Food Front News

Onwards and upwards

Dear Owners,

It is with disappointment that we heard yesterday from Market of Choice that they can no longer go forward with the purchase of Food Front. Maybe it is better to share the words of Zach Wright, MoC President:

We appreciate the recent vote of confidence from the Food Front Cooperative. Our interest in the property stemmed from a concept my father, Rick, wanted to explore. However, his vision was still evolving and had not yet been formalized. Without his guidance, the path forward is less clear. After thoughtful review, we have decided not to move forward with the purchase.

Following the membership vote and Letter of Intent, Market of Choice initiated a thorough review and due diligence process. With consultation from industry experts Market of Choice conducted extensive research and carefully evaluated this opportunity, which led to the decision not to purchase the property.

As you can imagine, this was not the news any of us wanted for our store or neighborhood. We are moving quickly to talk with other parties who were interested in the building. As soon as we can share anything, we will be back to you all. Time really is of the essence.

We feel your frustration - believe us, we really do!

Very truly yours,
The Food Front Board of Directors
Kate, Sue, Katharine, Raluca and Aaron

Food Front Update 7/28

Dear Owners,

We are grateful for your big turnout to vote. 91.8% of you want to see Market of Choice open a store in our neighborhood. We were very happy that we had two such solid proposals, both showing respect and understanding of the big shoes they have to fill.

Some figures for you. 688 members voted. 91.8% of you picked Market of Choice and 8.2% selected Mark New's development proposal. On hearing the results Zach Wright commented that he was happy that there was so much support from our community.

This is a big step that has been a long time coming. We are so happy that we can proceed with confidence knowing this is what a large majority of you voted for. We will keep you informed as we progress through the process with Market of Choice.

Your board is working diligently with our pro-bono lawyers, Stoel Rives, to prepare the sale documentation for Market of Choice. As soon as we have a timeline and next steps we will share this information with members. If you have any questions, please email us at board@foodfront.coop.

Very truly yours,

The Food Front Board of Directors

Food Front Update 12/13

{main_content_en}

FOOD FRONT UPDATE: 10/27

Annual Food Front Meeting on November 12th, 2024 at 5:30 PM at Friendly House. If unable to make it you can join by Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8673...

IF YOU ARE NOT RECEVING EMAILS FROM THE BOARD WITH UPDATES PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO:

BOARD@FOODFRONT.COOP

Hello Food Front Community,
First, we want to thank you for all of your support, ideas, and energy as the process unfolds to develop the future of Food Front.
And now, we have some exciting news to share with you:

Board of Directors:
- Voting closed on 10/25 (12pm) with an extremely high turnout. Thank you to the more than 380 folks who submitted their votes for Directors to the Food Front Board!
- The Board of Directors includes: Mike Grivas, President; Roman Shvarts, Vice President; Tom Bussell, Secretary/Treasurer; Collin Ferguson; Defne Oztek; Sanela Ruznic; and Silas Beebe
- If you’d like to contact the Board with questions or ideas, please email Board@FoodFront.coop

Financing Update:
- We are pleased to announce that we have closed on a loan! Terms include $1M, 7.75% interest, 4.25% fees, 15 year amortization.
- We have paid back the loan from Beneficial State Bank and will begin the process of paying past due invoices to Food Front vendors and partners.
- With the balance remaining on this new loan, we have roughly 6 months of cash runway before foreclosure looms again. However, realistically, including time for negotiations, member voting, etc., we have more like 30-45 days to finalize a plan. This is where we need your input. Please join us at the November meeting to learn more.

November Board Meeting:
- When: 6pm, 11/28
- Where: Zoom, online only
- What: Anticipated to have presentations from the Board, a potential real estate development partner, a potential grocery store buyer, a realtor, a grocery industry consultant, and possibly more.
- Learn more about the challenges and opportunities of the different potential options facing the future of Food Front.

Member Engagement:
- You’ve spoken, we’ve listened! You said you’d like to learn more about what opportunities the Board has considered regarding opening the store, redeveloping, etc.
- We have set up a Frequently Asked Questions (https://foodfront.coop/about/FAQs/) page with questions regarding ideas we’ve heard from members and answers about the viability of each option.
- We’ll be sharing more information at the November Board Meeting and you will be receiving updates via email and social media. In the meantime, if you have questions or additional ideas you’d like to share, please send them to Board@FoodFront.Coop - thank you!

And finally, the GoFundMe is still up! Your generosity has helped tremendously to keep the lights on, the utilities paid, pests under control, trash hauled and more. We would not be where we are without the incredible support of the Food Front community! Thank you for your contributions and continued support. https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-food-front

Thank you for your support,
Food Front Board of Directors

VOTE FOR THE FOOD FRONT BOARD

Hello Food Front Community,

Thank you for joining us at the Food Front Annual Meeting last night. It was great to see you.
We have a few updates and requests for you:

It’s time to VOTE for Board members - Voting is open!
- Voting for Board members is open from Wednesday, October 18 (12pm) through Wednesday, October 25 (12pm)
- The voting website can be found here: Voting.Foodfront.Coop
- Instructions on how to vote, candidate pictures and bios are on this website
- If you have any questions or issues voting, we will be hosting “office hours”
- "Office Hours” will be held at Food Front on Saturday 10/21, enter the parking lot on 23rd Place. 11am-3pm.
- As a reminder, a vote may only be cast by an equity owner member, not household members
- We need at least 200 people to vote, so please do!!

Annual Meeting:
- Loan update - the Board is within 1-2 weeks to closing on a loan. The loan offers the best terms of any we have vetted. It is $1M, 7.75% interest, 4.25% fees, 15 year amortization.
- We look forward to paying off the loan from Beneficial and especially making our vendors whole. We will let you know when the loan comes through officially, but thank you all in the meantime for your patience and support.
- Voting update - as noted above, voting for Board members begins on 10/18 (12pm) and runs through 10/25 (12pm). There will be “office hours” at the store for anyone that needs assistance, 10/21 from 11am-3pm.
- Many thanks to Collin, Silas, Defne, and Sanela for volunteering to run for the first time and help out! And thanks to Mike, Roman, and Tom for running as well and continuing to pass on information gathered so far to the new board members. We can’t do this work without you all - thank you!

Lastly, the GoFundMe is still up! Your generosity has helped tremendously to keep the lights on, the utilities paid, pests under control, trash hauled and more. We would not be where we are without the incredible support of the Food Front community! Thank you for your contributions and continued support. https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-food-front