Straight from the farm to the plate8212;that’s the goal of the Wasatch Cooperative Market, set to open its doors in April 2011, potentially in the U’s neighborhood.
The market’s board of directors is scouting different areas of Salt Lake City to build the market, including Sugar House, the Avenues or close to the U. Alison Einerson, a member of the market’s board of directors, said it will be similar to a grocery store that focuses on natural foods.
Justin Rich, a member of the market’s board of directors, said he felt the market could have a great impact on students who would benefit from supporting a community-owned business and purchasing from local growers. The goal is to minimize the distance the food travels from the farm to the plate, he said.
Another purpose of the market would be to provide a resource that is focused on locally grown and provided foods, Einerson said.
“(The market is) like Whole Foods, but not corporately owned,” Einerson said.
The Wasatch Cooperative Market will adopt a mostly traditional cooperative arrangement, which means members pay a one-time fee of $300 and own a part of the store.
“(It’s) like a share in a company,” Einerson said. “But it’s a partnership.”
A consumer-owned co-op market, as described on the Wasatch Cooperative Market website, is a store owned by the people who use it. It is also owned and operated by members in the community who see annual refunds proportionate to their patronage of the co-op.
Rich said the group began as interested parties who all wanted to create a grocery store that would serve the community in better ways.
“We felt like there was a hole here,” he said.
Rich said he wants to be more familiar about where his food comes from, and the market’s members would have the opportunity to guide the direction of the store by providing input and voting at board meetings.
The major benefit of such a market is that more money is kept local, Rich said.
“Most co-ops keep about 60 percent of revenue in the local market,” he said.
Einerson said the market would work with traditional health-food distributors to offer familiar brands and a range of options. Currently, there is little to no competition with other mainstream supermarkets, Einerson said.
The market will not be private, and customers do not need to be members to shop there, Einerson said.
“This is a market for everyone,” she said.
Einerson said the market is working on raising capital funds through the member-owner fee. Once they have workable capital in place, they will use that money to seek additional funding and conduct feasibility studies and location searches, Einerson said.
“The more member-owners, the better,” Einerson said.