Who Builds a Co-op?

Who builds a Co-op?  Its member/owners!

The Co-op is calling for volunteers as we continue our journey towards opening the store.  The work we have to do will happen in three phases:  growing our Co-op right now, building our brick-and-mortar space, and ultimately running the store.

Since January, we are an established cooperative business more than 250 members strong.  Our priority right now is growing the membership base and funding needed to open our doors.  Because we are all friends and neighbors, this process is fun, creative, and extremely rewarding.

We're looking for a wide range of skills from within the people who make up the Co-op.  That's you!  Please take our skills survey, which lists the specific things we need in all three phases.  You probably have something unique to offer that we haven't even thought of - so tell us that, too.

Now is the time to get involved and make your Co-op what you want it to be.

Click here to take the Member Skills Inventory today!

-Erin Ball,  Buy Local Chair

Survey Results!

First of all, thank you to everyone who filled out our first survey!  Your input, whether through surveys, emails and Facebook, our community forums, or happy hours – is vital to our community effort of forming the Richmond Food Co-op.

We hosted a short survey in January and February to ask you where you shop for groceries, what you like about it, and what the Co-op can do differently and better.  Our final tally was 108 Richmonders!  Technical speak disclaimer:  108 is a big number to us, but in statistics it's small.  Also, because the survey was mainly promoted on the Co-op's blog and facebook page, these results don't represent all of Richmond, but an outspoken group of people interested in what we're doing here.  And outspoken you were!  Almost everyone left long comments, and we read every one.

First, we asked where you spend most of your grocery dollars now.  About half of you shop at traditional chain grocery stores.  Around 30% said you mainly shop at either specialty or local health food stores.  This suggests our crowd is already willing to try something different.

We asked you to rate your primary store on different aspects, and also overall.  Below are the average overall ratings in each case.  You told us chain and specialty chain groceries meet your needs “Somewhat well.”  Local and health food stores scored slightly higher.  The few customers of CSA’s/Online gave very high scores, as did Superstore customers.

Thinking about your primary grocery store:   How well does the store meet your needs overall?   1-Very Poorly, 2-Somewhat Poorly,  3-Somewhat Well, 4-Very Well	# Listed as Main Store	Avg Score
Chain grocery (Martin’s, Kroger, Food Lion, Farm Fresh)	56	2.9
Chain specialty grocery (Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Fresh Market, Tom Leonards)	18	3.0
Local and/or health food store (Ellwood Thompson, Good Foods, Farm to Family, Libbie Market)	16	3.3
Farmers markets	6	3.0
Superstores (Wal-mart, Target)	4	3.8
CSAs and online buying opportunities (Fall Line Farms, Relay Foods)	4	3.8
Buying clubs (Costco, Sam's, BJ's)	3	3.3
Other	1	3.0
Total	108	3.1

We asked you to choose from a list of top factors you look for in a grocery store.  This tells us what we should focus on for the Co-op.  While quality, convenience, and price – that is, practical value – come first, Organic selection is as important as price to this group.  Organic was selected more often then Local, but there is more to this, as we’ll see later.

Next, let's look at the top six factors chosen. Among those who chose them as top factors, we have colored this chart by how well their current grocery store meets that need.  Though fewer people chose Local than Organic, they are relatively less satisfied with the Local selection at their stores than Organic shoppers are with their Organic selection.

Remember, the chart above showed satisfaction of just those listing Organic or Local as a top factor.  When we look at everyone who answered the survey, the difference is even more pronounced.  Over half of you said your need for local foods was somewhat or very poorly met at your current store (mostly poorly).  That's almost twice the dissatisfaction everyone reported with Organics. 

The last thing we asked you was what the Richmond Food Co-op could do differently that would make you want to shop there.  This question was open-ended, and most of you gave long, detailed responses.  While price was still at the top of the list, local food was the second-most mentioned.  The enthusiasm for supporting our local food economy is clear.  The Richmond Food Co-op has the opportunity to be a part of the solution here.  Our mission and guiding principles explicitly support this goal.

Specifically, we plan to open the store with as much locally-sourced food as we can.  Then we will set goals to increase that percentage each year.  As we get closer to opening, we will form a committee of member/owners who will work together to source products in the store.

Varied comments about having knowledgeable staff and a friendly atmosphere tell us that personality is important.  You also gave many specific requests for types of groceries, from a bulk aisle to organic or humanely-raised meats, fresh, in-season produce, and the ability to find most of your staples.  One in ten of you specifically said you were already familiar with food co-ops and are excited Richmond is forming one!

A few had questions about the Co-op's location, and food access equality throughout our city.  This is an important issue.  The Co-op's model is to be economically sustainable for its member/owners, while also being mission-driven.  We plan to partner with Richmond-area food-related non-profits.  We encourage your creative ideas.  You can read more here.

It is exciting that so many Richmonders share the vision for a community food co-op!  Everything you mentioned has been on our minds in the Steering Committee Meetings.  The most important step in shaping the Co-op is by joining – so if you’ve been considering becoming a member/owner do it today – membership is ownership!

Thank you!

The Survey Says...

The Richmond Food Co-op wants to know!

The Richmond Food Co-op wants to hear from you!  As a Richmonder, your ideas will help make the Co-op a unique addition to our city's growing foodscape.  Together, we can make the Richmond Food Co-op the best place to buy healthy food.

Members of the community will own the Richmond Food Cooperative.  We will use our combined buying power to access sustainable, local, and organic food for a reasonable price.  Profits will be fed back into the store, or distributed to member share owners.

Please think about where you shop for groceries now, what's important to you, and above all what you wish for.

Click HERE to take our first survey.

In coming months, we will continue to ask you, the member, what you want your Co-op to be.  What is important to carry in the store?  How will we use the community space?  So get engaged, get creative, and keep on the lookout for future announcements.  We're planning forum-style meetings, happy hours, and more questionnaires.