APPLY TO BE ON OUR BOARD!
There are several positions available in our Board of Directors!
Are you passionate about local food and food issues?
Does the cooperative movement and its sense of community excite you?
Have you considered running for Common Ground's Board of Directors?
Apply today for the Board of Directors.
Online applications are available
here! Paper applications are also available at every register. Just ask your changemaker next time you are in store!
All applications are due
August 15th at 10pm.
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CURRENT FISCAL PLAN 
Looking back on last month, I'm very excited to say that we began paying back the first (5 year) loans from our 2011 expansion - we sent out checks in June totaling more than $35,000. We have always repaid our owner loans on time but I just wanted to share my enthusiasm about the interest we paid going back to our local economy via our cooperative growth and owner investments. I also want to say how thankful Common Ground is for all of those who have contributed to our success in the past.
As for the future, we are continuing to work on our Champaign store project. Our official project restart is set for August and we've been working on operational readiness since our delay was announced. We have finalized a new staff structure, brought in consultants to assess parts of our operations, and have been updating materials and equipment at the Urbana location. We are currently in the process of updating our pro forma and market study. Our Board of Directors will once again approve the feasibility of moving forward at their monthly meeting on August 8, 2016. Although the project has always been financially strong, our current pro forma was based on opening a store in Champaign in the spring of 2016 and the market study it was based on was completed in December, 2014. Both warranted a redo to ensure accuracy of our current financial plans prior to kicking off our second owner loan campaign this September.
Thank you all for your support of this project and I look forward to growing our Co-op together!
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SHARPENING YOUR SKILLS THIS SUMMER
School may be out for the summer, but learning is still in full swing at Common Ground!
We've been busy working throughout the summer months with a number of different groups out in the community.
From June 27th to July 1st, we had lots of fun working with the Champaign Park District's summer camp programming to provide and instruct lots of great recipes for Girls Explore Kitchen Creations. We've also been working each month at the Champaign County Juvenile Detention center to help build skills and food knowledge for the kids being housed in their facility.
In the store, we have a full schedule of great classes slated as usual. In July, our fantastic Community Educators are planning to teach a number of topics, ranging from Gardening with Children, Urban Chickens, Mead Making, Basic Nutrition & Meal Planning, and many more! Many of our classes are priced to be as affordable as possible, and if you're still interested in learning something new but on a budget, please inquire about our Food for All discount!. We thank you sincerely for helping us make the Co-op a vibrant place for learning, and we hope to see you very soon! Check out the class calendar here!
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MAKE YOUR OWN BUG SPRAY
If you are interested in downloading this recipe, please do so
here!
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CHROMA PRESSED, CLOTHING BY TIA OLIVER
Tia Oliver does it all! She's a dedicated mother of young Valentine, a hardworking Grocery Stocker, a joyful friend to all customers and coworkers at the Co-op, and a loving Urbana neighbor.
What you might not know about Tia Oliver is that she is an incredibly talented clothing designer and clothing dyer! She creates uniquely-dyed clothing for all sizes, including underwear, napkins, tops, skirts, dresses, and men's clothing. She supports the locally-owned art store by purchasing all of her cold-water dyes from the Art Coop, our mall neighbor.
This year, Tia Oliver is at the Urbana Farmers Market on Saturdays and has her own booth to sell all of her handcrafted clothing. Typically in aisle 3, closer to the middle of the Urbana Market, Tia will be there to help you find an item that would be a perfect fit just for you! What's better is that each week she will have different clothing available! Come support Tia each Saturday for this market and if you want to contact her in person, you can email her at
[email protected]
for special requests about when to see her work!
Tia is a great example of how driven and talented all of Common Ground staff members are in their personal achievements outside of work. We are strengthened as a local cooperative to have such caring and creative staff who create local businesses, promote themselves in local music or art production, and attain their personal goals in their life outside of the Co-op. Well-balanced employees that strive for growth and involvement in local community are what makes the Co-op so unique and successful.
Know someone who would be a perfect fit for our team? Keep an eye out for job openings this summer!
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BEERS OF SUMMER
Whether it is light, refreshing beer that you love or fruity, seasonal brews that keep your interest, we have all the flavors covered in our Beer department!
Check out some new features including, Half Acre's Akari Shogun American Wheat Ale that is handcrafted and bottled in Chicago! It is a golden wheat ale with mild notes of hops, a slight citrus flavor, with a light carbonation that makes it a perfectly smooth summer beer. Now's your time to try it!
In addition to this regional producer, we are offering for a limited time, Wells Banana Bread Beer and New Belgium Watermelon Lime Ale for fruity beers that are perfect for mixing your own 6 pack!
These sweet ales are perfect for a special occasion and accompany a dessert perfectly!
Need help choosing the right beer for a specific occasion? Ask a staff member to help you find the perfect flavor!
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HEAR FROM YOUR BOARD MEMBER:
JULIE ZILLES
As we hit the midpoint of the year, I'd like to do a quick recap of what your Board's accomplished so far in 2016 and what we'll be focusing on in the coming months.
We began 2016 with an all day retreat with the board, General Manager Satina Braswell, and Cooperative Development consultant Todd Wallace. Todd shared best practices from coops across the country and led our group in building our relationships with each other and kicking off our democracy project. We said sad goodbyes to board members Eric Benson and Halie Kastl, with many thanks for their service, and welcomed new directors Jodi Anderson and Margaret Johnstone, who were appointed to serve until the fall elections. Major board projects this spring included overseeing our first-ever external audit of the coop's financial records and practices, updating our election packet and General Manager evaluation procedures, holding our financial meeting of owners, exploring what democracy means at Common Ground, and checking in regularly on progress towards our Champaign store. I'm particularly proud of Common Ground's excellent audit results and would like to thank our finance manager, Phyllis Bruno, for her exceptional work!
In the near future, we are working hard to prepare for the fall elections and Meeting of Owners. Election packets will be available in the store and online in early July, to allow plenty of time for interested owners to attend a board meeting or information session before the application deadline in August. New this year will be informational interviews with all candidates. In preparation for a September owner loan campaign, we are also reviewing all aspects of feasibility for the Champaign store project: updating the market study and financial pro forma and reviewing operational readiness with external consultants, to ensure that all systems are go and that we're ready to answer all of your questions. Throughout the fall, much of the board's attention will be taken up with two projects: the Champaign store and the democracy project.
Sound like fun? Y
ou
should run for the Board! Download the election packet or email the board for more information: [email protected].
In cooperation,
Julie Zilles
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Thanks for reading our newsletter! Enjoy the savings and see you next month!
These offers are valid for the stated week only. It can be printed or presented on smart device at time of purchase. Limit one coupon per customer. Applies to all store items besides those that are on sale or considered Co-op Basics.
Common Ground Food Co-op
300 S. Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801
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Co-op Deals Featuring:
Enjoy delicious organic lemonade while saving big!
All Santa Cruz 32 oz bottles are 3 for $5!
Stock up on your non-perishables items while they are on sale!
Find all of the Co-op Deals for July right here!
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Upcoming Board Events
Free coffee with the Board on Saturday, July 9th, 10am-12pm in the Flatlander Classroom!
Meeting on Monday,
July 11th,
from 6:15-8:15pm in the Lincoln Square Conference Center.
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Eastern Illinois Foodbank
Thank you to everyone who donated money to Eastern Illinois Foodbank this month! We happily raised over $4,000 through our Round Up For Good Program!
We were happy to see such a great turnout for our Ice Cream Social and will have a grand total announced by next week!
If you are interested in donating canned food items and freshly grown produce from your garden, please call EIF at
(217) 328-3663 or reach them by email at [email protected]
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Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club
July is the month to donate to Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club! Focusing on caring for the kids of the Champaign-Urbana community, DMBGC offers afterschool and summer kids programs that strive to empower kids to reach their full potential and grow into responsible and engaging adults.
If you are interested in learning more about Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club, check out their
impacts report and their
achievements
!
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Beat the Heat
Need a break from the heat at the Farmer's Market? The Deli is selling grab & go iced drinks at the Welcome Desk every Saturday morning--5 delicious options and 1 great price. Choose from Iced Coffee, Iced Tea, Iced Green Tea, Iced Hibiscus Mint Tea, or Lemonade all for $1.99. Grab your favorite and stay for lunch; we would love to see you.
Also, if you are looking for something to bring to a 4th of July barbeque (but don't want to heat up your kitchen), we will have coupon for $1 off whole pies for the holiday weekend. All of our pies are made from scratch in our bakery and this month we will be featuring Peach Raspberry, Cherry, and Key Lime. The perfect addition to any party!
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Superfood
s in Aisle 6
The opposite of empty calories, superfoods are super because they provide lots of nutritional support per calorie for your body's health and well-being.
So many Common Ground customers are looking for nutrient-dense superfoods that we decided to gather a selection of the best together in one place.
Now you can find your favorites like chia seeds, maca, cacao, and goji berries in aisle 6 across from the freezer.
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Have you enjoyed seeing the artwork from Kamila Glowacki in our Flatlander Classroom?
We will be hosting an Art Reception on July 22nd from
6:30 to 8:30pm in our classroom where you can meet Kamila in person. See Kamila's artist profile
here!
Taste free wine, organic appetizers, and delicious dessert all in the name of local art!
Come join us!
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Love our local selections of coffee at the Co-op?
We are happy to announce that we will now be offering locally roasted coffee from Mad Goat Coffee as one of our options for drip coffee in our Deli.
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Love picking blueberries by hand and need them to be without any pesticides and fertilizers? We have some good news for you!
Rehoboth Blueberry Farm is located about 1 hour away from Common Ground and they have been operating for 40 years!
If you call them at 815-944-5961, you can schedule a U-Pick time where you can pick your own berries!
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