Eastside Food Co-op Set to Open The First New Co-op in the Twin Cities in Decades

The east side of Minneapolis (i.e. east of the river) and the north side (i.e. north of downtown) do not have a food co-op. To change this, people in Northeast Minneapolis started organizing to open a co-op in the mid-1990s. But opening a co-op is not an easy thing to do. When the original group ran out of steam another group of energetic folks agreed to carry forward the work. They re-incorporated, changed the name to Eastside Food Co-op and started fresh. This time it's going to stick. With 600+ member-owners and having raised well over $1,000,000 of financing to date, Eastside is poised to open in October - the first new Minneapolis co-op store in decades. A building at Central Ave. and 26th Ave. was purchased in March and the new general manager was hired. Several co-ops have closed in the last 20 years but none have begun, until now. The opening of Eastside Food Co-op will be a bright spot for all friends of Twin Cities co-ops.

Eastside is very appreciative of the generous contributions it received from the Wedgeshare program. By assisting our co-op Wedge is acting with integrity to the 6th principle of the Rochdale Principles of Cooperation, which calls for co-ops to cooperate. In the same spirit, Eastside is approaching the North Country Development Fund (i.e. a co-op financial institution) for a loan.

Maybe you would like to personally help open the first co-op of the new millennium? There are several ways that Wedge members can help Eastside - by volunteering, joining, and/or shopping. First, we need volunteers for our membership and marketing outreach. There are 626 member-owners now, yet 1,000 are needed to capitalize and sustain the store as customers. Therefore, there are active outreach campaigns including door-to-door canvasing in Northeast neighborhoods. Also, we attend local events and meetings to give out information and sign up members. Both campaigns need more volunteers. Check out eastsidefoodcoop.org/getinvolved.htm or contact Michael Darger at michaeldarger@yahoo.com for more information.

Do you live in N.E., North or S.E. Minneapolis or a northeast suburb? Many Wedge members do. You might consider joining Eastside Food Co-op too. Joining Eastside costs $100 per household. A low-income membership and an installment plan are available. Or you could make a contribution instead. If you REALLY want to invest, you could make a personal loan. Our member-owners have already loaned $180,000 to the co-op but more financing is needed to sustain the co-op through its startup period.

Finally, on Saturday mornings Eastside sponsors the only organic farmer's market in the Twin Cities. The market is held in the parking lot of St. Boniface Church south of Broadway on University Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. Volunteers are needed to staff the membership information table.

Thanks again Wedge members for your support. For more information please go to www.eastsidefoodcoop.org or call 612-788-0950.