Menomonie Market Food Cooperative

The Autobiography OF THE Menomonie Market Food Cooperative

Compiled by Patrick Pesek-Herriges from: timelines by Rick Sitzman and Warren Lang; stories collected by Charis Collins; interviews and emails with owners; review of MMFC archives. Edited by Crystal Halvorson Design by Rebecca Schon Kilde Cover art by Will Christenson

published 2015

1 A small, thoughtful group of Menomonie residents started a food buying club and then a church choir loft-sized food store in 1973. Just over four decades later, the cooperative they launched has opened its newly-built 13,000 sq. ft. Menomonie Market Food Co-op. This is the co-op’s autobiography, written by the owners of Menomonie Market Food Cooperative and by MMFC’s remarkable staff. It’s unfinished because we continue to change and grow. MMFC was born when mimeograph machines and land lines were how we communicated, and we continue to thrive in the age of emails, websites, blogs and cyber publication. This publication can be found online. We invite you, our owners and community members, to fill in the blanks with pictures, stories, names, newspaper clippings. You can find instructions for submission on our website at www.mmfc.coop.

Menomonie Market Food Co-op will be central to a thriving healthy community. Because of us customers have local access to healthy choices for their physical, social, and environmental needs; the local food system is strengthened; the cooperative model is supported; our owners have a vital sense of ownership and belonging; and employees enjoy sustainable, equitable, and dignified employment. Prologue Patrick Pesek-Herriges, Board member

When Jan and I moved from rural Bar- professional operation of their co- ron County to Menomonie, we joined op “enterprise.” And, as part of the MMFC. It was a “no-brainer.” We had self-education and visioning process learned the value of good quality food, of our board, I got involved in analysis and we shopped at the co-op when and definition of our “Ends” statement. we could get to Menomonie. Also, a That, in turn, opened doors to learning local community-owned market made about alternative economics—genera- better economic sense than chain gro- tive economics, as opposed to the eco- cers. Better food; better economics. We nomics of extraction and exploitation. joined because our values led us there. Now, after these experiences, I see co- We knew that people we knew had operatives as more than good grocery launched MMFC 34 years before we stores. Our work in cooperation is part joined. We didn’t know that many oth- of a community-building alternative to er friends and people we came to know corporate and chain business models had invested their time and money to encamped in and weakening the econ- keep the co-op alive during troubled omies of our cities and towns. times. I didn’t know that Studebaker We are at a successful, happy moment was not only the make of the first auto- in the history of Menomonie Market mobile I owned (1947 Starlight Coupe) Food Co-op. Ownership is growing; but also the surname of Rose—one of the store is flourishing. I feel hugely those heroic people who nurtured our rewarded by time spent looking into co-op. Nor did I understand the full sig- this history, of co-ops in general and nificance of the cooperative movement of MMFC in particular. I feel grateful for and its alternative economics. the creative work of the MMFC found- When I accepted a friend’s suggestion ers, for the dedicated owners who to run for board membership—and was helped it survive and grow, and for the elected—I soon learned that co-ops amazing work of our General Manager were the invention of an oppressed and her operations team. economic group, notably in England The MMFC story is about community during times chronicled by the novels members achieving their vision by of Charles Dickens. I learned that in the working together. 20th century, some very bright people had invented and refined a new system of organizational governance, specifi- cally honed to the needs of co-ops—a system enabling an “association” of Patrick has served on the MMFC board since owners to delegate and support the 2011, and was president from 2012 to 2014. 1 SOME OF THE PAPERWORK it took to start the co-op in 1974, an indication of the hours of work and organization required for the start-up. The Board of Directors listed on the original articles of incorporation were Marcia Avery, Jim McElhatten, Joyce Peitso, Donna Herrlich and Douglas Sommer. the Beginning 1973

The seed of Menomonie Market Food MFC was part of the “new wave” or Cooperative was a buying club, and “second wave” of U.S. cooperatives, was planted in 1973 by Marion Lang, nurtured by the counter-culture of the Jean Biggs, Brigitte and Doug Som- 1960s. mer and others. It quickly sprouted Across the river in Minnesota, con- and grew. Its members decided to open a physical location with an flicts over ideals and practices gener- inventory, and to become a coop- ated the Twin Cities’ “co-op wars” of erative. The first “store” opened in 1975-76. The Co-op Organization (CO), the Sommer’s residence on 18th Ave., a Marxist-Leninist faction of the Cities’ about a half-mile south of the new co-op movement, forcibly took over 814 Main store. When they discov- the People’s Warehouse, which was ered that operating a business in the source of most of the Menomonie this location was illegal, they quickly Food Co-op’s inventory. moved to the choir loft of the Method- In what has been called a “conten- ist Church on 7th and Wilson, which is tious meeting” over this issue, MFC now the offices of Cedar Corp. voted not to support the CO. Twin The group’s next step was to incorpo- Cities co-ops that opposed the CO rate as the Menomonie Food Co-op opened DANCe (Distributing Alliance (MFC) in August, 1974. The incorpo- of the Northcountry Cooperatives) rating board included Marcia Avery, warehouse, which the Menomonie Tim McElhatton, Joyce Peitso, Donna Food Co-op supported. The CO took Herrlich, and Douglas Sommer. Jean over several small co-ops in the Twin and Marion served as co-manag- Cities, but were boycotted and even- ers. They and other members made tually failed. “runs” for merchandise, including honey, apples and Eau Galle cheese.

3 TOAD LANE END, the first cooperative food store, opened in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. Their founding principles inspired the international cooperative movement. The original building is now a museum. Before the Beginning

The modern cooperative movement (ICA) in 1937, and later became the came to life in England through the Seven Principles of Cooperation. mutual assistance efforts of The Roch- The Toad Lane Store, in Rochdale, dale Society of Equitable Pioneers and UK opened on December 21, 1844, their development of the “Rochdale stocked with a small supply of but- Principles” in 1844. This remarkable ter, sugar, flour, oatmeal, and a few document was edited and adopted by candles. It still stands today, a brick the International Cooperative Alliance and mortar icon of community self- help and mutual ownership. To put it in historical and cultural context, the Rochdale store opened one year after the publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

The original Rochdale principles were: • Open Membership to anyone regard- less of class status or gender. This was unheard of at this time in England, when only 1 in 7 men could vote, and women were excluded from voting. • Democratic Control • Dividend on Purchase • Limited Interest on Capital • Political and Religious Neutrality • Cash Trading • Promotion of Education

5 THE LEGENDARY SILVER STORE was a small, narrow space without air-conditioning, often staffed by volunteers. It was affectionately referred to as “the Bucket Store.” many Locations many hands

The Silver Store Colvin, Jim Colvin, Patrick Moore, The legendary Silver Store, north of and Tim & Nita Fitzgerald were in the the Marion building on South Broad- succession of managers at the Silver way (it’s now a city parking lot), be- Building. Board and other members came the downtown home of MFC’s volunteered extensively during this store in 1979. Owned by Edith Allen, residency. it housed two storefronts. Silversmith By 1985, sales of $46,920 generated Robert Geide was the other tenant $886.71 in profits. Assets were $4,638, when the co-op moved in. Later on, it liabilities were $4,839, much of it debt was occupied by the West CAP used to members (notably, Rose Stude- goods service. baker at $4,510) and money owed to Rick Sitzman was store manager DANCe and other vendors. Despite during the move from “the balcony” these rocky finances, MFC continued to the Silver Store. When he left in to grow and the limited floor space 1980, Barb Arntzen and Kathy Colvin soon became a major problem. became co-managers. They worked to stay ahead of the mice and keep 1707 Stout St. things clean for the customers. By all accounts, it wasn’t easy. The store In 1987, a Planning Committee led by was a long, narrow space, without Rose Studebaker called for “a new im- air-conditioning. One notable, in- age, a new logo, and a new location.” ventive part of its furnishings was The committee proposed a capital a refrigerator on its side. (The door development plan, including insti- opened upward, one assumes.) tuting a one-time $100 membership investment. These were the days of low-pay/ quasi-volunteer co-op jobs. Barb A site-identification process was soon left to work at Head Start, and developed, and numerous buildings Kathy stayed on, sometimes closing were evaluated against projected the store to manage transportation growth in sales and costs. It’s not logistics. (Sign on the door: “Gone to clear who drafted a new logo, but pick up children; back at 3.”) Naomi when it got a bad review from a 7 designer, Rose moved to invite that ment and a $100,000 infusion of cap- same designer to the next board ital from the North Country Coopera- meeting. tive Development Fund financed the At the July 1988 meeting, Rose and move to the north side. the committee recommended 1707 Tim and Nita Fitzgerald continued Stout St. behind Super America and as managers until 1991, and were Hattie Maxwell’s, owned by Bernie followed by co-coordinators Jack- Pittman. In September, on a motion ie Bionda and Paula Betz. In May by Debbie Green and Chris Leubner, of 1991, the seven-member board the board voted to move the store to included: Tim Fitzgerald, Rae Ann that building, and “Menomonie Mar- Hayden, Chris Leubner, Joe Plouff, ket” was suggested as a new name. Marjorie Thompson, Anita Wiese, Customer purchases, good manage- and Rose Studebaker.

MFC’s autobiographers often mention Rose Studebaker, whose unwaver- ing support began in the balcony days and continues to the present. Rose learned of the co-op in the late 70s, when her co-worker at the UW-Stout library, Sally Bowker, brought unsalted cashews to lunch breaks. That taste treat was Rose’s first attraction to the co-op. She soon became a volunteer, a board member, then board secretary. Her presence and effort are documented in the archives: her format for reports; the many reports she completed; the facility searches she led and documented; her minutes of meetings; her generous financial investment. In a conversation at The Oaks, where Rose now lives, she fondly remembered numerous meetings at her home on 7th Street, near the former Cottington School (now the Se- nior Center). Rose spoke eloquently of her belief in the cooperative model and her respect for the many volunteers who built and grew the co-op.

8 BEFORE DIGITAL, we used typewriters and copy machines. This newsletter is from 1991, and is one of the few mementos we have of the 1707 Stout St. location (behind what is now Perkins). building Cooperation through adversity

A Crisis Transformed unteered support to that committee. The move to a new location brought At the April 12, 1992 membership new challenges. After Jackie and meeting, there was debate over an Paula’s service, there was a sequence offer to purchase the store. On a mo- of short-term managers, co-managers tion by Paul Helgeson/Gabriel Romo and pro-tem coordinators, including membership unanimously decided Matthew Baker, Ken Bessac, Cathleen to “keep the store open with the trial McCoy, Jan Erdman and Sara Nagler. management team.” At this time, a “Wholesale Club” provided bulk- At the June 1991 meeting, the Trea- purchase discounts to club members. surer’s Report showed alarming A suggestion to raise charges to club cash flow problems and the lowest members to 10 percent above cost month of sales for the year. A detailed was referred to the board, which action plan was developed, including approved it on April 20. A Recapital- flexible payment to Blooming Prairie ization Plan developed by Joe Plouff warehouse, a sandwich board for ad- included a 5% discount incentive for ditional marketing, and suspending members to purchase $100 “cash membership fees. Rose Studebaker investment shares.” waived payments on her loan for the next three months, and additional New to Menomonie and to the co-op member loans were solicited. A loan in 1989, Jan and Jim Erdman became from Northwest Cooperative Develop- active volunteers and helpers with ment Fund was requested, and Karla the relocation. In 1992, Jan was one Miller of NCDF was enlisted to assist of several part-time workers at the in financial planning. Despite all that, co-op. She describes a time of dra- October and November saw serious matic changes imposed by manage- delays in rent and loan payments. ment, including dismissal of book- keeper Jane Hoyt. During 1992, the year of crisis, the Board appointed Cathleen McCoy, One day, Jan discovered a stack of Barb Button, Jackie Bionda and unopened mail on the manager’s Karen Sheppard to a management desk. She called board president Skip oversight team. Tim Fitzgerald vol- Ford. Together, they opened the mail 10 and discovered a telephone discon- Planning-to-dissolve turned quickly nection notice for the next day, and into planning-to-survive. numerous unpaid bills. There were “We came up with this plan that if we clear cash flow deficits. could raise $5000 (50 new member- Emergency meetings of the board and ships), negotiate with the creditors, then the membership were convened, and find a new building to rent there and a decision was made to close might be a chance; we were young the co-op. Jan was asked to sell the and optimistic.” A pledge sheet for inventory, notify creditors, and close new memberships was placed on the the books. check-out counter. “Within days, we had 48 signatures! At that point people really kicked Co-op Heroes Save the Store into high gear! Cathleen McCoy made Jan and assistant Sara Nagler went very persuasive calls to creditors to work on this decision the next day. and asked for extensions of credit, Immediately, they were faced with an arguing that if we were able to stay in eviction notice in that very day’s mail business we would eventually be able —and then with the stunned disbelief to pay off what we owed them. If we of members who had come to buy went out of business they would lose food. People asked what could be all that we owed them for sure! She done to save the co-op. was amazing!” Jan remembered.

THE PLEDGE SHEET with the names of the 48 people whose financial investment in 1992 kept the co-op open. 11 moving Forward 1994-2014

North Broadway name all the people who came to The search for a new storefront led shop and volunteer,” recalled Jan to the “Block Building,” so-called for Erdman. Some of the active mem- its construction, at 1309 N. Broadway bers remembered from this time are (now the Branches Church). Skip Gloria Pieters, Shirley Tilseth, Denny Ford, Jan and Cathleen met with Lenz, Lavonne Solem, Gineen Adrian, owner Al Curry and negotiated a Erica Eddy, Luann Snyder, Samantha manageable rent, based on a red-line Hanson, and Laura Bucholtz. Charles payment due date on the first of each Capaldi donated a computer, and month. Kurt Buetow, Jody Slocum, record-keeping went digital! Co-man- Kathy Ruggles and others used a agers during this time included Sandy horse trailer to move merchandise Gorden and Michelle Tadian. Erica and equipment. Volunteers helped Eddy and Jan Erdman were co-man- unload and set up the new store. agers from 1996–1999, followed by Monica Walter and Jackie Williams. Every building not designed as a Gretchen Metzler was a primary em- grocery has its operational problems. ployee. The doorway of the Block Building was too narrow to accommodate By Janary, 1997, the board was larger produce coolers. A new sink considering options for re-location had to be installed—Jim Erdman and (a space in L-Mart was mentioned). Louis Stone did the plumbing. City Checking into costs of land or build- ordinances prohibited a billboard— ings and possible loans was on the only a movable sandwich board was “to-do” list. allowed. Also, this was the summer of In September, 1998, a letter to mem- reconstruction on North Broadway. bers from Erica and Jan announced The street was closed, and customers the first-ever patronage dividend to could only access the store by the members. In October, Karla Miller, road from what was then Thunder- manager of West CAP’s Business De- bird Mall. “And still they came in to velopment Program, asked to include shop! We have an absolutely amaz- Menomonie Market as a possible ing membership; I cannot begin to tenant in a downtown commercial

12 NORTH BROADWAY above left: Jan Erdman, co-manager of Menomonie Market at the time, Nancy Curry of Creative Ideas and Cathleen McCoy, who was board president, seal the deal for taking over the north Broadway store. Photo by Pat Eggert, courtesy of Dunn County News. right top to bottom: a meeting inside the Broadway location; the store was between a travel agent and the Dairy Queen on north Broadway; an early logo from the Stout Street store; this logo was designed by Brianna Capra, and showcased the store’s new name. kitchen project as part of a Commu- this job with experience in planning, nity Based Economic Development designing and building stores, but grant. The Board authorized partic- she researched and learned what was ipation in the plan, and focused on needed…and made sure the co-op financial readiness. By late 1999, MM employees and board also learned had paid its debts, including member what was needed. When the move loans and unpaid rent at the Brown was complete, there was a huge surge Building, and had put $15,000 into in membership and sales. Terri man- savings. aged this growth through the first years in the new store. Dan Fedderly was the Treasurer, but he played a A Move Downtown and Big Changes far larger role than the title would Jan Erdman was ready to turn over presume. Dan was the steady rock in the reins, and they were placed in the board meetings, helping to keep the capable hands of Terri Golen, who board and the co-op grounded came to MM with extensive experi- in financial reality...” ence at the Stillwater and Mississippi Steve Horner described the transition Market Co-ops. as “…the slow process of the evolving Terri was manager from 2001 until the co-op mindset. During the decision 30th anniversary in 2003. She remem- process of moving the store to its cur- bers Gail Tourville and then Jackie rent location, there was a two-year Williams as bookkeepers, and the process of surveying membership as work of Erica Eddy. She remembers to what they wanted from the co-op. Karla Miller helping the board to have There were strong voices for modern- shorter, more efficient meetings, and izing and expanding the store, and Karla’s work in developing the lease strong voices to remain the small for MM at the Crossroads Center, at organic organization the co-op had 521 Second St. Terri acted as general become. These voices slowly moved contractor for the move from North together to build the store we shop Broadway back to the downtown—a in today.” process she says she enjoyed, and From her work in Twin Cities metro one that fully engaged her talent and co-ops, Terri brought experience resourcefulness. She credits Steve with customer service training and Horner (Board President) and Dan Policy Governance (PG). This led her Fedderly (Board Treasurer) for signif- to advocate for both at Menomonie icant advice and support in making Market. She and board member Cari the move. And she thanks members. Witcher were strong proponents Members loaned $125,000 to enable of the PG system. The concept was this relocation! controversial, as has been typical in Steve Horner offered some reflec- the experience of other co-ops. When tions on this time, and on Terri’s Terri stepped down, the PG issue had work. “Terri Golen did not come to not been resolved.

14 SECOND STREET GRAND OPENING top, left to right: Terri with the Everyone Welcome sign; ribbon cutting; local musi- cians added a festive feel to the day middle, left to right: Monica and the new produce cooler; Second Street 2003; inside the co-op on opening day bottom, left to right: Board members Naomi Colvin, Mame Gale, Jackie Bionda and Charles Capaldi; pumpkin pie and Eat My Fish; new colorful logo Expansion responsibilities between the member When Crystal Halvorson joined MM as “association” and the grocery “en- General Manager in 2004, she brought terprise.” It enabled a professional with her a three-career background General Manager to make operational in education, medical services and decisions, within a set of Ends and restaurant management. She arrived Accountability policies. skilled in all phases of business man- With the benefit of archival hindsight, agement (personnel, bookkeeping, one can see that these transitions marketing, customer relations) and were foreshadowed in the board and brimming over with the cooperative staff work of the mid-nineties—in spirit. And before all that experience manager’s reports, board action on were Bachelor of Science degrees in managers’ recommendations, the Genetics and Bacteriology. formation of board and personnel Crystal waded into challenges of policies, the development of mission residual debt, marginal cash flow and statements and goals. As the store internal divisions around policy and grew, there was necessarily more operational philosophy. She saw the dependence on management for need, once again, for expansion and operations. The board became more the board agreed. Over the next few concerned with governance and years, several key changes enabled financing. structural readiness. MM joined the Those who served on the board National Cooperative Grocer’s As- during this time can attest to the sociation, we converted from giving careful, patient work needed to clarify discounts at the register to awarding and define the mutually-supportive patronage dividends, and finally mi- roles of board and GM. grated to Policy Governance. The logo Business throughout our life at Sec- was changed once again to the lower ond Street was good. The co-op expe- case “double m,” and “food co-op” rienced substantial growth in mem- was once again part of our official bership, sales, net income, local food title: Menomonie Market Food Co-op. sourcing, and community relations. Membership grew from 325 to 1700— more than 500%! Sales increased from $500K to $2.5M annually, at a rate-per-square foot of some of the busiest food co-ops in the country. Operational profit, and therefore patronage dividends have been made consistently since 2007. All of these changes required a collab- orative effort with the board of direc- As Crystal has remarked: “I’ve been tors and with membership. This was in expansion mode from the first a key transition in MMFC’s history, day.” On–site expansion was enabled enabling the co-op to clearly divide by reshaping the store’s footprint: 16 SECOND STREET above left: Expanding sales allowed us to support more local producers— pictured is Mariann Hlm, an Organic Prairie dairy farmer right top to bottom: the Lunchbox was part of our in-store expansion; deli grab-and-go items were among the product expansion at the Second Street store; the famous Lunchbox logo taking down the back wall and moving property, this time by Commonweal. coolers into the former commercial At precisely the same time, the Dunn kitchen area to gain retail floor space County DHS property at Main and 9th (2006); installing a new point-of-sale was made available for auction bids. system (2007); moving administrative Crystal and the board were faced with offices to the Marion Hotel building a decision: to bid on the DHS property and converting the break room/meet- on July 22, 2014, or to enter negotia- ing room into the highly successful tions on the following day for another Lunchbox (2009). The search for a new prospective lease opportunity at the location touched on numerous down- Leever’s site. Following a thorough town sites, and centered on what has and careful analysis of the prospects been known as “the Leever’s property” and input from a focus group of on Broadway. By Crystal’s report, she owners and community members, the negotiated 7 times for possible expan- board authorized Crystal to engage sions onto that central and desirable in the bidding for the DHS property. property. One of the scale-tipping factors in this In 2013, West CAP, owner of the decision was the benefit of becoming building at 521 2nd St. E, accepted the developer and owner of our own an offer to purchase from a third facilities. party. Because a first right to match Perhaps most significantly, during an accepted offer wisely had been 2014 members purchased Class C included in our lease, MMFC was able shares and made loans to MMFC total- to purchase the building at what had ing more than $1 million. MMFC is the become an acceptable, even desirable, smallest U.S. co-op ever to raise one price. This purchase factored into million dollars in member support for expansion planning because it yielded expansion. immediate savings in cash flow. New mortgage payments were significantly The July 2014 decision opened doors lower than lease payments, and possi- of cooperation and collaboration ble time conflicts or overlaps between with both Dunn County and the City lease terms and construction sched- of Menomonie. The City collaborated ules were eliminated. with MMFC to apply for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Twice, in 2010 and again in 2014, Community Investment grant, which MMFC negotiated lease agreements resulted in $500,000 for the MMFC for anchor retail space within the pro- construction project, posed and approved “Gateway” and and the about-to-be- “Broadstreet” development projects built Farmers’ Market at the Leever’s site. Both times, those and Community projects were withdrawn due to politi- Events pavilion adja- cal opposition and/or overreach by the cent to Wilson Park, developer. Again in late 2014, MMFC a block from the was invited to become a tenant in yet MMFC building. another development proposal for the 18 814 MAIN OPENING top, left to right: Crystal won the auction bid on the site; a hole in the ground; skeleton of the new building—the elevator shaft is visible to the left middle, left to right: construction continues; Board of Directors; the classroom at dawn bottom, left to right: the staff gets excited; ribbon cutting on opening day; Fresh produce on opening day facing page: the bid card from the DHS site auction, signed by staff and supporters Who Are We Now? tive is condensed to a few pages, the As of October 2015, we are more than actions of members, managers, board 1,800 owners of a thriving grocery members and staff emerge as the key store, operating in a building we own, events: hundreds of meetings, thou- providing high quality, healthy food, sands of volunteer hours, smart and mainly organic, and locally-sourced disciplined work by managers, the to the maximum possibility. We are commitment of managers and em- the builders of a new, modern, sus- ployees to jobs for which they were at tainable grocery store at the corner of times unpaid, the willingness of con- Main and 9th Streets. It has 6,500 sq. sumers to invest financially in their ft. of retail space—almost five times cooperative, and of owners to make larger than the Second Steet store. loan and share investments, and the In our new location, we operate a hundreds of thousands of purchases new, expanded deli and lunchroom by our owners and customers. that serves hot breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our expanded education pro- Where Are We Going? gram makes presentations and holds discussions in a sunlit conference In 2014, the Board of Directors room on the mezzanine floor, near launched a visioning project, which the staff offices. The facility is fully included a clear understanding of our accessible. There’s an outdoor seat- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportuni- ing area for dining al fresco. ties and Threats—the classic “SWOT” analysis. This project is loosely We are members of the National modeled on the “Business Is Good” Cooperative Grocers. Our GM is active (BIG) strategic planning work of the within the network of General Manag- Wheatfield Co-op in Austin, Texas. ers. Our board members regularly at- Ours is titled BLT, for its “Big Long- tend seminars and gatherings hosted Term” vision. by the Consulting Cooperative of Co- operative Development Services, by This work includes an effort to further the Consumer Cooperative Manage- define our Ends. What does it mean to ment Association, and by NCG. We are be central to a thriving, healthy com- active members of the Menomonie munity? What are the indicators of a community, especially within food thriving community? A healthy com- quality and food security networks. munity? And what is the “Big Long- As retiring board member Lisa Ludwig Term Vision” for our cooperative? put it: “The light is shining brightly on As of 2015, the board has affirmed our co-op!” “What it takes,” founding MMFC’s core capacity as a purchaser board member Doug Sommers said, and seller of quality food and related on the phone from his and Brigitte’s products. We intend to strengthen retirement home in Florida, “what it and grow in that capacity. As we work takes is good people.” to realize our Ends, we also work to strengthen our community. When the 41-year life of this coopera-

20 Epilogue Crystal Halvorson, General Manager

Running a small, independent gro- with their children. Throughout the cery store is really hard work these history of our co-op, we have been days; margins are very tight, compe- working to secure our futures. We tition is everywhere, and supporting want farmland and water that is clean high quality, local and small family for future crops. We want resources companies is a lot of work both oper- to stay in our communities so there ationally and administratively. Why is room to innovate and grow. We are we doing this? And it’s not just want an educated and healthy youth staff working so hard to pull this off— so that there are adults in the future shoppers put up with our odd hours, that question the status quo and odd locations, and odd product sets, make positive change. And we believe vendors are willing to deliver small that food is the answer to all of that, loads, and those serving on the board as it provides fuel for our bodies, is of directors are volunteering a lot of a major part of every economy, and time toward our success. Why are we can contribute to the destruction or so dedicated, all of us? healing of our natural resources.

I hope this in no way sounds judg- mental, but over the last 12 years at MMFC, I have learned to see what a child raised the “co-op way” looks like: bright eyed, curious, engaged, polite, verbal, and rosy-cheeked. Watching people make great food and lifestyle choices at MMFC has convinced me that providing a child with real food, and helping them see the connection that their food makes with soil, people, water, and the econ- This is a photo from the Silver Store— omy makes for a great kid. here you can see why folks called it the bucket store. Pictured is member And pictured on the following page Linda Capra, scooping some food is Brianna, all grown up with her while her frilly-pantsed two-year-old son Jasper. Look familiar? Scooping Brianna helps. Many of our founders some real food for her little one at were searching for less adulterated Menomonie Market. These pictures food, food they could trust and share are wonderful but not unique—we

21 have many families that have two and three generations of shoppers. With our expanded store, we are welcom- ing in new families every day that can start to build this tradition as well.

We should all be proud—the vision for an alternative choice in Menomonie that Marion Lang, Jean Biggs, and Bri- gitte and Doug Sommers envisioned over forty years ago is still alive. We are still, all these years later, looking ahead to see what kind of future we can secure.