August 2020 Update from GM Chris Roland

Hello Co-op Owners, Neighbors & Friends:

We’re opening a different kind of grocery store. Along with our cooperative principles: open membership; democratic control; autonomy and independence, the Fredericksburg Food Co-op is guided by a set of core values. We’re going to sell delicious, healthy food, but what else? The Board of Directors has put a lot of thought into the question, “What do we want this store to stand for?” They have done a great job of balancing tangible, operational goals with community service and environmental stewardship.

OUR CORE VALUES

Local: We will emphasize buying locally sourced food and products.

Environmental Sustainability: Centering environmental sustainability in everything we do.

Vibrant/Engaged Community: We seek to be engaged with and benefit all residents of our diverse community.

Financially Strong: We will run a financially strong and successful community owned business.

What do you think? I’d love to hear from you whether you’re in support of these values or if you think we missed something. The great thing about the Fredericksburg Food Co-op is that our business can evolve in response to the ever changing needs of our ownership and community.

We will use these core values to actively manage our daily operations. We’ll make decisions every day based on these values, measure our successes, report each year on our results, and talk about how we look to improve. Our ownership and community will get a look into not just our goals, but our plan to reach them and, after the fact, how we did.

To me, one of the most powerful principles of cooperatives is transparency. Isn’t that what we’d love to see from our government, corporations, even just our friends and family? Transparency when we succeed, but also when we fall short. As your General Manager, I’m proud to be a part of an organization steeped in such idealistic values and I look forward to working towards these with you all.

Cooperatively Yours,

Chris Roland
General Manager
Fredericksburg Food Co-op