The public is invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, 312 N. River St., from 2-4 p.m. April 12. General Manager Corinne Sikorski says the co-op plans to host a series of events all year long to celebrate the milestone.

Guests are invited to decorate cardboard eggs; visit with Spring Bunny Clay, played by a former co-op employee; and bring their own favorite spring- or Easter-themed treats to share. Michigan Sen. Jeff Irwin is slated to attend and make a proclamation about the anniversary, Sikorski says.

The co-op moved into its first storefront in 1975 and moved a couple times before landing at its current location. It expanded into the adjacent storefront in 1986 and took over the bakery next door in 2005. In 2011, staff offices moved into a vacated second-floor space and the co-op expanded into the entire ground floor of the historic building, which dates back to the 1840s. In 2021, the co-op remodeled and added more prepared foods and an indoor dining space.

Sikorski says the COVID-19 pandemic actually helped the co-op grow, although she sometimes feels bad saying so since many other businesses suffered during the pandemic. She says part of that growth was due to resurgent interest in cooking and baking during the first months of the pandemic.

"We were able to have products available and worked with local vendors to get those products pretty reliably," she says. "People went back to cooking, and we had the ingredients, like beans and grains. That interest in cooking increased our sales and kept us moving forward."

The number of co-op memberships increased in 2020 and 2021, and that trend continues today. Sikorski says memberships increased by about 5% from 2023 to 2024. 

More details about the April 12 event are available on Facebook.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

Photo by Sarah Rigg.