ARF Co-op is open to anyone who supports feeding a healthy, natural diet to
their pets and who can abide by our policies. Joining ARF Co-op is simple, but it requires a desire to
actively participate. We are an unincorporated non-profit association, not a money-making business. We are
also not a grocery store that you can shop at any time, any place, and be waited on. We are a friendly
collective of folks who have banded together for a common purpose: to secure healthful, natural foods for
our pets as inexpensively as we can by making bulk purchases from suppliers together. This means we all
pitch in to share the work of running the co-op.
Suppliers who are interested in selling to the co-op are not permitted to join
the co-op's mailing list directly. If you are interested in selling your product to the co-op, please
contact the Board of Directors at board@arfcoop.org.
Volunteer requirements
Know the co-op policies
Conducting business online
Join!
Members pledge to volunteer in the cooperative spirit to help ARF Co-op achieve our
goals of purchasing and distributing affordable natural food and educating our membership and the public about a
healthy diet for
pets. There are many jobs within the co-op that need to be filled every month. To be considered a member in
good standing, you need to volunteer for at least one job per year. That's one volunteer
commitment every twelve months. This commitment minimum is subject to change as our size and work needs
change.
Volunteering is easy and there is a way to volunteer that meets just about everyone's
schedule and lifestyle constraints. A full list of volunteer opportunities is available in the Volunteer section of the Co-op Policies.
If you can come up with another useful way to contribute your time not listed there,
let the Board of Directors know!
In order for our co-op to run smoothly, your understanding of the Co-op Policies is essential. Before requesting membership, please read through the
entire policies page and familiarize yourself with the information there, particularly the sections
covering ordering, membership restrictions, and how food is delivered to the co-op. Requesting membership
is acknowledgement of having seen and read the policies. If you later violate them, your co-op
membership can be revoked.
We conduct the entirety of our business online, so to successfully participate in the
co-op you need regular computer access and a willingness to check your e-mail often. Delivery announcements, for
example, are always made on the membership mailing list. We do not recommend receiving the membership mailing
list in Digest format for this reason.
To begin the process of joining the co-op, send a subscription request to our membership mailing list, ARFcoop-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Complete the pre-membership questionnaire. You must also read through (and
acknowledge having read) these Policies. Once you have read the Policies and returned the questionnaire, your
mailing list membership to our Yahoo Group will be processed and approved by the Member Coordinator. If you
do not follow these instructions, you will
not be approved.
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When your mailing list membership has been approved, place your local contact
information in the member database in the Database section of our Yahoo Group and let the Member Coordinator
know you have done so. You will not be able to
place orders without this information on file. You
will be able to see what items we have available for
purchase in the Files section of our Yahoo Group at this point, as well as the Order and Volunteer Calendar
listed there.
Contact the Volunteer Coordinator to sign up to fulfill your volunteer requirements. The Volunteer Coordinator's
information will be included in the New Member Information Packet you receive. You MUST volunteer to be a member
in good standing of the coop, and there are many different ways you can fulfill this commitment. If you do not
register in the database and contact the Volunteer Coordinator within two weeks of joining, your membership will be revoked.
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Send mail to the membership list introducing yourself! Let us know where in Austin
or the metro area you're located (this makes it easier to find "co-op buddies"), how many pets you have, how long
you've been feeding a natural diet, etc. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Suppliers who are interested in selling to the co-op are not permitted to join the
co-op's mailing list directly. If you are interested in selling your product to the co-op, please contact the
board of directors at board@arfcoop.org.
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