The History of Ever'man

By: Ellen Bell Did you know that October is National Co-op Month? It has been over 165 years since our cooperative founders have successfully established a way of doing business. In honor of this month-long holiday, I wanted to dive deep into the History of Our Co-op and give you a behind the scenes look at what our guiding principles are here at Ever’man. Before I began working at Ever’man, I had heard about our store, but I honestly had no idea what a Co-op/Cooperative was or where it started. Little did I know that Co-op’s have been around for generations and would change my outlook on grocery stores forever. The Rochdale Pioneers founded the very first Co-op in 1844 as a way to pool their resources to access essential goods at a lower price. They were set up as a way to protect the interests of the less powerful members of society and started with only four items for sale: flour, oatmeal, sugar, and butter. The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society is now viewed as the prototype for modern co-ops. Today Co-ops define themselves as independent grocery stores that do not have a CEO or stockholders; instead, they are run by a board of directors that make decisions for the business. A co-op is also very involved in the community as well as promoting environmentallyfriendly ideas through outreach and encouraging a healthier lifestyle by providing NON-GMO and organic items. In 1973, a Transcendental Meditation group in Gulf Breeze had been meeting for some time, when they realized that a whole foods diet worked into their desire for total well-being. Similar to the 28 artisans of the Rochdale Pioneers, they sought to pool their resources to obtain natural foods at a discounted price, and thus Ever’man was born. The very first Ever’man store resided in a little log cabin no bigger than 500 sq. Ft located in Gulf Breeze, intending to help individuals in the community have access to wholesome, nutritious food, and within three years, became legally incorporated as a not-forprofit corporation in the state of Florida. After experiencing a decrease in foot traffic, the Ever’man group decided that if they were to survive, it was time for a change, and it would be best to move the store to Pensacola, FL, where they would be able to gain more recognition. After sometime Ever’man Natural Foods Cooperative, Inc. moved to a small storefront located on 12th avenue in Pensacola, where they remained for the next 18 years. At first, this move proved to be more than the group had initially intended, and it was during this time that the group ran into problems they had never experienced before. When the group decided to make the move to Pensacola, they had no

of Ever'man

OCTOBER NATIONAL CO-OP MONTH

idea that the city was not allowing people to serve themselves out of bulk containers. Still, instead of folding under pressure, Ever’man adapted. Volunteers could be seen throughout the store pre-packaging and labeling items for customers to purchase in bulk, which ultimately changed their operation quite a bit. Although this location did not begin the way the group initially intended and almost caused Ever’man to close their doors soon after opening. With a little help from word of mouth and eager returning customers, Ever’man was able to establish itself and grow in this location, by allowing the residents of Pensacola to discover their passion for natural eating. Ever’man’s next move came in 1991 when the Quonset hut on 9th avenue became available. Once an old dry goods store, the old hardwood floors were sure to add a sense of character to the shopper’s experience. After 7 beautiful years on 9th avenue a vacant tire store located on Garden Street, in the heart of Downtown became available, Ever’man made a fourth move and accomplished elements that the founding group could have only dreamed. Our team was able to transform this 11,000 Sq. Ft building into the fullservice store with a deli, community room, and community garden (later to add on a new community education center) that you have all come to know and love today. But we didn’t let that stop us, with bigger and better dreams of providing our local Pensacola community and surrounding areas with the largest selection of local, natural, and organic products Ever’man began construction on a second store in Pensacola. After being in business for nearly 50 years, Ever’man opened its second store on the north side of Pensacola, at 1000 East Nine Mile Rd. Featuring the same services as the Garden St. store, plus features like a pizza bar, burrito/taco bar, hand-dipped gelato, sushi, kombucha, beer & wine on tap, and a walking trail, bringing a whole new meaning to “more than a store. As our team was brainstorming for our new store on Nine Mile Road, we began digging through old boxes of pictures and documents captured at each store over the years. Discovering all of these moments in time gave everyone the perfect idea to use the new store to pay tribute to the evolution that is Ever’man. While, the Nine Mile Rd store has a plethora of incredible details from the wood ceilings in the Wine Cellar, to the cozy Fire pit outside, my favorite feature without a doubt is the wall above the dairy coolers. As you follow the coolers through the back of the store, it is like you are walking through time. Displayed at the beginning of the wall is a drawing of the log cabin, where Ever’man was born. As you continue

to walk, you see the second building that housed the second and third Ever’man location on 12th avenue. If you continue on this path next, you will find a picture of the 9th avenue location. Finally, you will stop at a picture of our Garden Street Ever’man, meaning you have walked our timeline from start to present day. However, the photos are not the only part of our past that we pay homage to on this wall. If you have a keen eye, the photos will not be the single aspect you notice. Instead, you will see an article pulled from an original Healthy Alternative, written in 1982, previously named Yarwacheet. Below is a snippet of the message written on the wall No one could have ever predicted what was to come in 2020 with the nationwide pandemic, but in a world of self-checkouts and curbside pickup, Ever’man stands for community. We will continue to be guided by the same goals our founders had of education, access, support, and sustainability during these times. At Ever'man we will continue to believe in the power of cooperative values like independence, autonomy, community, and participation as we move forward. We understand that if you eat well, you feel good and live better. Because after all, yarwacheet!

“What’s In A Name? Many questions have reached my ears. What does ‘YARWACHEET’ mean? How does one pronounce it? Why call Ever’mans’ Newsletter by such a name? The truth of the matter is that the word ‘YARWACHEET’ is not a word. It is a shortened version of a catch phrase among healthy people today. That phrase is, You are what you eat. Surely its an idea we of Ever’mans believe in strongly. Say the phrase “You are what you eat” with speed, and maybe a southern accent, and you get “Ya-r-wa-ch-eet”. This is where our newsletter got its name.

K.K.