At the November 11th Board meeting, we discussed the upcoming – and pivotal – Annual Member Meeting on December 9th, from 7 - 8 P.M., which will include plans for the 2025 Board Elections in April. All Member-Owners are encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be held virtually on Zoom*. If you do not have time to Zoom with us, please do watch the recording that will be shared afterward. As our By-Laws remind us, it is important for us to meet annually as a membership, to vote on important issues, and to allow every Member-Owner to have a voice in how KCG is run.
2025 will be an important year. Edie Burkey will continue on the Board until 2026 but is stepping aside as Board President. After the Election, we will vote for the Executive Team, and a new Board President will be chosen. Edie and the current Board will assist with the transition plan. The Board is also actively recruiting not only new Board Members for the Spring election but also volunteers for key areas such as event planning, fundraising, and membership recruitment.
Recent newsletter Special Feature stories have explored the need to raise money for the store. Raising capital funds from a variety of sources is known as building the “Capital Stack.” It takes more than Member Equity Shares to have enough money to do everything required for the store prior to the time when the Co-op is self-supporting.
A Co-op differs from a privately-owned grocery store in many ways but most importantly, you, the community-members own it. Right now, we need community donations to create the funds whereby banks and other lending institutions will finance us with construction set-up loans. This month’s Special Feature (below) imagines the Capital Stack as a stew – a mix of funds from a variety of sources leading to the store full of delicious food! You, our members and supporters, help us with the base for this "Capital Stew" (see Special Feature below) by donating what you can. Please check out the donation page on the website.
Our next Board meeting will be Monday, January 13th, at 7 P.M. in person at the Kennett Township Community Room, 801 Burrows Run Road, Chadds Ford, 19317. All members are welcome to attend. We will be recapping the December 9th Annual Meeting feedback. Please attend the January Board meeting in person or on Zoom.
* Zoom details to join the Annual Meeting have been mailed to all Member-Owner email addresses on file, and will be sent again one day before the meeting. Please drop us an email if you'd like to update your contact information.
Healthy Holiday Cooking Class at the Kennett Library
presented by KCG and Penn Extention!
MEMBERSHIP EVER-GROWING
We are currently at a Member-Owner count of 451! We particularly need volunteers to work on Events and to help with the effective work of our social media posting. Volunteers who have a special interest in working on ideas for attracting new members through events or social media are especially needed. Please join us to help us continue to build our membership and the store. Fill out the volunteer form found on the website, and our volunteer coordinator Sandi Murphy will be in touch to discuss your interests.
GIVE THE GIFT OF KCG MEMBERSHIP THIS SEASON! The Founding 500 members will be honored in the store. Join now to be recognized as part of this forward-looking group! Members will determine what this commemoration will look like – a brick walkway? a mural wall? so many options!
Monday, December 9, 7-8 PM: Annual Member Meeting (webcast): The Board will share lessons learned from the lease negotiations and share next steps & plans for the future of KCG. A formal invitation has been emailed sent directly to Member-Owners. It is critical that you attend and have your voice heard!
Thursday, December 12, 6:30-8 PM: Fundraiser: "Winter Wellness" Yoga & Essential Oils Workshop (1290 Baltimore Pike, Suite 105, Chadds Ford, PA): Enjoy a relaxing at The Yoga Space: Chadds Ford, featuring essential oils from LogHouse Aromatics. Get your tickets today – half of the proceeds go toward financing our store!
SPECIAL FEATURE: "CAPITAL STEW"
Have you heard the one about stone soup? About magic stones that turn water into soup? And folks are so excited that they come to see the magic and maybe bring an extra potato or onion or carrot to throw into the pot? And eventually a whole village is fed? There are many versions of this folktale about the power – and deliciousness – of community effort and the magic of one plus one equaling much more than two.*
Stone soup provides a good analogy for the cumulative effort – and delectable result – of coming together to build a food co-op. Let’s call it “Capital Stew.” While KCG is certainly open to a single benefactor setting a co-op feast for us all, it’s not likely to happen. And the spirit of a co-operative is truly in its name – members band together to build something big that the whole community can enjoy. Along the way, we each throw something into the pot to increase its flavor and yield.
Before KCG’s official capital campaign kicks off in the coming months, there is a very important step that individual members can take to boost its success. If we can raise $30,000 in donations from members and members’ friends to combine with our member-equity funds, we will be able to secure bank loans and attract grants. This is where your pantry’s carrot or potato comes into play. As noted above, we have 450 individual and household members; if each of those units gives $75, we will have over $30,000.
If you believe in the Co-op and in the Capital Stew we are cooking up, please add to the pot. Your donation today – in any amount, large or small – will lead to co-operative abundance in the form of a locally-sourced, healthy, and community-oriented grocery store. Donate today.
Your financial contribution to Kennett Community Grocer’s Capital Stew will help bring healthy, local, and affordable food to our community. Please make a donation today!
