Dear Harvest Member,

We hope that this webpage is informative for you. If you have further questions on expansion please email Chris Durkin.

1. 1. Why should the Harvest Co-op expand?
   1a. From the Harvest Co-op Board:
   Expansion will help Harvest Co-op to achieve long-term financial stability and remain competitive in the grocery marketplace. More people are thinking about their food sources: buying locally, buying organic, and supporting sustainable and ethical practices such as fair trade. Expansion allows Harvest Co-op to meet these needs while continuing to fulfill our mission to bring the benefits of the co-op to more people. Harvest Co-op will continue to lead the consumer co-op movement in the greater Boston area and serve communities as outlined in our mission statement.

Key Benefits to Expansion Increased membership
Expansion will benefit current members and allow greater outreach to potential members. Gaining members builds the co-op community, allowing more equity to better serve existing and new members through the work of the co-op.

Increased access to co-ops
We believe that co-ops are a democratic form of business that benefits all members. Expansion will allow us to add the benefit of member-ownership to more people in the greater Boston community.

Greater financial stability
Expansion will give Harvest increased purchasing and negotiating power, allowing for greater financial stability. Increased profits could be reinvested in the existing stores to better serve members, or redistributed to members through patronage rebate.

Better leverage existing resources
Overhead and administrative resources will serve three stores, instead of two. Leveraging these existing resources allows us to have lower overhead costs "per store", and may lead to greater long-term financial stability.

In summary, expansion will benefit Harvest as a whole, allowing the co-op to be financially stable, and allowing Harvest to both continue to serve our current members and realize our mission of using the co-operative model to give the public access to healthy food.

2. Information on the expansion projects

2a. The Arboretum Project is located on Washington Street near the Forest Hills T stop, bordering Jamaica Plain, Roslindale Hyde Park, and close to the Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods.

More information from the developer's website: <http://www.wci-realty.com/arboretum-place.html>

Why this project fits in with Harvest's mission: Please see "Key Benefits to Expansion" for general explanation of why Harvest is expanding In addition: Harvest Co-op seeks to continue to serve the Boston area community, a community where our Co-op was established in 1971. This neighborhood is within the city of Boston. Harvest Co-op recognizes that the Boston area is underserved by grocery stores, and seeks to locate stores within the Boston area to give more communities access to healthy food. Harvest seeks to locate in places accessible by public transportation when possible. Leasing in a "green" building is in accord with Harvest's desire to support sustainable business practices.

Tangible Benefits to Harvest shoppers: A chance to serve existing and new members and shoppers in the JP community A new "green" facility built out to Harvest Co-op specifications A bigger store in JP to offer a larger product selection than our South Street store Proximity to public transportation at Forest Hills: a major bus depot and T stop Dedicated parking for Harvest shoppers and members More locations to for Harvest members to shop at in the Boston area

2b. The Fenway Project Harvest has been asked to be part of the new Fenway development, a very large project with many phases that is still moving forward.

Why this project fits in with Harvest's mission: Please see "Key Benefits to Expansion" for general explanation of why Harvest is expanding In addition: Harvest Co-op seeks to continue to serve the Boston area community, a community where our Co-op was established in 1971. This neighborhood is within the Boston community. Harvest seeks to locate in places accessible by public transportation when possible. Leasing in a "green" building is in accord with Harvest's desire to support sustainable business practices.

Tangible Benefits to Harvest shoppers: A new "green" facility built out to Harvest Co-op specifications Proximity to public transportation through Kenmore Square T stop, bus routes, and Fenway commuter rail stops (slated to be upgraded as the development continues) Dedicated parking for Harvest shoppers and members More locations to for Harvest members to shop at in the Boston area

3. Communication around Expansion 3a. Past public announcements about expansion The Harvest Co-op seeks to foster open communication to benefit our members. In early 2010, we announced on the website and in the Harvest Times that the Co-op was seeking opportunities for expansion.

In early 2011, we announced on the website and in the Harvest Times that Harvest had been chosen for two new developments. We are republishing a paragraph from that announcement below.

4/7/11 Website Announcement about the two new developments

Dear Harvest members,

We are excited that Harvest has been selected to participate in two new development projects in the Boston area. Harvest has been selected as: - the "anchor" retailer for the Fenway Project, a green development occurring in the Fenway. - the grocer for the Arboretum Project, a development near the Forest Hills T stop bordering Jamaica Plain and Hyde Park.

The developers selected Harvest because of our excellent reputation in the metro-Boston area for our high-quality and healthy foods, our many years of community involvement and our commitment to environmental stewardship.