First Alaskan Food Co-op Wins Startup of the Year
One of Twelve Startups to Open in Past Year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2014
CONTACT:Stuart Reid, Executive Director
Food Co-op Initiative
507-664-2034;
DENNISON, MN – Food Co-op Initiative (FCI) today announced the 2014 Food Co-op Startup of the Year goes to Co-op Market Grocery and Deli, of Fairbanks, AK. Lauded for its leadership, retail excellence, and commitment to building the local economy, Co-op Market beat out twelve other co-ops that opened storefronts since June 2013.
The Startup the Year award recognizes achievement by a retail grocery cooperative in organizing and opening a successful co-op grocery store. The 6,000 square-foot store opened in March 2013 and was brought to fruition by the grassroots efforts of city residents as part of a broader downtown revitalization strategy. Today Co-op Market has 2,680 member owners, 20 employees, and its sales for 2014 are on track to reaching $2.8 million.
Co-op Market has experienced strong growth, far exceeding sales predictions, despite the many challenges of operating in Alaska. Co-op Market sits in a food desert tract where 46% of low-income residents lack access to a healthy food store within a half-mile. This new store serves a community with a high percentage of Native Alaskan households, and one where the average income is only 54% of the median. The Co-op emphasizes local products, providing a retail outlet for small farmers, ranchers, fishers, and producers in the region to sell to their own community.
As Stuart Reid, FCI Executive Director, presented this year’s award, he stated, "Fairbanks’ Co-op Market is a role model for how an organized community can work together to create a cooperative business to meet its needs. While more distant than any startup in modern history, it took advantage of the full support that we and the food co-op community have to offer, inspiring fellow Alaskan communities to do the same." There are currently three new food co-op initiatives organizing in the state.
The Startup of the Year award is sponsored by CDS Consulting Co-op and coordinated by Food Co-op Initiative, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to enabling a faster and more efficient startup process for communities who want to develop new retail grocery co-ops. Food Co-op Initiative provides consultation, training, grants, and an online library of multimedia resources to startups.
There are currently 113 food co-op in development across the nation, and 70 have opened in the past five years, totaling over $155 million in annual sales, 1,006 new jobs, and 88,000 members. Forty more have stated their intention of opening in the next 18 months.
The past year’s store openings include:
- Co-op Market Grocery and Deli (Fairbanks, AK)
- Second Kitchen Co-op (Boulder, CO)
- Near East Side Co-op (Columbus, OH)
- Honey Creek Market (Plain, WI)
- Hometown Harvest (Mitchell, NE)
- All Things Local Co-op (Amherst, NE)
- Waimanalo Market Co-op (Waimanalo, HI)
- Doylestown Food Co-op (Doylestown, PA)
- Purple Porch (South Bend, IN)
- Local First Grocery (Manitou Springs, CO)
- Dubuque Food Co-op (Dubuque, IA)
- Orcas Food Co-op (Eastsound, WA)
About Food Co-op Initiative
Food Co-op Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping communities transform their co-op vision into reality. As the only national organization dedicated exclusively to supporting startup food co-ops, our services enable hundreds of volunteer groups to improve healthy and local food access, build local economy, and reap the many social benefits cooperatives bring to communities. The Initiative’s grants, free consultations, and extensive library of educational resources have helped dozens of co-ops get their start since its inception in 2010.
Food Co-op Initiative was founded in response to a rising wave of interest in establishing new retail food co-ops, a surge more dramatic than any since the 1960s. Today the retail grocery industry is sophisticated and highly competitive. Co-ops thrive by being the best at satisfying their communities’ needs—through product selection, customer service, education, support for local producers, and local reinvestment.
###
To schedule interviews or request photos, please contact Stuart Reid of Food Co-op Initiative at or 507-664-2034.
More information is available at: foodcoopinitiative.coop