The Manager – Marnie Vyff

Starting out as a hobby, the Mountain Lakes Organic Coop has been under Marnie's direction since 2001. It’s grown three fold and has become a stronger interest and part of the direction for her future.

Marnie has spent over twenty-five years working her way up in the graphic design world, culminating in running a design business. Through the years, She has had an environmentally oriented activity or two going at any moment.

Spring 2009, Marnie began her Masters in Environmental Management at Montclair State University, to learn how to better help solve the environmental problems we faces today. Marnie has discovered that local, environmentally friendly businesses like the Co-op are a big part of the solution.

In all her free time, Marnie volunteers for three grassroots community groups and The Shade Tree Commission in Mountain Lakes, NJ. With a strong desire to make a difference, she has headed environmental movie events to promote awareness in Mountain Lakes and Montclair. She has also assisted neighboring communities start their own movie events.

Summer 2009, Marnie began MLOCoop–Events to help people discover the benefits of sustainable living. There are classes in food preparation, permaculture gardening, and related events like the movie nights.

The Sorters and Hosts

We have a few ladies who host pick-up sites and sort the produce out from the cases to the member's bags. For two to four hours of work they get their produce bag as payment. There is not a big turnover of sorters. It's actually a really nice job. There is something really great about working with all that fresh produce. Marnie started as a sorter and still really enjoys pitching in on produce day.