Bob Gibson, President, TPSS Board of Representatives
At most food stores – and most retail businesses of any type – when you walk in the door, you’re just another customer. But if you’re a member of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring (TPSS) Food Co-op, when you enter our grocery store on Ethan Allen Avenue, you walk into a place that you own.
As a community owned business, we exist to serve the needs – and uphold the values – of our community. As members, we have the opportunity – and the privilege – to determine how we want our business to operate. Providing oversight of this is the job of the TPSS Board of Representatives.
We have an election this fall to fill four seats on our board. If you are a member in good standing, and have an interest in getting more involved in your cooperative grocery, I urge you to consider running for the board.
Over the next few years, our board will empower our staff to make investments designed to make our business more attractive and efficient. We’ll also be assessing opportunities for growth, which may include expansion. As always, our guiding focus remains responsiveness to our diverse community.
As a board, we’ll be investing time and energy in deepening our understanding of the unique strengths of the cooperative business. We’ll support our general manager and staff as the co-op does its part to improve access to healthy fresh food for members of our community who live on fixed or lower incomes. We’ll continue the focus at TPSS of supporting sustainable food production, economic and environmental justice, market access for small-scale and local farmers and producers, and other issues that our members care about. The TPSS Food Co-op is Takoma Park’s largest employer. Our employees and our members represent cultures from around the world. We invite you to be part of this exciting and important endeavor.
More information on Board service and a link to the short on-line form for self-nomination can be found here. All applications must be filed by Thursday, October 13.