Chicago Market Newsletter - December 2018

President's Report

I wanted to reach out and thank you personally for the impact you've made in your community this year. As an Owner of a co-op, you are actively participating in making change. You've worked with the other Owners to make a lot of amazing things happen.

In 2018, YOUR Co-op:

• reached 1000 Owners in January
• was chosen by the CTA to be their tenant!
• signed a lease for the former 'L' station building in May
• democratically elected new Board members at our Annual Meeting in August...and the Board has just completed its election of officers for the year - Grant Kessler, president; Lee Herman, vice-president; Ankit Mehta, treasurer; Anthony Todd, secretary
• co-hosted the first-ever Up & Under Fest, welcoming 1000 people from the Uptown community and 32 new Owners - a one-day record for us
• launched the schematic design process - our Site/Architecture team has led our specialist consultants through more than 11 iterations of the design for the store
• launched an Outreach and Inclusion team because we recognize we need to take concerted, dedicated steps to be welcoming, inclusive and accessible in the diverse Uptown community
• raised more than $300,000 in our Owner Loan Campaign this fall; this is a massive first step in our Ownership coming together to fund the business we are all building together; being an Owner means you too can invest locally and make it happen
• threw open the doors of our future store and the Uptown community flooded in to our Holiday Pop-Up Market, energizing the space with live music and performances, dogs, singing, kids playing on the staircase, posing with Santa, shopping and talking with vendors and the lights were sparkling and...oh...it was just the best!
• increased our Owner growth rate five fold after our site announcement; we didn't make our ambitious goal of 2000 by year's end, but we are still working hard toward building our dream grocery store and will hit our goal
  • our banks are still with us and supportive
  • our progress is in line with national co-op development timelines

• We, the 1489 Owners of this enterprise, continue to prove that we are what we say we are: a better food community - local, sustainable, connected.

I stood in our Holiday Pop-Up Market recently in awe of what we've accomplished together. Our drive to be more-than-just-a-grocery-store, to connect people, to be a community hub and hive of activity happened that night. Your commitment as an Owner made all these wonderful steps this year happen. You should be very proud. We encourage you to reach out and find ways you can engage with your Co-op community in the coming year.

Grant Kessler, president

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Give the Gift of Co-op!  

The perfect holiday gift for that local-food-loving, sustainability-minded, community-centric person on your list is the Gift of Co-op Ownership. Make them an Owner of Chicago Market and they'll receive Ownership in this local business, the Owner tote bag, a water bottle, pen and button and they'll be welcomed into the Chicago Market Owner community. Shop here!

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Upcoming Events

• Ownership Info Session - December 15 at Bezazian Branch Library - share your co-op love with a friend. Details and RSVP here.