Yesterday, Samantha Conselman, the President of the Davis Food Co-op's Board, sent an email to the petition's address, dfcpetition2025@gmail.com, notifying members about the upcoming Board Meeting on Monday, September 8th, at 6 PM which will take place in the Co-op's teaching kitchen located at 537 G St. She expressed her intention to “hear, learn from, and foster constructive dialogue that helps our Co-op thrive.”
Please participate in this dialogue to share your feedback, to demand the immediate removal of the militarized security presence, to suggest and/or offer alternatives, and to collaborate on community-driven actions to rebuild trust and regain a sense of safety at the Davis Co-op.
Ways you can dialogue/attend Monday’s meeting:
- Zoom: The meeting format is hybrid, with a Zoom option to attend virtually. Check the September 2025 Meeting Agenda posted on this page on Sunday, 9/7, for the Zoom link.
- Spoken comment: Speakers have an impact in these meetings. If you would like to speak, please speak.
- Each member is allotted up to two minutes for a spoken comment.
- If you choose to speak, you can also email your spoken comment ahead of time to board@davisfood.coop, but it is not necessary. If possible, include your name, email (for follow-up), and member ID.
- If you would like to speak, but are unsure of what to say, please let us know at dfcpetition2025@gmail.com, and we can provide you with more information or a script. One idea could be to use your two minutes to read this Petition, and/or some of the demands you resonate with most.
- If it feels right for you, please reach out to our dfcpetition2025@gmail.com email and let us know you plan to speak, and your major talking points. We will do pre-meeting organizing/prep once we have a better idea of the number of speakers/content, so that we can organize/arrange speakers to make sure a variety of comments and opinions are heard. At least this Monday, the Board Meeting time for this topic will likely be limited.
- Written comment: If you can’t attend or will attend but don’t wish to speak, you can:
- Submit a comment to the board by emailing it to: board@davisfood.coop. If possible, include your name, email (for follow-up), and member ID.
- Write your comment to us at dfcpetition2025@gmail.com. We will compile all anonymously submitted written comments and submit them with this anonymous petition email.
- You must be an Owner/Member of the Davis Food Co-op to attend the Meeting.
- You can also continue to submit comments via the DFC’s in-person and online suggestion box.
In addition to the notification of Monday’s Board Meeting, the Co-op Board President, Samantha Conselman, said, “Please let me know if you have any questions about our Board policy C10. This policy outlines how we accept a non-boycott initiative while also noting our preference to address member concerns through education and compromise rather than relying solely on initiatives.” Questions can be emailed to Samantha at sconselman@davisfood.coop, or you can direct your questions to us at dfcpetittion2025@gmail.com, and we will relay your questions to Samantha Conselman for you.
Samantha Conselman’s full email to our Petition can be found here: Upcoming Davis Food Co-op Board Meeting.pdf. The response to this email sent from dfcpetition@gmail.com can be found here: Response to Samantha Conselman20250905.pdf
In terms of other information that has been shared since the Petition was released, the Davis Food Co-op posted a related newsletter piece on the security personnel. It explains the security’s areas of focus: theft prevention, drug use, aggressive and threatening behavior, soliciting, and camping, and most importantly, why the Co-op hired the security, “increasingly experiencing extreme incidents, threats, and theft and expressed concern for their safety.” So let us all remember to be supportive, empathetic, and respectful of Co-op Staff’s experiences as part of our community-building process.
Please be respectful and gracious for the Co-op’s notification of process to us, the Petitioners, to engage with our neighbors in this opportunity to further dialogue as we continue to build and maintain the Davis Food Co-op as a space for open communication, sharing experiences and opinions, and community support, safety, and nurturing.
In community,