Ready For A Healthy Food Revolution
Nourish Co-op Organizing in Northeast Denver
By Anneli Berube
Special to the GPHN
Denver is in the midst of a food revolution, actually, a co-op revolution.
There are currently three start-up food co-ops preparing to launch in Denver, and we are lucky enough to have one, Nourish Community Market, here in our own community. Interested in joining this historic movement? Keep on reading.
A food co-op is simply a grocery store owned by the people who use it and/or work there. Nourish Community Market, to be based in Northeast metro Denver, will be a community-owned natural foods grocery store. Unlike a traditional grocery store, thousands of community members are shareholders, instead of a small group of wealthy investors.
Like most co-ops, Nourish will focus on supporting the local community through purchasing from local farms, hiring local employees, and supporting the community and local organizations.
Outside of the ownership structure, Nourish will operate much like other natural foods grocery stores. The staff is paid, not volunteers. Shelves will be stocked with familiar brands, and everyone will be able to shop there, not just member-owners. A co-op is unique in that all owners benefit from the success of the store through an annual dividend program (much like REI), and will get to vote for the board of directors and make other important strategic decisions at annual meetings (this year’s is scheduled for Oct. 19).
Co-ops have been around since the 1800s, but gained popularity during the health food movement of the 60s and 70s. Recently there has been a resurgence in the model, and cities across the country are revitalizing and opening new, modern co-ops.
In addition to Nourish in northeast Denver, there are two other food cooperatives working to open in the Mile High City, both on the west side. Westwood Food Cooperative is working to bring a grocery store to an area in southwest Denver that has not had a grocery store for more than 10 years. West Colfax Food Co-op is the newest project working to open a store along the West Colfax corridor west of I-25. All of these neighborhoods are considered food deserts, with demands for more local and healthy food.
Nourish is the most developed of the three co-ops, with just under 750 member-owners and a potential site finally within reach. Each member has contributed a one-time equity payment of $200.
In order to open the doors Nourish needs at least 2,000 member-owners, so we still have some work to do.
For years the biggest challenge had been finding the right location for a 10,000 square foot store with adequate parking, visibility and a price that is viable for a community-run business. But lease negotiations are currently being pursued, and soon we will announce a location.
The next step is to launch a capital campaign where we’ll be looking to raise an additional $1 million-plus from member-owners in the form of non-voting preferred shares. Because we are looking at a new development project, we are anticipating Nourish to open its doors in 2018.
Since we know we have some time before we open, this summer we launched the Nourish Fresh Food Box program. Working with local farmers, we’re bringing healthy, fresh, local food to the Stapleton neighborhood east of Park Hill every Thursday.
For more information about Nourish Community Market, visit nourish.coop or follow us on Facebook. If you have questions, please email info@nourish.coop.
Anneli Berube is the outreach coordinator for Nourish Co-op.