About our Board

The Board of Directors develops guiding policies for the Co-op, assures performance and fiscal responsibility, provides a link to members, and helps define the broader vision of the Co-op. These responsibilities are spelled out in our Policy Governance Manual and our By-Laws.

Directors serve three-year terms. Elections for open seats are held in conjunction with members’ Annual Meeting in the Spring. To serve on the Board and to vote in the election, you must be a Co-op member in good standing. Learn more about what is involved in serving, and submit a candidate application by the end of March to run for a seat.

Board Meetings

The Board meets at 7:00 pm the first Thursday of the month.

Due to the rapid expansion in COVID cases, we will meet virtually this month.

Access Community Action Agency, 1315 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226
This is the building next to Super Stop and Shop, where Planet Fitness is now. The entry door is facing Valley St. despite a Main St address.

Webb Hall Conference Room, West & Eastern Rds, Willimantic, CT 06226

Webb Hall (rear entrance) rm 113, Eastern Rd, ECSU Campus, Willimantic, CT 06226

Webb Hall Rm 159 (1st fl rear), Eastern Rd, ECSU Campus, Willimantic, CT 06226

Kerri Gallery, 861 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226

Horizons Office, 45 Church Street, Willimantic, CT 06226

Trigo Wood-fired Pizza, 744 Main St, Willimantic, CT 06226

866 Main St, Willimantic, CT 06226
(Use side entrance for The Annex above Swift Waters Artisans’ Cooperative for meeting upstairs)

104 Nathan Hale Rd, Coventry, CT 06238

89 Spring Street, Willimantic, CT 06226

NOTE: The Meeting scheduled for July 4 has been postponed and rescheduled for July 11.

NOTE: The Meeting scheduled for December 6 has been postponed and rescheduled for December 13. The location has changed (for this month only) to: Access Community Action Agency, 1315 Main Street. This is the building next to Super Stop and Shop, where Planet Fitness is now. The entry door is facing Valley St. despite a Main St address.

NOTE: The location has changed (for this month) to: Access Community Action Agency, 1315 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226. This is the building next to Super Stop and Shop, where Planet Fitness is now. The entry door is facing Valley St. despite a Main St address. Note that anyone attending should prepare to mask.

NOTE: The time has changed (for this month) to 6:30-9:00 starting a half hour earlier than usual.

Meeting Agenda for March 7, 2024

Previous Meeting Agenda

The Board is developing the following master calendar that includes when policies need to be monitored as well as other events that occur throughout the year.

Meeting Minutes Archive:

Willimantic Food Co-op – Board of Directors’ Meeting

Click on a date to view or download a PDF document of the meeting’s minutes:

Annual Report Archive:

Click on a date to view or download a PDF document of an Annual Report:
 
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Annual Report 2020

Meet the Board

Board of Directors:

Linda Brock – Chair (2025)
Linda is pleased to find a vibrant, thriving cooperative here in Willimantic, after a few decades of “homesickness” for her early co-op experience with the venerable Weavers’ Way in Philadelphia. She believes that organic and fresh foods are important for both physical and spiritual nourishment, and enjoys supporting the Co-op’s endeavors by serving as scribe for Board meetings. She and her husband Mark live in Windham Center with more cats than strictly necessary and the occasional itinerant male offspring.


Niti Pandey – Vice Chair (2025)
Niti Pandey grew up in India and moved to the US in 2001 to pursue her doctorate at the University of Illinois. She joined Eastern Connecticut State University in 2012 as a faculty member and is currently a Professor of management and Dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies and Graduate Division at Eastern. Niti lives in the historic Victorian Willimantic neighborhood and strongly values sustainability, social justice, and equity and believes that the Co-op plays a crucial role in serving the community.


Joanne Todd – Treasurer (2025)
Joanne Todd grew up in Willimantic and lives in Scotland. She believes that the Food Co-op is important to the Willimantic Community. She is privileged to serve on the Board and contribute to the Co-op’s vitality. Joanne is President/CEO of Northeast Family Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative where she began as a teller. She holds a BS in Accounting and a MBA from the University of Connecticut.


Matthew Coolbeth – Secretary (2023)
Matthew grew up in Ashford and Mansfield and first became acquainted with the Co-op while living in Willimantic as a student at the University of Connecticut, from which he holds a BS and MS in Computer Science. He has 16 years of experience as a software engineer and 6 years of experience as a parent. Matthew believes the Co-op is an important institution that helps define the character of the Willimantic Region and serves the local community in myriad ways. He also sees community-scale organizations and local, small-scale agriculture as crucial means of building a more ecologically-friendly global society. When he is not working, Matthew reads about obscure programming languages, frets about ecological degradation, and tromps around in the forest with his kid.


Katherine Gavin – Director (2024)
Katherine (she/her & they/them) joined the Co-op when she moved to Willimantic full time in 2020 and joined the board last year. Katherine is in a graduate degree program at UConn and lives in downtown Willimantic with her partner. They love that the Co-op helps connect her with the community as well as provides them unique and local food options. Part of the reason Katherine joined the Co-op and the board was to deepen their connection to the Willimantic community, since they moved to town during the early stages of the pandemic, so if you see her in the store or around town please feel comfortable introducing yourself!


Brock Alosky – Director (2025)
Brock has been around the region for his entire life and currently lives in Tolland with his wife and dog. He first became a member when he was studying for his undergraduate degree at UConn and has been a frequent shopper of the Co-op ever since. He believes that local agriculture and sustainable food practices are paramount to healthy living and that it allows people to fully live their lives. Brock holds a BA in Economics from UConn and his MBA from Purdue University. When he is not working Brock enjoys a good hike, fly fishing and cooking.


Steven Bachiochi – Director (2023)
Steven has been a Co-op member since moving to town years ago. He is the owner of Grounded Coffee Company in Willimantic. He also works for Horizons Inc. He has developed a connection to this community over the last five years. He loves the Co-op and thinks it is a fantastic place. You will often see him, his wife Victoria and daughter Beatrice wandering the aisles. He is very invested in the community and will use his time on the board to further enhance the Willimantic and food Co-op community.

Directors – WFC Staff:

Patty Smith (General Manager) – Director – Management seat
Patty has been a Co-op member since 1996 and a Co-op employee since 2007. She started by implementing the Co-op’s first computerized point-of-sale & inventory management system, then went on to develop HR and other management infrastructure alongside Alice, eventually becoming the Operations Manager in 2014. Before her career as a cooperative grocer, Patty was a Subway franchisee in Eastern CT with her husband, Andy and a professional dancer and dance instructor, with a BFA in classical dance from the Boston Conservatory. In 2022, Patty graduated from the Master of Management, Cooperatives and Credit Unions MBA program at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia. She lives in Mansfield.

Open – Director – Staff seat  

Key Personnel:

Kimberly Montoya – Board Scribe

Get Involved with a Committee!

The Co-op needs members to serve on committees to guide the direction of our Co-op. If you have skills or expertise with a particular committee and want to help make a difference or help move the Co-op toward the goals set by the board, call to be included in the next committee meeting. Even if you are just considering it, give a call and sit in on the next meeting. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to participate.

Bryan O’Hara (2017)
Bryan O’Hara is a local vegetable grower at Tobacco Road Farm in Lebanon. The farm has supplied the Co-op with produce for more than 20 years. Bryan strongly believes in democratic member involvement in Co-operative governance. He considers himself a Co-op enthusiast.