By expanding, the Co-op seeks to increase access to healthy food and good nutrition for the community by offering a broader selection of natural foods, more deli and ready-to-eat foods (with a dedicated seating area to enjoy them in), improved meat selection, and more space for shopping our produce department. We aim to improve our pricing in the new store too, as increased volume will allow us to be even more competitive with pricing.
By expanding the Co-op we also seek to increase our sales of locally-grown and made products. In our shopper survey this was an important piece for a large majority of respondents. More space to merchandise local products means we can keep more dollars circulating in the local economy.
Additionally, the Co-op seeks to increase its impact by growing our capacity to support and partner with like-minded organizations with missions surrounding local health. These include, for example, the North Coast Food Web, local events such as Run on the River, Columbia Memorial Hospital, local schools and more. Finally, the operation of the new store will require more employees. More local jobs that pay living wages in our community will certainly have a positive impact!