Members of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op gathered at Voyageur Brewing Company for an annual update on Tuesday, October 27. Among the attendees were Point-of-Sale/IT Coordinators, past and present. (L-R) Jeremy Lopez, Tom Knutson and Susan Shelley. Susan is the current coordinator.
Cook County Whole Foods General Manager Jennifer Stoltz had a lot of good news to share with members attending the annual meeting held at the Voyageur Brewing Company on Tuesday, October 27.
Stoltz said the co-op gained 233 new owners in 2014-2015 and ended the year with approximately 2,224 owners, with 1,093 of them fully vested. In 2013- 2014 there were 247 new owners with 1,014 fully vested.
“We had a great year with over $3.6 million in sales, a 13 percent increase over last year and 3 percent ahead of projections,” Stoltz said. That amounted to a net profit of $65,000 with 75 percent of the sales going to owners.
Because of record sales, Stoltz announced, “We will be distributing a dividend again this year following a two-year hiatus due to new store construction. We will distribute $24,833 back to owners, $10,354 in cash and the rest in Class B stock. Look for checks at the register in early December.”
Another plus, she said, is that sale items produced in Cook County, “have increased dramatically.”
Currently 17 Cook County vendors market everything from syrup, pottery, soap, candles, greeting cards, fruits and vegetables through the co-op. Local sales generated $66,473 in fiscal year 2015 versus $51,317 in fiscal year 2014, a 30 percent increase, Stoltz said.
Other highlights included supporting the Green Dollars Survey which researched how much money is spent on food in Cook County; refinancing the construction loan with the North Shore Federal Credit Union and paying off a higher interest rate loan with Northcounty Cooperative Development Fund; starting the Round Up program at the registers which raised $2,600 so far; joining a sustainability program to track waste, recycling, energy use and local sales; receiving a new bench built by local carpenter Dave Prinsen; and exploring the possibility of installing solar panels on the co-op roof this coming year.
Of the latter, Stoltz said Brian Bennett of Outback Solar had already begun the process of looking where panels could be installed, and she hoped the work could be done this year.
Elected to the Co-op board of directors were Kathryn Bolstad and Lorrie D. Oswald.
The evening ended with music provided by Frozen Britches and door prizes awarded to lucky winning members.
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