Berkshire Co-Op

Grand Opening

In the olden days—say back in the 1960s and ’70s—getting food through a co-op was a matter of picking up bags of dried beans and other staples that had been ordered in bulk by local folk. They would show up at someone’s garage or community center once a month, break down the orders into individual allotments and drive off in their vehicles, prepared to eat healthily until the next shipment arrived.

Although these early buying clubs met the purchaser’s desire to select their own food sources and to save money, they were limited in their scope and did not provide fresh produce. By the late 1970s, the idea of a cooperative grocery store had taken root in Great Barrington, facilitated by the Southern Berkshire Community Action Agency. By 1981 the concept had become concrete.

The Berkshire Food Co-op was opened in the Granary building on Rosseter Street in November of that year with 160 members. There was still no fresh produce and very few refrigerated or frozen items but the store was active and growing. Indeed, in just 12 years annual sales topped half a million dollars and members opted to double the floor space in use at the granary to 2,200 square feet. Even that soon proved to be too small and in 2003 the Co-op moved to new, spacious quarters on Bridge Street.

The co-op continued to build its reputation for supporting local agriculture, the local economy, its dedication to environmental stewardship and its educational outreach. With its increasing reputation came increased demand and inevitably, with annual sales of more than $8 million and 60 employees, a larger facility was needed.

Wednesday that new store on Bridge Street, with nearly 14,000 square feet of floor space, becomes a reality with a Grand Opening celebration. A ribbon cutting is planned for 7:30AM and the day will feature live music, free gifts for the first 100 customers, live broadcasts from WKZE and WSBS, drawings for two $1,000 gift cards (winners must be present at the drawings, scheduled for 10 AM and 5 PM); samples, demos and local vendors.

The new store features significantly expanded departments, with increased product offerings and a major focus on growing its produce, meat and seafood, prepared foods and bulk departments. Also included is a larger café, a beer and wine department as well as a floral department. Hemp will appear on the shelves, there will be more items in the bulk department and the kids’ corner has been expanded.

With the opening the Berkshire Food Co-op echoes a growing trend in the United States as Americans opt to take back decisions about the food they purchase. In a recent talk at the Mad River Co-op in Winsted, Jon Steinman, author of Grocery Store, The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Stores, said that consumers have been taught that we “vote with our dollars,” but that, as the number of food chains decrease through mergers and acquisitions, “It is less a matter of what we are choosing but who is choosing what is available.”

With co-ops, he argued, the owners (the very people who shop there) decide what to provide.

He listed industry giants such as Walmart, Kroger, Costco and others that control 66 percent of food retailing. “We start to see behaviors of collusion,” he revealed, saying that the chains will often decide with other chains what food will cost. Increasingly, “waves of mergers and acquisitions” gobble up small stores and chains, diminishing competition and food selection.

By contrast, food co-ops are the most secure place to invest food dollars, he asserted. “Not one has ever been acquired. When we’re talking about accountability and responsibility, the co-op is way to do that.”

But, while co-ops are increasingly popular with portions of society, they face increasing challenges form large chains, Steinman reported. “We are now living in a different climate than co-ops used to operate in,” he said. “Most co-ops are formed to provide space for local growers. Now, big grocers are selling ‘locally grown’ products. So co-ops are competing with some of the largest companies in world.”

And, not surprisingly, the big companies cheat. Trying to attract the business of people eager to support local producers, the giants have “changed the ways they determine what is local,” he said. One US chain says it markets locally but its range covers an area from the Great Lakes to Virginia. “It has six-state definition of local,” he reported.

He said that Americans should question how much of the money spent on food goes to the wealthiest big-chain owners and how much is reinvested in communities. “It’s important to know who owns the stores and to talk about the risk to regional chains that have not been acquired,” he cautioned. “It’s also important to talk about the food makers in the community and the new world food producers are operating in. It’s up to us to be a voice for independents against the giants’ manipulation.”

In Great Barrington, the Berkshire Food Co-ops 160 owners have literally put their money where their mouth is. They first contributed a total of $1,375,000 to the co-op in the form of interest-bearing loans to allow for the expansion. Project manager Daniel Esko wrote this spring that this is common practice in the capitalization of cooperative businesses, but was “truly a record-breaking feat for our co-op.” He termed the investors as “truly the unsung heroes of the hour,” but then called on them to provide another $575,000 in new owner loans to cover cost overruns.

One of the benefits of local co-ops, according to Steinman, is that they keep money circulating in the local economy. Esko echoed this when he reported that the owner-lenders, as of March, had been paid more than $80,000 in interest. “ T)his investment opportunity is a great way for owners to keep their money local and see a tangible impact in their community as a result of their investment,” he said.

In addition, he said, the co-op will pump money back into the Berkshires economy by hiring local employees—who earn a minimum of $13 an hour—and increasing purchases of local goods and services to more than $2 million. Esko said wages will continue to be boosted in advance of state mandates until they reach $15 by 2021.

Meanwhile, the co-op will attempt to make itself available to a wider range of purchasers by participating in both the Co+op Basics program which offers everyday low prices on more than 100 popular grocery and household items, and H.E.L.P. (Healthy Eats at Lower Prices) which offers a 10 percent discount on most store purchases for qualified customers. To qualify for the program, applicants must show proof of financial need. No financial information will be saved at the Co-op.

Seniors will get a break, too, by shopping Wednesdays and Sundays when they get 10 percent off.
“The co-op’s mission of providing real food to our community and doing real good is rooted in creating a more cooperative economy,” Esko said. “Our new home is critical to this mission and will help the co-op grow its impact in a big way.”