Council modifies Co-op’s Ends policies 

I’ve written previously about the Vision Committee’s work on reviewing and revising the Co-op’s Ends policies, which fill out our mission statement. Their draft was reviewed by the council and 40 member-owners and staff who took the time to fill out a survey on the proposed revisions. After carefully reviewing the input, the committee revised one of the policies (#3) significantly and added some introductory language. At the council’s April 14 meeting, the council approved the policies as revised. Here is our (unchanged) mission statement with the new Ends policies: 

Mission: Hunger Mountain Cooperative exists to create and sustain a vibrant community of healthy individuals, sustainable local food systems, and thriving cooperative commerce. 

These ends envision a community in which: 

1. Member-owners and customers have reliable access to high-quality local, natural, and/or organic groceries and goods that meet their needs.
2. Our community is informed about nutrition, food systems, and the impacts of its purchases. 
3. Trusted regional partnerships, fair pricing, and a stable market support local ownership and control of a comprehensive, sustainable food economy.
4. The Co-op is financially sustainable; its operations are managed for resilience to achieve economic, social, and environmental results.
5. Member-owners, customers, workers, and vendors experience a culture of dignity, equity, inclusion, and respect in all Co-op interactions.

Thanks to the committee for all its work and to those who gave us feedback! 

Strategic planning update 

I’m thrilled to report that 10 people have answered the call to join the Strategic Planning Committee. The four existing committee members have interviewed the candidates and are very impressed with their quality; choosing three or four to make up a committee of seven or eight is difficult! The council is scheduled to appoint the final committee members at a special meeting on April 28. A request for proposals (RFP) for a consultant to lead and assist the committee is being sent out this week; if you know of anyone who would be a good fit for this work, please contact General Manager Mary Mullally.  

Cosmic threat: Peril from the sun 

What happens on the surface of the sun doesn’t necessarily stay on the surface of the sun. Some massive flares erupting from the sun can severely affect the entire energy and information grid that the Co-op and, really, just about everyone relies on. That was the key message to the council at its March meeting from Michael Billingsley, Emergency Management Director for Plainfield, and a former NASA volunteer. 

Billingsley was part of the series of outside speakers the council has been inviting to our meetings, to build a wider web of connection to our community. He explained that the sun is always in flux; for example, it reverses its magnetic poles every 11 years, creating periods of intense instability marked by massive sunspots. While small flares are common, Billingsley highlighted the catastrophic potential of X-class eruptions, which follow an exponential scale similar to hurricanes. He pointed to the historic Carrington Event of 1859—a flare estimated at X25 intensity that disrupted the proto-grid that existed at the time: telegraph systems.  

The danger from the flares lies in the coronal mass ejection (CME) that follows such a flare. Billingsley described how this charged plasma cloud travels toward Earth, taking 18 to 36 hours to arrive. Upon impact, it induces massive electrical currents in long conductors like power lines, pipelines, and undersea cables. The result of a CME sufficiently large, hitting in the right place with the right magnetic orientation, could be the total destruction of the electric grid, as transformers melt beyond repair. Furthermore, satellites would fail instantly, severing global communications and disabling GPS. Billingsley emphasized that GPS is not merely a navigation tool but the timing system essential for banking transactions; without it, he said, the financial system would collapse globally. 

“There is no safe spot,” Billingsley asserted, noting that even remote locations like New Zealand or South Africa are vulnerable due to their proximity to magnetic poles. He explained that while countries like the UK and New Zealand have begun retrofitting grids to disconnect during solar storms, the U.S. lags behind due to fragmented grid ownership. In such a scenario, modern conveniences would vanish overnight, leaving society reliant on pre-arranged local networks and manual skills to survive the long-term recovery of infrastructure. 

The presentation sparked a lively discussion among the council members regarding how the Co-op could prepare for such an event. They decided to task the Sustainability and Resilience Committee with further exploring preparedness strategies, including backup power logistics and community communication plans. 

As Billingsley concluded, “Everything we call convenience would suddenly stop happening.” For the Hunger Mountain Co-op, this serves as a reminder that resilience is not just about climate change or economics—it’s about ensuring the community can function when the lights go out—for a long time. 

Ask us anything at the next Co-op Connects on Monday, May 11, 4:00 – 5:00 pm 

Mary and I will be holding our next almost-monthly “ask us anything” Co-op Connects session on Monday, April 10, 4:00 – 5:00 pm. Please join Mary, me, and council member Mark Seltzer to chat about the past, present, or future of the Co-op – or anything else on your mind. Look for us at the Demo station.  

The Wrap 

1. Why did the pie go to the dentist?
2. It needed a filling.

—Carl Etnier, Council President

Do you have any questions or comments about the council? Do you know any jokes even faintly related to food and/or co-ops? Please email them to me!