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Ypsilanti Food Co-op
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The Ypsilanti Food Co-op is a food cooperative located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It sells organic and natural foods, as well as health/wellness and household products. Next door to the Co-op is River Street Bakery, which features the only wood-fired brick oven in use in Washtenaw County, and which the Co-op owns and operates. The Co-op, in turn, is owned by its membership, governed by its Board of Directors, and open to the public. It is Ypsilanti's only grocery store, and Michigan's only solar-powered grocery store[1]. It is also the only grocery store in Michigan to produce honey from its own beehives, which currently reside adjacent to the store, in what Ypsilanti residents refer to as "Honey Bee Alley."
The Co-op is a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association. It is Ypsilanti's primary host of events concerning sustainability, the environment, and food-related issues; in addition, it sponsors and promotes external activities such as Ypsilanti's farmer's markets and other local food initiatives.
Contents
History
The Ypsilanti Food Co-op was founded in 1975 and is now located at 312 N. River Street in Ypsilanti's Depot Town neighborhood. The Mill Works Building, in which the co-op resides, was in the nineteenth century a foundry that made wheels for grinding flour. Template:TOCright
River Street Bakery
River Street Bakery produces a range of organic artisanal sourdough breads in a wood-fired brick oven. It also makes pastries. The bakery's bread is made from a sourdough starter, which is a symbiotic culture of yeast and lactobacteria. Starter is fed with flour and water and captures wild yeast from the Ypsilanti air. This air is by definition unique; therefore, the wild yeasts of Ypsilanti produce a taste unlike that found anywhere else. In late 2007, River Street Bakery began sourcing organic flour from Westwind Milling of Argentine, Michigan.
Structure and Governance
Food Cooperative
As a cooperative, the Ypsilanti Food Co-op follows the 7 Cooperative Principles and offers natural foods, with an emphasis on organic and locally-grown and -made produce and groceries. Unlike a common corporation, decisions about how to run the Ypsilanti Food Co-op are not made by outside shareholders, and it is therefore able to manifest a higher degree of social responsibility than its corporate analogues.[2] Much of the revenue made by the Co-op is returned to its local economy.
Ownership
The Co-op is owned by its members, of which there are over 1000; it is directed by its general manager, who is in turn overseen by the Co-op's Board of Directors. Co-op members receive a discount on retail items purchased in the store; an additional discount may be earned by members who choose to volunteer labor in or on behalf of the store.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors has eight members, elected to two-year terms by Co-op members. The Ypsilanti Food Co-op's Board meets at least monthly, and is charged with the oversight of Co-op business, operations, policy, governance, and overall vision.
Staff
A paid staff of approximately thirty is employed by the Co-op, with assistance from numerous member-volunteers.
References
- ↑ Concentrate Media article on Ypsilanti Food Co-op's solar power
- ↑ Food Cooperatives. Guardian.co.uk. 8 Dec. 2005.
