by Deb Shapiro, Board Member
This month, we’re continuing to talk about reasons why Owners might want to run for the Willy Street Co-op Board of Directors, focusing on the benefits of being a Board member. After all, it’s a lot of work to be a Board member: it’s a commitment of 10–15 hours per month spent on monthly Board and committee meetings, homework, and reading assignments. So what’s the reward? (Beside the 10% discount on groceries and the monthly stipend, of course!) Willy Street Co-op is truly committed to developing and educating its Board members, and that means Board members have access to trainings and workshops and various resources from organizations such as the UW-Madison Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) to help them do their jobs better.
Mentioning UWCC brings me to the specific Board benefit I’d like to concentrate on, which is the opportunity to attend CCMA, the Consumer Cooperative Management Association annual meeting, organized by UWCC. In 2025, CCMA was held in Duluth, Minnesota, and the Co-op was able to sponsor four Board members to attend. CCMA is a terrific experience, bringing together Board members and staff from co-ops all over the US and some from Canada, for keynote speakers and breakout sessions, as well as good food and socializing. Some of the breakouts I was able to attend included sessions on co-op history, strategies co-ops are using to provide discounts, workplace inclusion, and hybrid co-ops, that is co-ops offering a mix of natural and organic foods and commercial products, with Willy Street Co-op Board president Sarah Larson and GM Anya Firszt presenting.
The Friday keynote speaker, Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, discussed how lack of enforcement of antitrust laws that began during 1980s has squeezed out independent grocers and small local stores, which—combined with redlining—has created many urban and rural areas that lack access to grocery stores that provide fresh healthy food. Since at least 2018, there has been debate over what to call these under-resourced areas. The term “food desert” is problematic, since it makes it sound like a natural process, and also negates the vibrant communities that exist in these areas. Some people suggest “food apartheid” as a replacement. I wonder if “food redlining” might work.
The Saturday keynote was a panel of speakers looking at who feels welcomed in co-ops, because despite our best intentions, exclusion still happens.
As you can see, Board members came back from CCMA with lots to think about! Of course there are also a few other perks associated with being a Willy Street Co-op Board member, such as the stipend and discount. But, for me at least, the feeling that the Co-op is investing in me as a Board member by providing opportunities such as CCMA far outweighs that markdown at the register!
