
Community-owned food markets open to everyone.www .weaversway .coop