As 2018 comes to a close, we take a look back with gratitude on all that we have accomplished over the year, through the lens of the seven guiding cooperative principles. Overall, we think we did pretty well, and we’re excited to challenge ourselves to bring even more to the store and the neighborhood in 2019.
We are thankful for the hard work our staff puts in to bring local, nutritious food to our shelves, and we are thankful for YOU, our member-owners and shoppers, and your dedication to supporting cooperative values in our West Philadelphia community.
So, what happened at Mariposa in 2018?
We turned 47! Don’t we look good?
Principle 1: Voluntary and Open Membership
We welcomed over 300 new member-owners!
Principle 2: Democratic Member Control
Member-owners elected a new Board. We welcomed Nidhi, Rachelle, Hannah Jo, and Kaila!
Our next elections will take place in March!
Are you interested in learning more about the Board or even running? Board meetings are open to all member-owners, and occur on the first Monday of every month at The Cedar Works (4919 Pentridge St.) from 6:30pm-9pm.
The next meeting is Monday, January 7th. Please contact convener@mariposa.coop with any questions.
Principle 3: Member Economic Participation
This past spring, we shared our profits from 2017, and distributed $52,664.63 in patronage refunds! Member-owners redeemed $48,821.46.
$2,000 of the remaining patronage is going to Round-Up for Change matching, while member-owners voted to donate the rest of the remaining funds to:
Principle 4: Autonomy and Independence
As a food co-op, we are controlled by our member-owners and not outside investors. When we moved to 4824 Baltimore Ave. back in 2012, we could not have done so without the help and generosity of member loans from our co-op community.
This year, we returned 17 member loans in the amount of $103,000 with interest of $21,885 for a total of $124,885.
Principle 5: Education, Training, and Information
We re-introduced member-owner orientation!
In August, we started doing monthly orientations for new member-owners and current member-owners, alike! We have had so much fun talking about co-ops, benefits, and meeting the community. The next date for orientation is January 8th at the Cedar Works.
Principle 6 and 7: Cooperation Among Cooperatives and Concern For The Community
We have donated over $35,000 to more than 60 local and cooperative organizations!
Included in this is a donation of 5% of our sales for Monday-Thursday of Thanksgiving week to We are the Seeds. Seeds is a Philly-based charitable organization, founded and led by four indigenous women, "whose mission is to uplift and center Indigenous voices through the arts. Seeds [is] dedicated to educating the world about art and culture as it relates to understanding Indigenous people, the history of the United States, and who we all are as American people today."
We also became a proud supporter of the start-up South Philly Food Co-op with a donation of $10,000 to their Capital Campaign to help them open in 2019!
In September, we introduced Round-Up for Change! Round up your shopping bill to the nearest dollar and we’ll donate the change to a new organization in Philly each month!
How much we have donated so far: $4,118
This month: Neighborhood Bike Works
Next up: The Sunday Love Project
Food Access at Mariposa
We signed up over 100 people for our Food For All discount and distributed over $8,000 in equity subsidies from the Mariposa Owner Fund, since September 2017.
We finished off our pilot year of Food For All and were able to open the program up for more member-owners to receive the 10% off need-based discount.
Interested in signing up? Know a friend who would benefit? Sign up in-store or download the application online.