Natural Foods On the Rise, Yet Co-op Stays Customer Friendly

Author: Meghan Michelson

Looking for organic, locally grown foods? Prefer to avoid artificial preservatives and colors in food products? With an increasingly health conscious nation determined to purchase natural foods, such items can be found at nearly any grocery store in the United States. The stores that started the craze for natural foods, cooperative grocers, are expanding in order to balance the influx of customers and proliferating sales rates.

The Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, located on Washington Street, is hustling to keep up with the demand for natural and organic food products that are as healthy as they are economical. The co-op, which is one of approximately 15 similar stores in the state of Vermont, is designed as a democratic, member-owned association that provides healthy and competitively priced foods. The co-op proudly claims to be dedicated to the health and well being of the whole community, which includes its 1,000 members in addition to non-members.

According to Middlebury alumnus and store manager Glenn Lower '84, "Natural foods represents the fastest growing portion of the food industry." With chains like Whole Foods, a natural foods chain that has over 1,000 stores nationwide, the popularity of organic and natural foods is greater than ever. The market for items such as whole grains and soy milk is increasing at a faster rate than most stores can keep up with.

The Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op reported an annual 15 percent increase in sales over the last six years and membership has nearly doubled in the same period. "Total sales are at about $3.5 million, and we should be at $4 million by next year," said Lower. Despite the growth, Lower said that the co-op still maintains its emphasis on local products and meeting the needs of its members. At peak produce season, one half of the produce products are still locally grown. Although the store is not a non-profit organization, as Lower explained, "All profits go back to benefit the members in one way or another."

The Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op began in the early 1970s as a group of people united with the goal of obtaining bulk foods at low prices. "It snowballed from there," Lower described. Initially, the group strictly did pre-order distribution but eventually opened up a storefront for non-members to purchase goods. In 1976 the group incorporated as a business, and members were required to volunteer in the store in order to receive discounts on products. Now the co-op is essentially owned by its members who buy a share in the business and take part in critical managing decisions.

Currently the co-op has 27 employees and occupies a space that is triple to that of the square footage of the original store, which was located in the Depot Building on Seymour Street. There is discussion of future renovation and further growth in order to compensate for the high demand and increasing sales. "We recently had a strategic planning session in which members were able to discuss upcoming plans and secure our mission statement and buying criteria," explained Lower.

Although other local food grocers are now offering customers many of the same natural food products as the co-op, Lower insists that they are not aiming to compete with larger chain stores. "The demand is what drives us, not the competition," Lower said, "We do not exist to compete. We're here for the members and to meet their needs." He did admit with concern, "I would be worried if a Whole Foods moved into town."