In the true spirit of cooperation, three natural food distributors recently gathered their management staffs together for a two-day brainstorming and information gathering session. Representatives from North Farm Cooperative, Tucson Cooperative Warehouse and Ozark Cooperative Warehouse discussed best practices in management, sales, marketing, purchasing, warehousing, operations and transportation.

“We have a lot in common – we carry many of the same natural products and we reach similar segments of the population, both buying clubs and retail accounts,” says Bill Lathrop, North Farm Cooperative general manager.  “And, since we don’t compete directly with each other we’re happy to help each other out.”

It was an event that had been years in the making. In fact, management from the three co-ops had met informally in various fashions at several industry events, even touring each other’s warehouses and attending general membership meetings on several occasions. But the management teams had never formally met one-on-one with their counterparts to discuss core competencies, compare benchmarks, and share challenges unique to natural products and cooperative distributors.

The focus of the meeting, held at the Tucson Cooperative Warehouse in February, was first and foremost a learning experience for everyone involved. Equally valuable was the discussion of areas where the three co-ops can work together to reduce duplication of effort and collectively reduce costs.

“Since we share almost identical concerns, it is a real opportunity to work together and pool our resources and experiences. I see great sharing possibilities in the area of member education and communications – newsletter articles, product information and other educational materials,” says Reggie Smith, TCW general manager.

“Sharing our financial information is also giving us perspective in evaluating our sales, margins and expenses.”

“We need to remain relevant,” explains Bill Lathrop, North Farm Cooperative general manager.  “And in order to be relevant in a modern world, we need to make continual adjustments to our current business strategies. Continue to benchmark against Tucson and Ozark will help us all become better distributors and add value to our membership.”

There are two main ways items become discontinued. The first occurs after a vendor decides not to make the product anymore. This could be due to slow sales, product defect, product recall or they decide to reformulate the old product and reintroduce it as new. At North Farm Cooperative every attempt is made to relay the information from the vendor on a discontinued product as soon as possible through the price lists, our Web site, www.northfarm.com , the bimonthly newsletters and on our invoices as a message.

North Farm spends a lot of time and money to update our mailing lists to ensure that you receive the Price List and bimonthly newsletters on time. It would help if you would notify North Farm any time there are changes that would affect North Farm’s service to you.

It’s easy and there are several ways to do it: You may fax or mail Form E (Information Update Form in the Price List), fax or mail a letter, send us a Change of Address Card provided by the Post Office, e-mail us at nfcoop@northfarm.com or call Member Services. Soon an Information Update Form will be available to fill out on our Web site. And even if you haven’t moved in a while, please check your next invoice to make sure all the information listed there is correct.

Hello members of North Farm Cooperative! My name is Becky Sonstrom and I am the new Retail Sales Manager for NFC. I bring to North Farm over 12 years of retail, sales and sales management experience. I “grew-up” in corporate America and recently decided to channel my efforts into an industry that allows me to truly help people with the products and services I promote.

I know North Farm from three years’ experience as a customer in Iowa. My favorite product, by the way, is Annie’s Shitake Sesame Vinaigrette (thought you’d rather know that than my favorite color); it’s a great marinade as well as a dressing.

So far I’ve traveled all over Wisconsin meeting many members (you’ve all been so warm in receiving me) and plan to do the same as we bring on new reps in Michigan and Minnesota. I recently returned from Expo 2000 in Anaheim, my first industry show. I was amazed at the depth and breadth of offerings and the friendliness of industry members.

Chris Balistreri has accepted the position of Outside Sales Rep for Minnesota (includes Madison). Chris comes to us from Member Services and has over 13 years of sales experience.

Once upon a time, on farms nestled in the rolling hills of northeastern Wisconsin, four dairy farmers —John, Bruce, Louis and Robert—decided to raise and nurture their small dairy herds naturally, the old-fashioned way.

Using certified organic feed during the fall and winter months and allowing their herds to graze on sweet, green grass from their pastures during the warmer months, they produce great-tasting milk free of offensive hormones and dangerous antibiotics. The milk is collected gently and transported daily to a local dairy where it is pasteurized, bottled and delivered that same day to warehouses and stores throughout the Midwest.

These farmers are proud of their work. North Farm Cooperative is proud to offer their milk, born in the heart of Dairyland, to our members in 13 midwestern states.

We can now provide a steady supply of organic milk double certified by OCIA and OGA at a reasonable price. Having our own supply of milk will help us meet the increasing needs of our members while providing better service with fewer out-of-stocks. And as sales grow, we will develop other quality dairy products such as butter, half & half, whipping cream, cottage cheese, sour cream and more.

As we launch this exciting new pro-gram, we are experiencing some growing pains. Our milk is produced with a 19-day shelf life. If kept refrigerated at 38°, it will last several days longer. The milk is bottled and delivered fresh to North Farm every Thursday. As we are committed to always providing the freshest product available, any milk left from the previous delivery is pulled from inventory. Most is sold through our outlet store at a reduced price and the remainder is donated to local food pantries.

With greater member demand we will be able to increase the frequency of our production to further improve freshness and shelf life. Should our milk ever fail to meet expectations for quality and freshness, we guarantee a full replacement.

Now is a great time to try North Farm milk! During May and June we offer extra savings on both gallons and half-gallons with a 10% discount off already low catalog sale prices. So help celebrate “June Dairy Month” by taking advantage of this limited time offer. And join us in thanking John, Bruce, Louis and Robert for their efforts at producing better milk in a better environment.

The North Farm Board of Directors met in Madison, Wisconsin on March 24 and 25, 2000. Board President Bill O’Donnell facilitated the meeting and encouraged discussion among board members and management. We Board members worked had to come to a consensus on all items.

The Board dealt with these key issues: Magic Mill, General Manager’s Evaluation, the General Membership Meeting de-tail and process, Policy Governance, Board Evaluations, the Annual Report, Board elections and Bylaw changes.

Policy governance continues to move forward. Four policies were approved at the March meeting. These include Director Training, Code of Conduct, President’s Role and Board Job Products (or job description). Board members have worked diligently between Board meetings, and several more policies are on the docket for approval at the May 12 Board meeting.

Board members also discussed the annual Board evaluation. We evaluate ourselves on such items as attaining goals, communication, facilitation, policy-making and over- all cooperative performance relating to members’ needs. Board members planned to complete their evaluations so that a discussion of evaluation outcomes could occur at the May Board meeting.

I encourage you to read your 1999 Annual Report. It contains information that will give you a better perspective of what is happening inside the Cooperative and the steps that are being taken to make this a better place. You will note that the Cooperative has made an extreme effort to turn things around but still closed 1999 with a $368,000 shortfall.

I also encourage you to become a more active member of the Cooperative by contacting a Board member. Your concerns will be acknowledged and presented to the rest of the Board through the channels that have been established.

Board Meetings

2001
January 19-20
March 30-31

After The Fall beverages appeal to consumers who are looking for fun and exciting taste adventure. Theme varieties like Georgia Peach, Cape Cod Cranberry and 24-Karrot Orange, as well as tropical blends like Mango Montage, Banana Casa-blanca and Pele’s Papaya are some of the best-selling juices in our marketplace thanks to their distinctive flavors, attractive labels and great value. The whole line is all-natural, with no added sugar, and is perfectly delicious.

Our label designs are each hand-painted original works of art. Eye-catching and inspiring, our label is just the beginning of the After The Fall experience. One sip and you feel magically transported to the region for which the juice is named Available in 32 oz., 10 oz., and 8 oz. minis (aseptics); three of our best-selling juice items are available in 64 oz. half-gallon bottles.

Discerning mothers reach for After The Fall aseptic mini juice boxes because they want their children to drink only the highest quality, all-natural fruit juices. Kids love the fun, playful packaging and the great-tasting juice inside which keeps them coming back for more.

Our organic and natural apple items are a pure blend of fresh apples from the abundant apple orchards of the East Coast and Canada. Nothing is added; nothing is taken away—just the juice from whole, fresh, ripe apples. Available in gallons, quarts and 10 oz. single-serve. And for those who prefer a clear apple juice, we provide an organic filtered apple juice in a half-gallon bottle.

Our fruit juice-sweetened Spritzers continue to be one of the best alternatives in the carbonated beverage category. With 18 different varieties in 12 oz. cans, After The Fall Spritzers appeal to health conscious people seeking sparkling refreshment.

After The Fall’s mix masters worked hard to refine the taste of one of the most innovative and sought after beverage concepts ever—Diet Spritzers—very low calorie sodas containing no artificial additives of any kind. Reformulated Diet Spritzers have a clean taste without the undesirable aftertaste most consumers of diet drinks have come to expect.

Spicy Broccoli Slaw & Noodle Salad
Recipe by Chris Balistreri, North Farm Sales Rep

Ingredients:
16 oz. broccoli slaw or mixed and grated
organic cabbage and carrots
1 pkg. oriental or ramen noodles
1 bunch chopped green onions
½ cup toasted, slivered almonds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ to ½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar