EXPANSION VISIONS by Sage Turner, Finance & Expansion Project Manager
Opportunity Engagement Purpose Viability Visioning Values Principles Understanding The time has come! Your support and commitment to the Co-op has led us all to an incredible opportunity. We’ve been listening to your feedback and a bigger, better store is on the horizon. With several years of amazing growth behind us and huge leaps in ownership, we recognize we are busting at the seams and ready for expansion. We own our property, another parking lot, and have an option to purchase on our neighboring property. We have commissioned studies to determine feasibility of a larger store in our location and in other locations and learned that we have great potential on our current site. The Co-op’s vision is to be a transformative force in our community and work and to serve as a model of a sustainable business alternative that nurtures social and economic well-being in an environmentally sensitive manner. 2015 is our 40th year and we are stronger than ever. We currently support community programs like LEAF in Schools & Streets and Go! Kitchen Ready
job training. We pay a Certified Living Wage. We focus on local food, organics, quality, and product sourcing. We host a 44-tent farmer’s market. We issue rebates to owners based on purchases and offer monthly and quarterly discounts to owners. We are doing wonderful things! Which begs the question, could we be doing more? Every dollar spent at co-ops reinvests $.38 into the local economy, compared with $.24 at other grocers. With so many successful natural grocers in the area, could we be capturing more sales dollars and thereby infusing more dollars into our local economy? Should we be looking into more options than just grocery? Other co-ops are doing community kitchens and cooking classes, co-op computer labs, co-op libraries, and shared office space. Some have ventured into parking structures and affordable housing. continued on page 2