Northwest Illinois Food Co-op

Dear Members,

The Steering Committee of the Northwest Illinois Food Co-op regrets to inform you that we are ceasing efforts to establish a food cooperative in our area. We came to this decision for several reasons, three of which are shown below:

1. Limited Membership – Although in a county of roughly 24,000 a large membership should have been achievable, only 149 households have joined. We needed at least 400 families to become members in order to proceed to the next stage.

2. Limited Volunteers – Too few people came forward to participate on the steering committee. As we moved deeper into the project the number and size of supporting, smaller projects became too much for our small group of dedicated volunteers to manage while juggling work schedules and other commitments.

3. Limited Funding – As the scope of the project evolved it became apparent that a lack of funding from either private individuals in the form of equity investments or lending institutions was going to be a deterrent to our success.

We are in the process of writing refund checks to all paid members from the balance in our bank account. We estimate that you will receive approximately $61 from your initial $100.00 investment. Our main expense was the Dakota International market study. The steering committee has voted not to take a refund of any monies themselves and let the balance in the account go directly to members.

We would like to offer our sincere thanks and a deep sense of gratitude to each and every one of you for your ongoing support of our efforts to establish a food cooperative in Northwest Illinois and we wish you a blessed and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

The Steering Committee of the Northw est Illinois Food Co-op