Outpost Co-Op Board of Directors – Vote for Me Before October 15th

We all know how much I love food. You also know I’m a big fan of all things local. Hopefully, you realize that I try to live a healthy lifestyle. Sure, a burger, a diet Coke, or a chemically laden cleaning product made in Asia may make its way into my system every now and then, but I’m getting better everyday.

These are all reasons why I am running for one of the three open positions on the Outpost Co-Op’s 2014 Board of Directors. I am a firm believer in “you get out what you put in” into organizations and I think board participation would make it much easier for me to support healthy food causes and local businesses and perhaps introduce y’all to new things along the way, too.

As I wrote up this post, I realized that it was becoming an Outpost commercial vs. a Maggie commercial. There’s value in that, too, so read on for more, but first, here’s why you should vote for me.

1. I love eating good food and supporting small businesses – Outpost’s purpose, in a (organically raised, fairly traded) nutshell.
2. I have the professional non-profit/member association background, so I am familiar with the inner-workings of an organization like Outpost from the employee’s and volunteer’s perspective. Moral of the story – I’m comfortable talking apple farmers AND financial planning.
3. I like to teach those around me new things. Outpost is a new and sometimes intimidating concept to many folks in my life that I think would get a lot out of membership (and/or just shopping there!) I’ll figure out ways to introduce people in our area how to make this place their own.
4. Not for nothing, but I’m young-ish and I’m pretty tech-savvy. I love Outpost, but they could really use a shot in the arm to reach the young professional crowd. I’ve already got a bunch of ideas that equate to tasty (see what I did there?!) word-of-mouth marketing using social media.

You can find my official position statement for the board on the Outpost’s blog, but I think it really boils down to the fact that I represent “you” well. In short – I’m a real person. I have to imagine that most owners of the co-op don’t do 100% of their grocery shopping at the store. Neither do I. I also bet that they sneak a meal at joints with names like McDonalds or Noodles every now and then. So do I (with equal parts full, happy belly and hanging my head in shame.) But I do believe in the 80/20 rule and feed my family with the good stuff at least 80% of the time. That’s when Outpost comes in handy! I go here for my vegetables in the CSA off-season, local cheese all the time, and a pre-made pizza from their deli at least once a month when I’ve given up on cooking for the night.

I think Outpost’s biggest opportunity for growth is to introduce the organization to folks that haven’t yet gone into a store as another place to add to their grocery-going arsenal. To make it more friendly and less intimidating to the non-yoga-going public. New customers may not decide to go in 100% and buy everything down to recycled toilet paper from Outpost right off the bat, but I promise that the milk and meat will taste much better than the typical Costco versions. (And I also promise you’re still welcomed into the store even if you’re wearing real leather shoes… We’re not all hippies!)

On the flip side, I think Outpost’s potential for expansion is not in more grocery stores (though I am proud of the soon-to-open Mequon branch!), but as cafes and small shops around town. They have already opened Market Cafes at Aurora Sinai Hospital and YMCA Rite Hite branch stocked with ready-to-eat meals and grocery basics. Wouldn’t it be great to expand this concept?!

In case you are unfamiliar with Outpost – this local grocery store provides supplies for all the healthy, organic, gluten-free, vegan, localvore, all-natural diets and lifestyles you could possibly imagine. For those of us that dabble in healthy choices, they also provide packaged and pre-made meals that only use ingredients found in nature, not in a lab. (Case in point – enchiladas from Cocina De Leon vs. Lean Cuisines.) They use local farmers whenever possible for produce, dairy and meat and have a great selection of locally produced products like Madam J’s jams and La Campagne Natural Bakery’s granola.

How to Vote

To vote, members can simply visit the Outpost web site or stop by an in-store customer service desk between today and October 15th. If you’re not yet a member ($25/year which gives you the discounts and (potentially) a share of profits at the end of the year…), may I suggest stopping by a store on Saturday, October 12th to become a member, vote for me, and enjoy the Fall Harvest sampler party? Fresh fruit and cheese and free stuff, need I say more?!