January 20th Life 5b Meeting
6 p.m. at the Depot in Shenandoah
Attendees: Heather Rothmeyer, Damian Rothmeyer, Shad Swanson, Jessa Bears, Andrew (via phone)
Guests: Laura Ferguson, Tyler Bartley
Call to Order at 6:12 p.m.
Old Business:
PFI Conference Notes: Had a couple of people attend
Producer Meeting: 18 people attended, included 1 new person, plus several repeats. Plans to do a Facebook post to recap what might have been missed.
Farmer Meetup at the Mill: Shad attended. Thought the meetup went well.
Bylaws: Shad inquired about if we want to change anything. Heather wants to consider adjusting wording in regards to individuals (who aren’t farmers) with possible voting rights on the Board. Will be leaving everything as is for now. Shad made motion to approve Bylaws. Jessa seconded. Approved.
Upcoming Classes: Consideration for Gardening for Profit Class on March 15th. Possibly at the Malvern Library. Art Church is also an option. Tyler will be seeking out further information. Need to confirm with the library about doing it there. Also need a discussion on what should be included in the class.
New Business:
Emergency Pantry Point Person: Need someone who isn’t us to run the pantry. Food is all spread around, hard to do something when everyone is spread out. Could be a potential person to help with Tyler. However, would need to seek out more information first.
Refrigerated Van: Shad looking into a possible refrigerated van. Could get money for it, but would be a reimbursement type scenario. Not likely to have a matching fund for this. Possibly a 15-person van or a van with a high roof.
Funding: Possibly seeking out funding for improvements on the building. Shad looking into further.
Shad talking about making an appearance at a meeting. Could be some good involvement. Shad looking further into setting up a meeting.
Farm Table Pickup: Looking to do pickups around the area like Malvern, Glenwood, Carter Lake.
Budget Notes: Shad said he added $50 to the pantry budget.
Outreach Events: Plans to set up Life 5b events/appearances at Farmers Market. Armstrong Research Farm event upcoming in Lewis. March 5th will be a larger conference in Atlantic.
Ringgold County Producers: A group of producers in Ringgold County looking to work with Life 5b. Looking to send produce possibly. Consideration to add Ringgold.
Setup Locations: Discussion about alternatives for looking into new locations for Life 5b. Still awaiting word from the bank on the loan.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:48 p.m.