SD Local Food Co-op How-To Guide

How to Become a Co-op Member

1. Go to www.sdlocalfoodcoop.org

2. Click "New Member Form"

3. You will be brought to the membership form. Fill the form out as completely as possible.

4. If you are a producer make sure you check the box labeled "I am interested in becoming a producer member for SD Local Food Cooperative".

5. After completing the form click "Submit"

6. You will then be taken to the membership payment form. Click the orange "Pay Now" button. This will take you to PayPal so you can pay your membership dues. If you have a PayPal account then sign in. If you do not have a PayPal account then click "Continue", fill out the application, and complete the payment process. (If you have paid for your membership by mail, then skip this step.)

7. Once you have submitted your membership form and paid your membership dues, your application will go to the co-op administrators for approval. After being approved you will receive a confirmation email.

*Please note that all members must complete this step, even if you joined and paid by mail.

How to Become a Producer Member

1. After completing steps 1 through 6 above, return to the co-op website window.

2. Click "Producer Registration Form".

3. Complete the form as fully as possible. Please be sure to fill this out fully and correctly as making changes can be difficult.

   1. Your producer ID is any 5 character ID which you choose.

   2. When completing this form you will want to consult the co-op terms of service (also known as the co-op rules) to make sure you include all necessary information. Some examples of requirements would be listing your return policy and farming practices as outlined in the terms of service.

4. Once you submit your producer membership form, your application will go to the co-op administrators for approval. After being approved you will receive a confirmation email.

How to List Products

1. Go to www.sdlocalfoodcoop.org and log into your account.

2. You will see a box labeled "Producer Info: Product and Orders Info". In that box there is an "Edit your products" section. Click "Add a new product".

3. Fill out the form.

   1. When completing this form you will want to consult the co-op terms of service (also known as the co-op rules) to make sure you include all necessary information. Some examples of requirements would be listing ingredients, growing methods, and any other requirements determined in the terms of service.

   2. If you want to sell the item choose "List as retail". We do not currently use the wholesale option, but probably will in the future. If at that time you choose to sell items wholesale then you will click "List as Wholesale". If you do not want to list the item, click "do not list". If you want to permanently unlist the item, click "Archive this Product".

   3. When entering the price note that you are entering the co-op price. What appears in the "producer price" box is what you will get from the sale, and what appears in the "retail price" box is what the consumer will be charged before tax.

   4. If you have an item that is random weight then be sure to enter the price in the invoice section of the website after the order cycle has closed.

How to Edit an Item

1. Go to www.sdlocalfoodcoop.org and log into your account

2. You will see a box labeled "Producer Info: Product and Orders Info". In that box there is an "Edit your products" section. You can click on "Unlisted", "Listed Retail", "Listed Wholesale", or "Archived". Click on whichever section the item is listed in.

3. Find the product you want to edit and click "Edit product".

4. You will be taken to the product update page. Make any necessary changes and click "update product".

   1. Please note that the changes will not be seen on the website until an admin refreshes the product list. For this reason, all products must me edited, changed, or updated not later than 5:00 pm on the second to last day of the month in order to prepare for the next cycle. If you do not make these changes by then, your product will be listed the same way it was the cycle prior. (for example, if there are 31 days in the month, then all items must be updated by 5:00 pm on the 30th). If you do not make these changes by then, your product will be listed the same way it was the cycle prior. This includes updating the number of available items when applicable.

How to View Invoices

1. Go to www.sdlocalfoodcoop.org and log into your account.

2. You will see a box labeled "Producer Info: Product and Orders Info". In that box there is an "Producer invoice" section. Clicking on any of the links in that section will bring you to your invoices.

   1. Please be sure to print your invoices and bring them to the drop site when you drop off your goods, so you can compare invoices with the drop site volunteer.

   2. Also, note that this is where you will enter the actual weight of any random weight items you may list. You must enter the actual weight before you drop off the goods so consumers will be correctly charged.

How to View and Print Labels

1. Go to www.sdlocalfoodcoop.org and log into your account.

2. You will see a box labeled "Producer Info: Product and Orders Info". In that box there is an "Delivery Day Labels" section. Click "One Label Per Customer" or "One Label Per Product".

   1. Please note that all products must have a co-op label on it before arriving to the drop site.

   2. These labels are designed to be printed on a sheet of regular paper and then attached to the goods being sold. If you are able to find sticky paper that you can print the labels on, then feel free to do so.

Co-op Order Cycles

• The Sioux Falls dropsite is the Augustana Lutheran Church located at 235 North Prairie Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104. The Brookings dropsite is the First Lutheran Church located at 337 8^th St. Brookings, SD 57006.

• The co-op works on monthly cycles. The cycle goes as follows:

  The cycle opens the first day of the month. The cycle closes the Friday of the second FULL week of the month. Producers must enter the actual weight of any random weight items by the following Wednesday (5 days after the close of the cycle). Producers will then drop their goods off at either drop location on the Friday of the third FULL week of the month between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm OR the Saturday of the third FULL week of the month between 6:30 am and 8:30 am. Volunteers will then sort the goods according to consumer pick-up site. Consumers will then be able to pick up their goods on the Saturday of the third FULL week of the month between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Producers must edit, update, add, etc. all listings by 5:00 pm on the second to last day of the month.

  Please Note: The co-op reserves the right to change and/or adjust the monthly cycles. All co-op members will be notified in advance of any changes in the cycle.

If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact Holly at
Dakota Rural Action by calling 605-697-5204 or by email at coop@dakotarural.org.