The council, the Strategic Planning Committee, and management are pleased to announce that Hunger Mountain Co-op has engaged Faye Mack Consulting to guide our cooperative through a comprehensive strategic planning process. We have been planning for over a year to create a new strategic plan (our last was a ten-year plan completed in 2012). Additionally, last year’s purchase of the adjacent lot at 707 Stone Cutters Way provides an opportunity to consider as a community how this property can support our broader strategic vision. 

Lead consultant Faye Mack, MS, is a justice-driven organizational leader with 20 years of experience working with nonprofits and cooperatives. She has served as the Executive Director of the Food Co-op Initiative and as Board President for both City Market/Onion River Co-op and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association. Faye specializes in authentic community building and long-term strategy. 

Supporting this effort is Bonnie Hudspeth of Silvo Cooperative, a familiar face to many of us as a past facilitator of Hunger Mountain’s Annual Meetings. Bonnie brings over two decades of experience in nonprofits and cooperatives, including service as President of the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast and project manager to start the Monadnock Food Co-op. 

Over the next 10 months, Faye and Bonnie will work with the Strategic Planning Committee to listen to member-owners, staff, and our broader community, and to develop a strategic plan through a process that is transparent, thoughtful, comprehensive, and inclusive. Their approach to this work is deeply aligned with our co-op principles: democratic member control, community responsiveness, and values-driven decision-making. 

What’s Next? 

In August, the committee will meet with the consultants to review the process they proposed and fine-tune it to our needs. Following that, details on public listening sessions, committee updates, and other engagement opportunities will be posted, which we will promote widely through the newsletter and other channels. 

We have received considerable interest in our plans for 707 Stone Cutters Way. We look forward to exploring how this property can support both our core business as a community-owned grocery store and perhaps other types of thriving cooperative commerce, plus how this Co-op can support our community in other ways. We look forward to building a strategic plan that reflects the diverse voices and shared purpose of our cooperative community. 

For more information, please contact General Manager Mary Mullally.

Written by:
Carl Etnier, Council President
Mary Mullally, General Manager
Rita Ricketson, Strategic Planning Committee Chair