Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Miami U.-area group aims to open local organic co-op grocery store
By Laura Thomas
The Miami Student (Miami U.)
12/20/2006

(U-WIRE) OXFORD, Ohio — A healthful and nutritious diet is oftentimes not a top priority for college students, so Miami/Oxford Organic Network (MOON) Food Cooperative, is working hard to make healthful eating a more attainable goal for Miami University students and Oxford residents.

This 100 percent volunteer-based organization is currently working to open a cooperatively owned, full-service grocery store in Oxford that would support a market for local produce grown by sustainable and organic techniques.

The grocery store project has been in the works for years, and is now close to becoming a reality. MOON was formed in 1999 by a group of local citizens concerned about the area's sustainable agricultural growth and local food systems. In an effort to educate the community through monthly meetings, a committee formed in 2001 decided a grocery store that sold locally grown products would support the local economy. In the fall of 2003, the organization created a seven-member interim board of directors. Then in May of 2004, MOON was finally incorporated to help convert the dream of a cooperatively owned grocery store into a reality.

A cooperative is a member-owned business run democratically with an elected board of directors. MOON currently has 182 members and is working to reach 300 members, before they apply for a bank loan. However, the co-op says its has already enjoyed great success.

The National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., has already provided MOON with monetary support including a $25,000 "sprout" loan and $10,000 "seed" grant.

According to Bernadette Unger, a member of MOON's board of directors, it is rare for an organization to receive this kind of assistance.

"We are currently the only cooperative in the country to receive both the 'sprout' loan and 'seed' grant," Unger said. "This has demonstrated the bank's confidence in the potential success of a cooperatively owned grocery store in Oxford."

This potential is also reflected in a professional marketing assessment by Cooperative Development Services (CDS), due to the Oxford area's community-oriented mind-set. The closest cooperatively owned grocery stores are in Lexington, Ky., and Bloomington, Ind.

For a fee of $150, anyone in the community can become a member of MOON. Members will be eligible for patronage at the store.

However, individuals will not have to be members to shop in the store. There is a need for 500 to 700 members before the store will be able to open.

This will be an excellent addition to the Oxford community for a number of reasons according to junior Rosanna Pereira, dietetics major at Miami.

"Any store that would support such a healthful lifestyle would be an asset to the Oxford and Miami community," Pereira said. "It is very hard to find healthy choices in the dining halls and to have the community and the university working together toward healthful living is an excellent concept."

Also, according to Unger, it would provide a guaranteed market for area farmers and help preserve local farms and keep money within the community. This would decrease pollution typically caused by importing food from across the country, she said.

One of the largest advantages of a MOON grocery store in Oxford, Unger said, would be the taste of the food.

"When food is picked locally, farmers can pick produce in the peak of ripeness instead of depending on ripening during transport," she said. "This way, food simply tastes better."

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