There is some big news brewing over in West Chester—a group of committed volunteers are in the early planning stages of developing a community-owned, full-service cooperative grocery store.
Food co-ops are member-owned and -controlled and membership is open to all. While the store will be open to the public, the members will determine the direction and development of the store and its services. Co-ops encourage member participation and feedback, and operate to meet member-determined goals. The growing food co-op movement is making it possible for consumers to take back control of their own food supply.
The West Chester Food Co-op has already reached out to vendors at The West Chester Growers Market to offer new opportunities for local producers to reach more consumers. Additionally, the West Chester Food Co-op hopes to support community efforts at hunger relief, nutrition education, environmental protection, and other issues to benefit the region.
Interested in getting involved in their start-up efforts? The co-op is looking for volunteers who are savvy in social media, IT and web design, community outreach, communications, marketing, and graphic design.
Additionally, there are opportunities to assist with leadership in the development of the co-op by participating on the steering committee or assuming a sub-committee role.
The co-op is holding a meeting on Monday, August 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the West Chester Municipal Building, Room 240 (401 East Gay St., West Chester) to review and adopt the steering committee charter and elect steering committee members.
Some fun and informative events are currently in the works, too. On August 7, the co-op will have a table at Swingin’ Summer Thursday, a festival for the whole family that features great food, live music, clowns, dancers and more from 6:30–9:30 p.m. between Gay and Darlington Streets.
On September 11, join the co-op for happy hour from 5–8 p.m. in the St. Andrews room at Church of the Holy Trinity (212 S. High St., West Chester). Enjoy a buffet featuring local food, local beer and music. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
For more information about the West Chester Co-op, please visit their Facebook page. Ready to volunteer? Send them an email to to wcfoodcoop@verizon.net.
