Positive things are sprouting in the food co-op world in the Upper Peninsula.
Two U.P. food co-operatives are expanding or improving their footprint, increasing their products and services to bring more healthy food options to customers. Those improvements come from funding from federal, state or local sources.
Most recently, the Keweenaw Cooperative Inc., in Hancock, received a $1.4 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based grant to help transform a vacant, former car dealership in downtown Hancock into a new location for its Keweenaw Co-op Market & Deli.
In Ironwwood, Northwind Natural Food Co-op received a $199,344.39 award from the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), U.S. Department of Agriculture, for capital improvements, including needed repairs and upgrades.
These expansion efforts will help provide more healthy food options in a region many consider a “food desert,” because of limited food selections, distance from grocery stores and transportation issues.
Meanwhile, demand for healthy food options is growing.
“People want access to good food,” said Denise Hansen, retail manager of the Keweenaw Cooperative, Inc., noting the trend mirrors the rise of co-ops in the early 1970s when more health-conscious people began veering away from processed food. “There’s a whole new generation looking for healthy food and they’re cause-driven. Co-ops are cause-driven. People like to be a part of something that is good.”
The Keweenaw Cooperative, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, also received a $200,000 award from HFFI. That money will also be used for the new location. The project includes a 4,728-square-foot addition to the 9,694-square-foot building, allowing space for a full deli, indoor and outdoor seating, fresh produce, meat, dairy, frozen foods, and packaged groceries. Hansen anticipates an early 2024 completion date.
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An artist's rendering of the renovated dealership, the future home of Keweenaw Co-op.“While the co-op continues to grow year over year, we are approaching competitive limits at our current location — it provides poor visibility, poor access, and limited parking to our community. It restricts our layout and offerings and hampers customer experience and labor efficiency,” Hansen explained.
In addition to activating a vacant building in the heart of downtown Hancock, the project will contribute to walkability, bring new economic activity, and serve as a catalyst for future development in the area. The city of Hancock is supporting the project with two Downtown Development Authority façade grants totaling $20,000 and city water main and infrastructure upgrades valued at $15,000.
Hansen said the relocation and expansion to a site located centrally in Hancock will almost double the current retail space with wider and brighter aisles. “Expanded fresh offerings will include meat, prepared foods and produce, as well as increased product selection and sit-down café space.
“The Keweenaw Co-op
strives to stay competitive and offer the best value to its customers during a time of increased prices and inflation. Pricing is an issue for everyone and we continually look for ways to expand food access,” she said, citing examples such as the Basics Program and Double Up Food Bucks. Basics is a collection of organic products at low price points. The Double Up Food Bucks Program allows Bridge Card holders to earn free produce, matching dollar for dollar up to $10 per day.
With its federal dollars, Northwind Natural Food Co-op has so far installed new tile, refinished wood floors, installed new bathroom fixtures and painted the bathroom (including detailed artwork), repainted the store interior and designed a new layout, said Cathy Flory, manager of the store.
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Northwind Natural Food Co-op in Ironwood is making a host of improvements.In addition, the co-op has a new façade (with energy-efficient windows and a secondary door with airlock), two new freezers and a new heating and cooling system. Future projects include a new roof, completion of the kitchen and a new register counter.
“We hope to have all work done within one year of our start date in September but the kitchen could take longer depending on the paperwork time frame,” Flory explained.
She said that the HFFI grant, funded by the USDA Farm Bill, was “geared at retail food establishments in low-income food deserts and we ticked all the boxes. It seemed too good to be true but it wasn’t.”
Inflation has hit many segments of the economy including food prices.
“The rise in food prices has definitely been tough but being a small specialty store that could never compete with big box store pricing has provided somewhat of an advantage,” she said.
“Our prices have always been a little higher than large retailers since we can’t buy in mass (quantities) the way larger corporations have been able to. But, since we also focus on carrying specialty items you cannot find at the big stores, folks are more receptive to paying a little more for specialty items and generally understand that a small not-for-profit cooperative of our size is doing everything we can just to make ends meet.
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A well-stocked aisle at Northwind Natural Food Co-op.“Working with other smaller companies we have done our best to be mindful of passing on that price increase to our customers and absorb as much of that price increase as we are able,” Flory explained.
“In a small community, we cannot compete with the big box stores so we take a different approach. What products can you not find at the big stores? What items is the area lacking? What items are folks driving out of town to go find? We then build our inventory based on the answers to those questions.
“Naturally, we also carry the basics in hopes you can find everything you need and don’t need to shop elsewhere but we know we can’t carry it all. We also work with as many local vendors as possible, from produce and meat farmers to local maple syrup and honey providers to artisans. We work very hard to carry as many local products as we can. It is a big part of our mission to support other local small businesses,” Flory emphasized.
Change is a constant in life and even more so in the food co-op world. That’s especially true, according to Hansen of the Keweenaw Co-op.
“When you are in a service business change is constant and cumulative. The biggest change now is that people ask us every day about the new location and want to know more. We have always had a great relationship with our owners and customers but this relocation has brought us closer to more people. I enjoy that dynamic and hope it continues,” Hansen shared.
Both Flory and Hansen are enthusiastic about the future of their co-ops and agree that fostering community is a main building block of a co-op.
“When I was hired at the co-op five and one-half years ago, the manager told me that the co-op just had a ‘Save the Co-op’ fundraiser at which they raised over $25,000 to pay back bills but there was still a good chance we’d be closing our doors in a few months. As a newbie to town, I appreciated her honesty but still wanted to work here to find like-minded people in the community.
“Due to that manager’s ability to penny pinch and follow a tight budget, and the board of directors’ ability to outline a budget to help keep us on track for the years ahead, we were able to pull out of that hole and little by little to inch to the place we are now. I’m very proud of being part of the evolution we’ve undergone since I started. I’m proud of everyone in our co-op community who has helped us get to this point,” Flory said.
Ann Dallman has lifelong roots in Michigan’s UP. She started out as a newspaper reporter/photographer and returned to journalism after retiring from teaching. Her first Middle Grade novel, Cady and the Bear Necklace, received a State History Award (Books/Youth) from the Historical Society of Michigan as well as a Midwest Book Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist and a UP Notable Book. Her second book, Cady and the Birchbark Box, also received the Historical Society of Michigan State Award and is also a UP Notable Book.