Dear Deep Roots Community,

We are excited to announce an incredible opportunity for passionate and dedicated individuals to join the Deep Roots Food Co-op Board of Directors! This is your chance to play a vital role in shaping the future of our beloved co-op and making a meaningful impact on our community.

Why Join the Board?

As a member of the Board of Directors, you will:

• Contribute to our Mission: Help guide the strategic direction of Deep Roots Food Co-op and support our mission of providing healthy, sustainable, and locally-sourced food.
• Develop Leadership Skills: Gain valuable experience in governance, financial oversight, and community engagement.
• Foster Community Connections: Collaborate with like-minded individuals and engage with our vibrant member-owner community.
• Earn a discount on your groceries: Board members receive a 15% discount on co-op purchases for their service. 

How to Apply

We invite all interested individuals who are passionate about our co-op's mission and values to apply. Please consider taking these actions: 

1. Attending one of our regular monthly Board of Director meetings. Upcoming meetings: January 27th & February 24th starting at 6pm in the Deep Roots Market Community Room.

2. Contact us by email at drmnomcom@gmail.com if you'd like to receive information and/or set up a meeting to talk more about this opportunity to serve.

3. Coming to a special “Meet and Greet the Board” on Monday, January 27 or February 27th at 5:00 p.m. Several of our current Board of Directors will be there to answer questions and provide greater insight into Board activities. Location: Deep Roots Market Community Room. 

All candidates will need to complete an application no later than February 28, 2025.

Don't miss this chance to make a difference and help shape the future of Deep Roots Food Co-op. We look forward to welcoming new voices and perspectives to our board!

Deep Roots Market Board of Directors Meetings

We welcome all Owners to attend our monthly Board of Director meetings, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Grab a seat at our meetings held in the Community Room or attend via Zoom. To attend virtually, email boardofdirectors@deeprootsmarket.com prior to the meeting for a Zoom invitation.

2025 Meeting Dates & Main Topic of Discussion

• Monday, January 27—Business Planning and Asset Protection
• Monday, February 24—Financial Condition Review
• Monday, March 24—Staff and General Manager Relations
• Monday, April 28—Owner Rights and Responsibilities
• Saturday, May 3—Annual Owners Meeting
• Monday, May 19–Welcome New Board Members and Roles
• Monday, June 23—Customer Experience
• Monday, July 28—Global Executive Constraint
• Sunday, August 24 (date to be confirmed) Annual Board Retreat
• Monday, September 29–Financial Condition Review
• Monday, October 27—Communication and Committees
• Monday, November 24—Financial Condition Review
• Monday, December 15—Business Planning

With the holiday season in full swing, the Deep Roots Board of Directors wishes you abundant happiness, joy, and cheer as you celebrate with your family and friends.

We thank you for shopping at Deep Roots where your dollars directly benefit local farmers and small businesses. And as 2024 draws to a close, we once again affirm our dedication to you as a co-op committed to sustainability, community, care, and justice.

Your responses to a recent survey told us it's not only our healthy, locally grown, organic, and fair-trade goods that set us apart from your other shopping choices. You said it was also the staff, who are kind, welcoming, and friendly people doing their best to serve you in the best ways that keep you coming back.

Thank you and happy holidays!!

We are delighted to introduce Debra Smith as the newest member of Deep Roots’ Board of Directors. Pictured in the center and surrounded by the other members of the Board, Debra has hit the ground running with her vast experience in financial matters and keen attention to detail. A Deep Roots owner since 2018, Debra attests to the value of healthy, organic foods for changing her life for the better. Read more about Debra Smith here.

Debra will be completing the term originally held by Eric Smith (no relation) who regrettably stepped down from the Board to attend to health and wellness matters. Eric’s service to Deep Roots most recently culminated with his involvement in the new General Manager (GM) search, a time-intensive commitment that required his insights and wisdom. We wish Eric, a professional Santa Claus, all the best and will miss his wit at our monthly meetings.

Speaking of monthly meetings, you may be wondering what is in store for Debra now that she’s become a Board Member as well as an owner. Here’s a glimpse of what the Board does. At our last Board Meeting, we reviewed monthly financials as we always do with General Manager Matt Davis and received a report from our Owner Engagement Committee of owner responses to questions about what makes Deep Roots Market special to you and the community. The data will inform a new, concise statement of what distinguishes Deep Roots Market today from other markets and co-ops (one of the Board’s three goals for this year).

What else, you ask? Recently, the Board’s Finance Committee researched, crunched the numbers, and with our General Manager, developed a multi-year plan to retire outstanding owner loans that supported Deep Roots’ operations in challenging times and move to the downtown location (another of the Board’s goals for the year). The Board approved the plan which will begin in 2024, asking our GM to distribute $80,000 in debt repayment by the end of the year, an ambitious step that clearly demonstrates strong commitment to this goal on the part of the Board and the new management team. As one aspect of the ambitious loan repayment plan, the Board will launch a year-end fundraising campaign, asking customers, owners and Deep Roots supporters to consider year-end contributions to help Deep Roots cover costs that extend beyond store sales and ownership shares. More on this soon!

Finally, our Board Development Committee is already preparing candidate packets for owners interested in running for a three-year Board position at our May 2025 Annual Meeting. We intentionally hold elections annually to re-elect or replace at least three Board Members and we hope you will consider running for one of the positions so you can work with an amazing, dedicated group of people to deepen Deep Roots’ place and impact in our community!

At the end of August, your Board of Directors spent a full day together to establish goals and a work plan for 2024-2025. What distinguished the day was the flow of positive energy, show of strong commitment, and affirmation of the collective dedication to serve the community.

We established three goals which you’ll be hearing more about in the months ahead. We hope you, as owners, will join us in developing these goals through our many Board committees that involve smart, fun people working together to enhance our experience and engagement with Deep Roots!

✅ Goal #1: Develop a strong statement of what distinguishes Deep Roots Market today from other markets and co-ops so that we can communicate that clearly and consistently in all messaging. This task, one that will build upon our roots while also recognizing the changing community landscape, will involve soliciting input from our owners in the coming weeks and months. This goal is designed to directly and positively impact our other goals and the overall operations of Deep Roots Market.

✅ Goal #2: Achieve robust financial health and increase Deep Roots’ vibrancy to be able to initiate new programming, store changes, and pay off all outstanding owner loans by 2027. We will release plans later this fall about new programming, fundraising, and details about an ambitious owner loan repayment schedule (and we’ll communicate directly as well with the owners who graciously provided loans to make Deep Roots what it is today!). We know many of you who loaned us funds have been patient and we thank you for that. We are committed to paying off all owner loans and promise to communicate in the next 90 days our specific plans for how to do that. You can expect significant loan repayment to start in 2024. In the meantime, we ask that you please refrain from asking our market staff about this...we will keep you updated as soon as our plans and projections are solid. Keep in mind that you can always write to the Board President with questions at boardofdirectors@deeprootsmarket.com.

✅ Goal #3: Support the onboarding of our new General Manager. As announced previously, we are thrilled that Matt Davis has taken over as Deep Roots’ new General Manager, effective July 1, 2024, a job that requires him to wear many hats and take on new tasks and responsibilities. Our core values of equity, democracy at work and in the community, care for others, sustainability, and social responsibility will guide our effort to work with Matt to ensure Deep Roots continues to grow and serve the people of Greater Greensboro.

Many thanks to you, our owners and shoppers, for supporting Deep Roots Market.