Minutes of the food buying club–Dec. 11, 2004
We introduced ourselves around the table.
Adaline announced that unfortunately we can’t buy from United yet. Adaline is registering us with them as Organic Buddies Buying Club for our first choice of names and Organic Friends Buying Club as our second choice. Adaline is the primary contact, and Marilyn Bell is the secondary contact. Adaline will be responsible for the money. The minimum order for United is $750, and the minimum order for Frontier is $250 to get free shipping.
Adaline suggested setting some policies, rules and regulations to cover issues like bounced checks, food stamps, how much to charge for people who want to just buy but not participate. For bounced checks, Aimee suggests a $10 charge plus all fees we incur. The household would be on a "cash only" basis from then on until they redeem themselves by paying a $50 re-joining fee. The motion passed.
United charges $8.50 membership fee per household, which covers the catalog and newsletters throughout the year. Does the club want to buy an extra membership to get an extra catalog?
We need a slush fund. We are going to incur some unforeseen expenses. Adaline suggests $25 per household per year. We will revisit this issue in six months and see how the fund is doing. The motion passed.
Bob and Carol know about a community farm co-op. They will bring information on it next meeting.
Adaline will look into opening a bank account , looking around for the best deal at banks, s & l’s, and credit unions. Aimee agreed to be the second signature on the account.
The next meeting is January 8th. We will set the meeting schedule for the year then. Hopefully, we will know more from United by then. United’s $8.50 membership fee will be billed to us at a later date.
Should we get a sales tax number? Yes.
What do we do if someone doesn’t want to participate in the process but wants to join the buying club (a "non-working member")? Some food co-ops charge an extra 10%; maybe we should do the same. The motion passed.
Shall the $25 membership fee be refundable? Under what circumstances? Should the refund be pro-rated? No, they shouldn’t be refundable.
Under what circumstances would we ask someone to leave the buying club? Not picking up their orders in a timely manner? Taking someone else’s food (stealing)? Something to think about and cover next meeting.
Should we have a written set of rules and responsibilities and expectations? Yes, it would prevent a lot of problems. What do we want to say? Something to think about for next meeting.
Next meeting: Adaline is going to bring more information; Bob and Carol will bring information on that community farm; Aimee will get information on sales tax numbers; MD will update the website; I will add the website to the roster, also the church’s address and phone number; I will also get the 9-digit zip codes for everyone and add those to the roster. We need the 9-digit zip to order from United.
Meeting adjourned.
We placed orders to Frontier.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Wilson