Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: March 2026

These are the minutes from the Brattleboro Food Co-op Board of Directors meeting that took place on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Present at Meeting

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

Directors Absent: None.

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

Other Shareholders Present: Debby Wiesen [Zoom], Bert Picard.

President Michele Meulendyk called the meeting to order at 5:16 pm.

Welcome and Communication Norms

Michele welcomed Jerelyn Wilson back to the Board. Board members and staff read the Board’s communication norms aloud.

Shareholder Input and Stats

1. Shareholders Bert Picard and Debby Wiesen introduced themselves. Bert wants to get to know the faces and “how this actually works in the real world”. Where he spends his dollars is extremely important to him: his family eats from a CSA, the farmer’s market, and the Co-op. Debby is relatively new to Brattleboro. She believes the BFC is a pillar of the community and wants to get to know the organization.
   
2. Shareholder Stats: Discussion touched on how engagement (in both shopping and working hours) drops off after the holidays. It speaks to the opportunity and challenge to drive more engagement in Q3. The shareholders-only rollback sale probably accounts for some new sign-ups. That event was packed! The same post-holiday lull occurs at the Putney Food Shelf. Food for All basket size continues to rise – a reflection of community need for affordable food.
   
3. Shopper Feedback:
   1. Michele moved, and Sheena seconded, to remove the customer experience sales receipt survey report from the Board packet and agenda.
      
   2. Discussion: As has been noted in recent months, while the survey comments are interesting, the data is not statistically significant, nor does engaging in this level of operational detail relate to the Board’s responsibility to “create a vision borne of its linkage with shareholders”. The GM should continue to call out any customer satisfaction issues that surface, and how they’re being addressed, in the GM FYI Updates.
      
   3. The motion carried with seven in favor, one opposed (Anneka) and one abstention (Evan). [Note: most discussion occurred prior to the motion being made.]
4. Board feedback: Michele noted that Board members can provide specific operational feedback by filling out customer feedback forms – they’ll go to the appropriate department.

Approval of Minutes

Denise moved, and Anneka seconded, to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2026 meeting. Discussion: none. The motion to approve the minutes carried with two abstentions (Calvin and Jerelyn).

Monitoring Reports

1. D.1 Board Duties:
   1. Evan moved, and Johanna seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. Discussion touched on the following:
      1. How to ensure Board members – as well as prospective candidates – are grounded in policy governance and financial management.
         
      2. Some members lean toward a deep dive in policy governance up front: this would free Board meeting time for other important conversations. Others report grasping policy governance better via engaging with each monitoring report.
         
      3. The Board could explore a phased approach: requiring CBL 101 in year 1, financial management in year 2 (or earlier), and potentially a deeper dive into policy governance in year 3.
         
      4. Second-term members would commit to mentoring newer members, which would help with leadership development on the Board.
   2. The motion carried unanimously.
2. B.6 Shareholders:
   1. Denise moved, and Evan seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. No concerns were raised about the reasonableness of the interpretation statements or adequacy of compliance data. Discussion touched on the following:
      1. The distinction between a shareholder engagement program (earning a discount via volunteering) and, more broadly, a shareholder program (which additionally encompasses shareholder onboarding/education and promoting shopping at the Co-op).
         
      2. Michele will add to the parking lot whether to add the word “engagement” to the first policy provision (“The General Manager may not fail to establish, maintain, and promote a vital shareholder engagement program in a manner consistent with the cooperative principles and the bylaws of the BFC”).
         
      3. Appreciation was expressed for acknowledging that shareholders’ needs evolve, and that they should feel connected to both governance and operations
   2. The motion carried unanimously.
3. B.8 Conflict of Interest: Kevin moved, and Denise seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. No concerns were expressed about either the interpretation statements or compliance data. Interpretation statement suggestion: add “, or my family or friends” after the word “I” in the first sentence of the second paragraph. The motion carried unanimously.

GM Updates

1. Customer Experience survey training: The NCG specialist conducted two sessions with staff and one with managers last week to explore the impact of staff behavior on customer satisfaction. His slide deck will be incorporated into employee orientation.
   
2. Refrigeration Project: Piping will be replaced/installed starting on 3/9. We’re now meeting weekly with both Turner Piping and NCG to make sure everyone is informed. We’re very glad to be working with NCG on the legwork and how to merchandise. We’re in a good place.
   
3. Catapult POS system: We recently did a system update (the first in 1.5 years), which is letting us roll out “loyalty features”. This in turn enables us to issue patronage dividends at the register, which should happen in the next month or so.
   
4. Evaluating POS structure: We are moving the Receiving responsibilities from our Pricing Manager to another manager, which will enable the former to focus exclusively on pricing. This will help us launch some Catapult programs and allow us to get the full benefit of the software.
   
5. Case lot sale: Currently scheduled for the weekend of April 11-12. It’s our first such sale in years. We’ll use the Flat Street storage space and the Preston parking lot; we’re working with the DBA to create a street party vibe. We hope to include perishable items. We’ll use coupons to entice shoppers into the main store as well.  
   
6. Co-Metrics NCG Eastern Corridor – Large Co-ops: We are performing very well on many indicators. By contrast, at this time last year, every single indicator was flagged as red.
   1. Our sales and return growth for our FYQ2 (their CY-based Q4) was 7.1%, which we haven’t seen for a long time.
      
   2. Personnel as a % of Sales and Returns continues to be higher than our peers but has also declined from a 4% gap (compared to peers) to a 2.5% gap. This is due to scheduling better and not always backfilling open positions (so long as we don’t overload our staff). We deliberately overstaffed, and allowed for some overtime, over the holidays to create better customer and staff experience. But we are starting to close that gap.
      
   3. The Food Services department is seeing amazing growth. We’re focused on stabilizing in-store operations in preparation for the refrigeration project and evaluating whether catering weddings is sustainable going forward.
      
   4. Our Days Cash on Hand is at 47; 30 is typical.
7. Emilee was able to relax on vacation knowing things were being well-managed in her absence.

Draft Budget for FY27

Kevin reminded Board members that the governance budget is such a small percentage of the Co-op’s overall budget that it’s not worth spending too much time on the details. FY27 is similar to last year but does not include GM Search expenses. Board Stipend/Discounts are projected to be higher to reflect full Board participation (we were down a member for most of the last year, and currently Kevin receives the benefit of a staff discount via his spouse). That number will shift with how much Board members shop here. How Board Admin expenses are logged is a Finance department decision. Discussion: Jerelyn moved, and Anneka seconded, to increase the Annual Meeting line item to allow for the possibility of using supplies and posters. The motion carried unanimously with one abstention (Kevin).

Board Committees

1. Board Recruitment: Michele invited Board members to reach out with any questions or concerns about the committee’s notes in the packet.
   
2. Shareholder Linkage: Sheena stated that they’ve had difficulty connecting with Ruth. Jerelyn will join that committee. When Board tabling starts, we’ll use the chalkboard prompt (at café entrance) as an invitation for conversation. Next month’s chalkboard question will be about maple syrup.
   
3. Finance Committee: Kevin stated that next month will be active given the need to review the draft FY27 annual business plan/budget.

Board Committees

1. Board Recruitment: Michele invited Board members to reach out with any questions or concerns about the committee’s notes in the packet.
   
2. Shareholder Linkage: Sheena stated that they’ve had difficulty connecting with Ruth. Jerelyn will join that committee. When Board tabling starts, we’ll use the chalkboard prompt (at café entrance) as an invitation for conversation. Next month’s chalkboard question will be about maple syrup.
   
3. Finance Committee: Kevin stated that next month will be active given the need to review the draft FY27 annual business plan/budget.
   

Upcoming Events and Education

Jerelyn and Emilee will be attending the NFCA annual meeting. Calvin will be brushing up on Financial Management for Boards. Jerelyn and Sheena will do the Policy Governance deep dive. Jerelyn will be doing the Leadership Learning Circle in April. [Debby exited.]

April Policies to be Monitored

Michele brought Board members’ attention to policies A.1 End 2 (Access to and education about goods and nutritious foods), D.2 Board, and D.6 Board Job Products. Michele noted that Bylaw 5.1, which is referenced in both policies D.1 Board Duties and D.6 Board Job Products, specifies the Board’s powers and duties. The Board discussed what they would expect to see in the End 2 monitoring report, touching on the following:

1. “Access” includes affordability. How does our product mix/pricing structure allow for goods at affordable price points?
   
2. Info about our Food for All program inasmuch as it relates to providing access.“Education” could touch on any recipes/education about how to cook foods from the Bulk department.
   
3. What is the impact of the new SNAP rules (work requirements, eligible items) on our ability to be compliant as a SNAP retailer?
   
4. How do we balance offering affordable items with supporting ecologically and/or locally sourced goods when those typically have higher price points?
   
5. Given the above, what is the lowest-hanging fruit when it comes to providing cultural access?  
   
6. How do we address the fact that a lot of people won’t come to the Co-op because of the perception that it’s elite?
   
7. Responsibly sourced: What’s our process for making decisions re choosing one product or vendor over another?

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. [BERT exited.]

Executive Session

1. At 7:23, Michele moved, and Denise seconded, to enter Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the General Manager evaluation. In addition to Board members, Sarah and Emilee were present.
   
2. At 8:01, Michele moved, and Denise seconded, to exit Executive Session.
   
   
   The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Brennan, Board Administrator/Sustainability Coordinator