Wild Onion Market is our market. We’ll keep dollars local, support local farmers and producers, and help build a sustainable food production and packaging system. Join here!
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We’ve cruised past our goal of 1,000 Owners this year!
While we have reached a major milestone in welcoming over 1,000 households and local businesses to the food co-op as Owners, spreading the word and growing the ownership base continues to be important! YOUR HELP IS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED!
wear a co-op button (hello@wildonionmarket.com is your swag connection) if you haven’t yet, JOIN US as an Owner* if you’re able, consider a further investment in Wild Onion Market
Location, Location, Location
Food Politics Corner
by Debbie Hillman
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1. LOCAL: Chicago metro 17th annual Chicago Food Justice Summit
Theme: “Collective Care”
Feb. 23-25, 2022 (virtual)
Registration will be open in early Jan. 2022
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2. STATE: Illinois Starts Jan. 10, 2022
9 Mondays, 6:00-8:30 PM
$250/$350 member/non-member
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3. GLOBAL by Sybilla Gross, Mumbi Gitau
Bloomberg Dec. 9, 2021
Image is of T-shirts by Chicago artist/soil builder Nance Klehm from her 2008-09 Social Ecologies project,
Humble Pile: “Our massive small-scale nutrient recovery project” (night soil)
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Wild Onion Market Events
| December 21: Capital Campaign Committee Meeting, 7-8 PM. Meetings are the third Tuesday of each month. Write mary@wildonionmarket.com |
| January 6: Wild Onion Market Board Meeting, 7-9 PM. All Owners are invited to all regular monthly board meetings. Write lisa.gordon@ |
| January 20: Meet and Greet, 7-8 PM. Build co-op and community connection. New owners, interested folks, and co-op veterans are all welcomed! Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/ |
| January 28: Candidate applications are due for the upcoming Wild Onion Market Board elections. See below for more information. |
Co-op Board Elections
Wild Onion Market’s annual Board elections are coming up in January. As an Owner, you can participate in elections in two ways: Run for office, and vote. Of 9 total seats, we will be electing 4 Board members: 3 Board terms come to an end this year (3-year terms); and, we have 1 additional open seat. Incumbents may run for re-election.
We welcome new people, ideas and perspectives on the Board! Members elected this year will very likely oversee the opening of our market, the transition to working with a general manager, and new ways for the Board to govern.
Eligibility to run: All Owners over the age of 18 who have been Owners for 6 months (as of the beginning of the election period) can run. Board members cannot have any conflict of interest with the co-op. There will be two online information sessions in January where you can learn more about running for a seat and being on the Board.
Eligibility to vote: Be an Owner in good standing. Every Owner gets one vote that will help shape our leadership. If you’re not already an Owner, join now so you have a say in the future of your local co-op.
If you are wondering about Board member activities, or are already interested in running, please contact Board Secretary Lisa J. Gordon at lisa.gordon@
Candidate Information Sessions (on Zoom):
Wednesday, January 12, 7-8 PM; or
Saturday, January 15, 10:30-11:30 AM
Submit Board Candidate Application by:
Friday, January 28, midnight
We send hearty congratulations to our friends at Food Shed Co-op in McHenry County, IL. They have just finished raising $1.75 million from their Owners to build their new store. They started in August of this year, and are just wrapping up the last few investments. This is both impressive and inspiring, as we are now preparing for our own Capital Campaign.As you probably know, Wild Onion Market is working hard to secure a site for our store. Negotiations are ongoing, but when we sign a lease on a space, that’s when the clock starts ticking. We expect it will take 4-6 months to build out the store, assuming we can acquire a space that needs a minimum of work.
But before we can do that, we have to raise the capital to do so. If we want to open the store within a year of lease signing (and that’s what we all want!), we will have to mount a Capital Campaign that is just as successful as Food Shed’s. And we may only have 4-6 months to do it.
Fortunately, we can look just to Food Shed to see that it is very possible to raise the funds in that short amount of time. The chair of their Capital Campaign, Doug Close, has been extremely generous with his time in sharing their experiences. This is in the spirit of Principle 6 of the International Co-operative Principles: Co-ops co-operate with each other. We are very grateful for everything Food Shed has shared with us.
So, how are we going to raise the money to build the store?
The first thing we will need is 30 volunteers (or more!) to make phone calls, do the paperwork, collect the funds, and keep track of the investments. We will be working with professional fundraisers to train all the callers for the Campaign. There will be practice sessions, and plenty of time to learn how to best approach the task. What we have learned is that Owners calling other Owners is a powerful way to raise money.
Joining the Capital Campaign as a volunteer is a great opportunity to learn new skills, connect with your fellow co-op Owners, and be part of an exciting Capital Campaign. This is a volunteer commitment that has a definite end date, rather than an ongoing one. It is perfect for anyone with a passion for the co-op who loves to talk to their fellow Owners.
If you’re ready to sign up to volunteer, we’d love to hear from you. To volunteer, email ann@wildonionmarket.com. For information on investments, email invest@wildonionmarket.com.
Call to Action
It’s time to gear up, time to get in the game! Wild Onion Market is ready to win this! It’s going to take a strong team to get the store open, and we don’t want to leave you sitting on the bench. LET’S GOOOO!
Like all teams, there are many different positions in our co-op that can best match your strengths and skills. Best of all, everyone gets to play! So, please take a few moments to email ann@wildonionmarket.com
As you read above, we are in the all-important Capital Campaign phase of bringing Wild Onion Market to life. This is a time of critical need, requiring focused recruitment efforts. With your help, we can make it happen more quickly and effectively. Feel the excitement, team!
We are on the move – gaining Owners, securing our store site, and fundraising!
Questions about Wild Onion Market? Email Board@
http://join.wildonionmarket.