The building rented by the Macomb Food Co-op is up for sale.
That left the organization with a decision to make: close the store, rent a different building, or buy the building.
Co-op Board Chair Margaret Ovitt said they don’t want to close, and renting would involve moving and renovating a new space.
“Looking at our present fiscal situation, it made much more fiscal sense to buy the building and use what we already have,” Ovitt said.
The co-op board is now putting together a building campaign to raise the money. Their goal is to come up with $80,000.
Attracting customers
Board member Alyson Sturgis said they’re also trying to raise the co-op’s profile in the community.
“I think there’s a lot more we can do to attract customers to come in here,” she said, adding they might even change the name.
Sturgis said you don’t have to be a member to shop there.
“There’s a niche in Macomb for the co-op, for local producers, for specialty items, and for your everyday groceries,” Sturgis said.
The building is at the corner of McArthur and Washington streets near downtown Macomb.
The co-op board also hopes to attract more volunteers to run the store so they can expand their hours. The store is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Helping local producers
Ovitt said one reason the co-op started was to help start local producers, especially after the farmers market closed for the season.
“I remember talking to one of the producers, and she had all these beautiful pumpkins and squashes and onions. And I said, what are you going to do with this? And she said they’re going on the compost because there’s no place to sell them,” Ovitt said.
She said it seemed like a waste of delicious food.
Ovitt said a group got together to talk about what could be done, and the food co-op grew out of that.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
