A Truly Cooperative Business

Skagit Valley Food Co-op Stands
Small but Proud in Local Grocery Industry

Twenty-eight years ago, a small group of people who wanted organic foods opened a cooperative in the basement of a church. Volunteers manned the store, buckets held bulk grains and flours, and customers brought their own containers.

Today, after an extensive renovation, the Skagit Valley Food Co-op encompasses 15,000 square feet — the entire first floor of the Bertelson-Pirkle Building in downtown Mount Vernon — employs 70 persons and expects more than $5 million in gross sales this year. And although it still features a large, dry-bulk-foods department, the co-op is just like a major supermarket, offering everything from cheeses and wine or beer to fresh meats and produce, from vitamin and herbal supplements to pet products, household cleaners and paper items.

“All the departments are covered, just like a regular grocery store, but the difference is, there are no harmful additives,” explains Todd Wood, general manager.

And it’s strictly a community store — owned by 5,000 member-owners. “It’s the largest locally owned grocery store in the area,” Wood states, “and that brings a certain satisfaction.” Because of its cooperative ownership, the business can’t be sold, so he predicts it will be around for quite a while.

The addition of 3,500 square feet in March this year opened the doors to one-stop shopping for the health-conscious community. A second-floor mezzanine created for the co-op’s popular café, The Deli Next Door, features tables for individuals or groups, is attractively decorated with a changing artwork display, and overlooks the delicatessen, wider aisles and expanded departments.

New to the co-op is a fresh meat and seafood department. The store offered free-range, organic chicken before, but it’s added meat from the Oregon Country Beef Cooperative, as well as natural pork and troll-caught salmon.

 

Buying locally, globally

Wood notes that the Skagit Valley Food Co-op, which he’s managed for 23 years, deals with as many local farmers as possible to offer healthful, wholesome, fresh fruit and vegetables in its expanded produce department. But it also has a “global connection,” because food comes from all over the world. For example, he says, “coffee isn’t just coffee anymore; it’s all organic, shade-grown, fair-trade coffee. We were the first in Skagit County to sell gourmet beans.”

“Our focus is to sell quality products, and it’s a challenge to get people to see through some of the higher-priced items,” he comments. “We have many competitively priced foods as well, and try to balance our commitment to quality with prices that are not beyond our customers’ means.”

About a thousand people a day come through the four new cash-register aisles, shopping for groceries, organic coffee beans, books, gift items or clothing and eating at the deli.

It has taken many years of educating the public about natural foods, but finally — society having become more health conscious — now the co-op has competition in organic foods from supermarkets. Wood sees this competition as a positive, since it just serves to expose more people to its quality. “But we carry more products and we teach people how to use them,” he points out.

“Tofu used to be the butt of many jokes,” he quips, “but now the health benefits of soy products are well known. It’s rewarding to see the mass media and the chain groceries get on board. The grocery business is a fast-paced industry. Change happens quickly.”

Wood sees a future challenge in not allowing the overall quality of organic foods to become diluted. For example, cooperatives are working to get labeling for and to educate the public about genetically altered foods, he states.

The co-op’s growth has paralleled the organic farm industry, which in turn grew with the demand. “Twenty-five years ago, the products just weren’t out there,” Wood declares.

Hundreds of community food co-ops sprang up in the early ’70s, but the number has shrunk considerably. “We had to embrace more traditional business principles or close,” recalls Wood. Skagit Valley Food Co-op is now a member of the Northwest Cooperative Grocery Association, a 12-member group that spans an area from Bozeman, Mont., to Ashland, Ore.

 

Moves and expansions

In 1974, the co-op moved from its church basement location to a 1,000-square-foot storefront at Second and Pine streets (now Mark’s On Pine Square). When Wood started as manager in 1978, the co-op had a staff of three part-time employees and a large number of volunteers. It brought in $120,000 that year.

The business moved to its present site at 202 S. First St. in 1985, occupying 5,000 square feet at one end of the building. It added another 2,000 square feet and opened the deli in 1988. An additional 4,000 square feet expansion was done in 1991.

The nonprofit cooperative is run by a five-member, elected board of directors headed by Frances Ambrose, who began as a volunteer in the 1970s. Membership is based on a “one member, one vote” policy and open to anyone for a $5 initial fee and $2 a month up to $100. Membership is like a loan, Wood explains. If a member moves out of the area, the money is refunded. Members get discounts on products, but anyone can shop at the store.

And because of that membership, much of the cost of the latest expansion was covered. “Traditionally in a business, one or two owners put up a lot (of money), but in a cooperative, thousands put up a little,” Wood explains.

In addition to products sold, the Skagit Valley Food Co-op offers health classes, most of them open to the public at no cost. “Education has always been a part of our mission,” he adds.

The store is open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The future appears bright for the community-owned business. “We’re seeing strong support from all generations, with those who were kids when we first started now bringing in their children. Area growth will somewhat dictate ours, but we feel we can grow the business here.

“We’re happy with our location,” Wood emphasizes. “We have a strong desire to support and be a part of the downtown.”