AMHERST — Board members will be appointed and bylaws will be ratified at the first annual meeting Saturday for the long-planned Amherst Community Co-op.
The meeting, which begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, 121 North Pleasant St., marks another milestone in bringing a grocery store to downtown Amherst
“It’s a big step forward for us,” said steering committee member Alex Kent.
Kent said having a board of directors in place is important for increasing outreach to the community.
While over 200 member-owners are already signed up, the proposed co-op still has to raise money for both a market feasibility study and completing financial estimates. These need to be done before a site is identified and a store is opened.
During the meeting, members will hear updates from Laura Mason, the board president, and Elliott Crowe, the board treasurer, and listen to presentation by Erbin Crowell from the Neighborhood Food Co-op Association.
Kent said this is a critical time for the venture, begun in 2014, as it approaches the 300 member-owner mark.
“This is the point at which most start-up co-ops consider commissioning their market feasibility studies,” Kent said.
River Valley Co-op in Northampton has pledged to pay for part of a feasibility study, but the co-op needs to reach 300 member-owners, who each pay $175 up front, or in $25 quarterly installments.
The feasibility study will be done by consultants Cooperative Development Services of Putney, Vermont.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
