Local store owner Joe Cooper is proposing that area residents come together to form a food co-op in Effingham. A meeting will be held on the topic beginning at 6 p.m. in the Effingham Public Library. The idea is that the community owns the store. Co-op members usually received some benefits, but anyone can shop there.
“I want to let the community know they can have an expanded line of natural and organic products to choose from. I’m hoping the grocery co-op will cause me to close my current health food store in exchange for a community-owned cooperative,” says Cooper.
Assistant Executive Director of the Food Co-op Initiative Jacqueline Hannah will also be present to answer questions from the community.
“Food co-ops can do so much for a community, from creating strong jobs, to growing support for local farms, to providing a rich community space where people connect around food,” says Hannah. “In Illinois we already have four open and successful food co-ops and there are an additional eight food co-ops being organized by communities from Chicago to Bloomington-Normal in our state right now.”