rogers park food co-op.

[mopinko]

posted this link in a thread about the rise of co-ops, but thought i should put it here, too.
proud to be an owner in this venture, and think it will be great for my farm. very interesting group. project is likely at least 2 years away from start up, but they seem to have a great groundwork laid.
a primary focus is to help small farmers market their goods, which is quite the pita. they will also be giving grants to farmers for things like seeds for crops they wish to carry, and equipment like hydroponics and hoop houses.

http://www.rogersparkfoodcoop.com

[eloydude]

1. Will it have kosher food?

Going to try to direct my sister to that co-op... she lives in West Rogers Park.

[mopinko]

2. it depends on what the owners want, but

they will do their best to source local, and be focused on fresh foods.
they do want a full service grocery store, but how to work that all out will depend on the owners.

i am not that up on kosher laws. from what i understand there is a broad cross cultural connection around things like food purity. there is a strong jewish population around here. i am sure that if enough owners want it, they will have it.
she should buy in so she has a say.

[mucifer]

3. Best wishes with your venture

Is it gonna be like the Dill Pickle Co-op? That one is much closer to my home but pretty expensive. Still fun to go to a real co-op sometimes even if you pay more than other places.

[mopinko]

4. hey gotta pay that green tax if

you want to save the world.

yeah, working w a lot of the same people as the dill pickle.
plan to be one of their suppliers. this is a very important niche for very small farmers. marketing and aggregating for institutional buyers is a real sticking point.