July 2008: Samples from the GM

When you read this, our current fiscal year will be complete. Our year ends June 30th. I can only provide an educated guess on some of the results, so here we go.

It appears we are going to end the year with an 8% to 9% sales growth over the previous year. Some of this is inflation and some is real growth. An educated guess may be 4% inflation- 4% real growth.

From a profitability standpoint, we are poised to have one of the better years in Open Harvest history. This is positive news for a couple of reasons. One is for our expansion efforts, second is for us to be able to pay our bills and be responsible to our vendors, and third is being able to continue to fairly compensate our staff.

A few thoughts on expansion: The financial institutions we have a relationship with have told us we need to show sustained profitability for them to provide us funds. How we finish our 2007/2008 year will lay the groundwork for being able to obtain funds for expansion. This is also important to you as members if you elect to help us with member loans once we enter into an expansion project. Being financially strong allows us to repay these loans in a timely fashion. We currently are in a position to pay our vendors on time. This is important as we look to them for help with expansion.

Department updates: In the past few months, Melissa and her staff have added over fifty new items and three new lines in our supplement department. Our health and beauty section has expanded by 56 items including new essential oils, and expanded Dr. Bonners and Indigo Wild product lines.

Our produce manager Deslie continues to offer the best local vegetable and fruit selection. With the great rainfall of the spring and seasonal temperatures we hope to increase our status of being your in-store farmers market. Produce continues to offer Veriflora floral products as well as locally grown flowers.

Our meat/seafood department is now offering NaturALL beef products from the David City area. Alex is also offering some new local beef jerky as well as a great salmon jerky.

The bakery department is bringing back the famous Open Harvest veggie cheese rolls. Also, Nancy and her crew are now packing cookies by the dozen and have plans for more new bread products this summer.

The deli is offering new salads (try the Blue Cheese Potato Salad), and Cuban Rice. Lee and his staff are experiencing record sales nearly every week. Jim Larson continues to bring in new cheese items, some very simple, and many very exotic. Try the Valfrais horseradish spread, it is wonderful.

The grocery crew taste-tests new items and looks for the best value we can offer. We continue to offer samples in each department on a daily basis. There are many new organic and natural products on the market.

We are working very hard at making your shopping experience a reward for supporting your co-op. Many times we are challenged by our limited space and resources. We promise to do the best job we can and we sincerely thank you for your support.

"Supporting Local Since 1975."

April 2008: Samples from the GM

We are regaining our sales increases that were interrupted by the construction of South Street last summer. For our third quarter (Jan, Feb, March) of this year, we have almost regained our pre-construction sales increases. For the week of March 3-9, Open Harvest set an all time oneweek sales record. We have been able to maintain profitability for the last two quarters. This is extremely important as it helps us to be in a strong position to acquire funds for a possible re-location and for the long term health of the co-op.

Our expansion efforts continue. Some times it seems we are writing another chapter in our log regarding finding a new home for Open harvest. We continue to kick over rocks, and drive around South Lincoln and look for possibilities. We are talking to developers as well as brokers. With our continued efforts we will discover the correct space for the future of Open Harvest.

You will notice in the near future an expansion of meat items in out Meat/Seafood Department. We have identified a local supplier that can provide us with Natural Beef products and allow us to support our local farmers. Open Harvest has been supporting local since 1975.

We continue to be very pleased with your response to our efforts at promoting Veriflora fresh cut flowers which are produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. We thank you for your support.

Open Harvest will also continue to offer a website coupon monthly. Each month one department will have a money saving coupon on the website. Check it out.

As I hope you have noticed while shopping in your co-op, we now have an on-going sampling program. We have four sampling stations out on the store floor. Our plans are to increase our sampling program. I hope you enjoy tasting new foods and gain some menu ideas.

In the near future, we plan to hold some specific sampling days where we will have people walking around offering you samples of goodies. We will be offering more new healthy foods for you to provide to your friends and family.

Other activities we plan to bring you this year include a bulk goods sale, an outdoor produce sale, more cheese sampling sessions, a Fall Harvest sale, a parking lot sale, a health and beauty aids/supplement sale and new holiday menu ideas. These events are tentative and subject to change. The bottom line is, we will have plenty of activities and reasons for you to visit your co-op.

New Beginnings

by Jim Nelson, General Manager

The New Year brings a fresh start for me as the rookie GM at the co-op. I was hired by the Board in late October and Margot Conrad has cheerfully tossed me the hat and is showing me the ropes.

Some of you have been asking about my background. I was born and raised in Lincoln. I have two children, one girl and one boy. Barbara, my wife, and I have eight grandchildren, all living here in Lincoln. After leaving Lincoln in the 80s, we returned in early 2007. Almost all of my forty-plus years in the work force has been devoted to retail and in some segment of the food business. Probably the most interesting part of this history is the seven years we owned a business on the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Each day I find myself continuing to be impressed with the co-op and the staff. It is wonderful to be part of a tradition that holds to its values and is focused toward the future. I have met many of you in the past few weeks, but if we have not met, please look me up when you visit the store. If you do not find me on the floor, ask someone to page me.

Open Harvest continues to experience a moderate sales growth. Our backroom and storage space continue to provide challenges! We are working hard to work smart so we can provide you a positive shopping experience.

You will now find a daily sampling program at Open Harvest. You will be able to sample a produce, bakery, deli, cheese and a grocery item each time you visit the store. We hope you enjoy this experience as it allows you to discover some new healthy foods and menu ideas.

We also hope you have noticed some fresh cut floral items in the store. So far we are experimenting with roses and carnations. We will be selecting either Certified Organic or Veriflora products. Veriflora™ is America's first comprehensive social and environmental certification standard for the floral industry. Some of the standards are water resource management, ecosystem management and protection, management of wastes and hazardous materials, social responsibility, packaging materials and energy resource management. For more information you can go to www.Veriflora.com

I sincerely hope that 2008 brings peace to the world and we all find new opportunities in our careers and personal lives.