I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of the city that I live in – a resident for over 10 years now, I’ve watched the city grow and flourish in some unexpected ways. One thing that doesn’t seem to have improved is the city’s poverty level and wealth disparity. Remember how the Inquirer reported on Philadelphia’s brutal poverty statistics the other month? (Click HERE, HERE or HERE for some really devastating reporting). There’s still so much we can do to chip away at things like food insecurity and fresh food deserts in some of Philly’s poorest neighborhoods.
That’s why I gave a mere $25 to the South Philly Food Co-Op yesterday. Because I’m not rich but I believe in the mission, and every dollar counts when you’re raising funds for a community-driven and consumer-oriented project like this one. Here’s the surprise: an initial investment doesn’t have to be a hindrance for curious member-owners – the Co-Op board has been raising money for a full seven years now, an endeavor that began in 2011, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is by making it as easy as humanly possible to get as many community members invested as they can.
As of December 19, 2018, the Co-Op has raised over $1,011,000, over 88% of their total goal, and they're on track to open in the summer of 2019. The lease is signed, the address is set – 2031 S. Juniper Street -– and it’s 3,300 square-feet of commercial space where community members will control, govern, and commune. The goal is 1,100 member-owners by the end of February 2019 and they’re currently at 1,034! They hope to make it to 1,365 within four months of store operations.
Back to that surprise – the Community Equity Fund. With a $1.14 million dollar fundraising goal, it’s clear that member-owners aren’t really the main source of income here. With only about 1,000 current member-owners, who have paid most or all of the $200 initial investment buy-in, that’s only about $200,000. The Board has been busy. And one thing they’ve clearly thought of is all the people who want to be involved, who think it’s a good idea, who would love fresh and local produce, who feel gouged at places like Acme or Whole Foods or even Sprouts. I put $25 down on my initial investment and anticipate an email in about six months that will help me sort out my payment plan.
In addition to the Community Equity Fund, you can also just spread out your $200 investment over eight months – that’s $25 a month until July/August, when you’ll get to start using the storefront. Oh and just to give you a very specific sense of how convenient the 2000 block of S. Juniper Street – it's one block from the Snyder Broad Street Line and about one block south of the funny little elbow on E. Passyunk Avenue near Pistola Del Sur.
In an editorial provided by Board President, Leigh Goldenberg, she and Emily Wyner, Capital Campaign Organizer, they lay out some very salient points for joining the Co-Op, all co-ops really. For one, we need to invest more in our own local organizations with our hard-earned shopping money. Did you know that the Sprouts CEO, which is based out of Arizona, took home $4.5 million in 2017? I don’t need to tell you about how Whole Foods is the newest arm of Amazon’s capitalistic dominance of an American economy that exasperates the wage gap. But what you might not know about a company like Giant? Which gave $1 million to Philabundance, a must in a food-insecure and deeply-poor Philadelphia, and has ten regional locations from NE Philly to Springfield, PA? They’re owned by Ahold Delhaize, a Netherlands-based company, which placed third in 2017 for employers in Pennsylvania with the highest number of employees enrolled in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) – third only to Walmart and McDonald’s.
The other day, my boyfriend and I ran through Acme for a few days of dinners and snacks and very easily dropped $180. If I had done the same at 2031 S. Juniper Street and saved $40, maybe I could turn around and donate it to my struggling Free Library branch, or the City Council candidate of my liking, or to the community-driven grassroots efforts in South Philly aimed at improving the lives of my neighbors and neighborhood families struggling way more than I am. That seems like a truly honorable and spirit-of-the-season goal, something to think about as we creep into 2019, a year I think we’re all hoping sees the fruits of a newfound spirit of civic engagement.