2017 DEC PASO Magazine

GROWING IN EARNEST
PASO ROBLES FOOD COOPERATIVE SEEKS NEW MEMBERS
By Melissa Chavez
Paso Robles Food Cooperative,
now over 130 members strong, seeks additional
members to help establish a brick-andmortar
market in Paso Robles to provide fresh
food and create nutritionally and economically
strong communities in a responsibly stewarded
environment.
PASO FOOD CO-OP BENEFITS
Each member is an owner and eligible to
reap product discounts. Money spent at the coop
helps build the community by supporting
local, sustainable food production. Local purchasing
and management also enables higher
wages than a conventional store.
Food choices are available to meet everyone’s
needs: organic, grass-fed, GMO-free, biodynamic
and raw, vegan, and gluten-free. Education
and cooking classes are also an integral
part of the practice, which helps people improve
their own health and enhance an overall
quality of life.
Imagine a place where you can purchase fresh, food ingredients
grown right where you live. Everything sustainably raised and
grown without pesticides. The dollars you spend go right back
into your community and supports local workforce. Sound too good to
be true? It isn’t. It exists, and it’s a trend that is taking root nationwide.
EXISTING CO-OPS
Cooperatives come in many familiar forms.
Several local examples are: Farm Supply, Miner’s
ACE and Blake’s TrueValue hardware stores,
and federal credit unions. Other storefronts include
Gina’s Natural Elements, Spice of Life,
and Olive Diva.
NATIONWIDE SUCCESS
There are 1.3 million food co-op members
across America. The statistics impress: 89% of
meat sold is sustainably raised, 82% of the produce
sold is organically grown and 74% of food
waste is recycled. The average co-op purchases
from 51 local farms and 106 local producers.
Consumer-owned co-ops work with 157
local farmers/producers, carry three times as
much locally-sourced products, donate three
times as much annual income to charity than
conventional grocers, and pay their employees
higher wages and benefits than conventional
stores. Thirty-eight percent of co-op revenue is
Photo courtesy of Paso Food Co-op, logo by Lacey Akins Marketing & Design
Board of Directors, left to right, are Gabe Smith, Justin
Page, Gregory John Ellis, Lacey Akins and Barrie Valencia
spent locally, versus 24 percent of conventionally-owned
stores. For every $1,000 spent at a food
co-op, more than $1,600 is generated in the local
economy, or 1.5 times than a regular store.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR PASO FOOD CO-OP?
Throughout December, the co-op is promoting
vendors of gifts in its “Buy Local” challenge
to support local members. Interested businesses
can contact the co-op directly at 727-3745.
The first 200 Founding Members who join
the Paso Food Co-op will have their names
displayed on a plaque inside the store, but every
member has an equal voice to help decide how
the co-op is organized and managed. A onetime
membership is $300, which can also be paid
in $25 monthly installments.
Run by volunteers, help is always welcome
at the co-op. Among their goals is to provide a
meeting space in which to hold classes, events
and even a little café. To learn more, visit ncg.
coop/what-co-op and pasofoodcooperative.com.
34 PASO Magazine, December 2017