As an update to the recently posted press release regarding a co-op opening in Houlton, this article serves to inform the public about the latest development of ‘The County’ Co-op.
A small group of people in the town — producers as well as consumers — has been getting together to work on an initiative to incorporate a consumer cooperative in southern Aroostook County.
What is a consumer cooperative? A consumer cooperative provides retail products and services for their customer members. The customers own member shares in the co-op, which makes them the owners of the co-op. These customer members elect a board of directors, are allowed to vote at annual meetings, receive monthly newsletters, get a percentage discount on products at the co-op, and can receive many other perks as well.
Perhaps at this point you are wondering why we would want to start a consumer co-op in Houlton? The answer is that a group of producers and consumers in southern Aroostook determined that there is a need in our community to establish a year-round market promoting locally grown food and agricultural products which are easily accessible in a retail storefront.
Jane Torres from the Houlton Chamber of Commerce, who is also part of our planning committee, reports that the Houlton Community Market has grown substantially in the last few years and is thriving, which leads us to believe that consumers may be calling for a more stable, year-round market. Many people have asked if the co-op will interfere with the farmer’s market and the short answer is “no”, because at least starting out, the co-op does not plan to be open during the hours that the community market is open unless the weather is unfavorable.
Upon further research, the benefits of a consumer co-op to our community have seemed endless. For instance, since cooperatives are owned and controlled by their members, they help keep resources in their communities and are guided by the members’ values. The profits are returned to these members so that they profit from the business they do with the cooperative.
Obviously when co-ops are successful, they significantly contribute to the economic stability of their communities.
Co-ops also work in conjunction with many other organizations, and conduct educational trainings, seminars, cooking classes, and host exciting community events to help educate (as well as entertain) the general public about preparing, cooking, and enjoying local, economical, sustainable, healthy food.
Having stated the positive attributes of having a co-op in our community, the formation of a retail co-op is an extremely time-consuming, complex, (sometimes frustrating) endeavor that requires a lot of capital investment. In order to start up, a co-op needs a significant amount of capital, just as any business does. The member shares act as equity that provides the base capital for the co-op to buy inventory, finance operations, and pay for the facility.
We won’t get into the ins and outs of the finances of the co-op in this article, but we will clearly state that most of the capital that forms the co-op will come from its members. Members will invest shares in the co-op, and will have the option of providing loans to the co-op as well. Our idea is to make the member share options very affordable, so that everyone (age 18 or older) can easily become a member/owner.
There are many ideas that have been generated around the table about what our co-op may someday look like. We all have dreams. Right now it looks like we are going to work on starting with something like an indoor farmers’ and artisans’ market utilizing local agricultural and forestry products, and build up our dream of a full-service co-op from there.
We may not develop as rapidly as we’d like, but we plan to stay connected and to communicate consistently with members. We have to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day; this project will take patience and perseverance. We strongly believe that with the right people behind it, we can build up a viable, thriving business that benefits everyone in the community and contributes to creating a strong and vibrant community culture.
There’s only one way to do this though, and that is together. If you would like to be part of this exciting and worthwhile project that connects, serves and gives back to our wonderful community, please consider getting involved on one of the six subcommittees until we issue official memberships and elect a board. We especially need volunteers who have a strong business and/or financial background.
For more information or to get on a subcommittee, contact Scott at 592-1476 or megscott1 @live.com.
