The Importance
Of the Co-op

It would be difficult to describe to an outsider the many layers of importance that the Randolph Food Co-op provides for our village.

From 1973, when five families got together to make bulk purchases and thereby save on their grocery bills, to 2006, when we find our town utterly blessed by a healthy, joyful, major anchor business—walkable from anywhere in the downtown—Randolph has been the fortunate landlord to a very special food co-op.

In the co-op, we can buy natural kitchen sponges not loaded with chemicals; we can buy local meats that have been fed no growth hormones, we can buy local, organic milk, ice cream and cheeses, all without BST, hormones or other chemicals. In our co-op, when we buy anything from Brussels sprouts, lettuce, apples and granola to oils, salves and multi-grain breads, we know the sources of the products, and we are assured by the quality and freshness of the ingredients. In fact we often know the people themselves who made or provided those products to the store.

I shop at our co-op because I can buy healthy, local food there, which not only helps to keep me healthy but also supports our local economy. I shop at the co-op for my emotional health, as well.

Each time I go into our co-op, I know the people I run into in the aisles. We stop and chat, catching up on each other’s lives. Our friendships are strengthened by our regular exchanges there.

Our Co-op is a neighborhood. Tonight, as I shopped at the Co-op, I had a fascinating conversation with a Vermont Technical College professor I know about issues of sustainability and teaching; I had a warm conversation with several other people about their Thanksgiving plans; I talked to a student I know about her goals in life. We always find it joyful to see each other there. The energy and joy within the store is contagious.

Our co-op is a community. Tonight, I talked to the co-op’s produce manager, who turns out to be the maker of a body oil I especially like. He promised to bring a new bottle of it to work in two days, and save it for me.

Our co-op is a family that listens to and cares for its members. Not long ago, I was hunting for a particular salad dressing, and a particular fruit juice. The co-op put in a special order for me. In the individual attention, and quality of the food we can purchase there, our co-op is an invaluable resource.

The list of what we gain by having the Randolph Co-op in our village is far longer than one letter to the editor can describe, but I feel incredibly fortunate to shop there. I am proud to be one of its members. Our co-op epitomizes the best that is Randolph, and the best that is Vermont.

Marjorie Ryerson

Randolph