After reviewing feedback from our recent survey, the Board voted to make the following changes to the Marsh River Cooperative’s membership policy:

There will no longer be a general 5% discount on member purchases
Anyone (member or non-member) who who volunteers for at least a 2-hour store shift will receive a 10% discount on purchases made during or immediately following their shift.

Why?

Our membership responded with a clear message, with lots of good suggestions that we are following up on. About one-third of our members responded, and nearly 90% of you said the proposed changes to the discounts would make no difference to the amount of shopping or volunteering you would do at the Co-op. Goals for the change to our discount policy are:

To strengthen the coop financially and build a strong foundation going into the winter months.
To promote in-store volunteering
Potentially help bring down pricing in the coop overall

We are retaining the Wednesday 5% senior discount.

The Board and our new manager are busy implementing additional changes we expect to improve the coop’s finances, increasing our support for and promotion of the local food economy.

We’re keeping open the possibility of reinstating member discounts in the future. We are still considering how to handle discounts for non-shift volunteers. And we’re considering other benefits to our membership, such as member-only sales items, a cumulative dividend at the end of the year based on profitability, etc. As a Marsh River Cooperative member, you are part of a great asset to our community, supporting a hub of interests and people and supporting our local economy.

If you have questions or comments please speak to a member of the board.