The Market Day Fund-Raiser

At last the Market Day Fund-Raiser for Local Roots Co-op is about ready to begin. We can begin now to place items on order for pick-up on Market Day (Monday). Here are the highlights:

• We hope that our first Market Day will be April 7th. Orders should be received by the preceding Saturday.
  
• We need to procure a commercial refrigerator before then to satisfy the health department.
  
• One can place an order online, by email, or by dropping it off with us. Online ordering can be accessed by going to www.localroots.info and selecting Fund-Raiser. There one can view our catalog, or download it as a PDF or as an Excel file. Pressing the Order button will take one to a Login page. Members and Shareholders will have their Username and Password sent in a separate email.
  
• For those who have not yet done so, become a Member so that you can participate: $20 is enough. One can make manifest one's support with a membership this way; and can later switch to a non-working membership, if that is desired, after the Co-op opens.
• This will allow people to support us without spending any more than they already would to obtain their necessities.

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to participate in this Fund-Raiser. Take stock of what you already have to buy at the grocery store, and place your order with the Co-op. This way you can GREATLY enhance the Co-op's financial capital necessary to meet our start-up costs without any additional expenditure. Simply meet your needs through the Co-op, and you will have given it a vital means of support. It will thereby blossom from a dream into a living reality.

Moving Ahead: As A Co-op, We Need Help

Janice Mason has written another wonderful article in the Trail Gazette. You can read an electronic version here: http://www.eptrail.com/pages/01wednesday_p/wed06_comm.html. To see Walt Hester's action shots of the demolition, you will have to see the actual newspaper. Thank you to Janice and Walt!

There are three important messages that we hoped to convey in this article:

1. If one would like to have a Co-op in this Town, NOW is the time to make that desire a reality by buying a Membership. $20 is enough. One can make manifest one's support with a membership this way; and can later switch to a non-working membership, if that is desired, after the Co-op opens.
2. After having manifested one's support with a Membership, or by owning Shares, one can participate in our Market Day Fund-Raiser: placing weekly orders with us for pick-up on Market Day (I think that this will be Monday, but am still not yet sure). One can place an order online, by email, or by dropping it off with us.
   
3. We are seeking help in finding good rates from contractors, materials suppliers, and on equipment. Below, you can find a list of our needs, and the price to beat if at all possible.

We are striving to bring this Co-op into being. But being a cooperative, we need help. Tell all. Let us rise to this occasion! Let us make this town everything we would have it be! More than a step in the right direction, this Co-op will serve as the very foundation of our effort to do so. We see this Co-op as a gift to our community. It but requires that we - the community - simply lift our arms to receive it.

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Walk Ins	$ 5,600.00	2	$ 11,200.00
3 Compartment Sink	$ 4,000.00	1	$ 4,000.00
Carts	$ 100.00	10	$ 1,000.00
Salad Bar	$ 6,800.00	1	$ 6,800.00
Oven	$ 2,900.00	1	$ 2,900.00
hand sinks	$ 115.00	3	$ 345.00
Prep Tables	$ 321.00	2	$ 642.00
Bakery Display Case	$ 500.00	2	$ 1,000.00
Juicer	$ 2,590.00	1	$ 2,590.00
hoods	$ 1,000.00	1	$ 1,000.00
counter freezer	$ 1,500.00	1	$ 1,500.00
counter refrigerator	$ 1,500.00	1	$ 1,500.00
tables	$ 150.00	8	$ 1,200.00
chairs	$ 50.00	32	$ 1,600.00
bar stools	$ 75.00	4	$ 300.00
2x6 checkout counter	$ 200.00	2	$ 400.00
6' Magazine Rack	$ 100.00	1	$ 100.00
12' double Shelves	$ 100.00	5	$ 500.00
24' of Produce tables	$ 2,400.00	1	$ 2,400.00
Office desk and chair	$ 100.00	2	$ 200.00
Kitchen Shelving	$ 84.00	3	$ 252.00
Counter Top Mixer	$ 1,000.00	2	$ 2,000.00
grease trap	$ 10,000.00	1	$ 10,000.00
floors	$ 5,000.00	1	$ 5,000.00

We are Moving In: Time to Clean Up the Space

March has come, and Local Roots Co-op now has access to our future location. We are in the process of establishing accounts with several distributors who will service our Market Day Fund-Raiser. We have been working to make online ordering simple and easy when we begin. We will also accept orders by email and hand-written orders. The plan review is under way with the Health Department, in order to be able to engage in this kind of limited grocery activity.

Much remains to be accomplished:

• The carpet and tile need to be removed
• The drop ceiling needs to be taken down
• The whole space needs to be painted [We need paint!!!]
• Attractive lighting needs to be found and installed

There is plenty more work to be done after this initial work. We are still hoping to accelerate the growth of people who own Memberships or Shares. We have begun to apply for several grants. There is a $10,000 grant from Food Co-op 500, which we qualify for currently. We hope to raise another $25,000 from Memberships, Community Support Loans, and Shares. We will then qualify for a matching $25,000 from Food Co-op 500. As was mentioned before, this Co-op is designed to succeed and flourish, once open. The critical task is to meet the financial requirements to open. Helping the Co-op financially, no matter how small the contribution, will make manifest your support of your Co-op, and help transform it from a dream into a reality. Real support means a real Co-op: this May. Future support means a Co-op that will come at some future time. What kind of Town do we want? It is in our hands to create that Town now.

We have not yet selected the date, but the time is nearing when we will be calling upon our supporters to come and help us transform the space. If anyone has some free time during the week, please let me know. If anyone has tools that we could borrow, please let me know. If anyone has some extra space in a dumpster that we could utilize, please let me know.

Good will to all. Together I know that we can bring our Co-op, an essential component of our Commons, to Estes Park. And that is just the beginning…