this morning, i was (again) disappointed to hear the latest on congress’ limp-wristed attempts at health reform, and (again) wished pain & suffering on joe the leiberman (ny times story here on how joe is now fighting a medicare expansion he himself suggested; bbc reporting here on real health-care comparisons internationally).
later, my 3 year old and i were watching a schoolhouse rocks collection, and i was (again) shocked at some of the propagandistic schlock they put on that show! specifically, “i’m just a bill”:
i still have a huge soft-spot for blind melon’s cover of “3 is the magic number,” but when it comes to the health care debate and what it shows of our dear nation’s political process, i hope the kids are studying the simpsons,
and not cute bits of historical revision (school house).
Filed under: -of funny, -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of localism
just got back from the harrisonburg holiday parade.
the best parts:
1.) the Turner Ashby marching band bass guitarist – complete with un-uniformed amp-puller at his side.
2.) the rocktown rollers. and the fact that they were so refreshingly out of place amidst the SUVs and farm mobiles.
3.) whichever float was playing “sweet dreams are made of these” – evoking sweet memories of bigger, gayer parades.
4.) the weird, circa 1954, animal costumes dug out of some local government basement. the resident 3 year old vote went to “the pooping bear” whose strangely placed tail unfortunately led to potty thoughts. i love vintage tact.
Filed under: Uncategorized
research shows that i should head over to t & e meats and get some of that pasture-raised beef (and maybe some chicken and hot dogs out of the polyface farms freezer).
utne: eating meat for the environment
here i go!
i sincerely hope that we have plenty of posts in store to honor holiday-season drinking. but this first note is to encourage our local readers to head over to kroger (if you’re in harrisonburg; otherwise, give them a call at 540.721.2045, and set up a tour while you’re at it) to get your own bottle of homestead creamery’s eggnog.
on a related note, your eggnog purchase makes for a great excuse to pick up a bottle of wasmund’s on your way home.
here’s to you, wirtz and sperryville, virginia.
and speaking of homestead, check out the shout-out in this thanksgiving article over at edible blue ridge – incidentally, written by the one and only andrew jenner.
now that’s coming full-circle.
cheers.
tis the season: cold, gray, & early to dark.
now’s a great time to work through a long netflix queue, & i’ve had some documentary-film moments lately that i’d like to share.
-of feeling surprisingly good about not living in subtropical climates, specifically florida:
mule skinner blues
-in which beanie andrew, amateur filmmaker, conceives and creates a “low-budget” horror film. a great, funny/scary take on the human condition, the artist’s condition, etc. featuring some of the most compelling documentary characters, most from a trailer park near jacksonville, florida.
watch the trailer here. and speaking of characters:
-of true believers:
marjoe
kids do the darndest things, i.e. “give the devil two black eyes.”
-it’s about a child preacher-prodigy who’d like to enjoy the rush of communal religious experience w/out the fire & brimstone–in short, a tragedy.
and for marjoe gortner fans, when you comin’ back, red ryder.
and finally,
-of paradise!
attenborough in paradise and other personal voyages
-an addictive set of movies by bbc innovator & naturalist david attenborough.
in my favorite scene, a young david & his film crew visit a hostile group of island natives, and win documentary access, so long as they wear native garb–basically a crew of young brits hiking around in loincloths, trying to stay professional.
it’s always great to find something my 3-year old & i can agree on; thank you david attenborough!
so, here’s to fending off that seasonal affective disorder. good luck!
what are your picks?
Filed under: -of drink, -of guest blogger., -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of vino
remember this guy?
well, the dapper wine fellow has a message for you:
Join us on Thursday the 19th of November as we celebrate the release
of the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau! Downtown Wine and Gourmet will be
hosting a FREE wine tasting of several producers’ nouveau wines
beginning at 5:00pm and going until 7:00pm. Then head over to
Clementine for a FREE Beaujolais Nouveau release party which will
begin at 8:00pm in the lounge! The event will include Beaujolais
Nouveau for sale by the glass and music from DJ Neals Barkley! So join
the global celebration and keep the tradition alive!A few fascinating facts about Beaujolais Nouveau:
*Beaujolais [BOE-zjoh-lay] Nouveau is always released the third
Thursday of November, regardless of the start of the harvest.*All the grapes in the Beaujolais region must be picked by hand. These
are the only vineyards, along with Champagne, where hand harvesting is
mandatory.*Gamay is the only grape permitted for Beaujolais Nouveau. While
certain California wineries may label their wine “Gamay Beaujolais”
this is not the same grape variety as what is grown in France, and is
quite different in taste and growing habits.*Beaujolais Nouveau owes its easy drink-ability to a wine-making
process called carbonic maceration – also called whole berry
fermentation. This technique preserves the fresh, fruity quality of
the wine, without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins.*Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young. In average vintages it
should be consumed by the following summertime after its release.
However, in excellent vintages the wine can live longer and can be
enjoyed until the next harvest rolls around.Speaking of excellent vintages, Georges Dubeouf (one of the most
renowned producers in Beaujolais) is ecstatic about this year’s
Beaujolais harvest, predicting it one of the best Beaujolais vintages
in the last 50 years. He says, “The grape bunches are small with a
fine purplish black color, and are exceptionally rich in sugar. The
berries are thick, and the seeds are a gorgeous amber color, a sign of
perfect phenolic maturity. Their brightness, intensity, and above all,
their perfect health are something to behold. We have not seen
anything like this for a long time.”Another bit of information which I think is important is the fact
that, unlike some previous releases, the 2009 Beaujolais that we
feature will be shipped by boat, not by air, to reduce the carbon
footprint of shipping the wine.
why would you dream of missing out?
high drink-ability, turntables, and a sense of global togetherness…
what a way to start the holiday season.
we’ll be there.
Filed under: -of eats, -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of localism, -of upcoming
you’ve probably heard the news by now:
The future site of the Friendly City Food Coop will be 150 E. Wolfe St, between the downtown Harrisonburg Post Office and Kline’s Dairy Bar!
The old Mick or’ Mack store? That’s right – it will be so great to have a grocery store there again!
this concrete development is pretty exciting, especially since much of the frustration we’ve heard in the community centers around the previous ambiguity of the co-op project.
hopefully, the community can help the co-op break the tradition of frequently-rotated, bizarre businesses that have occupied this building (anyone remember the era where gimpy limos would drop folks off at harrisonburg’s “dance club” located at 150 E. Wolfe? or the tanning salon? or, most recently, the scary gym?)
+ 
now, those folks who said they would gladly roll up their sleeve and volunteer time and resources towards getting a site location ready for opening have opportunity staring them in the face.
but. before any painting or cleaning, a party is apparently in order.
the details:
You’re Invited to the Friendly City Food Coop “Carpe Diem” Party-in-the-Parking-Lot!
Nov. 14, 4-7pm in the parking lot of the FUTURE STORE!
here’s a big list of ways to help celebrate:
Help Before the party:
1. Join Deb on Thursday or Friday, any time between 8am and 5pm, to help clean the building, set up, prepare goodie bags, etc..Help At the party:
FOOD
** The FCFC has a budget for this event. If you can provide the food needed but would like to be reimbursed for the expense we are happy to do so! Please provide an estimate of cost and bring receipts or an invoice to the party.
2. Provide soup for 50 people (4 volunteers needed).
3. Provide beverage for 100 people (4 volunteers needed).
4. Grill. Bring a portable grill and cook up some great smells and tasty food for 25 people (4 volunteers needed).
5. Provide finger desserts for 25 people (3 volunteers needed).SETUP
6. Bring several extension cords, splitters, and tape, and run power to a mic and lights.
7. Bring a boom box and provide music.
8. Decorate! Lights, balloons – whatever inspires you (2-4 volunteers needed).ENTERTAIN
9. Provide bubbles.
10. Provide frisbees, nerf football, other outdoor fun.
11. Provide face-painting.
12. Play music! We will have an open bandstand, but it would be really great to know that there are a few folks lined up and planning to play (1-10 songs each).
so, there you go! have at it…
make this co-op a success.
starting next saturday.
Filed under: -of harrisonburg, -of jgrimsrud, -of localism, -of sound, -of the concert calendar, -of upcoming
tuesday (11.10.09)
the blue nile – oceans spilling over, yours for mine, mirrorcage – 8pm all-ages $3/$5
clementine – dj neals barkley – 9.30pm
wednesday (11.11.09)
the blue nile – kruschty rye ergnot, max ochs, big drum in the sky religion – 9pm
thursday (11.12.09)
the little grill – open mic – 8.30pm
the blue nile – mas y mas, corsair, new rock church of fire – 9pm
clementine – the jeff coffer mu’tet – 8pm $10
friday (11.13.09)
the little grill – parks & driver (steve & bob) – 8pm
clementine – dj williams projekt – 9pm $7
the blue nile - dj kimsey (hip hop) – 10pm
saturday (11.14.09)
the little grill – charlie king & karen brandow – 8pm
the blue nile - trees on fire, pelicanesis, adventures of felix, jake (of tenderhooks) – 9pm
clementine – jill andrews (the everybodyfields) – 9pm $8
sunday (11.15.09)
the blue nile - adam arcuragi, tba – 9pm
monday (11.16.09)
the southern (charlottesville) – langhorne slim – 8pm $8/$10
Filed under: Uncategorized
some shows coming down the pike:
thursday (10.29.09)
the blue nile - the great migrators, ferdinand thomas – 10pm
the little grill – open mic – 8.30pm
clementine – dj neals barkley – 9.30pm
friday (10.30.09)
the blue nile (state sanctioned)- the super vacations (record release gig), the cinnamon band – 10pm
the little grill – the keezeltones w/ danny dolinger – 8pm
clementine – skunk ape funk escape – 9pm $5
saturday (10.31.09)
clementine (state sanctioned) – harrisonburg zombie fest ‘09! – 7pm
the blue nile – dj finks’ halloween party – 9.30pm
the slaughterhouse – dear wolfgang, halloween bash – 9pm
monday (11.2.09)
clementine – sin nombre (film) – 7.30pm
tuesday (11.3.09)
clementine – democratic election-night pary – 7pm
the blue nile – pulse fx – 10pm
thursday (11.5.09)
the blue nile (state sanctioned)- invisible hand, preacher, americans in france, eternal summers – 9pm $4
friday (11.6.09)
clementine – shotgun party – 9pm $5
saturday (11.7.09)
bangcock house – stand your ground, run with the hunted, redemption – 8pm donate!
Filed under: -of drink, -of guest blogger., -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of vino
so. jason from downtown wine & gourmet is a busy fellow.
it took some seriously annoying behavior on my part to get him to give me input on fall drinking.
but – lo and behold – i got an email full of alcoholic information yesterday. he states:
o the threats, manipulation, and strong-armed tactics have finally pinned me against the wall of my iniquities.
fall drinks of choice would be:
coffee / breakfast stouts – stouts brewed with coffee are a splendid fall beverage because they are hearty, satiating, and the addition of coffee adds not only a fantastic component to the flavor profile, but also a little pick-me-up. breakfast stouts utilize coffee as well as oatmeal as the primary grain. this leads to an even richer and more decadent beverage. delicious!
pick: Founders Breakfast Stout & Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast (awesome website/label by the way)
cider – really, is there a fruit that carries more of a fall-time connotation than apples?
pick: Samuel Smith Organic Cider, Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie (again with the great label)
mead – mead is a beverage using honey as the sugar which fuels the fermentation. Its origins are lost in prehistory; “it can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks,” Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, “antedating the cultivation of the soil.”[5] Claude Lévi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage “from nature to culture.”[6] It can be consumed right out of the bottle, but it is also delicious mulled.
pick: Lurgashall English Mead
red wine – the possibilities are endless…
pick: jason refused to even try to pick…go bother him at downtown wine & gourmet for more specific suggestions.
happy autumnal drinking, friends!
okay.
i’m on the verge of hopefulness.
is there actually a voodoo doughnuts in charlottesville?
(josh insinuated that i was missing something huge in my donut review.)
am i insanely ignorant? (here’s to hoping…)
the only voodoo doughnuts that i know is in portland.
and this famous mainstay features things such as:
dirty snowballs
the tangfastic
and, most infamous:
the bacon maple bar
do creations such as these exist just over the mountain?
please say it’s so.
Filed under: - of restaurant review, -of eats, -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey
our family is wild about donuts.
there are entire, multi-generational traditions built around donuts.
i once took a chunk out of a charlottesville krispy kreme (r.i.p.) driveway in an attempt to obey the command of the “hot donuts” sign.
we made sure to be best friends with people who lived next door to top pot in seattle.
we go to mennonite relief sales expressly for the homemade fried dough.
in short, we have a long-term serious commitment.
we’ve written about this passion before on the state. i’ve griped about how, around here, gas station donuts are as good as it gets.
and then there’s carpe donut.
granted, it’s not in harrisonburg. but the drive to charlottesville is a small price to pay for a good donut.
and hardly noticeable when you are journeying to this:
Tender and steamy on the inside…slightly crisped on the outside…..dusted with crunchy melty cinnamon sugar…..and infused with the mellow sweetness of apple cider.
and making the whole deal even sweeter:
We start with organic flour, organic eggs, local apple cider, and organic spices. Add pure sugar and non-aluminated baking powder and now you know all the ingredients. We cook all our donuts in 100% pure soybean oil. No hydrogenation, no trans-fats, no shortening. We always advise our customers to refrigerate the donuts if they are not going to eat them within a couple hours. They won’t last on the shelf for a week like those “things with holes” at the grocery store…Finally, all oils used to fry the donuts are being converted to environmentally friendly biofuel at the end of their frying life.
ummm. yes please.
others recognize the power of the donut.
the blue moon diner in c’ville does up a nice little dessert with carpe donuts. it involves ice cream and chocolate and whipped cream. and grilled donuts. otherwise known as the grillswith:
(this photo is from a fabulous and newly discovered blog devoted to donuts. check it out.)
now. carpe donuts represents the cute, trendy, organic, environmentally-friendly delicious donut. classic they are not.
for a real potato flour classic, served to you as well as a number of grizzled regulars, you must go here:
adored by all, this is spudnuts.
as per the cvillian:
Spudnuts has been around for a long time. And by long time, I mean when velociraptors used to hunt small wild pigs and T-Rex’s ruled the United States. In other words, Spudnuts has been open since 1969 at 309 Avon Street. It has kicked so much ass in the last 40 years or so, in fact, that both Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Doughnuts left town.
The doughnut has a distinct feel to it. Maybe it’s the off white glow of the lighting, the smooth colors of the furniture and decor, or maybe it’s just the people. Spudnuts feels eternal, in a good way. The menu, with its giant Pepsi logo reminds you that this place is about doughnuts, no more, no less.
you know. the options over the mountain are not bad.
anyone in harrisonburg want to open a sweet little donut bus? i would be first in line…
we have friends that live in kabul.
i’m thinking of them right now.
what a place.
and then. there is also pakistan to think about.
Filed under: -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of kiddos, -of localism
where is the best street in town to trick or treat?
not ours. you might remember our controversial post from last year.
(today, as i walked by that friendly neighbor’s house, i was sorely tempted to place a jack o’ lantern on the front stoop. see how effective their anti-halloween/demon/devil message was? i feel changed.)
but seriously?
in seattle, it was 19th ave. on capitol hill. those fine rich folks passed out full-sized candy bars. and bonus candy if you had a hand-made costume.
and harrisonburg? i’m thinking along the lines of where to take a 3 year old for a one-street, 30-min, halloween bonanza experience. let’s hear the suggestions…
Filed under: -of harrisonburg, -of jgrimsrud, -of localism, -of politik
our friend tom has been working (among many, many other things!) on helping harrisonburg with its ped & bike transportation issues. he and a group of folks meet each week to coordinate their efforts; they recently started a “one mile challenge” campaign to get people thinking about “human-powered transport” in this town:
lara is another organizer of the one mile challenge:
and for those of us who need to fix up, or even to get, a bike, tom recommended ben wyse @ wyse cycles. he does a “mobile bike clinic,” meaning he’ll come by your house and fix you up!
local folks have a lot of great ideas & energy, but bike & ped transportation issues shouldn’t have to be optional parts of our transportation planning, budget, or infrastructure. as tom points out: “would a city not put up a stop sign at a four way intersection because they don’t have money allocated in a budget?”
well, the new stoplight by cleo’s old intersection shows that, either harrisonburg has plenty of money in the budget to update our system to suit our community’s wants and needs, or harrisonburg needs to fix its priorities.
Filed under: Uncategorized
happy columbus day.
Democracy Now! | Radio and TV News
I think that the non-Indian people must understand why the Indians are in the state of affairs that they’re in. It’s not because they’re lazy, ignorant, inferior, stupid or anything. Chances are that if an Indian kid makes it these days, it happens because of some lucky accident.
. . . But I wrote ["Now that the Buffalo is Gone"] not to make anybody mad, but to kind of acknowledge the fact that a lot of people who are part Indian really would like to know and would care, so again and again it says “you, dear lady, and you, dear man.” You know, it’s trying to explain something to people who don’t usually get to know anything about Native American stuff, because you never hear about Indian people. The only time you hear about Indian people, like, for instance, Wounded Knee, you know, when Nixon was president, what you’d see in the media was, you know, some Indian with a gun, you know, who was defending their land against, you know, things that shouldn’t be going on.
amy goodman had a conversation with buffy saint marie–
also known as one of the people who used to bring genuine content to kids’ tv:
Filed under: -of harrisonburg, -of jgrimsrud, -of localism, -of townie-to-townie, -of travel
thanks to andrew for the heads-up. these two maps show harrisonburg plans for pedestrians, bikers, bussers, etc.
the pedestrian map:
the bike map:
it’s hard to see, but click the map links for the pdfs. now, i am a biased townie, but i would like know if the plans, and their spots on the harrisonburg priorities list reflect a grasp of smart, central development (look at the end of this document for an ordered list–and changes may be coming after the public meeting, so if you have info, please let us know!). it’s wonderful to see maps like this at all in a town with more per capita stoplights than i’ve ever seen, yet rare busses or walkable sidewalks. but, i see a lot of line spread around the north and south fringes of town.
i’m no city planner, but it seems that these long lines would cost more than downtown-centered improvements? and downtown-centered projects will support smart development and help spark downtown living, walk & bike commuting, etc. public moneys must be tight these days, so make sure the first dollars are visible, useful, and dovetail with downtown development. and for god’s sake, don’t let useless project fragments like the the dogwood to waterman bypass north of redfront.
on the map, it almost looks like west downtown is bike-linked to north park view, but this route doesn’t follow an arterial, twists & turns around, and isn’t clearly marked or known.
so, more power to you city planners, bicycle & pedestrian committee–just develop smart(er)!
i’ll let jill write in defense of cookie,
but i’m really depressed about gourmet.
conde nast publications pulled the plugs on these two, along with two bridal magazines (so they’re not complete morons!). & i just wanted to lament a magazine that inspires interactions with others (thank you gourmet for really tasty bits of several dinner parties) and a healthy relationship to tasty, local (often), cared-for food.
anyway, get it before it’s gone.
and a personal favorite:
we’ve written about our neighbor, and her car-vs-pedestrian accident on the newly-traffic-lighted (replacing an old light w/ a whole new rig) but as-of-yet-un-crosswalked corner of highway 42. i noticed this sign the other day:
seems that as our neighbor rehabs from her serious injuries, she’s lost a home to hope to return to. of course, tragic things happen–we sure don’t see an easy answer (i think most people are aware of the health care issues in the u.s.a. today, some may know about the lack of senior and lower-income housing, and i hope people have a sense of the horrible state of foot & bike transportation infrastructure in harrisonburg–see safe routes to school post from before).
but it’s hard to see a friend’s stuff waiting for big trash day.
and i still can’t help thinking that civic dollars were wasted & priorities were misplaced when harrisonburg funded this new light. it’s less visible than the old one when you’re standing at the corner, hoping to walk across:
if i, as an able-bodied guy, get a run-for-my-money from motorists when i try to walk around this town, i can’t imagine that stories like cleo’s are as rare as they should be.
is the city planning around accessibility issues? is the new council thinking about pedestrians, bikers, seniors, the disabled, etc.? i do know some citizen organizers who are working around these issues–more soon on that front, so stay tuned.
Filed under: -of harrisonburg, -of jhumphrey, -of localism, -of townie-to-townie
we were very pleased to discover that our last Friendly City Food Co-Op rant didn’t finally do us in.
in fact, deb rhizal, the communications/organizer/outreach/etc. person for FCFC, wrote us a very well-humored and informative response to our most recent call for action.
(that pushy friend of mine refused to write a response – claiming that he needed to study for his GREs – but he did make sure to forward our post directly into the waiting arms of deb.)
here it is. (we thought it deserved a little more press than it would get as a hidden comment…)
Hello Blogger and others!
I am your woman! My name is Deb Rhizal and I’m the outreach coordinator for FCFC. I took this job in June and in the very first week I created a personal mission statement for myself and my new job. Written at the top of every newsletter it reads: “The member-owners of FCFC are valued, informed and empowered to work as a team to make the store a reality.” Information is power folks, and I’m here to share it! Unfortunately, because I know it has great potential, I am pretty un-savoy when it comes to on-line social networking and until 5 minutes ago I had never heard of “The State.” I’m making progress every day learning more: as a result you can now check out FCFC’s facebook page and our facebook group and we have a tweet account and a new on-line social networking volunteer who began working to share info about FCFC just last week. We’re getting there! This morning I had a message in my inbox from an FCFC owner-member with a link to this message,
which is how I found it. Thank you! Both to that member, and to the original poster of this discussion.I can say wholeheartedly that I am totally in agreement with you. Co-ops are owned by the community and transparency and organization is the gut of what makes this alternative business model worth while. Access to information, and the ability to have a say in process, are tools that give us consumers a chance to make a real stand for what we will and will not consume – the whole purpose of a consumer’s coop!
I have been doing my best to put very clear detailed information out there in every newsletter I’ve written and in all of my communications with both potential and current members. I invite you to read them, and other updates at our web site at www.friendlycityfoodcoop.com. I’ve also written again and again that I am available for any questions! My number is 746-6032 for anyone who wants to call.
Now:
I know you are more interested in NEWS then a discourse on how we’re trying: So here are a few pertinent updates:
Site:
The preferred future home of FCFC is in downtown Harrisonburg in a building that is currently empty. If you look around at the vacant buildings and consider parking and viability and good access (limited one way streets etc), you’ll probably pick it out pretty fast. So why can’t I just put the address right here in this post? Because we don’t have a signed lease. We are still negotiating for a better price per square foot and for placement within the building (we aren’t using the whole available space), and we still need a bank committment before we can sign. If our site is public then we have an immense amount of pressure to make it work at that site. That pressure decreases our negotiating power and also our ability to go to site B if we don’t reach terms that work for us. Plus, that site won’t be available forever, and without a bank committment in place we can’t assume it will wait for us. If you think we’ve blown a lot of trust and morale already, imagine the blow
a mistaken announcement about the site would cause! Trust me – we really want a major increase in owner-members because without it we won’t have a store…and we think that announcing a site is our #1 best way of recruiting new people. We won’t be sitting on that information the minute it’s official! And, all members are welcome to serve on the site committee– a sure way to know all the ins and outs. Maybe this is a good time to remind folks that ALL board meetings are open, every new member was given the dates and location (first Thursday of each month, Above Cally’s, 7:30)and that the minutes are available in the office or by request through email.Time-line:
I will be the first to join the chorus of wanting to know WHEN the store will open. Fact is, it’s out of our hands. The board has tried again and again to make their absolute best projections— but they’ve been wrong and we could be again. No one would withhold that crucial piece of info if we had it. Here are the factors:
Past – the main reason past predictions didn’t come about is the economic downturn and the change in lending.
Future – The store will be open within a year of securing funding and the site— hopefully less, but you know how construction can go and we are renovating an existing downtown site. SO – WHEN will we secure funding? That’s what the current BIG PUSH is all about. We’re trying to do so before fall passes. It’s ambitious, but if everyone pitches in it could happen. Here are the steps. A lot of them need to happen simultaneously, so there isn’t really an order and we’re literally working on ALL of them right now.
1. Get a loan committment from a bank or credit union stating that they will give the loan IF we meet XYZ contingencies. Parkview Credit Union is currently the most likely to do this, but we’ll talk to any institution interested. In the mean time, call Parkview and let them know you really want them to offer this loan.
2. Get a USDA loan guarantee so that Parkview, or another institution, can make this loan.
3. Increase membership to 800-1000 people so that we have more money from equity shares ($200.00 each) and so the goals of the member loan campaign can be spread over more people.
4. Raise $600,000 in member loans.
5. Be awarded a few major grants.
6. Find additional private lenders.
7. Negotiate a workable price on a site.
8. Sign a leaseAnd who is this “we?” The 7 current board members are just working as much as possible without losing sanity on all of this. An additional core of about 5 long-term committed volunteers are serving on various committees. 17 new volunteers have joined the forces in the last 2 weeks. There are various advisers helping (paid and volunteer), bankers are working, a realtor is working, a lot of members keep spreading the word, and I spend 30 paid hours a week recruiting and organizing those volunteers, working on publicity, reaching out to new members, sharing information, printing and mailing stuff and so on. It’s remarkable and an honor to be part of. It’s also painfully slow and difficult and more people are really needed.
So – WHEN? – You tell me! When the community of Harrisonburg kicks up 800-1000 members and $600,000 dollars it will be rolling! Once it’s rolling we’ll push architects and project managers for some hard-core dates and spread the news. The BEST-CASE scenario is completing the steps above by the end of November and opening a store this time next year. Can we do it? Absolutely! But not alone.Money:
The short on this long story is that before the economic downturn we expected a bank or credit union to fund most of the project. The new reality is that they will fund about 30% of it. That leaves it up to us, the owners, working through the board and volunteers, to raise the rest in owner equity (loans and shares), and grants or private loans. BIG JOB. Thus the member loan campaign which kicked off last Friday. Yesterday was the first day of follow-up calls. $8,000.00 was pledged last night, so we’re up to $93,000. Watch the carrot grow on our web site.
Web site:
And for everyone out there who is great with web sites and finds ours a bit behind the times, here’s more information that may help bring some understanding to the web site’s shortcomings. When it was designed we were given access to it through a particular program. This program is costly to set up per individual and is very slow and cumbersome to use. The former outreach coordinator did the updates regardless of their less-then-convenient nature, but when I took the job multiple people tried to get the program installed on my computer and were not able to. Thus while “former man (Adam)” was out of town this summer we basically couldn’t update the web site. He’s now back in town and has begun to do regular updates again. A technology task force is also trying to transition us to a totally NEW and IMPROVED system (want to help – volunteer!). Also, we’re limited to 25K images, so the carrot project is a bit of a nightmare. The joys of volunteer efforts! They aren’t
always the smoothest as everyone squeezes time into the cracks between work and family life… but they are a triumph of the greatest of human spirits as so many put their personal resources towards something they want for themselves and their community.I apologize to anyone who has felt a snotty edge. I could offer a long list of excuses regarding the nature and complexity of educating lots of people on alternative business models and food issues… but rather I will just personally say that working for the board of the FCFC is a joy: They are compassionate, people-centered, and affirmative. I personally stand in awe of how they have given of themselves to coordinate this effort that each and every owner-member is bringing to Harrisonburg.
Please circulate this information far and wide, call me with questions or host a home or office party and invite me to come for a Q&A! I love to talk and I’m happy to share in great detail about FCFC, both its process and purpose.
Thank you -
Deb Rhizal, Outreach Coordinator FCFC
so – my question for you all is: what else do you want to know?
let us know your ideas…
because, really, we DO like co-ops…
