Please check out the Case Statement to Move to learn more about your co-op’s exciting expansion into a larger facility.

Tax-deductible Donations Welcome!

The co-op’s lease at our current site will be up in January 2012, and in order to keep our food co-op alive and thriving we are calling upon our member-owners and the community at-large to help out financially. We will now be accepting in-person and online tax-deductible donations from anyone interested in helping the GBCFC to reach our goals for expansion.

After a donation is made you will be sent information for your tax purposes.

2011 Member Loan Drive

In February, your GBCFC kicked off the member loan drive…not to be confused with a donation. Co-op’s are unique entities, especially here in the State of Nevada– the GBCFC is the only currently existing food co-op that supports our local growers and producers. Due to co-op’s unique nature, they are not always eligible for traditional financing and lending opportunities. Therefore, when they approach times of necessary growth, or improvement that require significant amounts of capital, they look to their members to loan them money for a period of time.

While we will always great-fully accept donations from anyone in any amount, we will be calling upon our membership to help play a vital role in the establishment and growth of our community-owned business and the expansion of the cooperative movement. We will be announcing more detailed information about the members loan drive on Jan. 1 2011. In the mean time, please help your co-op to be well and prosper by making a donation today.

Case Statement to Move

The Great Basin Community Food Cooperative is planning a move in 2011 to improve our ability to meet YOUR needs.

Since our founding in 2005, we have rapidly and steadily grown to a current active membership of over 2500. We are currently operating in a facility with 500 square feet of retail space in which we offer over 1,200 items including a large number of seasonally available products from local food growers and artisans. Locally sourced products have been particularly successful. In 2006 we started selling products from three locally-based food growers and artisans; now we sell products from 46 local sources. In 2009, annual revenue paid to these local food producers exceeded $55,000, tripling since 2008. Gross sales have followed a similar growth trend, increasing from $250,000 in 2008 to over $500,000 in 2009, with projections close to $900,000 by the end of 2010!

Justification for Moving

While the fact that the current lease on 542 ½ Plumas St. facility ends Jan. 31, 2012 is forcing us to look for a new site, the most important reason we need to move is to make sure that we have the retail and back stock space for our members and our farmers.

The current back stock and retail spaces are far too small to comfortably meet our current volume of sales. Even if we had sufficient retail and back stock space now, we need to allow for growth in the subsequent 3-5 year period. The additional space is essential for the Co-op to increase sales volumes and qualify for discounts from wholesalers, improve our financial position and reduce or hold the line on prices for our membership.

Finally, our area’s producers need to cut down on their trips to town. It is not an efficient use of the farmers’ time and resources or of nonrenewable resources to make numerous deliveries to a co-op (and surrounding restaurants) when a centrally located facility would allow for them to reduce their costs thereby reducing the cost to the co-op.

New Site Size and Location

Most coops in the country with 2,500-3,000 active members operate with 3,000-7,000 square feet of retail space to adequately meet member needs with a variety and volume of goods. Because the largest concentrations of our membership (based on zip codes) live in the area and have requested on our recent member survey that we stay in the same neighborhood, we are currently evaluating several commercial properties in this southwest Reno vicinity.

Financing the Move!

We are presently putting together a detailed time-line and budget for the planned move and will conduct a member loan drive from Feb. 10 to March 25, 2011.

Prior to the member loan drive we will be accepting tax deductible donations through our fiscal agent, The Local Food System Network. Donations can be made starting on Nov. 1, 2010 on our website’s online donation page or in-store by check, credit card or cash.

Contact finance@greatbasinfood.coop or call our office at 775-324-2922 for more information. The main sources of capital to fund the co-op’s next move will be from donations, grants, the member loan drive and possibly traditional bank loans.

Key Features of the Proposed New Food Co-op Site

While more space for grocery items, healthy to go meals, and back stock is a priority, we are also planning a central storage facility for local producers. The new location will emphasize bulk goods in order to cut down on waste that will end up in a landfill and it will also incorporate numerous other “green” features. We also want to have an herb garden, space for demonstrations and more space for locally baked goods. Finally, with a larger site we can better facilitate one stop shopping while providing a space for the community to connect and interact.