Citizens Co-Op

By Fine Print Staff

Bridging the gap between the farm and the table

Elizabeth Nesbit went on a tour of the U.S. with her husband and two young children in 2007 in search of a new place to live. What she found were co-ops.

When her family decided to stay in Gainesville, she couldn’t stop thinking about the food cooperatives that inspired her and made her feel connected to the communities.

“I was determined to start one in Gainesville, especially if we were going to stay here,” she said. “We wanted to make this thing happen.”

Nesbit later ran into Gretchen McIntyre, her high-school friend, who was a member of a food cooperative in San Francisco before she moved back to Gainesville. Nesbit told McIntyre her plan to start a co-op in Gainesville.

“She had the weirdest look on her face, and she said she wanted to start one too,” Nesbit said.

The work took off after that.

Citizens Co-op, a community-owned market that will soon be open to the public, has been organized by co-chairs Nesbit and McIntyre for the past two and a half years. A co-op is a voluntary association that organizes to meet cultural needs and aspirations through a community-owned and democratically controlled enterprise like a market.

“We’re not starting up a storefront; we’re trying to build a community around local food and a network of support,” McIntyre said.
Building support and members for the co-op was not easy.

During the first year, community interest spread by word-of-mouth, environmental festival tabling and fundraising concerts.

But interest and community support has taken off in the past six months. Recently, the co-op received a few grants and bought a store space in February.

“I think because we have a physical space now, people are giving more donations and are excited to see what will happen,” McIntyre said.

The members voted on the space at 435 S Main St., and volunteers are helping to renovate and set up. While Citizens Co-op is scheduled to open in May, the organization must first finish construction and receive the proper state permits.

Before opening, there is still a lot to do. Electrical, structural and building work still need to be finished, along with hiring a general manager and staff. The co-op needs to recruit more growers and suppliers and organize administrative operations.

Although the Citizens Co-op newsletter says the store will open on May 1, McIntyre said her goal to open would be anytime in the month of May.

An important motivation in opening the co-op is to facilitate eating locally. Providing a center that has fresh and locally raised foods is a way to ensure more money stays in the community and supports Alachua farmers’ and neighbors’ livelihoods.

According to McIntyre, about 1.7 times more money stays in the community if spent at a local co-op instead of a corporate franchise.

She said about 95 percent of the food supply in Alachua County comes from outside markets, where customers have little more information about the products than where they were grown, which may be as far as China.

Eating locally is a way to ensure security of safer farming practices. Members can drive a few miles away to learn about how their food was grown, if any chemicals were used and when the food was picked.

A big part of the co-op is to educate people about where their food comes from, Nesbit said. Not only would there be better quality food, but more money to stimulate the economy and support local growers.

“We’re just trying to add something to the community,” she said. “I think we have enough diversity and demand that we can do that without causing harm to other parts of the community.”

Local farmworkers struggle to compete with produce that is perfectly shaped and colored at corporate grocery stores. The co-op would provide a way for its members to go to a store and buy locally grown produce with the same convenience as going to a corporate grocery.

There are more than 500 members and investors in Citizens Co-op. And more support is still needed to allow the co-op to reach as many people as possible and to nurture new projects like opening up a kitchen to serve local food recipes, McIntyre said.

A lifetime membership costs $100 per household and can be paid in quarterly installments. For low-income homes, the membership cost is $25. Investors pay $500.

Members and investors enjoy the benefits of electing or running for the board of directors. They also receive a portion of the profits at the end of each year.

“I think the coolest thing is people will feel a really direct connection in it,” Nesbit said. “The community will feel like a part of its growth and how it develops.”

Before thinking about profits, McIntyre said she is focused on just getting the store open and building a supportive and creative environment. After the construction and organization is complete, McIntyre said she hopes the store will be a central hub for the community to cooperate and serve as a platform for people to launch other businesses.

“We are building a community center where people can hang out, get engaged, care and get motivated to do other projects,” she said.

For more information or to join the co-op, check out the Citizens Co-op web site, www.citizensco-op.com.