Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: December 2025

These are the meeting minutes of the Brattleboro Food Co-op Board of Directors, which took place on Monday, December 1, 2025.

Present at Meeting

Directors Present: Kevin Brennan, Calvin Dame, Denise Glover, Anneka Kindler, Michele Meulendyk, Evan Silber [Zoom], Sheena Tesch, and Johanna Zalneraitis.

Staff Present: General Manager Emilee Hobbs, Board Administrator/Sustainability Coordinator Sarah Brennan. Other

Shareholders Present: Michael Hanish [Zoom].

President Michele Meulendyk called the meeting to order at 5:13 pm.

Welcome and Communication Norms

Michele welcomed everyone and shared the plan for this evening’s meeting. Board members and staff read the Board’s communication norms aloud.

Shareholder Input and Stats

1. Shareholder Michael Hanish introduced himself. He’s a long-time member and is curious to know who’s who, where things are at, and how we proceed.
2. Shareholder Stats and Shopper Feedback: Emilee will check on the recent drop in the number of employee shareholders – it seems questionable. Discussion otherwise centered on the receipt surveys: We typically receive two responses per day, far fewer than the number distributed, and that may not be enough to be statistically valid. Emilee will follow up with the relevant NCG rep.
3. Other shareholder feedback heard: Discussion focused on how to get the word out about Food for All (particularly to those making use of food pantries who are not on public assistance), streamlining Round Up recipients (three per month is a lot); assisting people in applying for food stamps (via the Situation Table group and/or offering space in the café or community room for this purpose), and promoting the hot bar specials/menu items on social media every day.

Approval of Minutes

1. Johanna moved, and Anneka seconded, to approve the minutes from the November 3, 2025, meeting. Discussion: A typo in 5.B. was pointed out. The motion to approve the minutes as edited carried unanimously.
2. Michele noted that for the purposes of the minutes, the packet includes a record of an online vote held on November 24 in which the Board voted unanimously to issue a patronage dividend. Emilee will keep the Board informed of next steps.

Monitoring Reports

1. C.1 Board/Management Relations: Anneka moved, and Kevin seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. Discussion touched on whether the monitoring report survey itself should include “without the GM’s prior awareness” or similar language at the end of C.1.3, given (as an example) the Treasurer’s interactions with the Finance Director. Sarah will research this in light of the policies. The motion carried unanimously.
2. C.2 Delegation to the GM: Kevin moved, and Anneka seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. Discussion: none. The motion carried unanimously.
3. B.5 Continued Operations: Kevin moved, and Denise seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. No concerns were raised, and no suggestions were offered about either the interpretation statements or compliance data. Discussion touched on developing SOPs for the GM position, continuing to build a culture in which employees are comfortable raising concerns with managers directly, and the ratio of line staff to management positions. The motion carried unanimously. [Michael Hanish exited].

GM Updates

1. Emilee provided late-breaking updates; discussion touched on the following:
2. Holiday sales were flat, while customer count and basket size were up. It was all hands on deck. The team was happy, and we had no customer issues. We will aim to keep carts and U-boats off the floor by 9 am or even earlier for the next holiday.
3. People: Core Team: At the work session, the team committed to completing longstanding projects before launching new initiatives. Contract negotiations: Maggie has some experience with this, and we have some changes on the steward team.
4. Refrigeration project: Piping and electrical work will start soon. Some coolers are failing, and we are assessing next steps. Cases and coolers will be delivered at the end of February.
5. Merchandizing: We hope to increase sales via leaning into our vendors to help highlighting and merchandizing promos. Discussion touched on our NCG specialist’s insight into the Beer and Wine department.
6. Catering: We’re using event planning software now to plan much further out than previously. We are exploring having a food truck on site at Retreat Farm year-round, after the holidays. A business plan under development addresses upfront expenses and anticipated revenues.
7. Penny Phase Out: Hunger relief agencies are waiting for guidance from the federal government on how to implement this without running afoul of SNAP regulations.

Annual Work Session

Michele will be sharing the summary from Molly Snell-Larch. Next year’s work session will be scheduled after the holiday, once we have determined the Annual Meeting date (which in turn determines the election cycle and seating of the new Board).

Board Committees

1. Recruitment: The charter will be presented for Board approval in January. Sarah will re-send the link to the list of possible candidates for everyone to add their impressions.
2. Shareholder Linkage: Evan will be joining this year. The charter won’t be ready for approval until the February Board meeting.
3. Finance Committee: Kevin and Calvin have already agreed that the charter does not require any updates. As for finances, the full November numbers aren’t ready yet.

January Policies to be Monitored

Michele brought Board members’ attention to A.1 End 4 – Sustainable/regenerative environmental practices, C.3 GM Job Contribution & C.4 Monitoring Management Performance. Discussion touched on:

1. End 4: Board members suggested addressing the use of AI at the Co-op, as it has known environmental impacts.
2. C.3 and C.4: The Board will be developing a performance evaluation process that is in line with this policy, beginning in February/March. Emilee and Michele will ask their respective counterparts at other co-ops, Emilee will check with our NCG rep, and Michele and Sarah will check Columinate (Molly, and their online library, respectively).

What Would You Tell a Shareholder

Meeting participants shared what they would tell a shareholder about this meeting. These comments are shared in the staff newsletter and in Food for Thought.

Meeting Closing

Meeting participants their key takeaways from this meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Brennan, Board Administrator/Sustainability Coordinator