The Macomb Food Co-op won’t be moving after all.
The owners of the building it’s located in put the building up for sale in the past year, which led to months of uncertainty for the co-op.
But now, a co-op member has stepped up and bought the building.
Staying put rather than moving will allow the organization to save on the costs of relocating and renovating a new space, according to John Lane, president of the food co-op board.
“That (moving) is a huge other project that doesn’t really serve any of our core missions,” Lane said. “If we don’t do that, we can keep rolling into being a better grocery store, and we are starting to serve a little bit as a local food hub for distribution.”
The Macomb Food Co-op, 211 S. McArthur St. in Macomb, is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Lane hopes to expand those hours. He said the co-op has a deep bench of volunteers who help run the store, write grants, and more.
“We have quite a bit of local support, and we’re already pretty well positioned here to keep doing what we’re doing,” Lane said.
In addition, he hopes they can now expand on what they do by adding a certified kitchen.
“That’s definitely an ambition,” Lane said.
He said the kitchen could produce ready-to-eat meals, deli foods, and baked goods.
“We’re hoping to be a platform that entrepreneurs can build on in western Illinois to produce shelf-stable products,” Lane said.
He also hopes to improve the building’s exterior and make the co-op more visible by adding signage, repainting the building, and planting flowers and landscaping.
Lane said that during the six months he’s been involved with the food co-op, he’s witnessed how much it means to the community.
“I’ve been really struck by the number of people who have put lots of their time and money and energy into this operation over the years. There have been so many people that have contributed to getting us to this point,” Lane said.
He said the co-op was in the black financially over the winter even though that’s their slow time of the year. He believes that’s an indication that they are achieving stability.
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