Rachel Brown

Please list 3-5 important reasons you are motivated to run for the PFC Board.

Sustainability and conservation have always played a role in my life, from how I live personally to how I chose my career. I believe PFC, and other food co-ops like it, genuinely care about the sustainability for our local community and our future generations. 

I also believe in giving back to the local community, and I have committed to making the La Crosse region a better place for everyone that resides here. I believe PFC has the same commitment, and I am excited to learn more about how PFC can make positive change in our communities. 

I am also interested in and have advocated for the nutritional benefits of whole foods. PFC focuses on locally sourced products, and there is an abundance of organic and sustainable food options for shoppers. 

Finally, I was born and raised on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin. I understand the hard work required by our local farmers and the difficulties surrounding providing good products for a price consumers are willing to spend. I genuinely want to find ways to provide nutritionally dense food to our local communities at a price that people can afford while providing an equitable wage to our farmers.  

What are the five most relevant skills you offer to the PFC Board and ownership?

I understand the complexities that can hinder partnerships between organizations with different goals, and I have learned how to help these groups come together and create a shared vision and partnership that benefits all parties and the surrounding communities. 

Local knowledge as well as knowledge about non-local co-ops: I grew up on a dairy farm in central WI and understand the complexities of farming. I also lived in Washington state for 16 years where I maintained membership at two local co-ops, providing me insight into how other co-ops conduct business. 

Decision-making: I am able to take in a lot of information from various sources and make decisions without decision-paralysis. Our local consumers need access to quality products and, while change can be difficult, embracing it can benefit all of us. 

Finally, I offer my own perspective as a consumer of the products at PFC. My own goals toward sustainable consumption, low waste, while still needing to navigate not being located close to any PFC, all are important considerations when we think about PFC members.  

Please list any relevant board and employment experience.

The only board experience I have is more technical - after writing a proposal for a grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), I established an advisory board with representatives from the local tribal community, native fishermen, and local stakeholders (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) to advise our research on food sovereignty for the Coast Salish tribal nations at the Salish Sea Research Center (Northeast Indian College, Bellingham, WA). 

Employment experience: my employment at the Salish Sea Research Center is directly applicable as it tackled problems surrounding access to nutritionally dense, sustainable food sources. There were many different stakeholders in that region, and I had to learn the various groups, interact in a professional manner, as well as negotiate ways to improve circumstances for everyone involved. My employment with US Fish and Wildlife, with its focus on conservation, is also applicable. We have many stakeholders, from small organizations to very large organizations, and while their goals are not always aligned, we create partnerships and opportunities for these groups to come together to work towards a shared goal.  

What are 3-5 significant challenges that PFC will face in the next few years?

Climate change will bring impacts to our crop production for the Midwest region. In some cases, crops will be negatively affected; others may be positively affected, and still other crops may be newly introduced in this region as the climate becomes more suitable for their optimal growing conditions. I believe PFC will need to be flexible in the products they provide, as well as poised to form new partnerships with local growers as these changes take place. 

The use of AI technology will affect many different industries to varying degrees. Technological advances are not always easy to understand or implement, and a big challenge for many companies will be how best to use and implement AI as competitors use the technology to make strategic decisions about the growth of their companies. 

Another significant challenge I see now and in the near future is how PFC will be able to maintain and grow its market share with so many large grocery stores in the local community (La Crosse).  

What do you consider potential opportunities for the Co-op as it develops its long- term strategies?

I believe one of the greatest strengths of PFC is being a locally-owned company that is easily accessible to residents near downtown La Crosse (and Rochester, but I am located most closely to La Crosse so that is the lens from which I am answering). While I don't fully understand the financial feasibility of opening more locations, I know that there are many people in the region that would be excited to have additional locations that are more accessible to them. 

The 'zero-waste' movement: I think providing more options for zero waste (refilling consumable products and bulk items) is an opportunity I would like to see PFC pursue more. 

I also have been seeing more opportunities for the local community to engage in cooking classes. I've mostly being seeing these through the co-op based out of Winona, and recently saw one for PFC. I think these are a great idea and are a huge opportunity for PFC to bring in more membership, promote their local products, and engage people in cooking nutritional foods for themselves.