The Evolution of Wholesaling
to Buying Clubs
by Mel BravermanThe
nature of cooperative wholesaling to buying clubs has been changing over the last fifteen
years as a result of the changes in society in general. In the early days of North Farm
Cooperative, Michigan Federation of Cooperatives and Common Health Warehouse Cooperative
Association, we were asked to provide good food in bulk to our members. Clubs would divide
that food into family and individual portions for distribution to their members. Club
members would pay for their share of the larger quantity. This would not only give access
to the foods that were difficult to come by elsewhere, but also enable you to keep the
costs of the food down to a minimum. You were able to keep these costs down by the
practice of utilizing your labor to reduce cost. Another factor, early on, was that clubs
sought new members to increase their purchasing power, and ensure continued delivery of
the products. This meant continued membership growth in the clubs, and increased sales to
them. This helped make the warehouse’s transportation more efficient for it is more
cost effective to deliver larger loads to less drop sites.
The changes that have been taking place in the above areas have significant financial
costs associated with them. We are asked to offer more products in smaller sizes. You want
to buy in units, not cases. You desire more products in 5# and 10# sizes, not 25# and 50#
sizes. When we sold the product in a full case we would make one warehouse trip to pick
that product and put it on a pallet to be shipped to your club. Now we may make four trips
to pick three jars with each trip, pack those jars in boxes we must purchase, fill the
boxes with packing material we must purchase, and pay someone to do the packing. When we
picked 50# oats we made one trip and put the bag on a pallet to ship to you. Now we may
make up to ten trips to pick that 50#, and each 5# has its own bag we purchased and the
product was packed by someone on staff. Along with these additional materials and labor we
also have greater damage to contend with as a closed case of jars is not as vulnerable as
a loosely packed box of jars.
The other change is more clubs are choosing not to grow, or once they are a certain
size they spin off another club. This may mean we have two drops for the same sales
volume, or a relatively small increase, where we used to have one. Transportation is the
largest expense in our budget and adding hours and miles to routes is very expensive.
I know many of these changes are taking place because we have less free time as
individuals than we had in the past. Many families have both parents working or one
working parent taking care of the household. Time, which used to be a commodity we would
use to do laborious tasks to save money, is now used to earn money to buy the commodities
we use, and have someone else do those tasks. These changes in the way we live have
impacts on us we would rather not have, for example, more expense in processing and
delivering your orders and therefore food that costs more. I do not make a value judgment
on this change, but I remind you of this impact to better understand North Farm as a
business.
The May/June Price List contains margin adjustments to products sold in less than case
quantities and products that we repack into smaller bags. Some of these margins have not
been adjusted for rising costs of labor and materials for over five years. North Farm
intends to continue to meet our members needs and grow the Cooperative in the direction
our members desire. As with any business we will continue to assess costs of each endeavor
and adjust our margins to meet these costs. We will also continue to offer products in
bulk quantities, and advocate for larger clubs and shared drop sites to reduce the costs
associated in these areas. This will enable you to make your choice based upon your needs.
Mel Braverman
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Change to
Volume Discount Calculation
by Jan Torkildson
North Farm aggressively seeks deals for our members with each new Price List. In
addition to the discounts provided by vendors, North Farm frequently contributes
additional discounts to create even greater savings of 20% and more.
Because super specials, and items that are discounted by 15% or more, are already
discounted substantially we can no longer include these items when determining your volume
discount percentage after May 1, 1999. Please note: invoices generated after 3-1-99
exclude items discounted by 15% or more when calculating the volume discount. For some of
you this will mean a reduction in the volume discount percentage. For example: if your
purchases equal $2000.00, and items discounted by 15% or more equal $200.00, this will
result in a net balance eligible for volume adjustment of $1800.00. Your volume discount
percentage would be 0.5%. For others this may result in an additional 2% surcharge if non
super special purchases are less than $500.00. For example: if purchases equal $600.00,
and of that total items discounted by 15% or more equal $200.00, this will result in a net
balance eligible for volume adjustment of $400.00. Because the $400.00 is less than the
minimum $500.00 required to get a 0% volume adjustment, you will be charged a 2% surcharge
on your entire order.
North Farm will total all your purchases, minus items discounted by 15% or more, net of
credits issued in the 12 weeks prior to the week you are ordering. We will then take that
total and divide by 3 to arrive at the current average monthly purchase amount. Your
discount or surcharge will then be determined based on North Farm’s volume discount
schedule. Please note, milk is not included in your volume discount calculation due to
extremely low margins on this product.
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Chez Panisse
Chef Speaks at GMM
by Denise Contrucci
About the Connection Between Farm and Table
Each year North Farm Cooperative hosts a business meeting at its General Membership
Meeting (GMM). The 1999 GMM theme is Community Connections, and the business meeting
keynote speaker is Alan Tangren, pastry chef of Chez Panisse, Alice Water’s Berkeley
restaurant. Mr. Tangren will share with North Farm members information about his work in
making the connection between farm and table. He will elaborate on his experience as an
organic produce forager for Chez Panisse, his role as a chefs’ teacher, and his ideas
on how we may form and sustain networks of growers and farmers’ markets.
GMM Keynote Conducts Special Workshop: Market Cooking for Kids
Saturday, May 1, 1 - 2:30 p.m. In this workshop, GMM keynote speaker Alan Tangren will
discuss his involvement with the Children’s Community Gardens in San Francisco, where
they teach urban kids the fundamentals of farming.
He will also talk about the Science and Cooking Program, sponsored by Berkeley’s
Center of Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA). The CUESA program teaches
kids about farming, shopping, cooking and how to you can get local chefs to give cooking
demonstrations in the classroom. CUESA’s goal is to build an appreciation of fresh
fruits and vegetables in the minds of kids, and to help them learn about local agriculture
in a direct, fun and memorable way. They do this by providing urban kids an education on
the biology and ecology of locally-produced, sustainably-grown, seasonal foods; and by
offering basic hands-on instruction on how to prepare the food. The CUESA program also
takes kids to visit farms, and teaches kids about particular crops, specific farms, and
the people who make it all happen.
Finally, Mr. Tangren will conduct a hands-on cooking workshop involving 25 to 30
participants, where they will make applesauce and cornbread to be eaten and evaluated at
the end of the session.
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Annual Business Meeting
Saturday, May 1, 10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
Here’s where North Farm completes the election process and meets its new board,
minutes from the previous year’s board meeting are approved, the auditor presents the
financial report to the membership, and you hear from both the president of the Board of
Directors, Bill O’Donnell, and the General Manager, Bill Lathrop. The agenda for this
two hour meeting is:
- Welcome
- Keynote
- Agenda Review
- Minutes Approval
- Board President Report
- General Manager Report
- Auditor Report
- Question and Answer Period
- Strengthening the Cooperative Tradition
- New Business
- Elections and Announcement of New Board
- Door Prizes
Minutes from last year’s business meeting and extra copies of the Annual Report
1998 will be available at the door. Please read all the information so you can participate
in this important business meeting.
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Natural
Products Show Offers Exceptional Show Deals
by Denise Contrucci
So far, North Farm has sealed over 700 exceptional show deals for Natural Products Show
attendees at the Community Connections General Membership Meeting (GMM). More deals are
being added daily.
Attendees may pick up Show Deal Order Booklets at the Information and Registration Desk
the day of the show on May 1. The show is located at the Dane County Expo Center, in
Madison, WI. Look for more show deal information in your General Member-ship Meeting
Resource Guide.
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Unique Fresh Fruits
by Norma Woods
If your idea of shopping for fruit is to grab a bunch of bananas and then choose
between Delicious or MacIntosh apples and navel or Valencia oranges, this article is for
you! Force of habit is probably keeping you from enjoying many of the sensational tastes
of nature’s desserts. Or perhaps you just don’t know how to select certain
fruits or how to store or prepare them.
Here is a short list of some unique fresh fruits that are worth trying. Some are unique
as in “unusual”, “exotic” or “hard-to-find”, and some are
unique because they are outstanding in certain nutrients.
Asian Pear
(a.k.a. “apple pear, Oriental pear or Japanese pear”). Sporadic
availability. Looks like a mis-shapen green apple; tastes like a pear or a sweet water
chestnut. Eat it raw. The fruit contains vitamins A, B-Complex and C, as well as small
amounts of many minerals including potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Avocado
(a.k.a. “alligator pear, ahuactl, agovago pear, vegetable butter”).
Available year-round. It is mild and nutty in flavor—not sweet like most tree fruits.
Eat raw, in salad or as a dip (guacamole). There are two main commercially-grown
varieties:
Hass is available in summer. The rough skin is dark green to purple black; 8 ounce
average. It is higher in fat than fuerte.
Fuerte is available in fall and winter. The skin is medium green and leathery; weight
is 8 to 16 ounces.
Let the fruit ripen at room temperature; ripe fruit will feel soft when you squeeze it.
The fruit contains 5% to 22% monounsaturated fatty acids—and no cholesterol! It also
contains carbohydrates, proteins and fiber; vitamins A, B-Complex and C; and potassium,
magnesium, iron, phosphorous and calcium.
Carambola
(a.k.a. “star fruit”). This waxy yellow fruit is about 5 inches long
with pointed, length-wise ridges. If you cut it cross-wise, you see stars! Use it like a
melon, juice it, make jam or lightly cook it in stir-frys. Let ripen at room temperature
until soft; it will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. There are 7 grams of
protein per 100 grams of fruit plus potassium, phosphorous and vitamin A.
Figs (fresh)
Ripen July to October. The fig, considered the most nutritious of fruits, is
usually eaten dried—as in Fig Newton™ cookies. It may be hard to find fresh figs
although four kinds (calimyrna, adriatic, mission and kadota) are grown in the U.S. and
you can probably find them fresh where they are grown. Figs are high in carbohydrates and
fiber; they also contain protein and a little fat. Vitamins and minerals include: A,
B-Complex, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium.
Guava
This fruit is 1” to 4” long, and is rounded with yellow or green skin,
and white, pink or red flesh. It looks like a small peach. To eat: Cut in quarters, pare
off the skin and remove the seeds. Eat raw or cooked like apples in pies, jelly, etc.
Ripen hard ones at room temperature until they feel soft; then refrigerate. Contains
potassium and vitamins A and C.
Kiwi Fruit
(a.k.a. “Chinese gooseberry”). Available year-round. This familiar
fruit is about 3” long and egg-shaped with a brownish, furry skin. The fruit may be
ripened in a plastic bag and then refrigerated for up to six months. Kiwi is never cooked;
peel and slice it for salads and desserts or just cut it in half and eat the flesh with a
spoon. The flesh can also tenderize meat. Kiwis contain more vitamin C than oranges and
also contain numerous other vitamins and minerals.
Kumquat
A citrus fruit. Available November through February. This fruit is 1 to 2 inches
long, round or oblong and looks like a miniature orange. It must be very ripe to eat and
the edible skin is actually sweeter than the flesh. The flesh is a little dry; squeezing
the fruit before eating helps to break down and blend the juicy pulp. Do not eat the
seeds. Kumquats are high in vitamin C and bioflavinoids (which help absorb vitamin C);
they also contain potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Mango (a thousand varieties)
Available January to August. This fruit comes in round, kidney, avocado or long,
narrow shapes with rainbow-colored or yellow skins and juicy orange flesh. It weighs a few
ounces to 5 pounds with a large center pit. If the skin is green it won’t fully
ripen; black spots mean an overripe fruit. Soft when ripe; store ripe fruit at room
temperature. If fruit is not quite ripe it is fine for cooking or baking; wait until it
ripens to eat raw. Remove the irritating skin with a potato peeler. The flesh is extremely
high in vitamin A and beta carotene; it also contains vitamin C, magnesium, calcium and
potassium.
Papaya
Available May to June and October to December. The fruit is pear-shaped and
commonly 5 to 6 inches long. The skin ripens from green to yellow at room temperature;
refrigerate up to a week. The flesh is deep pink, deep yellow or reddish-orange. Eat as
you would a melon, but discard the rind and the black seeds. Papain, an enzyme, is found
in the green skin and leaves; it is used as a meat tenderizer and to aid digestion. The
fruit contains twice the vitamin C and potassium as an orange; is high in vitamin A and
also contains some minerals.
Persimmon
Available April to January. With its red-orange skin and green cap stem, a
persimmon looks like a tomato. Eat raw or use as you would an apple. Here are two
varieties commonly available:
Oriental is fairly large and acorn-shaped. Eat it raw when it is very ripe, very soft
and looking a little shriveled; otherwise the tannic acid causes it to be very bitter.
American is sweet and edible even before it is fully ripened. Nutrients include vitamin
A, vitamin C and potassium.
Pomegranate
Available August through December. This fruit looks like a seedy apple with dull,
leathery skin. It will keep in the refrigerator up to two months. There are two ways to
eat pomegranates: 1) Cut it open and scoop out the pulp and seeds, and 2) Roll fruit onto
a hard surface, then poke a hole in the skin and suck out the juice with a straw.
Grenadine liqueur is made from pomegranate. The pulp contains significant amounts of
potassium.
Ugli Fruit
A citrus fruit. Available October to February. This fruit is the size of a
grapefruit and the flesh is sweet and juicy with a taste like a grapefruit-orange cross.
The loose skin is brownish and wrinkly; the flesh is reddish. It will keep in the
refrigerator about a week. The fruit is high in vitamin C and bioflavinoids, and also
potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Keep in mind that organic fruit is best, if you can get it and afford it. Imported
fruit is fumigated to deter insects and grown using more agricultural poisons than are
permitted in the U.S., so buy American when you can.
North Farm sells a limited variety of organic fruit and vegetables listed on our Web
site, www.northfarm-coop.com. Your local grocery or health food store may sell organic
fruit. In season you can check out the local farmers’ market. And fruit is available
via the World Wide Web.
Fruit-related Web sites:
www.5aday.com
www.applesource.com
www.avocado.org
www.btproduce.com
www.cybermelons.com
www.froghollow.com
www.fruitonline.com
www.melissas.com
www.MichiganApples.com
www.watermelon.org
There you have it. You will no longer have to pucker your lips at the thought of
persimmon, or think the ugli fruit is too ugly to eat. You’ll delight in new tastes
and enjoy the many health benefits of eating a wide variety of fruits.
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Out of Stocks
Impacting Factors
by Mel Braverman
North Farm had a very strong service level for out of stocks in 1997 and the first
quarter of 1998. Then as we moved into our expanded warehouse and implemented new software
to run the warehouse we negatively impacted our service to some of you. The out of stock
issues of 1998 began disappearing as we adjusted to our new environment, but we did not
see our out of stock percent significantly decrease.
Vendor Related Out of Stocks
I begin each day by looking at a list of our top out of stocks, and the reason these
products are not available for delivery. I see many issues impacting us but a few issues
are becoming more prevalent. The out of stocks related to vendor inability to supply us
with the product has grown significantly. From December through February our two top out
of stocks (in terms of sales lost) were organic butter. This was due to vendor supply
issues. On a given week we might have had $40,000 to $50,000 of out of stocks and almost
10% of that was organic butter. We have also had vendor supply issues with soy milk, soy
nuts, tuna fish and a number of other products. In previous years as much as 4.5% of our
out of stocks were vendor related, this year that percent is growing.
Y2K
A second major impacting factor is people have begun increasing food purchases because of
the year 2000 computer issue. If these larger orders are not pre-ordered, the result is
increased out of stocks, because we order our products based upon historical data and
forecasting upcoming trends. It has been most difficult to forecast who will purchase
$2,000 worth of wheat berries when they normally purchased $400 of the product. This
reduces our inventory and we have out of stocks of that product until we can receive our
next shipment. We just noticed a surge in the quantity of dried milk being purchased after
years of regular sales. Which products will be next for those approaching the Y2K issues
in this manner?
Industry Players
One last issue we face is that we are a small player in an industry where larger players
are growing rapidly due to mergers and acquisitions. These larger players can use their
purchasing clout to get a larger part of a short supply crop. I suspect this may impact us
in the future.
I do not want to give you the impression that all out of stocks are out of our control
because they are not. We still have opportunities to reduce the negative impacts on you
with many of our products. We are continually working on ordering enough of the available
products, ensuring they get transported to North Farm in a timely manner and receiving
them into our warehouse quickly. We have purchased new software to enhance our purchasing
quality. We must seek other suppliers for products that are available elsewhere when we
can no longer count on our main supplier. It takes a lot of work to reduce out of stocks
but that’s one of the reasons we come to work each day. We consistently work to
increase North Farm’s service to you.
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Upcoming Price List
Changes
by Jan Torkildson
We are aware that there are ordering issues related to some products that are listed as
pound items in the North Farm Cooperative Price List. These issues affect our members who
place their orders electronically on Co-op Services or NF-One. We have put together a
project plan to resolve this issue on July 1, 1999.
To resolve this issue we will be standardizing the order entry method to cases and
units. For example: item #664 New Holstein Pepperjack Deli Horn is currently entered as 6#
for one unit or 12# for 2 units. As of July 1 you will enter the total number of units or
cases. Beginning in March your invoice will reflect an alert message on any item that will
be affected by these changes.
Items that are sold as variable weight items will still need to be entered with a
weight. However, you should always round the weight up to a whole number. You will then
receive a quantity closest to the weight requested.
Please feel free to contact a North Farm Home Shopping Services representative with any
questions.
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Home Grown: Fiddler's
Green Farm
For 15 years, Fiddler’s Green Farm has produced what New York Times’ food
writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins deems one of the finest hot cereals in New England.
“Penobscot Porridge”, she says, “is nutty, grainy, robust and
rib-sticking.”
And that’s only one of the scrumptious products milled from the freshest of grains
by this family-run, home-based business in Belfast, Maine.
Fiddler’s Green was founded by a sailor/ farmer on the Penobscot Bay of Maine. The
name Fiddlers Green is from an Irish sea ballad about a high, dry land longed for after a
life at sea. Today the farm is run by two families entrusted with the founder’s
vision. Nurse and sailor Laine Alexander’s family joined with carpenter Allen
Ginsberg’s family to carry on the Fiddler’s Green legacy: producing nutritious
flours, cereals and mixes from truly stoneground organic grains, while avidly supporting
and promoting organic farming.
Since Fiddler’s Green is a home-based business, every member of both families gets
in on the act — from answering phones, applying package labels and grinding grain to
inventing new products. Ginsberg’s 13-year old daughter created “Caroline’s
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix” while Alexander’s six-year old daughter loved Irish
oats mixed with millet and toasted almonds... now “Izzie’s Irish Oats”.
All the Farm’s 14 products offer the highest nutritional content possible for two
reasons: first, they choose the finest organic grains available, and second, they stone
grind these select grains in a time-honored method that retains the greatest amount of
vitamins and minerals.
Most large commercial operations are “hammer mills”, utilizing a method that
could be described as a mortar and pestle approach, where the striking action breaks down
grain. These mills produce high heat, which destroys the innate nutrients of the grains.
Fiddler’s Green Farm stone grinds its grains in the small-scale mill next to
Ginsberg’s house. Two, 20-inch granite stones reduce whole grains — the hull,
the bran, the kernel and all — into the fine-to-coarse ingredients of Fiddler’s
Green products. The fresh taste and nutritional content is left intact.
Praised coast-to-coast from the Washington Post and Boston Globe to the San Diego Union
— Fiddler’s Green products engender loyal customers (including folk singer Joan
Baez). In addition, Fiddlers Green has a distributor in Japan, where their Toasted
Buckwheat Pancake & Muffin Mix has a strong following.
You too can join the health-conscious food lovers worldwide by adding Fiddler’s
Green Farm to your list of trusted producers.
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