We Voted Co-op!
On October 1st, 2005 Open Harvest reorganized as a cooperative in the state of Nebraska!
By Jean Helms, General Manager
At the Special Membership Meeting on Thursday, July 28th at Meadowlark Espresso next to the co-op, we made the decision final by recognizing the 1157 Yes votes, 87 more than we officially need to pass the Merger for the new Articles and Bylaws. We made a toast with Sparkling Pear Juice to another 30 years! We will have many important decisions to make it the next few years as we outgrow our current space, and we appreciate the fact that our membership is actively supporting their organization.
Some background information:
For the past thirty years Open Harvest has been incorporated as a Non-Profit Corporation governed by the Cooperative Principles. A few years ago the board and management of Open Harvest began discussing the idea of reincorporating as a Cooperative in the State of Nebraska. Over the past fifty years many Food Coops around the United States have been established as general business or nonprofit corporations. Some states have cooperative laws that are not appropriate for certain types of businesses. Only the members of the cooperative determine whether a business is operating as a cooperative in how the bylaws are written. In the introduction of the existing bylaws we have a mission statement that states "Open Harvest is a member-owned retail cooperative..." The founding fathers and mothers of Open Harvest chose the non-profit incorporation option thirty years ago because at that time Nebraska laws governing cooperatives were not conducive to running a retail grocery storefront. We now have new opportunities and compelling reasons to update our incorporation.