This month we’d like to share a recap of our Annual Member Picnic, some responses to questions we’ve received from members recently, and an invitation to run for the Board.

MEMBER PICNIC RECAP

In 1970, Ivan Racheff donated the property at 1943 Tennessee Avenue, located in the Lonsdale neighborhood of Knoxville, to the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs to serve as its state headquarters. For more than five decades since, the Ivan Racheff House and Gardens have served the community as a lush oasis in the middle of a booming industrial district, and recently hosted the Three Rivers Market Annual Members Picnic on Saturday, July 20.

The Level II Arboretum offered members shelter from the wind and passing rain clouds as they enjoyed a variety of tasty fare – including empanadas, sandwiches, cookies, crudité and dips from Real Good Kitchen, as well as … Read More »

We will be opening at 10:30am on Tuesday, July 2nd
due to taking inventory.

Interested in getting more involved in the governance of Three Rivers Market? This month we invite members to attend our annual Member Picnic and to consider running for a seat on the Board. 

Upcoming Election 

Three Board seats are up for election each year. Interested candidates must attend a meeting (register here) in July, August, or September, during which there is a Candidate Q&A at the beginning of each meeting, and complete an application by October 1st, 2024, at 7 PM. 

Three Rivers Market is cooperatively owned by our members and democratically governed by our Board of Directors. All members have one vote in our annual election regardless of the number of Patronage Membership Interests (PMIs) held. Each year, members elect candidates to serve on the Board of Directors, which is responsible for the governance of Three Rivers Market. The Board consists of … Read More »

In April, the Board of Directors met at the Birdhouse Neighborhood Center for our Spring Retreat, during which we established our governance priorities for the upcoming fiscal year beginning in July.

We began the day with an orientation presented by an Employee & Labor Relations Consultant who has worked closely with Three Rivers Market since the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union was voluntarily recognized in 2021. We learned more about how the bargaining process works; the legal and process limits on Three Rivers Market and the staff union; the role of the Board; and the importance of adhering to the collective bargaining agreement struck between the staff union and Three Rivers Market. 

Three Rivers Market is committed to prioritizing a positive working relationship between the staff union and store management, with ongoing education helping all involved to better understand the … Read More »

What does community mean to you? What does your answer say about your values? Who is Three Rivers Market here for? And how do we create a common vision for the future of our co-op from the many diverse opinions of our members?

These are just a few of the questions Three Rivers Market community members tackled during our recent event with Jon Steinman, author of Grocery Store: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants. During the two-night event, Jon shared a compelling overview of the economy of grocery stores, and the many challenges co-ops must overcome to provide an economic alternative to big grocery chains.

But the most engaging part of Jon’s visit was his introduction of an intentional form of group communication he calls “cooperative dialogue.” He differentiates dialogue from discussion in that it involves thinking … Read More »