NCC:User's Manual

1 For Users
2 For Club Coordinators
3 For Source Coordinator Coordinators
4 For Source Coordinators
5 For Sort Leads and Sort Helpers
6 Sorting Groups
- 6.1 What are Sorting Groups?
- 6.2 Advantages and Specifics Of Sorting Groups:
7 Before the Sort
- 7.1 Print Materials For Sort
- 7.2 During Sorting
8 For Database Administrators
9 For Treasurers
10 For Weekly Update Help
11 For Membership Coordinators
12 For Drop Site Openers and Closers
13 For New Source Seekers
- 13.1 Steps for looking into a source
- 13.2 Sample call/e-mail to a potential source
14 For Administrators
15 For new food club start ups
- 15.1 Before the meeting
- 15.2 At the meeting

For Users

System overview for new members

Ashley might have details to fill in here

Signing in

You must sign in to

Place an order
View/post to our discussion forum
View/edit a wiki document

Go to our homepage at http://foodclub.org/gaithersburg
Enter user name and password. If you forget either of these, there are options on the login page to be sent reminders

Your order

Ordering Steps

Select the source you wish to order from (from the select source drop down menu)
Read the information on the source home page. We try to answer all your ordering questions for the source here
- Warning, we usually have links to the source's website on our home page for each source. Do not order from the source's website, order from ours.
Place your order for items that you are not splitting
- Select Order
- Both "Search" and "Browse by category" are allowed. See about search
- When you find an item which you wish to order, enter the quantity number and press "Add."
- Sometimes manual input of items is allowed. We try to stay away from this, but if we can not keep our database completely up to date, we may allow manual input of items so that the user can order the full range of products from the source
- Verify you have ordered correctly
  1. Your items appear on your personal order form, and your total looks correct (did you really mean to order a whole case of that item?)
  2. Your items appear in your Shopping cart, and your total looks correct.
  3. Your items appear in the "Group Order" - this is what gets sent to the vendor.
If splits are allowed, place your order for splits
- See about splits
- Select "Splits". Remember the quantity you want needs to be some part of whatever the size is.
- If you want to order/change an existing split:
  1. The whole row should be clickable which will take you to the proper page to order or change your split quantity for the item.
  2. Click "Order"/"Change" next to the item you would like to order/change.
- If you want to request a new split, for an item from the database:
  1. Enter the "quantity you want" and press "Request split(s) for above item(s)"
- If you want to request a new split, for an item not found by searching the database:
  1. Use "Request a split" which appears below all the current split requests, if manual entry is enabled.
- Verify you have ordered correctly:
  1. Your items appear on the splits page. Note if they are in red, the split is not yet full and the items will not get ordered.
  2. Your items appear in the "Group Order". Note if they are in red, the split is not yet full and the items will not get ordered.

About "splits"

What are they?
- Some of our sources sell to us in cases or large quantities instead of family sized portions. They like this because it saves them time and money. The cost savings get passed on to us. The savings range from 20% to well over 50%.
- Splits need to be sorted by us. You may be asked asked to help with the sorting process and/or bring your own containers.
How does the software work?
- The number in the "size" field of a given item is very important. For the item to get ordered, the total of everyone's "Quantity you want" must add up to the "size"
- "Price" is for the entire size. During invoice processing, your proportion of the total price will be automatically computed.

About "search"

Searching for an item can be tricky if you do not know the product code.
- Ex: In the Frontier database, if you type "dish soap" in "Search" window, you get two pages of dish soap. Unfortunately, the Seventh Generation dish soap does not appear in the list. This is because Seventh Generation calls their product "dish liquid." You can type "Seventh Generation" in the search box and then all Seventh Generations products appear.
Use the most general search possible.
- Ex. In the Frontier database, if you search "Manufacturer" field for "Equal Exchange," you get nothing. If you search "any field" for "Equal Exchange," you get the products you are looking for. The database happens to list "Equal Exchange" under the "Category" field rather than the "Manufacturer" field
Search does not work across column headings yet.
- Ex: In the farm database, if you search for "chicken legs" and "chicken" is under the "category" field and "legs" is under the description field, nothing will be found.

How to manually add an item to your order - if it is not in the database

Note: You will only be allowed this option if it says so on the source homepage. With most of our sources this is not needed as our databases usually contains all products offered.
Click Order (or Splits) in the left hand vertical green toolbar to take you to the Order page.
At the bottom of the Order page you will see:
- Current order for Jane Doe Qty Code Description Size Price Total Action Select
Select Edit which is under Action . Be sure to include:
- Qty (quantity)
- Code
  - Each product MUST have it's own unique product code!!!!!
  - If the source assigns product codes, use that code. Often you must add the item to the sources cart in order to see the code
  - If the source does not have a product code, you can just make up one. Just make sure each item is unique and you don't repeat someone elses product code.
- Description (be detailed)
- Size (for Order, it doesn't matter. For Splits, it must be the split increment
- Price (do not preceed with a "$")- for splits, it must be the price must be the price of the whole quantity (e.g. box)
Remember to Save manual update made directly on this form at the very bottom of the page

Viewing your invoice

Often invoices are not processed until a few days before the delivery, some are processed the day of delivery.
Products which you order may be out of stock, and will appear as such on your invoice If something is out of stock, the item will be deleted from your order, and if you still wish to purchase it, you will have to reorder it the next cycle.
Your exact total appears on your invoice. If items are priced per pound, your exact poundage will be on your invoice. Also, any shipping or transportation fees are included on your invoice. Your order form only had an estimated total.

Advice/tips

You enter some data and forget to hit "SAVE"... Your browser will keep data entered in forms after you've navigated away; therefore, you can use your browser back button to get back to the form which you forgot to submit.

Using Mailman

What is Mailman?

Mailman is the NCFC's private email service. Through Mailman we have the ability to email specific chapters (Frederick, Gaithersburg, or Silver Spring), as well as, the ability to email the entire Nourishing Connections Food Club across all chapters.

How Do I Send an Email Using Mailman?

It's very simple to send emails through Mailman!
Each member composes an email message as they would normally, doing the following:
- To email Frederick Chapter Members: enter frederick@foodclub.org in the 'To' field of the email message.
- To email Gaithersburg Chapter Members: enter gaithersburg@foodclub.org in the 'To' field of the email message
- To email Silver Spring Chapter Members: enter silverspring@foodclub.org in the 'To' field of the email message
- To email ALL Chapter Members across all sites: enter ncfc@foodclub.org in the 'To' field of the email message

What Capabilities Does Mailman Offer?

Mailman is very similar to Google Groups or Yahoo Groups. Each member will have the ability to adjust their settings within Mailman to have emails sent as a daily digest or individual emails.
All email messages and threads are stored in the 'Archives' within Mailman, allowing members to revisit topics of discussion.

How Do I View the Mailman Archives?

To view the archives for old message threads, simply do the following:
1. From your Foodclub mainpage, click on 'Frederick Mailman Interface', where as, 'Frederick' will be replaced with your chapter's name.
2. Under 'About Frederick', click on 'Frederick Archives' (whereas, Frederick is replaced with your chapter's name).
3. You are now given the option to view the archives sorted by: Thread, Subject, Author, or Date. Select one, and you will be given a list of all messages composed through the Mailman Email Service.

How Do I update my Member Settings In Mailman?

To edit your member settings, simply do the following:
1. From your Foodclub mainpage, click on 'Frederick Mailman Interface', where as, 'Frederick' will be replaced with your chapter's name.
2. Go to the 'Frederick Subscribers' section, whereas, 'Frederick' will be replaced with your chapter's name.
3. In the 'To unsubscribe from Frederick, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options enter your subscription email address:' text box, enter your email address, and click the 'Unsubscribe or edit options' button.
4. Now, you are able to change your password, ask to be sent a password reminder email, and change your daily digest options.
5. To change your Mailman settings to 'Daily Digest', you will have to scroll down to the very bottom of the page. Look for 'Your Frederick Subscription Options' (whereas, 'Frederick is replaced with your chapter's name), and in the 'Set Digest Mode' section, and select 'On'. This will allow you to only receive 1 email per day for foodclub Mailman related emails.

How Does Mailman Differ from 'Send Email to All Users'?

Mailman is much better form of communication than the 'Send Email to All Users' option available through the food club directory for several reasons:
- Members are able to setup their individual Mailman accounts so that they can choose to receive a daily digest or individual emails. With 'Send Email to All Users', emails are sent as soon as they are composed to all users. Some members are sensitive to the number of emails they receive in a day from the food club, therefore, Mailman allows us to control this.
- Mailman stores all messages in the Mailman Archives allowing us to refer back to old discussion threads, where as, 'Send Email to All Users' does not have this capability. Once the email is sent, that's it!

If your e-mail address changes...

Go to user settings at the top of any www.foodclub.org/[drop site location] page
Replace your old e-mail address with your new e-mail address.
Finally, click update user settings at the bottom of the page, else your changes will not be effective.
Also, e-mail your membership coordinator both your old e-mail address and your new e-mail address so that they update the mailman list Their name and e-mail can be found on the jobs chart wiki page
One of these days, the mailman update will be automatic when a member changes their user settings. Until then, your membership coordinator must go to http://foodclub.org/mailman/listinfo/[drop site]. They will need the food club password for this site.

Using Forums

What is a forum?

It's like a traditional Yahoo or Goggle discussion group, only better. There is more organization, so it is easier to find things.
Vocabulary
- Post
  A post is a piece of information submitted by a single user. It may be a new post, which starts a new topic, or a reply to an existing post. Posts are typically a sentence, paragraph, or a few paragraphs.
- Topic
  A topic is a collection of posts. The posts are organized in chronological order. The idea of a topic is that there is a single post that contains the topic of discussion. The rest of the posts in the topic are replies to this first post and to other replies. Topics are sort of like conversations, allowing many people to state their opinions about an idea, or debate an issue.
- Forum
  - Sometimes, a forum is a container for topics. Directly under it members create topics and post replies.
  - Sometimes a forum is a collection of subforums. Under the subforums members create topics and post replies.

User basics

You are signed into foodclub and click the forums link and are asked to sign in

If you are a brand new member, be patient. Once you are accepted as a new user, it takes another hour or so for the food club software to give you access to the forums and wiki.
Else, this is almost always a user error. If you are signed into food club, you should not be asked to sign into the forums. Try logged out of food club, closing all browsers, deleteing all cookies, and then logging into food club again.

Subscribing to a daily or weekly forum digest

The new posts from all forums which you subscribe to are conveniently e-mailed to your inbox.
If you want to reply to one of the posts....
1. Click on the link in your e-mail.
2. If you are logged onto foodclub at the time, the link will take you directly to the forums.
3. If you are not logged on to foodclub at the time either
  1. Log into foodclub in another window and then click on the link again
  2. After you click on the link in your e-mail, you will get a log on screen for the forums. Your foodclub id and password should work, just remember everything is case sensitive.

Signing up - Easy method

Go to the DIGESTS top tab, and the BASICS left tab by clicking here.
- Select how often you would like to receive digests.
- Select Submit at the bottom of the page
Go to the DIGESTS top tab, and the FORUM SELECTION page by clicking here.
- Either check All or the various forums which you are interested in
- The advantage to checking All is that when a new source forum gets created, it will automatically be included in your digest. What sometimes confuses folks is that when checking all, you also get the forums from the software developer - "Disscussion" and "General Support". These forums contain questions that food clubs around the country ask. They will appear at the bottom of your digest and most folks ignore them.
- If you sure you will only be interested in specific forums, just check the ones you are interested in.
- Select Submit at the bottom of the page.

Signing up - If easy method doesn't work, continue here

If necessary, set your e-mail spam filters to allow phpbb-admin@foodclub.org
Sign into http://foodclub.org/gaithersburg or if you are with the Frederick group use http://www.foodclub.org/frederick/index. This will take you to our food club home page
Make sure your e-mail address in http://foodclub.org/gaithersburg -> User settings is correct
- phpBB will automatically use this address to send out its e-mails.
- If you update your User settings, phpBB will not receive your update for 24 hours.
- If necessary, you can view the e-mail which phpBB copied over in User Control Panel -> Profile -> Edit Account Settings -> E-mail address.
Select forums on your food club homepage. This will take you to our Nourishing Connections Food Club forums page
Click on user control panel in the top light blue bar. This will take you to a page titlied User Control Panel
On the horizontal tabs, click the right most tab digests. This will take you to a page where three options can be set
Set Type of digest wanted: The defaults for the other options are usually fine.
Click submit
On the vertical tabs, click the second one down, Forums Selection. This will take you to a page where all our forums are listed. There are many!
Select the forums you are interested in.
- Many members choose to select most of the forums. It's usually easier to select all, and then delete ones which you will have no interest in. The other advantage of selecting all is that for instance, when a new source forum is created, it will automatically appear in your digest
- Forums which you should probably ignore:
  - General support and Discussions (the last two forums) - The software developer uses this for his other food clubs, not us.
Click submit
If you subscribe to the daily digest, the subject line of the e-mail you receive will be "foodclub.org Daily Digest"
Notes:
- Do not use the subscribe forum or unsubscribe forum in the bottom blue box of each forum page.
  1. Before we had digests, we used this feature to help keep track of posts. The digest function is so much better.
  2. To get rid of any subscriptions you may have, go to user control panel --> overview --> manage subscriptions

Most Useful Features

Search
Search box is located in the upper right hand corner. If you remember a salmon recipe which someone shared long ago, put salmon in the search box and you'll quickly find the recipe.

Features not to use

Subscribe forum
At the bottom of each forum page there is a blue bar with "Subscribe forum". Do not check this. A much better way is to subscribe to the forums using the method described above.

Set time zone

Unfortunately every user will have to set this themselves, since there is no way for the server to know where each user is accessing it from. If this is not set, GMT is the default and the time stamps on your messages will be confusing.
To set:

Select User Control Panel -> Board preferences -> Edit global settings -> My timezone
While you are there also check that daylight aavings time is set correctly - e.g. "Summer Time/DST is in effect:"

Rules

You may occasionally promote your own business, website, workshops or products if it is in keeping with the NCFC goals.
Any claims you make here should be based on legitimate sources or be expressed as opinion, experience, or inquiry. You should remain on topic and be consistent with the theme of the discussion forum as a whole.
Messages sent are considered private within the group. No cross posting or other sharing of information without the authors permission.
Reply respectfully, no matter what you think of the view of those you're replying to.

Terms

Please remember per NCFC's disclaimer [LINK] that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this message board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact the moderators immediately by [using the "Report" feature on the post], or going here [LINK].

We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so within a reasonable timeframe if we determine that removal is necessary. You agree, through your use of this message board, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise in violation of any law. You agree to avoid posting any copyrighted material that is not referenced as such, properly attributed to the copyright holder and under 250 words (poems) or "up to 10% of a copyrighted work or 1,000 words, whichever is less" (per Fair Use, http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/copyright1.html) unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board.

Forums for Admins

Move topic

Sign in as an adminstrator to foodclub - Gaithersburg folks can use the gaithersburg login used by product coordinators.
Select Moderator Control Panel in the upper left of the forum you wish to moderate
Select "mark all"
Select "split selected items"
Select the forum you want them moved to

Additional info

For a user oriented guide to phpBB, see FAQ in the upper right corner of each screen.
* For an in-depth documentation of phpBB, see phpBB userguide

Using Wiki

Purpose

To help us organize, document and collaborate
Everyone in our food club in encouraged to contribute

User basics

Top right system options

Setting up your preferences

Click My Preferences in the upper right hand corner
Select date and time tab and fill in the offset time (You want to be able to see the real time when folks make edits)

Tabs appearing on each page

Official wiki page

The finished product

Discussion page

Talk, contravasory, and discussions about the main page.
All comments should be signed
It's possible comments should be categorized in TOC headings

Navigation box options

Recent changes

If you want to be notified via e-mail about changes: Click "watch", a tab at the top of the page; Be sure that your preferences are set correctly
If you want to go to the wiki and look at the recent changes: Click "recent changes" in the navigation box

Toolbox box options

Print screen

When printing, be sure to use the print in this box

Getting Started as an Editor

All about namespaces

Why they exist

Adi has lots of foodclubs across the country, and even a few international. It would be a mess if we all shared the same wiki space, thus Adi has carved it up.
- There is a main space where information pertaining to all food clubs is - http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/Main_Page
- There is also a space for each food club. In the case where there are a group of food clubs located geographically close together and sharing many of the same sources, the group of food clubs often chooses to share one name space. This is the case for the Gaithersburg, Frederick and Silver Spring chapters of the Nourishing Connections Food Club. - http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/NCFC:Home
- Food clubs across the country who have a common bond to the Weston Price Foundation often choose to communicate with each other, thus there is a country wide name space for them. http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/NCC:Home

The difference between "name space" and "name space talk"

The "name space" generally has all the pages for the club. When you click on any given page, you will see a "discussion" tab at the top. (This is designed exactly like MediaWiki) You have a page out there, and if a person want to say something/comment/improve on the page, they put their comments under "discussion". There is some moderator who coordinators and incorporates all the comments on the real page. Our membership agreement in the NCC namespace works this way.
When you click "discussion", it really takes you to the "name space talk".
The "name space" for NCC has edit access given to only a few folks. The "NCC talk" has edit access given to everyone.
Our complete user's manual is currently something we want to be edited by all. Thus we have put it in the "NCC talk" name space'

Going between them

Go to any wiki page
In the left hand toolbox click "Special pages"
Under "Lists of pages" click "all pages"
Here you will see a drop down box for "name space", select the name space you are interested in

Make sure your namespace has a homepage

This should be the very first page created
Type "http://foodclub.org/wiki/<your namespace>:Home" in your browser where you enter web addresses. This will take you to a screen where you can click "Create" for form your first page. All other pages in your namespace should link directly or indirectly to your home page.

Creating a new page

New pages must be created in <your namespace>
1. On the page which will link to your new page, type.
  - [[<your namespace>:title of page|title of page]] - Don't leave off that pipe character "|" though. That's essential.
  - The pipe character | is usually the "uppercase" version of backslash \.
  - A short cut would be to write [[<your namespace>:title of page|title of page]] -- The second title will get filled in automatically
2. Save the page
3. Click on the link you just created, this will take you to a new page where you hit create
Naming conventions
- The shorter the better
- Capitalize the first letter of the first word
- Choose name so the list of all names will be alphabetized respectively.

Editing

The most basic markups are the following characters in column 1

"*" (ordered lists)

"#" (Unordered lists)

":" indent

A blank line starts a new paragraph, thus something like

line1

line2

will get written as

line1line2 (not what you want)

To fix the above problem, either insert a blank line in between lines - or - physically put <br> at the end of a line where you want a break.

User's Guide for MediaWiki -- MediaWiki's help guide, contains a better overview.

Adding a website

Just write out the address, starting with http://, and a link will automatically be created

Uploading an image to use in the user's manual

Do a screenshot of whatever part of the foodclub page you want. Screenshot is an application on many computers, possibly it's under accessories
Save the screenshot on your computer. Name it something like 'screenshot - order page.png'. If everything starts with the word screenshot, it will be easier to upload later
Go to any wiki page and upload file
Go to the wiki exactly where you want to include the picture
Click the picture button in the editor
Start to type screenshot and all your options for upload will appear
Select the screenshot you are interested in
Right justify all images. If they have a white background, give them a border

Uploading an image to use in the database

Go to any wiki page and upload file
On the upload screen
- Select Source Filename
- Click Upload File
On the File screen
- Click on the name of your file to get the URL address which you inturn use in phpmyadmin

Uploading an image to use in a source page

Follow above directions for Uploading an image to use in the database
It just goes into a directory, and can be accessed either from:

http://foodclub.org/wiki/Image:<filename> (a page describing the image)

http://foodclub.org/w/images/<filename> (the image file itself)

If you wanted to embed an image in another page, you would use the second URL.

On the "info" page for the image (file), just right click the filename and choose "Copy Link Location". (Firefox) Then you can paste it wherever you want. "Copy Link Location" might be different in MSIE. Or, you can mouse-over the link and the actual image URL shows in the bottom status bar (of Firefox). But the first way is easier because you don't have to manually type out the URL that way.

Summary Comments

Any change must by summarized
Mark all typos as "minor edits", and the word "typo" suffices in the summary

Copyright issues

Cite recipes, etc. when copied
It's best to point to the source rather than copy the souce in

Finding out the existing pages in your namespace

Select Special pages under toolbox. (only admin users will have access to special pages)
Select "All pages".
Select the namespace you which to search. Most likely choices include:

<Your food club> talk

NCC (Nourishing Connections Community)

NCC talk

Foodclub

Foodclub talk

Going back to a previous revision or comparing revisions

Click HISTORY tab at the top of any wiki page
Read instructions

For Club Coordinators

Club coordinators should have super-admin authority. Only Adi can grant this. This allows them to
1. promote and demote admin users (you can only promote and demote levels below you)
To update your source homepage from your Google Doc yearly schedule (This is assuming you are set up like Gaithersburg NCFC)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GPLbEfv4hTyZDE_1ThmNaH0AkVkE_KsAeXm4eWEXrAU/edit?ts=594e5326

For Source Coordinator Coordinators

When the weekly update comes out, make sure all source coordinators of open sources actually have them open. Do not open the sources for the coordinators; call or email the coordinator and ask why the source is not open.
A day or two after a source is suppose to close, make sure that the source coordinators have actually closed their sources. If not, contact the source coordinator and ask them why.
About two days after delivery, make sure the source coordinators have archived their sources. If you find an unarchived source, contact the source coordinator and ask them why.
Be a point of contact for new source coordinators when they need help.

Template:FoodclubManual:RegionalSourceCoordinators

For Source Coordinators

Get source-admin access for your source on your regular food club user ID

Source-admin access can be granted by the following members: club coordinator(s), membership coordinator
With source-admin access, you will get additional buttons in your toolbar for sources which you have access to
- ORDER PROCESSING- used to view the final order sent to the source, perform invoices processing and generate invoices for the order placed, as well as, archive the order after the drop.
- SOURCE ADMIN - used to update the Source Home Page with new information about the source, as well as, update the Final Order shipping, delivery, and contact information.
- GLOBAL ADMIN - used to update the Welcome Email sent to new members, as well as, the Nourishing Connections Food Club Login Page. Source-admins do not see this.

Common instructions

When in doubt about something, ask your club coordinators

They like questions, and actually learn from them.
It's also better to deal with problems preventatively, rather than after they occur.

Get informed

Keep up with the source's products and prices. This usually means frequently checking the source's website or subscribing to their newsletters.
If the source web site supports RSS feeds, subscribe so that you can be aware of changes.
- Look at the very bottom of the website home page - in the footer you'll see an orange swirling icon
- Click the icon to "subscribe"
- An RSS viewer is already built-in most browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox.
- In Internet Explorer, if you click on your Favorites (the Star), you'll notice there are 3 tabs labeled, Favorites, Feeds and History. If you click on the "Feeds" tab you'll see your new RSS feed listed there. When you click on it in the Feed list, you'll see the latest articles without having to go to the website. Every time a new article is posted, it will automatically appear in the RSS Feed.
- If you use Firefox, RSS Feeds are treated just like bookmarks. They will appear in your Bookmark list with a symbol just like the one above (it may not be bright orange).
- You won't receive any email when you subscribe to an RSS feed. RSS feeds are offered by many websites and are there for your convenience. You can delete them just like you delete any Favorite or Bookmark.
Try to have personal contact with the source.
If you notice database errors, please e-mail the database administrator.

Subscribe to SOURCE Forum

Each SOURCE product coordinator must subscribe to the SOURCE forum and check them when new messages are posted to stay abreast on all SOURCE updates.
The forums will be used to discuss all pertanent information for the SOURCE, such as,
- Any issues with setting up new accounts with the SOURCE
- Coordinating regional SOURCE ordering, payment reimbursement, pickup, etc...
- Lessons learned on what is working well, and what isn't
- ...
To subscribe to the forums, following the directions at the top of the main forums page.

Inform food club members

Update the informaiton which appears on the source home page, make your suggestion in the SUPPORT forum for your source.
Use the forums and wiki to communicate with others as well

General Comments

When the user places an order, the price of the item in their shopping cart is the item price in the database at the time they placed the order. If we updated the database, their cart will still have the old price. If they want to see the correct price reflected in their cart (which is not necessary), they would have to delete the item and reenter it
The first time (in the cycle) the administrator goes to invoice processing, they read the current prices in the database, and will get the correct price for each member's invoice. If the database prices change after an initial round of invoice processing, it is necessary to re-read database prices while performing invoice processing.
As long as product codes don't change when the database it updated, things can be worked out when there are database changes. If product codes change, it is best to delete everyone's order and have them re-enter their orders.
Source coordinators work their way down the Order Processing row of buttons, e.g. the buttons are in chronological order

Update Final Order Invoices Headings

This just needs to be done once when you first take over the source
Update all final order delivery, shipping, product coordinator, and company contact information.

- Select a source from the drop-down box at the top of the screen.
- Go to 'Source Settings'
  - Scroll down to the 'Information displayed on the Final Order' section.
  - Update accordingly.

Open the order

Double check to make sure the database is accurate.
Unlock Order - If the order is not yet unlocked, select the source that you with to unlock from the drop-down selection box, and click the "Unlock Order" button on the 'Order Processing' row.
Email the group to announce that the [SOURCE] order cycle has OPENED and that the [SOURCE] will be closing at X:XX on Sunday.

Close the order

Lock order -- If the order is not yet locked, select the source that you wish to lock from the drop-down selection box, and click the 'Lock Order' button on the 'Order Processing' row.
Email the group to announce that the [SOURCE] order cycle has CLOSED.

Send in the order

Please note, that you do not have to send in the order the day the cycle ends, typically you will send the order in the next day.

Check order for reasonableness.
- Go to the 'Group Order' - Select the 'Group Order' link at the top of the page.
  - If the order involves splits, make sure they make sense, for example: Someone might order 2 cases of olive oil, when they probably meant to do a split request for 2 bottles of olive oil.
  - If some are "close", you might want to fill the split and put it as an 'extra' on the "extras table". Order the extras using the administrator id. This will make it clear (hopefully) that they are extras.
    - To 'fill the close splits', go to the 'Splits' page by clicking the 'Splits' link at the top of the page, and select 'request a split' for the items that you want to fill. When you are done filling close splits, go back to the group order by selecting 'Group Order' on your 'Personal' option row at the top of the page.
Once the Group Order looks 'ok', proceed to the Final Order.
Click the 'Final Order' link at the top of the page. The 'Final Order' link will be on your 'Invoice Processing' function row.
If the Final Order contact, delivery, shipping, and/or product coordinator information is incorrect, update accordingly. See Update Final Order Invoices in Help for instructions.
This is the final order that you will be emailing/calling-in/faxing/etc... to the source.
- To 'Email the Final Order' to the source, on the 'Final Order' page, go to File->Save Page As and save the final order as '[INSERT SOURCE NAME] Final Order'. Make sure that the 'Save As File Type' is HTML Only. Save the final order to your computer. This will be the final order that is attached to your email when emailing your order to the source.
  - When you submit the final order by e-mailing, please ask for a confirmation e-mail.
  - Verify Order, see 'Perform Invoice Processing' Instructions. Our total should match the total that the source gives you.
- To 'Call In the Final Order', while on the phone with the source:
  - Verify Order, see 'Perform Invoice Processing' Instructions. Our total should match the total that the source gives you.
  - Ask the supplier for free samples. They are usually happy to send them since it will probably help to increase their business.
  - Ask the supplier for any literature they have about their products or their company. We don't want to kill trees, but sometimes a catalog or a brochure telling about the product is useful.
  - Be sure to tell the company that you do not want your name rented, loaned, sold or shared with other entities, even affiliated companies.
  - Verify shipping/delivery information. Any food item to be shipped should go UPS. FedEx and USPS irradiate.
  - Verify billing information.
If shipping is additional, always pick the cheapest shipping option. If the source may not come in time for the drop date, please consult with the club coordinator(s) as the best way to handle the situation.
Double (and triple) check the ship to address. This is often the cause of errors. If the address is an apartment or building, please include apartment and suite numbers.

If your order is being picked up by someone else at another location

Send your final order to the person doing the pick-up so that they don't forget any items.

Perform Invoice Processing

The overall goal at the end of invoice processing is to ensure that you, the source coordinator, are being charged exactly what we are 'charging' our members in our foodclub.org database. So, if the grand total on our system is different from the final total the source provides you, then you need to identify what those variances are, either by talking to the company and/or reviewing the invoice that has been emailed to you. This is where you are able to update the order in our database to account for those variances, such as, out-of-stock items, price changes, shipping/delivery fees, etc...

Please note: If you emailed the order to the source, you will be able to verify the order using the confirmation email you receive back from the source. Hence, you may be able to perform invoice processing the day you place the order, depending on when you receive a confirmation email from the source. If the order is placed by phone, it is recommended to balance while you are on the phone with the source.

The following steps will be done on the 'Invoice Processing' page.

Select the source from the drop-down selection box.
Click on the 'Invoice Processing' link at the top of the page on the 'Order Processing' function row.

If the database has been updated since some of the orders have been placed:

Reread prices from database.

If necessary to make split substitutions:

Click the split row on Splits as admin, which takes you to the Split edit page.

Check and Apply Taxes:

*Please note that most items will NOT be taxed.

Check to see if any of the items are taxed. If some of the items are taxed, the tax can be applied now, during "Invoice Processing".
- If all items are taxed, click the 'Toggle Tax On All Items' link to the right of the page.
- If only certain items are taxed, under the 'Apply Tax' column, click the check boxes for the items that are taxed

Check For 'Out-Of-Stock' Items:

If an item did not come in due to an error with the order and/or beign out-of-stock, click the check box under the 'Out of Stock' column next to the item that did not come in.

Check For 'Returned for Refund' Items:

If an item was returned for a refund, click the check box under the 'Returned for Refund' column next to the particular item.

Verify All Item Quantities Were Ordered

The 'Do' buttons under the 'Separate by Item' column allow you to break an item apart into separate rows for each single quantity of the item. This would be useful in situations, such as, part of the item ordered being out-of-stock, or part of it being returned for refund, or some quantities of the item having different prices than others.
- By clicking the 'Do' button, you will be able to update the item to reflect necessary changes.

Verify Prices:

Verify prices - if the prices on your confirmation email and/or invoice received with the order are different than what is on the source 'Invoice Processing' Page, do the following:
- Enter the actual price in the 'Actual Price' field for the items with different prices.
  - This may occur if the items ordered in the database do not reflect the current month's 'Sale' prices. Hence, we update the prices to reflect the sale prices before printing the invoices.

If necessary add shipping fees

Please note: Before adding shipping fees in the system, ensure that all other invoice processing has been done (out-of-stock items identified, changes in product prices, etc...) and that the total cost in our system matches the total cost the PC is being charged (minus shipping fees). This will help in troubleshooting, to know that the system was reconciled before applying the shipping costs.

Prorating shipping charges according to weight

If Total dry weight appears on the invoice processing page, you can (almost automatically) prorate the shipping charges to each member based on the weight of the items they purchased. (see screenshot below)

[[File:]]

To do so, you will need the following pieces of information (found on the shipping invoice), the TOTAL SHIPPING COST and the TOTAL DRY WEIGHT.
Go to the Invoice Processing page.

Use the TOTAL SHIPPING COST and TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT to calculate the 'Dry Item Shipping Rate' on the Invoice Processing page.
- 'Dry item shipping rate' = TOTAL SHIPPING COST/TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT
Verify that the 'Gross dry ship weight' for each item is complete. Sometimes the system will prepopulate these fields. Verify that they are correct, and that all items on the invoice processing page have a 'Gross dry ship weight'. You can do this by one of 2 ways:
- Get the weights from the shipping invoice, or
- Weigh one bottle/jar/etc... of each like product to determine the 'Gross dry ship weight' for each product. You will NOT need to weigh the entire case of items. Just one product of each item ordered. The system will calculate the total weight of the case based on the weight of a single product.
- Enter the 'Gross dry ship weight' for each product into our system.
- IMPORTANT: The 'Gross dry ship weight' is in pounds. Please ensure that you are working in pounds and not ounces. Use the following conversion.
  - If given the weight in ounces, do the following calculation to convert it to pounds:
  - GROSS DRY SHIP WEIGHT (IN POUNDS) = WEIGHT OF PRODUCT IN OUNCES/16
  - Quick Reference Table: Ounce to Pound conversion:
    - 0.5 oz = 0.03125 pounds
    - 1 oz = 0.0625 pounds
    - 2 oz = 0.125 pounds
    - 3 oz = 0.1875 pounds
    - 4 oz = 0.25 pounds
    - 5 oz = 0.3125 pounds
    - 6 oz = 0.375 pounds
    - 7 oz = 0.4375 pounds
    - 8 oz = 0.5 pounds
    - 9 oz = 0.5625 pounds
    - 10 oz = 0.625 pounds
    - 11 oz = 0.6875 pounds
    - 12 oz = 0.75 pounds
    - 13 oz = 0.8125 pounds
    - 14 oz = 0.875 pounds
    - 15 oz = 0.9375 pounds
    - 16 oz = 1 pound
Check the 'Total dry weight' at the bottle of the Invoice Processing page to ensure that it matches the TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT on the shipping invoice.
- If the two weights are not the same, verify that the 'Gross dry ship weight' is correct for all products.
- If the 'Gross dry ship weight' is confirmed/correct for each product, the difference may be the weight of packaging materials.
- Adjust the 'Dry item shipping rate' accordingly to get the 'Total dry weight' to match the TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT on the shipping invoice.
- To do so, do the following:
  - Determine the PACKAGING WEIGHT:
  - PACKAGING WEIGHT = TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT - 'Total dry weight'
  - Then, subtract the PACKAGING WEIGHT from the TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT to get the TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT NOT INCLUDING PACKAGING.
  - TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT NOT INCLUDING PACKAGING = TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT - PACKAGING WEIGHT
  - Then, determine the 'Dry item shipping rate' to cover the cost of the entire shipment including packaging
    - New 'Dry item shipping rate' = TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT NOT INCLUDING PACKAGING/TOTAL SHIPPING COST
    - Enter this new value in the 'Dry item shipping rate' field on the Invoice Processing page.
    - Verify that the 'Total dry weight' = TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT
    - If the same, you're done!

Prorating a fee according to dollar amount spent

Fixed fee / Grand invoice total for the source = x
Put x in All-user percent fee (this is on the INVOICES page) - do not round. Even through it looks like the number got truncated, it did not.
Put description of fee in comment box.
Click Add all-user percent fee

Click the "Save prices entered" or the "Save Prices Entered and Show Invoices" button.

This will take you to a page where you can add shipping/transportation fees.
- If the order has a shipping and handling charge, it is usually divided evenly among those who have ordered for that source. If it doesn't divide evenly, the extra pennies can be added onto the largest order.
- If there is a transportation fee, it is often a percentage of each person's order

Send invoices to all users before the drop

Often it is nice to send a custom message with the invoice, just click 'E-mail invoices with above custom message'

When the order arrives

Select the source from the drop-down selection box.
Perform Invoice Processing again.
Either click "Save Priceses Entered and Show Invocies" button at the bottom of the 'Invoice Processing' page, or if you did not have to perform invoice processing again, you can go straight to the invoices, by clicking the 'Invoices' link at the top of the page on the 'Invoice Processing' function row.
Invoices will have been generated from performing invoice processing for all orders (which should have already been done, if not see Perform Invoice Processing .
To view the invoices for all member's orders, scroll down the page on the 'Invoices' page.
To add any shipping and/or delivery fees, use the 'All-User Fixed fee' box and/or 'All-user percentage fee' box and click the appropriate 'add fee' button to add the fees to all invoices.
Balance (Total from the source invoice should match member invoices)
Print Invoices. Click "Printer friendly Summary Page and Individual Invoices" and print it using your browser's print command. This will print each person's bill on a separate piece of paper
Sort prior to the meeting if at all possible
- For large orders, it is usually best to use "Group Order" to sort products. "Group order" can be sorted by column headings to make sorting even easier.
- For orders involving splits, the "Group order" is used to see how a given split should be divided
Possibly email members when the invoices are ready. You may want to include information about pick up such as who to make their check payable to.

If you get exta items

If they are just samples (small sizes that will not sell for any money), they may be given to those in the order or given to food club members who would like them.
If they are actual products that can be sold...
- The products should be sold at the same price which members must pay if they order them. The money made from this will go to the general food club treasury.
- If this is a regional order, and the source sends one extra product, it will go to the chapter with the biggest dollar order. If the source sends two products, and their are two chapters involved, one product will go to each chapter.

At the drop

Bring orders and source summary page to the meeting. If you can't be there on time, please drop the products off early or have someone else bring them to the meeting. If you are running late, please call the host site.
Collect checks
Hand out the order and have members check their order for accuracy.
Have members initial the master order to signify they have checked their order and it is good.

After the drop

Balance (checks received should match member invoices)
If the source requires prepayment...
- The checks go directly to the person who charged the amount
If the source will accept individual checks after delivery...
- Mail checks in one envelope the day following delivery
- Label envelope clearly
  - The front of the envelope should include "Attn: [name of contact]"
  - The back of the envelope should say "Re: [day/date] order from "food club name"
If the source requires one check from the group after delivery...
- The day after delivery take the individual checks for deposit, and write one check from your personal account.
  - In the memo section of the check, write "food club name" and the order/invoice number
- Label envelope clearly
  - The front of the envelope should include "Attn: [name of contact]"
  - The back of the envelope should say "Re: [day/date] order from "food club name"
Archive order- (Should be done within a few days after delivery. If the order is not archived by the next order cycle, your source will appear on the invoice summary for the next round and this is not what we want.)
- Users have come to expect that they can see their current invoice under "invoices" until the time that they pick up. For this reason, archival is done the day after delivery.
- Occasionally a check comes in after the drop date. Some source coordinators perfer to wait to archive the source until all payment is received.
- Archival steps
1. Go to any foodclub page for your source
2. Select "Archive Order" and confirm your intent when asked.
3. Select wether you want to unlock the order after archiving or keep the order locked. If you know the database is up to date, the order can stay unlocked and members can be allowed to start the new order cycle. If the database changes weekly, lock the order until the database for the next cycle is ready
- Anything that goes into the archive can be viewed with "Archives"

Regional sources

These are sources where a single food club chapter does not have enough orders to meet the minimum order for the source. Usually two food club chapters will pool their orders together to meet the minimum order for the source.
Steps
1. One chapter takes the lead
2. Each chapter opens their respective source
3. Each chapter closes their respective source
4. All chapters e-mail their final order to the lead. Using the forums is always best as there is a record.
5. The lead puts each chapters final order into their chapter's order - usually with a dummy id created for this purpose
6. The lead computes invoices, and e-mails the amount owed to the non-lead chapters. If the invoice is received on-line, that should be e-mailed to the non-lead chapters as well. This is done as soon after the products are received as possible. Sometimes problems arise and the most time we have to work them out, the better.
7. The non-lead chapters must then brake down the invoices for individual members and do their own invoice processing. Double checking each other's invoices is always a good thing.
8. The lead coordinator is responsible for having items at a designated point at a designated time, so that the transportation to the non-lead chapters will work.
9. If your source is being picked up by someone, send them an e-mail telling them exactly what to pick up. When your transported source arrives, be there for pick up and sorting.
10. The non-lead chapter will usually send one check to the lead chapter after delivery - It's possible the non-lead chapter will have to send the check sooner if the lead chapter coordinator will be out a significant amount of money.

Source Specific Instructions

Ancient Minerals

Each club should call Ancient Minerals to set up their own wholesale account
Call or e-mail the order in
They are in CA and ship the day the order is placed. They suggest we allow five business days.
Be sure to specify the number of free samples you want. They are generous and throw a lot in, but you pay shipping
Probably specify that you don't need the brochures. The information is all available on their website, and again, you pay the shipping.

Bio Age

Place orders online at www.BIOAGE.com, email orders to sales@bioage.com, fax to 716-312-1677, or call 877-288-9116

BuyActivatedCharcoal

Calling in the order usually works best. They can be a little flexible if we don't meet the minimums.

C. Crane

Any operator can help with bulk order; they’ll just need to talk with Laylah, the discount person, about what they can offer.
Laylah, C.Crane—Group Discounts (800) 522-8863

Chelsea Green

Our contact is Sue Miller. Mid-Atlantic & New England Sales Manager (585) 637-3887 phone & fax
E-mail the order directly to Sue Miller. Placing it on-line will not give you the discount. smiller@chelseagreen.com
Turnaround time is great. If you place an order in the morning, it will be shipping in the afternoon. UPS time will be only 2 - 3 days.
Two seasons of new books (Spring and Fall)
As a retail speciality account, your discount schedule is:

TRADE NON-RETURNABLE
1-4 copies 35% ALWAYS PREPAY
5-9 copies 45%
10+ copies 50%

As a new account, you can prepay with a credit card or we can prepare a pro-forma invoice for you to send a check, whichever works for you. Attached to this email is our standard credit application if you wish to establish 30-day net terms with us. You will also be billed for the shipping.

Courtney's transportation fee

Usually at the end of the month drop we will have Courtney bringing down regional sources.
How to compute

Go to combined invoices on our source home page
Manually compute money owed by each member
Enter this amount on the Courtney's transportation fee source and e-mail invoices so that all members who owe Courtney a transportation fee will be reminded to bring a check for Courtney.

Disaster Stuff

See source homepage for instructions
Mention that you are part of the food club which previous orders were under Sally Zimmermann

DoTerra

See any distributor - Meimuma Garad, Gaithersburg NCFC member

Dublin Roasters'

None, currently. As we order from them, we will add any specific instructions that are not on the source main page.

Esch Family Farm

Esch Family Farms will open 11 days before the drop it will be delivered, and close 9 days before the drop it will be delivered.
The Product Coordinator calls John Esch to see what he has available to our food club for the upcoming drop 13 days before the drop.
- When talking to John, ask him what varieties he has available, if they are 1sts or seconds, and what the price per box will be.
Update the Database with the offerings.
Unlock the source for ordering once the database is updated on Friday.
Lock the order cycle when ordering is finished on Sunday.

Once the order cycle is 'LOCKED', the order should be place over the phone. John Esch does not have email/fax. Use the contact information found on the Esch Family Farms source page.
You will most likely have to leave a message with the entire order on the voice mail, but if you are able to reach John when calling, make sure to verify the prices for each of the products while you are talking with him. And, ask if any of the items are out-of-stock. This information will be used during 'Invoice Processing'.
For a Monday delivery of apples or pears, John would like a phone call by the prior Tuesday (7 days before the drop it will be delivered).
Mail payments to:
Sunny Crest Pastures
John & Anne Esch
3470-B W Newport Rd
Ronks, PA 17572

FEDCO

Order must be faxed in.

Fresh and Local CSA

The Frederick updates the database Friday before 6:00 pm
Source opens the Friday before delivery.
Order should be e-mailed to Allan Sunday night.
- Do invoice processing, and then select "Printer friendly summary page and individual invoices - printing in landscape mode is recommended". This makes it nicely formatted
- Copy and paste our invoices from our system into an email and sent them to him at allan.balliett@gmail.com.
Allan will pre-sort orders.
Send one check to Fresh and Local CSA the day after the drop. Check made out to "Maura Balliett" and mailed to her at POB 3047 Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Frog Eye Farm

Owner - Jennifer Mills 240-500-2615 cell/301-788-7049
Sister - Tracy Racheff (I think we are suppose to use Tracy for placing orders) cell/301.524.1395 This number receives text messages too
tracy.racheff@gmail.com
E-mail/text farm to place order anytime Sunday night after order closes at 9:00pm.
Drop time at Frederick is flexible, but usually between 9 and 9:30.
Mail payment the day after delivery - doesn't matter if one check or multiple checks. Gaithersburg has their members make their checks payable directly to "Frog Eye Farm"

Frontier

How to initially set up your account so that you can place orders with Frontier

You must set up a wholesale account on Frontier's wholesale website. Even though we do not order through Frontier's wholesale software (we use Foodclub), we still have to input four emails to Frontier's wholesale software system. These people will get notified to set up a Frontier wholesale account, but they can ignore the invitation.
- You must give your social security number in order to set up an account. This is because our purchases earn rebates and the rebates must be reported for tax purposes. In 2009 Gaithersburg NCFC received a $50 rebate check from Frontier. To avoid dealing with the taxes, we choose not to cash the check. According to Frontier, if the check is not cashed within 60 days, the amount is not reported to the IRS and the money is donated to worthy charities.
- There is a $10 fee member fee which is refundable when you close the account. For ease of book keeping, the person who sets up the account simply pays the $10 fee, and when they close the account, they get their money back.
- Each drop site has their own account. The name of the account should be [drop site] Nourishing Connections Food Club.
- The person who sets this up has access to the Frontier wholesale site [https://wholesale.frontiercoop.com https://wholesale.frontiercoop.com].

How the Frontier foodclub database gets updated each month

Frontier updates their information on the first working day of each month.
- Frontier's Excel sheet - See http://www.frontiercoop.com/catalog/ or log into your wholesale account --> click Resources in the upper right --> click Frontier Excel Catalog
- Frontier's list of sale prices - log into your wholesale account --> click Resources in the upper right --> click Current Sale Prices csv
Adi runs his script which then updates our database.
By the second working day of the month, the database should be updated with monthly sale prices, new items, and general price updates.
However, it is possible for this process not to work. When we go to the Frontier order page, the date at the top should be for the current month. If not, we usually e-mail folks to try to figure out what happened. Usually someone forgot to do something.

Special Frontier steps for placing the order

Look over the group order.
- Sometimes a bulk herb is split and someone orders a smaller size not realizing the split was there. Usually the order for the smaller size can be accommodated in the split. Before changing anything, check with the person in case they had a specific reason for doing it that way.
Under invoice processing use the submit order button. This takes the food club order and puts it in a saved shopping carts on the Frontier website. You can then make the shopping cart active and place the order on Frontier's website. This eliminate data entry problems, of which we've had a few.

Steps the product coordinator must following each month to place the order

http://foodclub.org/w/images/How_to_submit_a_Frontier_Order.docx
It can he helpful to perform invoice processing as the order is submitted.
Once the order is submitted it will usually be about 24 hours until the order is packed. When it is packed and shipped, you should receive an e-mail invoice with exactly what has been shipped. Double check the total to make sure everything still balances. It's possible something could go out of stock between when you placed the order and when it shipped.
Usually I just archive the order when the database is ready to unlock, and this can be performed in one easy step. Some clubs have allowed the recurrent order feature for this source. The way it works is everything gets archived, yet the order still remains in the users "cart". This can lead the product coordinator to think that the archive didn't work correctly when in fact it worked perfectly.

Other userful information

Bugs along the way are possible. First contact your group coordinator to see if it is a user error. If not, and we suspect a software error, we contact Adi. If we suspect it is Frontier's error we send an e-mail to customercare@frontiercoop.com. If we get no where, we contact Brittany Miller, Frontier's web specialist, x1616 brittany.miller@frontiercoop.com.

Sorting the products

After the order is placed, it is delivered to the person who placed the order or another person who will do the sorting. It is usually a good idea to be around when Fed Ex delivers. If not, you can leave Fed Ex a note telling them where to leave the boxes. You might want to ask Fed Ex to leave the boxes around back or some place out of plain view.

Then you have to have the order sheet printed out telling who gets what. That's the Frontier Group Order.

The boxes are packed with smaller boxes or plastic bags with items and enclosed with completely environmentally friendly peanut-type packing materials. This is kind of a pain, but you should put all that packing material in a big garbage bag and take it to either one of the places that does mailing for people.

Then open up all the boxes and bags and set everything out where you can see it.

From there it's kind of your choice how to proceed. Some like to do each person's order separately - make sure you have it all packed up together and that person's name on it before starting another order. You can check off each thing as it is put where it belongs. Frontier sends lots of things in boxes, so you have some to work with there - also you can use the bags they group things in. You may want to try to save containers that come my way in case they will come in handy.

Frankferd

Monday (8 days prior to delivery)

Note, when a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas is approaching, Frankferd may shift their delivery day to Monday instead of Tuesday. If we still want to order, we have to back up the cycle a bit.
Lock order
Browse group order
- Determine if any splits should be filled and sold at the extras table. (usually not recommended, as it complicates things)
- Determine if it makes sense to order a larger size or smaller size of something. If a split didn't fill and the items can be ordered in a smaller size for less than 20% more, you may choose to do this.
- Look for anomalies, folks do find bugs.
Frankferd wants the product list coming in sorted alphabetically by product code. Until Adi makes a software change, jump to step 6.
Sort Group Order according to product code:
- Sort the Group Order in Excel - This is a 'temporary solution' while we are awaiting a 'fix' and the foodclub system will allow for sorting the group order by 'Code'.
  - Go to the 'Group Order' on the foodclub systyem.
  - Select all column headers and line items in order, and 'ctrl-c' to copy.
  - Open up MS Excel, and do a 'Paste Special', selecting 'Text' so that you only copy the text.
  - Expand columns as necessary to see all the information.
  - Remove member's names from the spreadsheet and 'delete' the column that has the member's names.
  - Highlight all of the data, and do a 'Custom Sort' by 'Code'. This will sort the data by 'Code'.
  - Make sure to remove lines in the Excel file with 'Qty' of '0'. This is the unfilled split, and should be removed from the Excel file group order. Hightlight the row and delete it from the file.
  - Make sure that the prices are all formatted to display 2 digits past the decimal (for example...$2.99). To format the prices, select the column for the prices so that all the prices in that column are highlighted, and right-click in that selection, and select 'Format Cells'. Then, select 'Currency', and ensure that the 'Decimal Places' field is set to '2', and select 'Ok'.
  - Now the group order, will be nicely sorted by code.
It is best to send the Group Order instead ofFinal Order to Frankferd because it has all the prices for each product being ordered. Because Frankferd does not update their price lists on their website on a monthly basis, we need to provide them with what we believe the cost of the item is, so that they can let us know if there are any cost differences. However the Group Order has unfilled splits which need to be deleted.
Click Printer Friendly Version and email group order to order@frankferd.com. In the email to Frankferd, let them know that you would like them to verify the prices of the items, and get back to you with price differences, a new final total (so that you can get it to match ours in our database), as well as, the # of line items in their order. The # of line items that they give you, should match our '# of Line Items In Stock' on our Invoice Processing page. All of these pieces of information should match what we have in our Frankferd database, after you incorporate any changes through the Invoice Processing page.
Copy the Group Order to an Excel sheet and sort on product code. Use this to mail to order@frankferd.com. In the email to Frankferd, let them know that you would like them to verify the prices of the items, and get back to you with price differences, a new final total (so that you can get it to match ours in our database), as well as, the # of line items in their order. The # of line items that they give you, should match our '# of Line Items In Stock' on our Invoice Processing page. All of these pieces of information should match what we have in our Frankferd database, after you incorporate any changes through the Invoice Processing page.
You should receive an e-mail from Frankferd Farms thanking you for your order. When they have actually processed your order, they call you. If you do not receive a confirmation email or phone call within 2 days of placing the order, call Frankferd to make sure that they received your order.

Tuesday (7 days prior to delivery)

Frankferd should process your order and call you within 24 hours of your initial e-mail. If not, please call them at 1-724-352-9500
While on the phone with them, do initial invoice processing (Mark out-of-stock items and update any out of date prices)-
If any items are more than 20% higher in price, do not order them and mark them as out-of-stock on invoice processing.
E-mail those that ordered them and ask if they still want them. Say in the e-mail that if they do not respond positively with one day then the items will not get ordered.
Divide the $3.00 transportation fee by the number of folks who ordered. On invoice processing add the appropriate amount to each persons order.

Wednesday (6 days prior to delivery)

E-mail Frankferd with any items where the price jumped more than 20%, that folks still want. Please note that when you do this, there may be an additional $3.00 fee added each time you call in to add items to your order.
Also, remove the out-of-stock check on invoice processing for these items, since the members did want the items, regardless of the price increase.

Thursday (5 days prior to delivery)

Our real deadline is that we must call in the order Thursday before delivery . At this time, we must have met the minimum group order.

Friday (4 days prior to delivery)

We can add last minutes items through Friday (although this is not advertised as it would make our job more complicated.)
These items will be billed separately, and the person ordering is responsible for the additional $3.00 fuel/packing fee.
Tuesday (Delivery day)

Some prices will not match those that were quoted on the phone. This is because they do not always ship exactly the poundage which we order. We might receive 6 pounds of raisins when we ordered 5. Figure out how to update the invoices. Folks are all fine with getting a little bit more or a little bit less. The marked up sheet that comes with the order should be very helpful in pointing out these discrepancies.
Send e-mail to those who ordered, print invoices and prepare payment envelope.

Monday (the day before delivery)

Can call Frankferd and get exact quantities, prices and O/S items so that balanceing is trivial on delivery day
Print simple sorting sheet and individual invoices

Tuesday (delivery day)

Receive two yellow receipts - The first one is all marked up and the most useful, only the total includes out-of-stock items. It contains the following information:
- Empty circle - item is coming from the mill, not the warehouse. Warehouse items are packed in the boxes, milled items come down in separate bags. .
- Circle with O/S inside - item is out-of-stock.
- Number - indicates which box the item is in. Boxes are numbered starting at one.
- Box number followed by "F" - means that there is frozen food in that box.
The second recipt has an accurate total amount.

Wednesday (day after delivery)

Deposit all checks
Sometimes an item is missing that supposedly came down. Just put a note in with the payment indicating what happened, and deduct the appropriate amount from the payment.
Mail one check to Frankferd Farms for payment of order. Include order number on check and mail to the address on the invoice

Frankferd Farms Foods, Inc. 717 Saxonburg Blvd. Saxonburg, PA. 16056

If someone mistakenly wrote their check to Frankferd Farm instead of the source coordinator, that's O.K. You can sent two checks in the envelope. Just clearly indicate what's going on.

Product/order questions 1-724-352-9500

T. Lyle, owner t.lyle@frankferd.com
Database will have to be updated month, to include sale prices
Frankferd adds new items each month. One member is assigned to go over all the new items and determine which new items we want to add. (We have a big include list which Scott goes off of) Right now, they e-mail me the list of items to be included.
Farming/livestock items are updated yearly in January
Gaitherburg, Silver Spring and Frederick are on the MD route. They make deliveries every 4th Tuesday.

Friedman Family Fisheries

Contact info

     Avi J. Friedman
     6109 Pimlico Rd
     Baltimore, MD 21209
     410-358-3008
     triplef@qis.net

About the source

Avi sends out periodic e-mails. Source coordinators (and anyone who is interested) should ask to be added to his e-mail list. If folks are interested, we could post the e-mails on our source page if people are interested. In addition to his products, he talks at length about his fishing adventures.
Avi keeps a small supply of salmon at his home. Most of his salmon is wearhoused at a location near by, so sometimes he will need notice so he can pick up from his warehouse to fill an order.
Sometimes (every few months?) Avi bring his salmon to Shelley's (his sister-in-law?). It is sometimes easier for us to pick up at her house than in Baltimore

4108 Ingomar St. NW
Chevy Chase, MD 20015
202-364-0740

Before you open the source

Talk to Avi and let the database coordinator know which products he is currently out of stock of. Usually he is out of stock of the smaller size whole sockeye salmon and king salmon.

Placing the order

Call Avi directly, usually two or more days before pick up (Sometimes he allows the night before).
Volunteer to e-mail him the Group Order - he does not want the Final Order because it does not contain names, and he will sort the products for each customer and provide hand written bills for each customer.

Pick up

He has pick up any time from his home in Baltimore
Sometimes he delivers to his sister-in-law's in Chevy Chase. If that is the case, pick up must be on a specific date which he sends out in an e-mail

Payment

Members make their payment directly to Avi Friedman. The source coordinator puts the checks in a single envelope and mails them directly to Avi.

Garden Spot

We must sent our order in by 3:00pm the Friday before delivery.

Great Lakes Gelatin

Call to set up an account folder in the name of your food club.
Call in the group order. It doesn't matter who you talk to, they will simply get your folder. E-mail is not recommended as your credit card information won't be secure
They try to ship the same day - unless they are overwhelmed with orders. To ship to Maryland usually takes about 4 days.
To prorate shipping
- Take the total shipping cost and divide by Total dry weight (at the bottom of invoice processing)
- Enter this number in Dry item shipping rate:____(price per unit weight: same weight units as gross dry ship weights below)
- When entering number use as many decimal places as possible so that you will balance to the nearest penny
- When you get to the invoices page, double check to see that the total shipping amount that you will be collecting is the same as the total shipping you were charged.

Green Pastures

Orders can be place on their website or phoned in. If you have questions, it is easier to phone the order in. Sometimes, special sale pricing is only available on internet orders.
- To place internet orders, you must log into the site... Go to the Green Pastures home page, Click "Non-retail buyers", then select "group buyers". You will need a your "User Name or Email" and also your password
If GP says an item is out of stock, select Out of Stock (box/column to the right of the item) on the Invoice Processing page and email group to let those who ordered know what to how they can adjust their orders if possible. Since this is a health support item, those who order are counting on having this item on hand and not getting surprised. They may be willing to substitute another CLO flavor if that's available. Fastest way is to call them and see.
Shipping and handling is divided by number of orderers and adding during "invoice processing"
GP shipments usually take 5-7 business days to arrive. If I'm cutting it close, I mention when I need the order by, and they do their best to have it shipped that day.
Wholesale accounts and bulk purchasing of 12 items both receive the same pricing. The advantage of a wholesale account is that Dave plans to have a once a year special on something for wholesale accounts. So we have set up a wholesale account under the name of Nourishing Connections Food Club.
If seems that for every 12 items we order, we get a free item. It's to your advantage to get a bottle of butter oil as it is the most expensive item. Most clubs turn around and sell it to a member at cost. Some clubs use the money to pay GP shipping for all who ordered. Some clubs put the money into their general treasury.

House in the Woods

Ilene has a log in id for each food club she serves
She updates the database, opens the source, closes the source, and prepares invoices
Source coordinator - Sunday evening (around 6:00) - E-mail members of the food club the list of open splits - this usually generate a little more business
Each food club member makes their checks payable to House in the Woods
Source coordinator - mails all checks on the day following the drop. The address is on the source home page.

International Nutrition

Regional Source

Setting up the source for a new food club

Call International Nutrition to confirm the ordering/pricing/shipping information on the source home page
Ask if there is anything else necessary to set up an account

Current procedures for International Nutrition (as of September 2010)

Monday after source closes

Individual Chapter Product Coordinators must email their chapter's order to the Regional Product Coordinator Monday morning after the source closes. They should also post the order to the appropriate forum for a record.
Chapter Product Coordinators must also complete invoice processing for their chapter and send a check for the entire chapter's order to the Regional Product Coordinator the Monday after the source closes. Product Coordinators will collect reimbursement from their members.
Orders will be shipped to Gaithersburg location. Product Coordinators may pick up their products at the quarterly meeting or make other arrangements for pickup.

Background Information

Since International Nutrition is located in Maryland, if you live in Maryland, you can order one day and receive your products UPS the next day.
Because the average order is usually $1000, we usually wait to order until a few days before the meeting. This way someone can charge it and not have an outstanding balance for very long, since they receive payment at the meeting.

Karmalades

E-mail is the usual preferred method of communication; however, she can also be reached via phone 202-413-3099

Keswick

To place your order:

Email your order to cheese@keswickcreamery.com with a cc: to markandmeldc@gmail.com
Confirm the order by calling or texting Mark on his cell phone at 717-440-4652

Orders must be placed the 8 days before delivery, that Monday. For example, if we are expecting Keswick at the 8/31 drop, orders must be sent into Keswick 8 days before, on 8/23. Keswick will be delivering the orders on the Sunday before the drop, in this example, 8/29.

To process the Keswick invoices by weight

Log in with your Admin credentials
Go to the Keswick "Splits" page
Click on the "change" link next to the item you're working on
Change the size to the decimal weight of the cheese, multiplied by 100. For example, if the cheese wheel weighs 9.97 pounds, you will enter 997 as the size.
Change the price to the actual price of that wheel of cheese (or tub of feta)
Enter each person's cheese part weight under Max Qty, multiplied by 100. For example, if the part weighs .65 pounds, enter 65.
Click "Update Split" to save your work.
Repeat as needed for additional split, by-weight items in the order
When finished, proceed to the "Invoices" page to finalize and send out the invoices.

Legacy Manor Farm

General
Order minimum - $300.00 across all three chapters. There are some non-food club members who order from Katherine, and their order can count towards our min.
For delivery day emergencies Sam can be reached at 301-573-2161
Each club needs a LMF coordinator.
Forums are the preferred method of communication as there is a record. Private emails may be appropriate in some situations.
All forum posts and emails should be answered within 24 hours.
LMF and NCFC will divide the responsibility of managing this source, as described below.
LMF Responsibilities
Subscribe to LMF forum.
Updates the database by 5 pm the Friday before the delivery.
Notifies entire NCFC group (ncfc@foodclub.org) of any delays or problems with the database or delivery.
Locks all group's orders no earlier than 9 pm Sunday night, although may leave it open until Monday morning.
Notifies entire NCFC group if the source needs to close early for any reason.
Fills orders Tuesday morning.
Katherine performs invoice processing and emails invoices to all customers, after Sam has left for delivery.
Invoicing processing and emailing must be completed by 3 pm.
Checks are cashed within two weeks of being received.
If there is an payment issue, LMF should contact the customer directly by email. If the issue is not resolved, LMF should contact the appropriate product coordinator and club coordinator. NCFC will work to ensure proper payment, following club procedures.
NCFC Responsibilities
Product coordinators subscribe to LMF Forum.
Emily sends an email reminder at least three days before the source opens.

Each LMF product coordinator opens the source for their chapter Friday evening.
NOTE: Responsibility for opening the source will shift to LMF once features to foodclub are released)
Individual checks should be made payable to Legacy Manor Farm
Product coordinators collect checks for each chapter.
Product coordinators mail their chapter's checks to LMF within 4 days of pickup. The invoice summary sheet should be included, with any revisions and discrepencies noted.

    Legacy Manor Farm
    17758 Bakersville Rd.
    Boonsboro, MD 21713

NCFC members that fail to pick up on time are responsible for mailing their check directly to LMF.
Product coordinators are responsible with making sure members who didn't pick up understand the procedures for payment.
Product coordinators archive the orders after pickup.
NCFC will address any issues reported by LMF, following the guidelines specified in NCFC's policy documents.
For delivery day emergencies, Sam can be reached on his cell phone, 301-573-2161

Questions - how is the database updated? Manually? Spreadsheet

Lummi Island Wild

The larger the order, the less per pound we pay in shipping.
Please do not attempt to place a food club order on-line. E-mail info@lummiislandwild.com to place an order and to discuss exact dates and cost. Say that you are with Nourishing Connections Food Club. The e-mail will go to Dave
It might make the most sense to place the order through Tamara - 301-502-8343 (a local middleman)

New Morning Farm

One person for NCFC
- Call 814.448.3904 on Friday a.m. before the Tuesday delivery to get the latest availability, size and prices. Ask to talk to Shirley
- Update our database by 5:00 p.m.
Each drop site
- Call to place the order early Monday morning. If you call between 8 and 9 am, they always seem to be there to pick up the phone, and this gives them enough time to process your order.
- Once we e-mailed the order in and didn't call. We learned they don't check e-mail that often, and we didn't get our order that week.
- 22263 Anderson Hollow Rd, Hustontown, PA, 17229 ~ 814.448.3904 ~ Jim@newmorningfarm.net

Maine Coast Sea Vegetable

Allow 10 - 14 business Days to process order plus shipping time (Maryland is a 2 day ship). Most of our other sources don't required this long of a processing time, but they mean what they say, so order early.
We receive an e-mail when products are shipped
New prices lists comes annually, in August. Although prices my be changed without notice.
Plan around the annual August shut down when MCSV folks all take vacation. Usually they stop accepting orders around July 15th, and don't start taking them again until Sept. 1st.
Pre-payment required for first order.
Just call contact on the web site.

Maine Seaweed

Place order by phone or fax at 207-546-2876 - or - mail order to Maine Seaweed LLC, POB 57, Steuben ME 04680

Miranda Castro's Shop

It might be best to call/e-mail Ellen directly. Possibly you will find out about specials not on the website.
Ellen is very responsive to all types of questions.

Mountain Rose Herbs

To order by phone, call 800-879-3337
To order online, go to www.mountainroseherbs.com .
- The regular prices will display in your cart and order. Follow the steps below during checkout, and submit the order with the regular prices. Your final order will be adjusted with club pricing, and your credit card will be billed for the adjusted amount.
  - Susanne's online ordering tips
    - Log in to www.foodclub.org and go to the MRH "Group Order" page.
    - For each item ordered by a member, click on the link in the item description column. This will take you to that item on the MRH website.
    - Select the requested size, if relevant (4-oz, 8-oz, 1-pound), and click the "Add to cart" button.
    - Continue until all items are in your "shopping cart". Then, proceed to the checkout process and follow the ordering instructions below
- In the Billing Address, use the club name -- Nourishing Connections Food Club -- and not the account holder name.
- In the Special Comments section just before checkout, write "Buying Club - route to Tinamarie" so that we get the correct discounting. Also add our Customer Number, which is 308173 for Gaithersburg, so that MRH can link our order to the proper account. The customer account number for Frederick is C314590. You can ask that MRH contacts you (via e-mail or phone) with your new adjusted order total.
- Shipping: select the least expensive shipping option.

The contact for wholesale ordering is:

Tinamarie Mulcahy (updated 11/5/2014)
terms@mountainroseherbs.com, 800-879-3337 ext. 126

The minimum for orders is $10.

get flat 15% discount on everything - sale prices are not discounted further beyond the sale.

Buying Club ordering requirements:

One account holder/point of contact: organizer, instructor, etc., responsible for compiling members’ orders and providing payment and shipping location for each order.
Upon receipt of your order and payment, the order will be processed and shipped within one to two business days. Payment will be made using the established method of payment, whether credit card, check, or money order.
Orders will be packaged exactly as placed, and shipped in bulk packaging to one address. Discounts will be applied upon processing the order. If a situation arises when 2 discounts should/could be applied, the larger discount will be applied. Please note that we do not double discount.
A copy of the invoice will accompany the shipment. The invoice can also be faxed or e-mailed upon request.
Returns or claims issues should be directed to the Claims & Returns department (extension 109) and made back to Mountain Rose Herbs within 60 days of the invoice date. If an error has been made in your order, please contact Claims & Returns right away. All regular Mountain Rose Herbs return policies apply. See https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ordering/returns for details.
Shipping charges will be applied accordingly to all orders. The buying club organizer will be responsible for the shipping and for calculating the portion of shipping that each member will pay.
We also offer wholesale pricing on essential oils, carrier oils, hydrosols, clays, and bulk ingredients when purchased in the larger sizes. For these items, the wholesale pricing is already figured into the list price. However, when you purchase 6 or more of the same size and variety of retail-sized product, you will receive a 30% discount. This “case discount” applies to most of our retail-sized products that are not already covered by a separate case discount (like containers) or the bulk herb, spice, and tea discount. Note: this case discount does not apply to gallons of oil.

OraWellness

Call or e-mail the order in.
- Calling is slightly preferred
- However, in the event of a sale, it may be difficult to get though, and in that case, e-mail works fine. Sometimes sales are internet only orders.
Identify yourself as NCFC. We don't have an account number.
OraWellness should e-mail back with confirmation and prices/totals.

Organic Pastures

call 1-877-729-6455 to place order

Oyler's Organic Farm

Before opening the order, please call the farm to check availability. Availability probably changes weekly.
When you call in the order, you can prepay with a credit card.
Also, you can pay with cash, check or credit at pick up

Patterson Farms

Since Patterson's is a regional source, the regional product coordiantor places 1 order for the entire NCFC group. The chapter Patterson Farms product coordinators need to email the regional prodcut coordinator their chapter's group order (making sure to abide by the 'Ordering' guidelines on the Patterson Farms Source Main Page).
In the email, please include your group order, and your phone number that the regional product coordiantor can reach you at in case there are questions about your chapter's group order.
When the regional product coordianator places the order, an email will be sent to the other Patterson Farms product coordiantors with the the total.
Once the other Patterson Farms product coordinators receive the email from the Regional Product Coordinator with their chapter's group order total, a check should be sent to the Regional Product Coordinaor to reimbursement them for their chapter's order.
The regional product coordinator will ensure that the products are delivered to the Quarterly Meeting (where each chapter should have a representative attend to pickup their chapter's order).

Progurt

Because the company is located in Australia, it is best to send the order via e-mail. Specify you are with Nourishing Connections Food Club.
Once the order is e-mailed, you will recieve an e-mail response with a day or two.
The e-mail will have an attached invoice - verify everything before sending payment. Double check the send to address. It gets confusing since various members place the order.
The e-mail will say
- Could you please email me your preferred card details for payment. You may send by 2 separate emails if you wish for security purposes.
  We accept American Express without extra charges.
  For other cards, you may need to contact your Bank to advise that a transaction for USD 960 is to be processed from Australia.
- We had a member order on her Mastcard/Visa and there was about a $10 fee involved
- Progurt accepts Pay Pal-no fee for us is involved. When you pay with Pay Pal, it will tell you that Progurt isn't getting the full amount. That is O.K., Pay Pal takes 3% just like the charge cards do.
The order will arrive in about one week.
They are known to send free products. If we get Progurt sachets, they are to be sold at cost with the money going to general food club funds. If we get Managase or salt (these probably arn't sellable) and should be divided among members in the order

Pure Encapsulations

account number: # 1727320 - Just call the order in

Salt River Lobster

Call Don by Wednesday (301.865.3139) to pick up bones at either the Friday or Saturday market. (They prefer a phone call over an e-mail).
If you ask for a confirmation call back, they will not give it. You have to assume that everything is fine and 95% of the time when you go to the market, they have the bones waiting for you.
Make sure your phone message includes

Your name
Which market you will pick up at
The poundage of bones you desire
Say you only want non-oily fish and you want to include the heads

You will get a garbage bag full on bones. Usually the bag of bones consists of really large fish half's. Poultry shears work great for cutting the carcasses into small pieces.
Divide the pieces into zip lock bags according to the amounts that everyone ordered.
Freeze until the food club meeting

Salt Works

Call (800) 353-7258 and place your order.or shop on-line. Folks like shopping on line, as it eliminates typos and creates a clear record. However, it is also nice to talk to a real person and possibly find our more product inforamtion.

Small Valley Milling

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Run the screen scraper to get accurate prices off of their web site.

Send in as a regular order would be sent in. Remember to ask for our 5% discount because we are a returning customer. We can use Becky's number #100556
If you have ever received a member number from us (check for it on the back of your catalog or on any order receipt) you can enter it at checkout for a 5% discount.

Sycamore Spring Farms

Sycamore order is emailed to Carol by Monday morning (noonish). Indicating the Frederick NCFC and delivery date in the Subject line.
It’s good to follow up with a call to Carol to let her know that you sent the order via email (identify that it’s the Gburg or Frederick order, and who sent the email). She will most likely not call you back to confirm that she has the order.

Tamzin's Honey

instructions updated March 2014.
Tamzin's Honey is sold to us by Tamzin's father, George Biles:
Beaver Creek Beeyard
3711 E. Fisherville Rd.
Fisherville, PA 19335
George & Dana Biles, Props.
(610) 873-4599
gjbiles@me.com
There are no "case minimums", except for the red seal gift pack (cases of 12). The exception for the gift pack would be that if the aggregate club orders [across all chapters] for the month add up to 12, in which case I can do it. If so it’ll show up on your confirmation.
Each chapter places its own order; this is not a regional source.
To place your chapter order, fill out this order form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Eo5sE0711lDYrKr1Er6HHP12IUJAp3_Pr5nHVXOUu80/edit?usp=sharing
Email the form to George at gjbiles@me.com . Use this format for your subject line: "Honey order for [drop date] - [chapter name]. Here is an example: "Honey order for March 14 - Frederick".
George will confirm the order with you.
Honey will be available for pickup from Tamzin's home on the Friday through Tuesday before our drop: 5 Russell Road, Cabin John, MD 20818. Contact Tamzin to make arrangements: tamzin@tamzinsmith.com, 302-509-1747. If there happen to be any exceptions to these pickup days, you will be notified of the change, which will be for that pick-up only.
At pickup, give Tamzin one check made out to "George Biles" for your chapter order; our orders are cash-on-delivery. You may post-date the check to the date of the drop.If Tamzin is not home, place the check in an envelope under her front door mat, NOT in the mailbox!
When you receive payment from chapter members, have them make the checks out to you.

Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

Source coordinator needs to be on the Tattler e-mail list so that they are informed of sales
Source coordinator places and charges the group order
- See source homepage for contact information

Terraganix

To Your Health Sprouted Flour

We coordinate with other chapters to save on shipping.
When the source closes, post the order on the To Your Health Sprouted Flour forum.
Wait for the regional coordinator to tell each chapter the amount they owe (including shipping)
Write a check for your chapter's order to the regional coordinator
E-mail who ever is doing the pick up of the source to remind them to pick up from who ever placed the regional order
Sort order, distribute and collect payment.

Toigo

Contact Jen at 717-371-2429 - 8:00 in the morning seems to be a good time.
Voss c/ 717-491-9404

Tropical Traditions

TT order form with products, prices and sales - http://www.healthybuyersclub.com/orderform.cfm

Tuscarora

General Info

Contacts: Jeff Taylor, phone: 814-448-2173 fax: 814-448-2333

How to set up an account with Tuscarora so your club can order

This only needs to be done once
Call Jeff about a week in advance and have him set up your account. Tell him that you are an offshoot of Gaithersburg Nourishing Connections Food Club and that you will need the same payment method - send one check the day following delivery. Usually they make new customers pay COD.
Sign up for weekly e-mail so that you can be "seasonable" up-to-date.

Sunday evening (around 6:00)

E-mail members of the food club the list of open splits - this usually generate a little more business

Sunday night or Monday morning (before the Tuesday delivery)

Check the order to see if we have met the $150 minimum order. Lock the order.
If we have met the $150 minimum, find ‘Final Order’ on the web page and click on it. This will produce, the final order.
Make sure the contract information in the upper right hand corner is correct (name and phone number)
To 'Email the Final Order' , ^c (copy from food club) and ^v (paste into e-mail)
Create an e-mail to the people: jeff@tog.coop; info@tog.coop and usually .cc a club coordinator
It is also a good idea to .cc yourself on the e-mail. That way you can be sure it went out.

Monday (before the Tuesday delivery)

In the morning, TOG should e-mail you any availability issues.
If an item is out of stock:
- Immediately mark it as such (the flag on bookkeeping)
- If there is an obvious substitution, you have liberty to make it
- If there is no obvious substitution, consider e-mailing the group (or those that ordered). Sometimes, there is time for the person to order a similar item from another source if they choose.
By early Monday after TOG should e-mail you an attached invoice reflecting the out-of-stock items.
Make sure the TOG invoice matches the food club invoice processing. The grand total from the TOG invoice should match the food club invoice to the penny. If not, identify the discrepency and contact a club coordinator.
If there is an issue, we try to resolve it before the drop. Going into the drop it is always best if all items are accounted for and sold and both invoices match.
Send out invoices for people who have ordered. (This is so they can plan their week and know what to expect on Tuesday)

Delivery Day (Tuesday)

If observing delivery, sometimes Tuscarora will have items on their truck which were rejected by local food stores or restaurants. Usually this is because of a blemish or that the fruit is too ripe to sit for a few days in the store. This food is a loss to them and the farmers, and they will offer it to us at a discounted price. If we feel it will sell at our meeting, we accept it.
Before coming to sorting, while still at home, the source coordinator should:
- Print the following from the bottom of theSplits page
  - 1 copy of Printer friendly version - this will be the master sign off sheet
  - 1 copy of Simple sorting sheet - this will be cut up so that a person working on that product can have all the information in front of them.
- Optional, print individual invoices
- Double check to see if Food Club's invoice matches the TOG invoice.
At the sort, before any sorting commences
- If TOG sends an incorrect item (or quantity of an item), they should be notified as soon as possible. They have staff working into the night, so if we notice the problem at sorting time, we should call them that evening. Again this issue should have been caught on Monday.
- All boxes must be weighed. When the difference between ordered weight and actual weight is greater than 10%, TOG must be immediately notified. Differences less than 10% in TOG's or our favor are understandable and we do not need to bring these to TOG's attention.
- All box numbers must be identified on the invoice sheet.
It is important to review the quality of the produce. We have the right to refuse some of the produce. If some of the items are rotten or if they look as if they will be bad very soon, bring it to the attention of the coordinator, who will call Tuscarora right away.
- When contacting Tuscarora, the discussion should include the option of having TOG come and pick up the produce.
- We should also take pictures of the produce that is not up to quality standards.
We need accountability at the drop. Only one person is allowed to sort an item. They must sort for all who order that item and then place the items at the appropriate nametag. When complete, they must initial the master simple sorting sheet by that product name.
Pick up checks and order invoice (You will need the number of it when you write the check, also double check balances

The day after delivery

Tuscarora requires one check from our group mailed the day after delivery

Vital Choice Seafood

New clubs
- Call Vital Choice
- Wholesale accounts - need W-9 or business license
  - Accounts previously set up are sometimes "grandfathered"
  - Given a 15% on non wholesale items.
  - Cannot drop ship to different addresses. Two addresses max.
- Buying clubs -
  - Do not receive the wholesale prices or the larger discount of 15%. We have in the past allowed buying clubs only a 10% discount.
Placing an order
- To get buying club and/or wholesale pricing, place orders directly with the contacts below. As a condition of discounted pricing, Vital Choice would like only the coordinator (or co-orrdinators) to contact the people below.
  - Lisa Wahlquist, Customer Service Specialist - (preferred contact, in the office more than Dave)
    - Office: 866-482-5887 x 3
    - Fax: 800 608-4910
    - lisa@vitalchoice.com
  - Dave Markle, Director of Business Development
    - Office: 360-603-9546 x 117
    - Cell: 360-739-3798
    - Fax: 360-603-9549
    - markled@vitalchoice.com

Wildly Organic (formerly Wilderness Family Naturals)

Go to their website to create an account. It's easy, but it takes them 1 to 2 business days before you can place your first order with wholesale pricing.
Our account name is "nourishing connections gaithersburg" password is available from the source coordinator
I placed the order on Tuesday afternoon, it is suppose to ship on Wednesday, and they tell me it will be at my house of COB on Monday. Just in time for the food club meeting Tuesday. Maybe this is cutting it too close

Windmill Meadows Farm

Orders are to be faxed in a week before the drop (Basically he needs the orders the Tuesday before the drop because he picks up his 5lb. cheese blocks that are stored off the farm on Wednesdays). Jacob, the WMF farmer, has asked for a week to process orders.
The ORDERS will arrive sorted, he will bring the summary sheet with the exact totals and hand written individual orders to the drop. Because of this, the PRODUCT COORDINATOR will need to preform INVOICE PROCESSING and generate the tentative INVOICES prior to faxing the order. When generating orders, enter the weight in the corresponding field so that pricing will compute correctly. Delivery fee is 10%.
Jacob would like all individual invoices faxed to him. His fax number is 301-739-3769.
When faxing the order to WMF, please include a cover sheet indicating the number of indiviual invoices that will be included in the order, followed by each food club invoice, AND INVOICE SUMMARY SHEET.
After the fax is sent, the source coordinator must also call Jacob - 301-739-5258 - to confirm that the fax went through on his end. We have had occasions where it appeared on our end that the fax went though and on Jacob's end the machine was down and he never received our fax.
WMF will be marking the INVOICE SUMMARY SHEET with final totals, however, they may or may not use our invoices that we sent, when packing our orders. Upon delivery, Mr.Horst and Product Coordinator will review order and place WMF handwritten invoices in each of the members order bags. The INVOICE SUMMARY SHEET can be given to the DROP COORDINATOR and posted for payment by members.
When emailing members their food club invoices for WMF, please ensure that they are aware that the prices will most likely change upon delivery since the weights will most likely vary from what is in our database. Invoices will be adjusted by WMF to account for this, and included in each member's sorted bag.
Currently the Product Coordinator is paying Jacob Horst and then being reimbursed by the members. If there are any late payments made by a member, the Product Coordinator can provide a self-addressed envelope to the drop-site coordinator and any late checks can be sent.
If WMF is bringing additional products to Gaithersburg, they must be at Frederick by 3:00 pm.

For Sort Leads and Sort Helpers

Sorting Groups

What are Sorting Groups?

The main goal of the sorting groups is to ensure that the same members sort certain sources to ensure efficiency. The member will really get to know all the ins and outs of a particular source. The goal is to minimize sorting problems. Even though, each of us is a member of a particular sorting group, you will still assist in sorting all sources at the drop you are assigned to. The only difference is that you will be the ‘lead’ for the source, if you are a part of that source’s sorting group.

For instance, Joe Smoe is a member of the Garden Spot Sorting Group.
Garden Spot will be at the 2/12 drop.
Joe Smoe is assigned to sort the 2/12 drop as a member of the Garden Spot Sorting Group.
Joe Smoe will be the one that the other sorters will look to for ‘how to sort Garden Spot’. If there are any questions regarding Garden Spot, Joe Smoe will be able to answer them. He is working closely with the Garden Spot PC so that he knows all about the order. He knows where it is located at Julie’s, did it arrive on time for the drop, will the delivery be delayed, are there shipping documents, etc…
Joe Smoe will be in close contact with the Garden Spot Product Coordinator to understand everything that is going on with the 2/12 order, and ask any questions to the Garden Spot PC for clarification.
Even though, Joe Smoe is the lead Garden Spot sorter for 2/12, he will still help sort the other sources at the drop as usual.

Advantages and Specifics Of Sorting Groups:

Sorting Groups have only been created for those sources that are more complicated than others, and/or happen frequently.
Each Sorting Group has been assigned 2-7 members. Sorters will be pulled from the Sorting Group when a particular source is scheduled, rotating among all members in the sorting group.
There are several advantages to this modification:
- This will ensure that those members assigned to a given source will get to really ‘know’ the source.
- This will allow for a relationship to be established between the sorters and the source product coordinator.
  - With a relationship established, this will help improve the communication between the sorters and product coordinators. Sorters can communicate any questions, issues, etc… to the source Product Coordinator. And, vice versa.
- Since the same members will be responsible for a given source, the logistics during the sort will be a lot smoother as well.

Before the Sort

Print Materials For Sort

Below are instructions on how to print the following:

Print the 'Order Summary Page and Invoices'
- Once the product coordinator for the source has completed invoice processing, the invoices are ready to be printed. If the invoices are not available when you are ready to print them prior to the sort, please contact the appropriate product coordinator. See the 'Jobs/Who To Contact' to find out the product coordinator for each source.
- The Order Summary Sheet will be put on the Reimbursement Envelope so that as each member reimburses the product coordinator, they will then check off that they have paid.
- You will need 'source-admin' privledges to print the invoices, so please contact your source lead if you do not already have access to all the invoices.
- Select [SOURCE] from the drop-down selection box
- Select the 'Invoices' link
- Select 'Printer friendly summary page and invoices - receipt mode' - This is designed to print 4 (or more) pages per sheet of paper; portrait mode recommended.
  - In order to get this 'receipt mode' option working, do the following:
    - For Mozilla Browser Window, click on 'File'->'Print'->Click on the 'Properties' Button->Click on the 'Features' tab->Go to the 'Pages Per Sheet' section-> Select '4 pages per sheet'. Then click 'OK'. And, your invoices should print 4 to a page.
Print the 'Simple Sorting Sheet':
- Some sources will need the Simple Sorting Sheet printed to allow for easier sorting of items that are split among members.
- The following sources will need the Simple Sorting Sheet:
  - Esch Family Farms
  - Frankferd Farms
  - Frontier (if there are spices/etc... that are split among members)
  - Garden Spot
  - New Morning Farm
  - Organic Pastures
  - Patterson Farms
  - Salt Works
  - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
  - Small Valley Milling
  - Tuscarora
- 'Simple Sorting Sheet' Printing Instructions
  - Login to foodclub.org system, and select the [SOURCE] from drop-down
  - Click on ‘Splits’ link
  - Click on ‘Simple Sorting Sheet’ (will be on lower-left side of page, below the list of categories)
  - Use browser window to print to sheet
Print the Group Order:
- Most sources do not need the Group Order, all of the sorting can be done off of the Simple Sorting Sheet and/or invoices.
- 'Group Order' Printing Instructions
  - Make sure you are logged in to foodclub.org as an administrator. Contact your chapter lead for the administrative password.
  - Select the [SOURCE] from the drop-down selection box
  - Click on ‘Group Order’ link
  - Click on ‘Printer Friendly version’ link

During Sorting

Setup Member Bags

Check Source Master Order for list of members who placed orders. Get member nametags out, and place a nametag on a bag for each member that placed an order for that source.
Place and order member bags alphabetically (by first name) under the sorting table so that they will be out of the way.
Place the member's invoice in their bag.

Setup Sorting Table

Each source should have 2 scales.
Print out Master Group Order and/or 'Simple Sorting Sheet' and tape it to the sorting table.
Each source should have a 'Sorting Essentials' Crate. See 'Drop Site Checklist' for contents of each Source's basket. Or, contact your chapter's drop site coordinator. See 'Jobs/Who To Contact' for the drop site coordinator.
Get out paper lunch bags, plastic grocery bags, mason jars, etc... that will be needed for the source.
- For instance, Tuscarora will most likely only need the plastic grocery bags, paper lunch bags, and boxes.
- Where as, Frankferd Farms, may need the glass jars and paper bags.
- Set each source up with supplies as necessary.

Helpful Tips to Make Each Source Sort More Efficient

Esch Family Farms Tips:
- Only need the Simple Sorting Sheet to sort Esch.
- Sorter should bring aluminum or plastic large bowls to place the apples in when weighing.
- Can sort the apples right into brown paper bags and/or boxes.
Frankferd Farms Sorting Tips:
- In the Summer Months, delivery truck delivers food early in the morning (8:00-10:00), so have someone at the drop location to refrigerate items that need refrigerated (frozen foods, eggs, etc...)
- Sort nuts last to minimize contamination (for those with nut allergies)
- Sort dried fruits 2nd to last, since they are sticky
- Have seperate bowls/scoops for gluten and non-gluten flours, as well as, seperate bowls/scoops for nut and non-nut flours (to eliminate cross contamination for those with gluten and nut allergies).
- Quart and 1/2 gallon size mason jars seem to work well for most of the splits. The 1/2 gallon size can be found at local hardware stores such as Strosniders. Also, really useful is one (or two) wide mouth canning funnels.
Frontier Sorting Tips:
- Unload all products from the boxes and display on a table, organizing the products by type. Put all personal care products together, all spices together, etc...
- Setup a bag and place a nametag on the bag for each member that has placed an order.
- Use the member's invoice to sort the products into each member's bags
Small Valley Milling Sorting Tips:
- Use a measuring cup to scoop out the flour into the bags.
- ??
Tuscarora Sorting Tips:
- When weighing items, place the items in a bowl (lightweight metal/plastic) to be weighed to allow for a more accurate measurement. This also ensures that the items don't fall off the scale.
- Fewer sorters the better. For instance, the Frederick chapter has 1 person sorting Tuscarora.
- ??
- ??

Complete Invoice Processing

For many of the sources, even though the Product Coordinator for the [SOURCE] has completed invoice processing (based on the order we submitted to the [SOURCE]), there may be some discrepancies between what was actually shipped, and what our invoices reflect as our final order. Because of this, as sorters, it is your responsibility to mark down any differences in prices, weights, and quantities. All of these things will cause our final total to be different. The product coordinator must be aware of this, so that he/she can balance out at the end of the drop, as well as, ensure that each member is charged the correct amount.

As the sorters for the source, it is your responsibility to:

Identify which items are different from our group order (or individual invoices). Mark all discrepancies down on the final shipment invoice for the product coordinator. As well as, the individual invoice for that member, so that they are charged accordingly.
- If the final total of the shipment is different than what our final total on our group order indicates, notify the Product Coordinator so that they are aware of this. And, also, while sorting, identify what the possible causes are (different quantity shipped, different weight shipped, item not in shipment, price difference, etc...). Make note of any discrepancies between the group order, and the shipment invoice.
- If the quantity delivered was different than we anticipated and/or an item was not shipped, ensure that the member's invoices reflect this change so that they are not charged for items that were not delivered. This should also be indicated on the main shipment invoice to inform the Product Coordinator.

Clean-up After Sorting

Once sorting for the source is complete, put all materials back where they came from so that they will be easily accessed for the next drop.
Each Source will have a designated 'shelf' or spot for easy access and setup. Each Sort Lead should be able to provide you with this information.
Take inventory on what items need 'restocking' and restock necessary items so that the 'Sorting Essentials' crate is ready for the next drop.
Break down any boxes that are unused from the shipment and place in the drop site recycle bins.
Place all packing material that is not recycleable in a garbage bag and despose of appropriately.
Move all sorted member's bags to the Pickup Area. For the Frederick drop location, this is the garage.

For Database Administrators

Warnings

It can be "dangerous" to update a database when the foodclub system has items in it that are from the database -- especially if you change product codes, Invoices will not be able to calculate correctly. Worse, if you create overlapping product codes (two items with the same code) that will cause erroneous items to be ordered in Group order / Final order.

Database fields

Database fields explained

Regular items

The following should be set:

Sale items

In addition to the fields for a regular item, set the following:
- sale price
The settings on the administration page for the source need to be updated to display sale items. The exact location is: Administration -> Source settings -> (under Product database options) "Show sale_price column..."
Once sale prices are enabled for the source, when the user searches the database the regular price will appear in black and the sale price will appear in red. Also, a percent discount will be automatically calculated and displayed. The sale price will be the default on the invoice.

Split items

In addition to the fields for a regular item, set the following:
- size (absolutely necessary for split items)
- valid split increment
You do not want items which you can not split to show up on the "Splits" page. Quite often a source database has items which you want to allow splits for and items which you don't want to allow splits for. To accomplish this:
- set the valid_split_increment field in the database to 0
- Admin -> Product database -> Disable users from manually entering items
- Admin -> Product database -> Enable user input validation on split requests page
It is often possible to purchase produce in bulk. When selecting the size field, think of something that customers are familiar with. Examples:
- For 1/2 bushel of apples, you figure it weighs about 25 pounds. We would put "25 pounds" in the size field because customers like to order say 5 pounds of apples.
- For a 1 pound bag of herbs, we would put "16 ounces" in the size field, because customers like to enter their herb quantity in ounces.
- For the above examples, none of the "priced per pound" settings should be used.

Priced per pound items

In addition to the fields for a regular item, set the following:
- price per weight
- is priced by weight
- When you fill out "price", it is only an estimate of what a unit costs. This is only used so that the user can have a feel for what their total will be.
Examples
- This is usually only used for meats, as meats are expensive and the farmer and customer both want exact poundage.
- Cantaloupes are usually priced $4.00/melon so these fields should not be set. That said, it is possible for a farmer to charge for cantaloupes by weight and these fields could be used.
- If a farmer charges $2.00/lb for cucumbers, the fields could be used. However, if someone orders three pounds of cucumbers, some farmers choose just to give them a little more and not bother with inputting exact weights
Current software limitations are if a item is priced per pound, it can not be split. The only case where we would like to do this so far is when we split a half cow which is based on poundage. However, computing the amounts by hand is not too burdensome considering how often this occurs.

Automatically prorating shipping based on shipping weight in the database

Images

Use the wiki to upload your image to a common space-
http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/Template:FoodclubManual:User:Wiki#Uploading_an_image_to_use_in_the_user.27s_manual
Follow Adi's directions
- http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/Foodclub:Documentation:Database_fields#image_url
- http://www.foodclub.org/wiki/Foodclub:Documentation:Database_fields#thumb_url

Options for updating the database

For massive databases or databases which change often, we like to automate the update process. Basically we get an Excel or PDF from the source and write a script which automatically updates the foodclub database.
If the database is small, we usually prefer to update it directly using phpMyAdmin
For larger, more complicated databases, we usually prefer to maintain a separate Excel sheet which we import.
If it is a "less used" database which you do not want to set up, you can simply allow users to do manual input. There is always a risk of error here, as users can do typos. But it must be weighted against the time involved in a database set up.

Using Excel sheets

Be familiar with the following Excel commands:
- Insert, delete and replicate row
- Copy and clear contents
- Hide and show columns
Get an Excel sheet matching the content of the database to be updated. If you are unsure that you have the latest Excel sheet you can export the current database into Excel.
Update the Excel sheet
- Update the appropriate fields
- If a new record needs to be inserted, insert a line, copy in a similar line, and make updates
- If you are doing items priced per pound using a "smart" Excel sheet which contains code to copy and compute fields, updating will be slightly easier. Only prices in the description field should change. Excel copies these into other fields as appropriate. "~" must immediately precede the poundage. "$" must immediately precede the cost. The cost estimate is computed by multiplying the "~" number by the "$" number.
Save the Excel sheet as a CSV file
Use the import command to update the actual database.

Using phpMyAdmin

Getting to the desired database

Go to http://foodclub.org/phpmyadmin/
- User Name: gbgphpmyadmin (all lower case)
- Password: (all lower case)
In the left blue margin, click "foodclub", this will bring you to our databases
In the left blue margin, click the database you are interested in. If you want to experient with a database, use one that is no longer in use such at private_gbgcorinna
To edit an existing row in a database, just click on the 'pencil' for the given row.
To add a new item to the database, click on the 'Insert' tab.

Using the top tabs

Browse (and edit)

To look at and edit what is really out there
Steps:
1. Select Browse tab
2. If you only want to edit/delete one record...
  1. Click edit or delete on the appropriate row.
3. If you are editing/deleting lots of records...
  1. Check the boxes by each record you wish to edit/delete or click select all at the bottom of the page
  2. Next to select all at the bottom, either click change or delete

Insert

To add a new record (product). Remember to give your record a new and unique key

SQL

To delete the contents of your database (it's a good idea if you are importing a new database from a csv file).
- Once you click SQL, then click the delete, then click go
To get a nice printed table of your product database containing only the fields which you want
- Steps:
  1. In the left side frame, click the table you want to lis, e.g. regional_US_organic_pastures
  2. Click SQL tab
  3. In the box titled "Run SQL query/queries on database foodclub:", after the word SELECT, select the "*". If you leave the "*", it will print all fields of the database and there are many fields which you will not not interested in
  4. Replace the "*" with the fields you are interested in. Select the fields from the field box. After you have selected a field press "<<" to insert it. You can continue selecting many fields.
  5. When you are done selecting fields, press "GO"
  6. Under "Query results operations", select "print view". The result is a nice, readable table.

To change many records at a time, if you can think of a rule to apply. However, you must be familiar with SQL commands.
- Examples:
  1. update regional_tuscarora set category=manufacturer
  2. UPDATE regional_tropical_traditions SET sale_price=NULL WHERE sale_price=0
  3. delete FROM `regional_tropical_traditions` WHERE 1 -- deletes the entire contents, be sure to hit "GO" to complete the process

Export

When to use
- Use it to create an initial Excel sheet once you have created a new source. Your initial Excel sheet will contain row headings and otherwise be blank
- If for any reason you think your current Excel sheet is out of date, download the current one. Better safe than sorry. Use it to create an initial Excel sheet once you have created a new source. Your initial Excel sheet will contain row headings and otherwise be blank
How to export
Select Export tab
- Export Method:
  - Quick vs. Custom, Custom allows for column headings which make your document much more user friendly.
- Output:
  - No need to select anything
- Format:
  - Select something which is on your computer and easy to edit such as Microsoft Word 2000
- Select Go at the bottom, you will be prompted where to save your file on your computer

Import

To update the Foodclub database from an Excel/CSV file
Import steps
1. Your Excel sheet must be saved as a CSV file. When editing your Excel sheet, use the "Save as" command and look for the option to save as a CSV file.
2. Select SQL tab at top of page
  - It is always a good idea to empty (delete) the current database before importing. Importing only overwrites what is there. If there are old items with different codes (keys), they would hang around and this is not what you would want.
  - See SQL instructions above.
3. Select Import tab at top of page
  - Under File to Import:
    - Select Browse your computer and find the .csv file which you want to upload
  - Under Format:
    - Select CSV using LOAD DATA
  - Under Format-Specific Options:
    - Check Replace table data with file
    - Set Columns terminated by to "," (no quotes, just a simple comma)
    - For the rest of the fields, the default is fine
  - Select Go at the bottom
4. Select Browse tab at top of page
  - After an import, it is always good to Browse the file. Double check that it is correct.
  - When importing from an Excel sheet which contains a header, you will see the header record gets copied into the database. Select "x" by it's row to delete it.
For more details (and options like just importing specific fields on a .csv file), see http://foodclub.org/wiki/Foodclub:Documentation:FAQ#Brief_step-by-step_instructions_for_importing_a_pricelist_from_a_distributor_using_phpMyAdmin

Empty

For Treasurers

It is possible that a food club may want to divide the treasurer job. Possibly one treasurer to collect and pay the Adi software fees and another for everything else.
Each treasurer should have their own checkbook (which is an on-line document available for all members to see). They should record all credits and debits to the account.
The treasurers will likely not have a significant amount of money, so the money is to be kept in an envelope hidden somewhere at the treasurer's home.

Treasurer responsibilities for Adi fees

Adi yearly software fees will be collected at the last drop on the month every January.
The Treasurer will be present at this drop.
The Treasurer will mail one check to Adi as soon as possible after the drop.

Treasurer responsibilities for everything else

Some clubs choose to required dues (e.g. a $10 fee) only when initially joining.
Document when a members pays their dues
Keep track of any member reimbursements that need to be made. This could be around 6 reimbursements/year
Before any money is paid out, get the approval of one of the club coordinators.
Reimbusements will be at the last drop of the month unless other arrangements have been made.

Reimbursement

Qualified purchases will be reimbursed at the last drop of each month.
Treasurer should be notified, in advance, via email of purchase and amount that needs to be reimbursed.
Bring reciept which will be attached to the reimbursement receipt in the reciept book.

For Weekly Update Help

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For Membership Coordinators

General

- providing a warm welcome to people inquiring about our group

- following up with inquiries, usually first by email, and then possibly by phone

- timely replies to inquiries

- arranging to meet prospective members at drops, and explaining how drops work

- handling new member forms, and adding new members to the online Food Club application

- following up with newly-joined members to help them get acclimated

Steps for new members

Perspective members should first come to a drop to observe.
After coming to a drop and getting to know us (and visa versa), if the person would like to join, they should be emailed our Prospective Member Information Packet - membership contract and goals and basic sources. Also be sure to ask how they heard about the food club.
Ask prospective members to Register as a new user at www.foodclub.org/frederick
The membership coordinator should be watching for new member announcements and approve members who have signed the membership contract.
- To approve membership requests, go toGlobal Admin/User Maintenance and select the appropriate login type from the drop-down box.

Welcome Letter

When the membership coordinator accepts the new users, the new user automatically gets the welcome letter which is under Global Admin/Global Settings
Update the Welcome Letter
- Go to Global Admin/Global Settings. Scroll down to the 'New user registration e-mail content:' section. Update accordingly.

Add New Member(s) to the Chapter Mailman Account

To add multiple new members at once, first get the e-mails of members
- Go to your chapter's food club directory, by selecting the Directory link in the upper right-hand side of the foodclub.org system
- Click on the Send Email to All Users link
- Remove all email address from the 'mock' email, except the new members you wish to add to the Mailman account. Then, highlight the new member email addresses, and selecting CTRL-C.
Go to Mailman, by clicking on the 'Frederick URL Interface' link from the main foodclub.org page (whereas 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the 'Frederick Administrative Interface' link (whereas, 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
Now, you will be prompted for the List Administrator's Password. This is the NCFC Product Coordinator Admin password (contact your chapter lead for this password), and select the Let me in button.
Select Membership Management
Select Mass Subscription
Now scroll down to the Enter one address per line below text box, click inside the text box, and select CTRL-P to paste all the email addresses into the text box.
Ensure that there is only one email address per line in the text box.
Select Submit your changes button at the bottom of the screen.
Verify that the new member(s) have been added correctly by viewing the Membership List. Ensure that the member(s) are listed in the membership list.
That's it! You're all set! All members have been added to your chapter's Mailman account, and you can start using Mailman!

Delete Member(s) from Foodclub and the Chapter Mailman Account

Delete the member from Foodclub
- Go to Global Admin/User Maintance
- Select user(s)
- Scroll to bottom and click Delete Selected Users
Delete the member from mailman
- Go to Mailman, by clicking on the 'Frederick URL Interface' link from the main foodclub.org page (whereas 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the 'Frederick Administrative Interface' link (whereas 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
- Now, you will be prompted for the List Administrator's Password. This is the NCFC Product Coordinator Admin password (contact your chapter lead for this password), and select the 'Let me in' button.
- Select Membership Management
- Find the name of the member(s), and check unsub, and click submit your changes

For Drop Site Openers and Closers

NCFC Instructions for Opening the Drops

Print out a Source Pickup Sheet, sorted by User. (Delete the “Invoice total” column, and just leave the final “Total” column.) This is for checkout.
Make sure a table(s) is set up for weighting items and/or for payment envelopes and checkout sheet/pen.
Set out all relevant source payment envelopes.
Set out all relevant Name Sheets (pink).

NCFC Instructions for Closing the Drops

Gather up all Name Sheets (pink) and Name Tags. Put any loose name tags with the appropriate name sheet. Put in Storage Box.
Gather up all source payment envelopes. Check inside them for any missed checks. Put in Storage Box.
Put away any misc. items, i.e., scales, pens, tables, bins, etc.
Make sure all trash is picked up and empty boxes are stacked neatly with recycling.
Turn out lights and close garage door.

For New Source Seekers

Steps for looking into a source

Brainstorm options for a given product
- Look at who is selling at local farmers markets
- Ask a trusted farmer for additional sources
- LocalHarvest.org
- WAPF shopper guide lists source providers
- Nourishing Connections lists source providers
Call/e-mail each option.
- See Sample call/e-mail to a potential source
- Sometimes you have to ask to talk with a manager because the standard answer is no.
- Compare prices to local stores. We have to make sure we are saving enough to make it worth our while to process it in the food club.
Once we agree to work together
- How transportation can be worked out. Where they are already delivering to. There is always shipping. We want UPS, since other carriers irradiate packages.
- Can they provide us with an Excel spreadsheet with product information and prices. Many companies can do this, even when the Excel sheet is not of their web site.

++ Some places will only give wholesale prices if you have a resellers id. Larger food clubs have gone through the trouble to get this. It involves much paperwork and becoming a LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). We currently have no plans to do this.

Sample call/e-mail to a potential source

Hello,

I am a member of a food buying club in city, state. Our goals are to, as much as possible, purchase local, seasonal, sustainable, fair-trade, earth-friendly products, and many of us follow the eating ideology of Weston A. Price. We have, and/or are seeking, sources for items ranging from natural dietary supplements to farm-direct meats and produce to earth-friendly household products and more. Our suppliers offer us discounts for bulk purchase (such as apples by the bushel) or volume/minimum orders. Our food club is replicating in various locations so there is a potential for substantial orders.

I have volunteered to be product coordinator for sprouted flours, and wonder if you might offer us a volume discount on a monthly purchase if we reach minimum order (we should easily reach $200 with the variety of products you offer). We're trying to keep our club operations simple, so we do not currently have a tax ID, which does not seem to be a problem for many sources we've contacted.

Please let me know ASAP if we can work together.

For Administrators

Foodclub information

Adding a Google doc to a food club page

establish your document
Under the File "tab", get the embedding link for the document. It is an <iframe>.
back in the Food Club interface, paste in the <iframe> code. You will need to adjust the width and height numbers a little to make the display come out properly.

Global Foodclub settings

On the home page click
1. Source admin --> source settings - change Title to the name of your food club
2. Global admin --> global settings - update the welcome letter
3. Global admin --> user maintance - promote folks to admin and source admin, you can create ids for users, but we prefer to have user's register themselves at www.foodclub.org/[location]
4. Global admin --> Notifications - decide who receives e-mails when

Adding a new source to Foodclub

Creating the source

Go to the home page for your food club and look for the option Add New Source. If you don't see the source you want to add, select Other and input source information
- For Gaithersburg (fill out BOLD info)
  - Enter an account id: Should be unique to your foodclub. We take the name of the source and prefix it with gbgfor our Gaithersburg satellite - e.g. gbgfrontier. The title can be up to 24 characters, but it must be all lower case.
  - Enter a descriptive title: - Source Name. This should be filled out even though it is not mandatory. It will get displayed in the foodclub system when the user selects sources in the upper right hand corner of each screen.
  - Click Add new source
Your new source will appear in your foodclub drop down source menu with a name of "new source". Go to source settings of "new source" and rename it.
If the source is for your food club only, your done. If you want to share it with other clubs, email Adi and he will change the necessary settings on his end.

Setting up the Source Homepage

Go to foodclub.org/gaithersburg
Get a copy of the master two column table
- Go to the source drop-down and select TEMPLATE.
- Go to source settings.
- Select "source home page content."
- Click HTML button.
- Control C starting at the top from <Table> to </Table>
Set up your new source page
- Go to the source drop-down and select the new source.
- Click on the 'Source Settings' link for that source.
- Click the HTML botton
- Control V into the page.
- Select UPDATE
- Update home page text/links to be displayed, source settings, CSS Settings, and finally MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE BOX THAT ALLOWS other chapters to use Gaithersburg settings for the source.
- Make sure to click the 'Save' button after every section.
Now that the Gaithersburg Source is setup, now the other chapters will go to their source in their drop down and ......

Setting up administration page for the new source

go to the new source page
click "source settings"
- select "Source page home content"
  - fill out the information which you would like to appear to the users on the source homepage
  - Remember to save changes
- click "css styles"
  - If you don't want the product code, category, and subcategory displayed on the order or splits page, you would enter the follow:
    - table .CodeCol { display: none; }
    - table .CategoryCol { display: none;}
    - table .SubCategoryCol { display: none; }
    - table.searchResultsTable .CategoryCol { display: none; }
    - table.searchResultsTable .SubCategoryCol { display: none; }
  - If you want more information on the css styles, see http://foodclub.org/wiki/Foodclub:Documentation:FAQ#How_to_change_visibility_of_table_columns.3F_.28e.g._show_the_item_category_columns.2C_or_hide_columns_for_suppliers_who_don.27t_have_some_data.29
click "product database"
- Set "product database mode" to a private database. Then e-mail Adi and he will convert it to a regional database, and grant your phpmyadmin user access to it.
- Items to show per page, in product search: Usually 50 is nice
- Disable users from manually entering items; they must select items from a search result. A good idea. When you can't guarantee an accurate database with the correct products listed, you do have to allow manual entry
- Show num_available column in search results; and prevent users from ordering out-of-stock items. Check if this field will be set. Note
- Show sale_price column in search results, and calculate discount as sale_price compared with price. Check if this field will be set
- Enable user input validation when adding items from search on individual users' order form: uses the valid_order_increment database field Usually a good idea
- Enable user input validation on split requests page: uses the valid_split_increment database field Usually a good idea
- Remember to save changes

Updating the database

See Options for updating the database. If the database consists of only a few items, you will probably want to enter it directly with phpmyadmin. If there are lots of items, an Excel spreadsheet works best.

Adding a link to your new source on your food club home page

Since all of our main pages are pointing to the Gaithersburg source home pages. The Gaithersburg Source Home Main Page should be updated as follows:

Creating a forum for the source and putting instructions in the user's guide for the source

To create a separate forum for the source, you need forum admin privileges. Any foodclub user who has "admin" privileges will be able to moderate the forums and create new forums. If you do not have admin privleges, you could always log on as "gaithersburg" and then you would be able to add the forum. See Wiki and phpBB information below.

To create the wiki documentation, everyone is the foodclub has this privilege. Information should be placed in the "Product Coordinator" section of this document.

If you are dealing with multiple groups

If you are logged onto one group and then log on to another group, you will be automatically logged off your first group. The only way around this is to use two different browsers, e.g. Firefox for gaithersburg, and MSIE or Safari (if on a Mac) for silverspring.

Monthly calendar

If you have more than a few sources, it makes sense to have a yearly and monthly calendar.
How to update the monthly calandar - https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B6AveUyBiKfcMVJmWWNESU9QNHc/edit?usp=sharing&docId=0B6AveUyBiKfcZGVSZ0FJZHc5ZFU

Wiki and phpBB

Foodclub admin users do get put in a separate group in phpBB which has more access: specifically, forum moderation privileges and administration access to create new forums, etc. They do not get any different wiki access though. Foodclub admin and normal users are both the same in Mediawiki.

Mailman

How Do I Initially Setup Our Chapter's Mailman Account?
- Populate the Mailman List with your chapter's members email addresses
  - The easiest way I have found to do this is:
    - Go to your chapter's food club directory, by selecting the 'Directory' link in the upper right-hand side of the foodclub.org system
    - Click on the 'Send Email to All Users' link
    - Copy all email address by highlighting all email addresses, and selecting CTRL-C.
    - Now, go to Mailman, by clicking on the 'Frederick URL Interface' link from the main foodclub.org page (whereas 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
    - Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the 'Frederick Administrative Interface' link (whereas, 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
    - Now, you will be prompted for the 'List Administrator's Password'. This is the NCFC Product Coordinator Admin password, and select the 'Let me in' button.
    - Select 'Membership Management'
    - Select 'Mass Subscription'
    - Now scroll down to the 'Enter one email address per line below' text box, click inside the text box, and select CTRL-P to paste all the email addresses into the text box.
    - Ensure that there is only one email address per line in the text box.
    - Select 'Submit your changes' button at the bottom of the screen.
    - That's it! You're all set! All members have been added to your chapter's Mailman account, and you can start using Mailman!
How Do I Modify Our Chapter's Mailman Settings?
- From the 'Frederick Administrative Interface' main page (whereas, 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name), click on 'General Options'.
  - In the 'The list administrator email addresses' text box,
    - Add multiple list administrators, such as, the club coordinators, the chapter coordinator, and the membership coordinator for your chapter.
  - In the 'The list moderator email addresses' text box,
    - Add multiple moderators, such as, the chapter coordinator and the membership coordinator for your chapter.
  - In the 'A terse phrase identifying this list' text box, enter the name of your group
    - This will allow for easy identification when your chapter's list is listed among all Mailman groups.
      - For instance 'Frederick NCFC' (whereas, 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
  - In the 'Prefix for subject line of list postings' text box, you can append something like '[Frederick NCFC]' (where as, 'Frederick' is replaced with your chapter's name).
    - This allows for easy identification when an email is sent to your inbox, you'll know that it is through the chapter's Mailman feature.
Bounced messages
- Sometimes mailman moderators receive bounced messages from group members. Sometimes this happens because they are sending the message from an account other than that which they registered on foodclub. Other times, we are not sure why this happens.
- How to accept the bounced message
  1. Go to http://mail.foodclub.org/mailman/listinfo/ncfc
  2. Click NCFC administrative interface (requires authorization) -- it's at the very bottom of the screen
  3. Enter password and click "Let me in"
  4. Here you will see options to accept the message
Changing the NCFC group to allow non-members to post (it treats the member's of Gaithersburg, Frederick and Silver Spring as non-members)
- Go to the NCFC page
- Privacy options --> Sender filter --> Generic non-member action
Allow for implicit destinations
- Go to your groups page
- Privacy options --> Recipient Filters --> Alias names --> add ncfc@foodclub.org

Updating the Chapter's Food Club Main Page

Login to the foodclub.org/[chapter_name] as an administrator.
Click on the 'Source Settings' link for the main page.
Update the information in the 'Information to be displayed on the source home page:' text box as needed.
Click on the 'Update Source Home Page Inforamtion' button below the text box to save the information.

For new food club start ups

Before the meeting

Basically, we just get Adi to make a copy of our system and you are good to go. Depending on your needs and how you intent to operate you either want 1) a simple boiler plate system or 2) the system NCFC has developed (this includes suggested forums, initial source page content, and defaults generally set correctly. Because the systems is always changing, it's best to copy it over right before you start to add members.
See setting up a food club account.
Order copies of the source catalogs to distribute at the meeting (some take a few weeks to arrive)
Get about 15 families, and you will meet the minimum orders for things. If you are going to head it up, you should start reading our coordinators forum, where the coordinators of the groups share ideas and discuss problems. The person who heads it up always has more work than they think they will have :)
You will have to get your members to sign the membership contract before you let them on our system.

At the meeting

Admin stuff
- Things you will want - coolers, old freezers; a few scales
- Everyone must sign the membership contract before being allowed on the system.
See sample agenda

NCC:User's Manual

Contents

For Users

System overview for new members

Signing in

Your order

Ordering Steps

About "splits"

About "search"

How to manually add an item to your order - if it is not in the database

Viewing your invoice

Advice/tips

Using Mailman

What is Mailman?

How Do I Send an Email Using Mailman?

What Capabilities Does Mailman Offer?

How Do I View the Mailman Archives?

How Do I update my Member Settings In Mailman?

How Does Mailman Differ from 'Send Email to All Users'?

If your e-mail address changes...

Using Forums

What is a forum?

User basics

You are signed into foodclub and click the forums link and are asked to sign in

Subscribing to a daily or weekly forum digest

Signing up - Easy method

Signing up - If easy method doesn't work, continue here

Most Useful Features

Features not to use

Set time zone

Rules

Terms

Forums for Admins

Move topic

Additional info

Using Wiki

Purpose

User basics

Top right system options

Setting up your preferences

Tabs appearing on each page

Official wiki page

Discussion page

Navigation box options

Recent changes

Toolbox box options

Print screen

Getting Started as an Editor

All about namespaces

Why they exist

The difference between "name space" and "name space talk"

Going between them

Make sure your namespace has a homepage

Creating a new page

Editing

Adding a website

Uploading an image to use in the user's manual

Uploading an image to use in the database

Uploading an image to use in a source page

Summary Comments

Copyright issues

Finding out the existing pages in your namespace

Going back to a previous revision or comparing revisions

For Club Coordinators

For Source Coordinator Coordinators

For Source Coordinators

Get source-admin access for your source on your regular food club user ID

Common instructions

When in doubt about something, ask your club coordinators

Get informed

Subscribe to SOURCE Forum

Inform food club members

General Comments

Update Final Order Invoices Headings

Open the order

Close the order

Send in the order

If your order is being picked up by someone else at another location

Perform Invoice Processing

If the database has been updated since some of the orders have been placed: