by Stephanie Ricketts, Board Member
October has arrived! I feel a bit of disbelief that we’re officially 10 months into 2020. Each month of this year has brought new challenges, in spades. However, 2020 has also given us ample opportunities to grow and evolve as people, and as a cooperative community. I hope October and its apple, pumpkin, and sweet potato harvests brings each of you some sweetness as we continue to navigate this strange year.
Speaking of growing and evolving, your Willy Street Co-op Board of Directors continues to participate in discussions with Step Up: Equity Matters, and Board members attended the YWCA Racial Justice summit in September. Four Board members are also participating in the Abolitionists Challenge, presented by LaDonna Sanders Redmond. As of October we’ll be halfway through the six-month program of directed readings, self-reflection and participation by cooperators in a program to help make cooperatives more actively engaged in bringing strength in our shared work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn more about the challenge here: columinate.coop/events/abolitionists.
Finance Committee
The Willy Street Co-op Finance Committee is looking for a new member! If your heart beats faster at the thought of reviewing key metrics, reviewing financial policies, and digging into balance sheets, this committee’s work might be for you. You would be expected to attend a monthly committee meeting, and spend time in between meetings reviewing committee materials and participating in email discussions. All told, it is probably a five-to-seven hour commitment each month.
Are you interested in serving on this committee? Please email b.becker@willystreet.coop to get an application!
Meet the Board: Ashwini Rao
Ashwini Rao is one of the two new Willy Street Co-op Board members elected during the July 2020 election. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashwini for this Reader article, so you can get to know one of your new representatives a bit better!
Stephanie Ricketts (SR): What was your first memory of the Willy Street Co-op?
Ashwini Rao (AR): I was visiting Madison one summer and staying at a friend’s place on Spaight Street. I went to the Co-op for food shopping, and I was impressed by the quality of the food, as well as by the diversity of products. At the time, I was finishing my Master’s in Syracuse, and we didn’t have access to a Co-op anywhere nearby. When I came to Madison and saw the Co-op I was really blown away.
SR: How did you first learn about cooperatives, and what was the first co-op you joined?
AR: I grew up in India, and India has a large cooperative movement. You can’t not be aware of cooperatives, at least in some senses. That was when I first understood what a cooperative was, what it could be and should be, its principles. But I learned more about it when I joined the UW Center for Cooperatives, in terms of how co-ops really function, what the principles actually mean, and how they can play out in an actual cooperative environment. The first co-op that I joined was actually the UW Credit Union, which I joined when I moved to Madison. I am still a member of the credit union, and I may have joined Willy Street Co-op the same day.
SR: What do you rely on Willy Street Co-op for?
AR: I think for me, it’s the products. As I said before, the diversity and the quality of the products is what keeps bringing me back to the Co-op. And of course, the bulk aisle!
SR: What are your top three favorite Willy Street Co-op foods?
AR: I don’t know if I actually have a favorite. If I had to narrow it down to just three, I would say: fresh produce, in-season fruits, and the bulk aisle.
SR: Do you have any favorite food traditions?
AR: Around Indian festivals, I plan some special menus out, invite friends over, and just enjoy the variety of foods we can have at that time. It depends on the season of the festival, and because it’s seasonal, the foods differ.
SR: How has COVID-19 impacted your cooking, eating, or other food practices?
AR: It’s been interesting, to say the least. We cook on a regular basis, but I’m definitely cooking way more and trying out different things—arugula pesto, sauteed hostas. Some of the things have worked well, others not so much.
SR: Besides being a Willy Street Co-op Board member, what else do you like to do with your time?
AR: In normal circumstances, I enjoy hanging out with friends, and volunteering at the music festivals. Lately I’ve been more focused on taking care of myself, whatever that may be and taking each day as it comes.
SR: What are you most excited about in being a new Board member?
AR: The opportunity to be able to contribute to the growth and success of the co-op. When I was applying to be a Board member, I mentioned that accessibility to good quality food at an affordable price is an important issue for me, and that has taken on new meaning with the pandemic. I’m excited to see how we can get communities thinking about healthy cooking, or even being able to afford organic produce.
SR: What do you see as the biggest challenges the Co-op will face over the next few years?
AR: Online shopping. I know that the Co-op has been a little slower to adapt, but now it’s taking off. How can the Co-op, as a grocery store, continue to provide affordable food when supply chains are a little shocked at this point, and you can’t open up your doors to lots of people at the same time, because of COVID-19. How does a business survive that, especially a grocery store where margins are minimal? Plus the Co-op has the great reputation of supporting local producers so how, in terms of giving back to the community and supporting other cooperators, how do you make sure that support is alive and well? Supporting agriculture, so those farms don’t go out of business too.
SR: What do you see as the biggest opportunities?
AR: In some ways, the challenge is also the opportunity. We can do more online business, and more creative things. For example, the veggie boxes the Co-op has been doing have been great. Maybe finding additional ways to work with the farmers directly and to figure out new ways to get produce out into the community, including to communities where people don’t have access to great produce. That might be a great opportunity for the Co-op to look at.
SR: Is there anything else you’d like our Owners to know about you?
AR: I’m very passionate about food, and enjoy giving back to the community. That is what drew me to run for the Co-op Board, because I think the Co-op does a good job in those aspects.
