The Rogers Park Food Co-op will be a member-owned cooperative grocery store. We will be your friendly neighborhood store, offering access to trusted sources for healthy, locally grown, sustainable, and artisanal foods. We will offer food education programs, serve as a gathering place for the community, and foster stronger ties among our ethnically diverse neighborhood.

What is a Food Co-op?

A food co-op is owned by the very people who live in the surrounding community and shop there. To become a co-owner, you invest a small amount of money to help start and operate the co-op. Co-owners receive benefits such as special discounts, patronage dividends, and a voice in how the co-op works and spends its money.

By the people, for the people

Because food co-ops are community-owned, they inherently reflect the needs, wants and values of the communities in which they exist. This means that the Rogers Park Food Co-op will operate in the best interest of the local community and its residents. Our founding goals and operating principles include the following:

• Increase access to fresh and healthy food
• Support local farmers and local food artisans
• Serve as a community gathering place
• Strengthen our local economy by creating good jobs that pay fair wages
• Stock items that are sustainably produced
• Provide clear labeling and full product disclosure
• Educate our community about healthy eating

In good company

There are more than 600 food co-ops in operation in the United States. Some of them—like Willye Street Co-op in Madison, Wisconsin, and Bloomingfoods Co-op in Bloomington, Indiana—have been around for decades, have multiple locations, and are vibrant anchor businesses in their communities.

Interested in learning more about the co-op movement and how it all started? Check out Stronger Together for a great overview of the history of co-ops.