Karma’s board

Report from the board

7 May 2020
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Co-op reports, Features

Dear Karma Community, 

I hope this message finds each of you in good health and good spirits amidst these unprecedented times. The board of directors wishes to sincerely thank you for your continued displays of support, and for sharing your ideas and feedback. Your notes of thanks to staff, offers to deliver groceries to our vulnerable seniors and members in quarantine, and so much more, have been beautiful reminders of how special our Karma community is, and I’m immensely grateful to be part of it. 

To our staff — thank you! We recognize the extraordinary efforts you are making to keep Karma operational, and we hope that we are doing our part in helping you feel safe each time you come to work. 

The board of directors met last night and reviewed our COVID protocols and response, and we want to share a few reminders and updates. 

We know that many of you are eager to help the co-op, and member labour has been temporarily paused. We have created a task force to review the needs of the co-op throughout COVID, and we hope to have member labour creatively redeployed in June. Once the task force has had the opportunity to review our member labour system, members will have the option to take on member labour or move to percentage mark-up or flat fee.

The board of directors, in cooperation with our newly formed Marketing & Communications Committee and the Food Issues Committee, are seeking member input to help update co-op policies, and create a vision for the future of our store. We hope that each of you will take time to provide us with feedback so that we can adapt and improve for you. Please watch for an email with the survey later this month. 

Finally, a quick update on the store’s COVID-19 protocols.Here is what we are doing for you:

  • Sanitizing the check out between each transaction
  • Washing scoops after each use so that we can continue to offer dry bulk
  • Cleaning all high-use surfaces frequently, including door handles, scales, bulk feed handles, registers, etc
  • Vulnerable shoppers’ hour at the start of each day for seniors and immunocompromised members, 11 am to noon
  • Phone/E-mail orders for members who are not able to come into the store 

We are asking you to:

  • Wash your hands before entering the store
  • Practice physical distancing while in the store
  • Wear a mask to reduce the risk of unknowingly transmitting the virus to anyone in our small community

Thank you for your continued support of Karma, and we look forward to meeting or speaking with you soon. 

Sincerely,
Kristy van Beek, Karma President

Becoming an unofficial ambassador for Karma

5 February 2020
Karma Webmaster
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Happy February, fellow Karma members and welcome prospective members!

For the past year and a half or so, you may have noticed that many new people are coming in to Karma for the first time. Last year alone, over 600 new people came and shopped at our food store, which is fantastic as we need a steady stream of new members to be sustainable. The challenge we face as a community is that many of those new shoppers only came once, and only 10% became members.

Last year, as I started to understand just how many new people were trying Karma for the first time, I began introducing myself to shoppers who looked like they might appreciate some friendly help in navigating our store. Of course, I have made mistakes, but no harm done. I am sure you may also have noticed someone staring at our bulk bins or not sure where to turn to find something on their shopping list, and wondered if it was their first visit.

I have helped people find things on their shopping list or navigate our up cycled containers area, and given many impromptu tours of my favourites, including the admittedly somewhat hidden bulk olives or dark-grade maple syrup.  Just last weekend, I met a lovely young couple with a 15-month-old baby, and it was their first visit to Karma! I welcomed them and gave them a bit of an orienting tour of the store, and I hope they had an excellent first visit to Karma. They would be great members as they want to buy high quality food for their new family, and life-changing moments, like becoming a parent or moving into the neighbourhood, are the best times to establish new habits like shopping at our food co-op. I hope they felt welcomed into our Karma community, and come back!

This is my call to action for all of us members. Let’s make an effort so people’s first experiences of Karma and our community are the best they can be. I think we as members could do so much more to assist visitors to Karma to ensure they have a wonderful, warm and welcoming experience in our food co-op, so many more of these visitors come back again!

Right now, I believe visitors to Karma are essentially left to figure things out alone, and this likely contributes to some disappointing introductory experiences. As a food co-operative and a community, I believe we should all take more responsibility in guaranteeing that our visitors have an excellent first experience that encourages them to come again, to learn more about Karma, and to become new members.

Please consider becoming an unofficial ambassador for Karma when you are in the store, and help make someone’s first shopping experience a pleasure.

Andrea Dawber

Karma Vice President

 

Report from the board

7 August 2019
Karma Webmaster
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Greetings Karma Owners!

It was exactly a year ago this month that I first discovered a hidden gem, our amazing little food store. 

I came to Karma initially, after watching videos by YouTuber, Fully Raw Kristina, on my quest to test out a raw vegan diet (diet result, #fail). In one video, Kristina takes a trip to her local food co-op, and I immediately wondered, “Why don’t I shop in a food co-op?” You see, I live in a co-op, and as such, I already shared the values which are innate to the fabric of many co-ops: community, responsibility, democracy, connection, co-operation. In just over a month, I attended an introductory orientation, joined as a member, ran for the board, attended my first AGM, and was elected. In just one short year I have learned so much about Karma — certainly more than I’d ever anticipated! And, I’m finally beginning to feel like I have a sense of what’s going on.

Let’s start with some of thing things that happened in July — the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

I’ll first clear up the bad, and the ugly. The bad news is that the store suffered two floods in the month of July, in addition to one in May. Our staff, and in particular our general manager, Talia, have been phenomenal and working tirelessly to minimize the impact of this. A huge thanks for all of your extra efforts! It seems some considerable repairs will be needed (that’s the ugly). The Building Committee have been working together with Talia to research our options. We will update members at our upcoming AGM on what work was done, and what costs were incurred. Please be patient, as there will be repairs underway this month.

The good (great!) this month was our visit from Jon Steinman — member-owner and former board member of Canada’s largest food co-op, The Kootenay Co-op in British Columbia, producer and host of the Deconstructing Dinner podcast, and author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants. Jon gave a great talk to approximately 60 people, where he shared the importance of food stores like ours. Food, as Jon reminded us, is a basic human necessity. We all inherently know this to be true, and, where we live, we are lucky enough to be able to easily forget and even take our access to food for granted. And yet, as basic a need as food is, most Canadians (roughly 81%) purchase their groceries from one of the top five Canadian grocers, who provide little to no information about where the food comes from, what went into its production, or who produced it. Consumers also have no control or influence over the food system — the grocers primarily dictate the producer’s standards and price and shape the competitive landscape, leaving small producers virtually unable to compete. One of the greatest benefits (joys?) of being a member of Karma, is that we too are owners of our co-op, and we can access food that has been vetted to ensure that our products meet the standards of our members, our producers receive equitable compensation for the products they supply, and smaller producers have a market for their products. To learn more, pick up a copy of Jon’s book next time you’re in the store. You can also follow Jon on Twitter (@Grocery_Story) or Instagram (@jonsteinman_grocerystory). 

On the horizon we have our next Annual General Meeting and election of new members to our board of directors. As owners of our co-op, it is vital that we attend to not only ensure a future for our co-op, but also to help shape it. I understand that our meetings usually fall on the first Monday following Thanksgiving weekend; however, since that is the date of our upcoming federal election, the date, and possibly the venue, will have to be shifted slightly this year. Please keep an eye out for a Save The Date coming soon announcing more details of this year’s meeting, and plan to attend. I am also putting a call out to you now to please consider running for a spot on the board. Currently, we are functioning with a board which is about half the size of what would be considered ideal. As you can imagine, this makes it challenging to truly thrive as an organization. Our board, our committees, our manager, our staff, and I’m sure many of you have amazing ideas to make Karma even better — but we can’t do it without you. I would ask you to think about what the future of Karma means to you, and if it’s in your heart to do so, please consider joining us next year so that we can continue to enjoy our special gem. 

Wishing you all the very best as you soak up these beautiful days of summer. 

Sincerely, 

Kristy van Beek

PS. I’d love to hear from you! Reach me on Twitter (@kikilynnrocks), or by email, president@karmacoop.org

2018 – 2019 Board of Directors

28 March 2019
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Features

Kristy van Beek, President

Kristy van Beek comes to Karma with 13 years of retail expertise, having worked with many professional retail skin care brands. Kristy is known professionally for having strong skills in sales, marketing, training, merchandising, and strategic business planning. 
In her spare time, Kristy dedicates her time to her two rescue dogs, and many volunteer organizations including Karma, METTA Housing Cooperative, Canadian Ski Patrol, Redemption Paws, and vegan outreach activities. 

Jocelynn Rodrigues, Vice President

Hey. My name is Jocelynn and my pronouns are they/them.

I have been a Karma member since moving to Tkaronto in 2017. Collaboration and cooperation are my jam. What I love about co-ops is that they are vibrant, resilient, and deeply rooted in/informed by community.

The Dish With One Spoon Wampum belt, a covenant between the Haudenosaunee and the Anishnaabe to peaceably share the Land and nature’s gifts, espouses deep cooperativism and I reflect on what it might mean to be a food co-op on these lands. How might we uphold and strengthen this covenant, together? I seek to engage with what it means to live and do work as a settler upon the traditional and contemporary unceded territories of the Haudenosaunee (Huron-Wendat, Seneca), Ojibwe (Mississaugas of the Credit river) and Métis peoples. I give thanks to the many Indigenous communities throughout the world who have brought forth and continue to steward cooperative energy since time immemorial. Chi Miigwetch. I am equally grateful to the many visionary African Americans who demonstrated, and continue to do so, the loving and liberatory nature of cooperatives. Check out Jessica Gordon Nemhard’s foundational work and book Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. I exist in the space I do today because of all those who held space before me. And for that, I am deeply grateful and perpetually inspired.

I am passionate about life, nature, vibrational living, and the brilliantly deep interconnectedness within and beyond this planet. I bring an eclectic mix of skills from accounting, to social work, to Reiki, to Permaculture (recognizing and honouring the contemporary and traditional Indigenous wisdoms that these teachings stem from), and beyond. I love to cook and eat plant-based foods, brew kombucha, laugh, play soccer, smell soil, connect and learn from plants, sing, create music, and dance in all the ways. I am into DIY vibes and repairing/up-cycling objects; founding the Vancouver Fix-It Collective in 2015, and I make my own household products, among other things. Nature and the cosmos are my teacher. I am continually inspired by, and in awe of, nature and the built-in abundance that it operates from and I wonder how we can translate this abundance into our experience in this now moment – particularly within co-ops. I currently work as a Reiki energy healer, holding space for folks to remember who they have always been. Each day I continue to dive deeper into remembering who I am, and why I am here. It is a journey of love. I am thankful to all those who came before me (and will continue after me) to co-create Karma into what it is – thank-you to everyone – your efforts inspire me. I am excited to serve on the Karma Board and I look forward to more collaborating. Come say hi!

Rosemary Frei, Secretary

Rosemary has a BSc in agriculture from the University of Alberta and an MSc in molecular biology from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary She retired in 2016 from a long career as a medical journalist and pivoted to become a full-time volunteer, activist and journalist. Her articles appear in outlets ranging from Rabble.ca to BoingBoing.com. She does Kundalini yoga regularly to keep up her joy quotient. Rosemary has served on boards for other organizations ranging from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association to the Wilderness Adventurers of Ontario. She joined Karma Coop in January 2018 and looks forward to contributing to Karma’s double-stranded DNA of strengthening both social consciousness and food security.

Donald Altman, Treasurer

I first joined a food co-op store – Don Vale (Karma II) – in the fall of 1976. Very early on I became involved in the volunteer management of the co-op which has been the pattern for all my involvements. Then, when it folded, I joined Bain Food Co-op around 1980; and when it folded, I joined Karma around 1986 or so. As well, I was amongst a group which tried to start a supermarket co-op in the Regent Park area of Toronto in the early 1980’s. I have taken a leadership role – mostly treasurer – in all these organizations. At Karma Food Co-op I have been a board member and treasurer, and I have been on the Finance Committee continuously since 1991. Most recently I was the Finance Committee Chair.

At the ONFC, trade name of the OFFCC (Ontario Federation of Food Co-operatives and Clubs, Inc.), I have been on the finance committee since 1979 serving as member, treasurer and mostly as chair. I have also served several terms on the board.  

I also have many years’ experience on the boards of other co-operatives and credit union including what is now Alterna Savings and Credit Union, the Worker Ownership Development Foundation, the Church Isabella Residents Co-operative, and The Co-operators Group Limited. I have a lifetime achievement award from the Ontario Co-operative Association, am a life member of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto, and a 25-year achievement award from the Ontario credit union system. I also have been awarded the Gary Gillam Award for social responsibility from the credit union system.   I passionately believe that co-operation is the business model between capitalism and state socialism that provides the best alternate model for people involvement and the control and the distribution of surplus. I want to change the system, and I do that by volunteering and supporting co-operative organizations. Karma is one of these organizations.

Reece Steinberg, Strategic Planning

Reece is a college librarian, winter squash enthusiast, amateur cabin-builder, occasional advice columnist, and several-times-weekly shopper at Karma. He joined the Co-op as a working member shortly after moving to Toronto in 2015, and has participated in store cash and opening, outreach, events, strategic planning, inventory and other activities. As Planning Secretary, he is interested in working with other members and staff to build upon Karma’s strengths, focusing on effective strategies for keeping Karma a sustainable and community-minded cooperative with a solid future.

Lindsey Shorser, Technology Secretary

Lindsey is a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto, an avid cyclist, and amateur drummer. Since joining Karma last year, she has enjoyed using Karma’s products to make sourdoughs and fermented vegetable dishes. Her previous board experience includes various university-based organizations and committees of the Canadian Mathematics Society. She has also been involved with non-profits such as Ve’ahavta, the Daily Bread Food Bank, and the Kensington Market-based Who’s Emma Collective. Currently, Lindsey is serving as Technology Secretary on the Karma Board of Directors and coordinating the website redesign project.

Tom Smarda, Director

Tom Smarda spent ten years during the ’70s hitch-hiking around North America, playing music from the Yukon to Guatemala, from the east coast to the west coast, in Canada, as well as the United States. Exposed to many cultures, witnessing the ongoing destruction of the Earth, hand-in-hand with increasing poverty and injustice, inspired him to write songs that hopefully can constructively and compassionately address some important universal concerns. He believes that we can house, clothe and feed one another without destroying the Earth in the process for future generations.

Jocelynn Rodrigues

23 March 2019
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Features

Vice President, 2018-2019 Board of Directors

Hey. My name is Jocelynn and my pronouns are they/them.

I have been a Karma member since moving to Tkaronto in 2017. Collaboration and cooperation are my jam. What I love about co-ops is that they are vibrant, resilient, and deeply rooted in/informed by community.

The Dish With One Spoon Wampum belt, a covenant between the Haudenosaunee and the Anishnaabe to peaceably share the Land and nature’s gifts, espouses deep cooperativism and I reflect on what it might mean to be a food co-op on these lands. How might we uphold and strengthen this covenant, together? I seek to engage with what it means to live and do work as a settler upon the traditional and contemporary unceded territories of the Haudenosaunee (Huron-Wendat, Seneca), Ojibwe (Mississaugas of the Credit river) and Métis peoples. I give thanks to the many Indigenous communities throughout the world who have brought forth and continue to steward cooperative energy since time immemorial. Chi Miigwetch. I am equally grateful to the many visionary African Americans who demonstrated, and continue to do so, the loving and liberatory nature of cooperatives. Check out Jessica Gordon Nemhard’s foundational work and book Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. I exist in the space I do today because of all those who held space before me. And for that, I am deeply grateful and perpetually inspired.

I am passionate about life, nature, vibrational living, and the brilliantly deep interconnectedness within and beyond this planet. I bring an eclectic mix of skills from accounting, to social work, to Reiki, to Permaculture (recognizing and honouring the contemporary and traditional Indigenous wisdoms that these teachings stem from), and beyond. I love to cook and eat plant-based foods, brew kombucha, laugh, play soccer, smell soil, connect and learn from plants, sing, create music, and dance in all the ways. I am into DIY vibes and repairing/up-cycling objects; founding the Vancouver Fix-It Collective in 2015, and I make my own household products, among other things. Nature and the cosmos are my teacher. I am continually inspired by, and in awe of, nature and the built-in abundance that it operates from and I wonder how we can translate this abundance into our experience in this now moment – particularly within co-ops. I currently work as a Reiki energy healer, holding space for folks to remember who they have always been. Each day I continue to dive deeper into remembering who I am, and why I am here. It is a journey of love. I am thankful to all those who came before me (and will continue after me) to co-create Karma into what it is – thank-you to everyone – your efforts inspire me. I am excited to serve on the Karma Board and I look forward to more collaborating. Come say hi!

Report from the board—June 2018

10 June 2018
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Co-op reports, Features

Happy spring! Or is it summer? All of the lovely weather has brought many of us out and about and ushers in a flurry of activities as we relish warm, sunshine-filled days. Your Karma Board of Directors is no exception. We recently welcomed three new board members, Kat Biondi, Julie McKernan, and Rebecca Waterhouse into our ranks. Kat and Rebecca will serve the remainder of the term with the possibility of extending their terms beyond this year’s Annual General Meeting and Julie has committed to a two-year term. Read on to learn a bit more about your new board members.

Kat Biondi’s passion for community engagement and community building led her to join the board, where she hopes to engage in more conversations around food systems, environmental impact, and food security issues. Kat has been working in the not-for-profit sector for over a decade, in areas of fundraising, operations and administrative management, and volunteer and human resource management.

Julie McKernan is a new Karma member and decided to join the co-op and the board to become a more engaged and respectful local and global community member. Her interests are around waste reduction, supporting organic growing practices, and buying local and in-season products. While she currently works in operations and project management in the insurance field, Julie also brings retail, events coordination, communications, planning, and marketing experience to the mix.

Rebecca Waterhouse is also a new co-op member looking to engage and connect with ethical and sustainable food movement champions. She brings over five years of experience in the not-for-profit and social entrepreneur sectors, and work in a variety of areas including data evaluation and analytics, program development, and strategic planning. Rebecca is interested in helping communities reclaim ownership of their food systems and creating and maintaining resilient communities.

The board has also recently formed a Strategic Planning Committee and is currently recruiting interested members to join the committee and assist in research and data collection to form the basis for the creation of a Strategic Plan. Within the co-op (and the broader food sector), member sales and engagement continue to decline and engaging in strategic planning will help the co-op take more proactive steps to better position itself within this climate and strengthen its longevity. Those interested in learning more or joining the Strategic Planning Committee, please see the call out below. A member survey will also be circulated over the summer as part of this process, so keep your eyes peeled on your inboxes! We know summer is a busy time for everyone and we would really appreciate member engagement and support of this process. We look forward to sharing more at our upcoming Annual General Meeting.

Spring is often a time of change and there are some exciting changes on the horizon for Karma’s storefront! The co-op is already well-known for this fantastic bulk section, featuring a wide range of unique dry, refrigerated, and frozen items, including organic Ontario popping corn kernels (my favourite), hulled hemp, parmesan, wild blueberries, and cranberries, to name a few. New bulk bins and shelving are coming! They will be installed in the coming weeks, and we can’t wait to see the new and improved bulk section! Be sure to swing by the co-op after the 18th to check out the changes and load up on your favourite bulk items! This time of year means lots of outdoor barbecuing, entertaining, and picnicking in the park. No better place to find everything you need to make a memorable meal than your local food co-op!

Co-operatively Yours,

Alli Floroff (Board President)
on behalf of Board of Directors, Karma Food Co-op

Strategic Planning Committee Call-Out

Are you a self-reliant Karma member looking to

  • Gain member hours?
  • Acquire research and interview skills?
  • Contribute to the co-op?

If so, the newly-formed Strategic Planning Committee wants to hear from you! We’re looking for members with spare time over the summer to engage in research and interviewing, which would form the basis for the creation of a Strategic Plan. No experience is needed, interested members would be supported by board member, Dayna Stein, throughout the data collection process, though they would be responsible for conducting their work independently and meeting specific timelines. If you’re interested in learning more or joining the Committee, please contact Dayna at board@karmacoop.org, subject line: Strategic Planning Committee.

Report from the Board of Directors—January 2018

5 January 2018
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Co-op reports, Features

There were a lot of spirited conversations at this past year’s Annual General Meeting. It was my first AGM and what clearly resonated with me is how deeply members love and are dedicated to Karma. There was a lively discussion around Karma’s financials and a presentation by the Co-op’s new auditor, Thomas Kriens, of Kriens-LaRose. Karma continues to see a decline in sales although the rate of decline is slowing. The Co-op still needs to see sales growth for sustained health. Membership is also down relative to last year, but work is being done to more accurately track memberships and how/where new members are learning about the Co-op. These are both consistent themes in discussing Karma’s movement going forward. With the onset of Amazon purchasing Whole Foods, the challenge becomes how small specialty food retailers remain competitive and draw and retain new and existing members. Some exciting projects are coming down the line this year. A generous donation from an anonymous Karma member has enabled the co-op to hire Chiara Camponeschi, a social media and marketing consultant, to create a tailored social media strategy and digital campaign to help the Co-op more effectively connect with prospective members and generate new member leads. A Community Development Committee website sub-committee has also been formed to explore how the site can be more accessible, relevant, and engaging to prospective, new, and existing members. The board will also be looking forward to additional strategic measures the Co-op can take to ensure its long-term health.

We are optimistic and excited for the year ahead and see a new infusion of energy and enthusiasm as we welcome three new board members, who are joining three continuing board members. The board is excited to welcome Dayna Stein, Donald Altman (returning) for a two-year term, and Aidan Nulman for a one-year term. Kate Rusnak moves into the second year of her second two-year term on the board. Alice Barton was acclaimed for a one-year term after previously finishing a two-year term. Alli Floroff was acclaimed for a second one-year term. (Learn more about these new and returning board members by reading their biographies.) We also said goodbye to Paul Danyluk who served for five years, Brayden Lowery who served for three years, and Erin Lawson and Daniel Dundas, who both served for two years. We thank Paul for his solid leadership as board President over the past year and for providing continuity to the board. We thank Brayden Lowery for keeping the board organized and streamlining virtual organizational systems as the Corporate Secretary. We thank Erin Lawson for her warmth and enthusiasm and for acting as our meeting minute-taker. We thank Daniel Dundas for stepping into the Vice-President and Vice-President of Staff Relations roles this past year and guiding staff contract negotiations and board recruitment. As always, the board members serve Karma members, and we encourage you to connect with us in person at the store or by e-mail at board@karmacoop.org. Stay tuned to the e-Chronicle, where we will be writing regular messages.

 

by Alli Floroff (President) on behalf of the Karma Co-op Board of Directors

Meet your 2017–2018 board members

5 January 2018
Karma Webmaster
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Categories: Co-op reports, Features

Alli Floroff (President)

Alli is excited to be returning to the board for a second one-year term as board President. Over the next year, she hopes to provide a strong anchoring point in the coordination of strategic processes and grow her leadership and facilitation experience. Alli has been a member for three years, joining while she was a Masters in Environmental Studies student at York University, where she specialized in sustainable food systems and procurement and  co-operatives

Professionally, Alli has worked extensively in the food sector for co-operatives, small business, and not-for-profits and currently works at Stasis Preserves in the Roncesvalles area. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, cooking, exploring the city on her bike, working out, practicing yoga, and taking in the city’s arts and culture scenes.

Kate Rusnak (Vice-President)

This will be Kate’s fourth year on Karma’s board. She joined Karma in 2009 and works with members interested in improving the co-op’s sales through marketing and communications efforts. In her professional life, Kate is a communications strategist for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. This year, she’s excited about special social media campaigns the co-op is undertaking to raise Karma’s profile and bring in new members.

 

 

Alice Barton (Treasurer)

Alice Barton has been a Karma member for about 12 years, and on the board as Treasurer, returning for a one-year term after completing a two-year term in the same position.  A self-employed small business owner in the practice of criminal defence law, Alice came to the law through studies in earth sciences and a combined MES/LLB from York University. Alice’s commitment to environmental and community responsibility keeps her busy: she was an active member of the Toronto Public Space Committee, a member of the board of the Community Bicycle Network, and a founding member of Bixi (now Bikeshare Toronto). She plays ultimate, and she is a mediocre and enthusiastic cook.

 

Aidan Nulman (Corporate Secretary)

Aidan is a serial entrepreneur and software developer, specializing in Javascript (including Electron, Ember.js, and Cordova), Ruby (Rails + beyond), and Swift. He was a founding partner of Isle of Code, a leading software development studio based in Toronto + Houston.

Aidan joined Karma in 2016, as he values cooking and serving organic, GMO-free, sustainable foods. He is excited to grow and improve the community as Corporate Secretary, and by working on strategic projects like a website update + social media campaigns.

Dayna Stein

Dayna Stein is a food systems and sustainability planning consultant who has worked extensively with municipalities, universities, public schools, for profits, non-profits and a First Nation community to do food system planning, impact evaluation research, market research, strategic planning, and social enterprise development. Dayna sits on the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council as co-chair of the networking committee, and before that, the education committee. She also sits on the Board of Directors for a newly formed charity called Feeding Canadian Kids. Dayna focused her academic career on sustainable and socially just food systems and their impact on nutrition, health, and community development. She graduated with a Master’s of Science in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability, focusing her Thesis on cross-sector collaboration around food waste mitigation. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Global Resource Systems from UBC and is currently pursuing a certificate from U of T in Entrepreneurship. Dayna is an eager learner, an artist, an advocate, a world traveler, and a zero-waste enthusiast. She is excited to grow within and grow out the Karma Community.

Donald Altman

I first joined a food co-op store — Don Vale (Karma II) — in the fall of 1976. Very early on I became involved in the volunteer management of the co-op, which has been the pattern for all my involvements. Then, when it folded, I joined Bain Food Co-op around 1980; and when it folded, I joined Karma around 1986. As well, I was amongst a group that tried to start a supermarket co-op in the Regent Park area of Toronto in the early 1980s. I have taken a leadership role — mostly treasurer — in all of these organizations. At Karma Co-op I have been a board member and treasurer, and I have been on the Finance Committee continuously since 1991. Most recently I was the Finance Committee chair.

At the Ontario Natural Food Company (ONFC), the trade name of the Ontario Federation of Food Co-operatives and Clubs, I have been on the Finance Committee since 1979, serving as member, treasurer, and mostly as chair. I have also served several terms on the board.

I also have many years’ experience on the boards of other co-ops and credit unions including what is now Alterna Savings and Credit Union, the Worker Ownership Development Foundation, the Church Isabella Residents Co-operative, and The Co-operators Group Limited. I have a lifetime achievement award from the Ontario Co-operative Association, a 25-year achievement award from the Ontario credit union system, and am a life member of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto. I also have been awarded the Gary Gillam Award for social responsibility from the credit union system.

I passionately believe that co-operation is the business model between capitalism and state socialism that provides the best alternate model for people involvement and the control and the distribution of surplus. I want to change the system, and I do that by volunteering and supporting co-op organizations. Karma is one of these organizations.