Today we’d like to introduce you to Medford Food Co-Op.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Medford Food Co-op (MFC) is a community-owned grocery store and café located in the heart of Southern Oregon. As a cooperative, the business is owned and managed by local people who patronize the business, and our profit remains here in the Rogue Valley with our owners. Co-op ownership is voluntary and open to any individual that desires to use the co-op’s services, and is willing to accept the responsibilities of ownership.
Everyone is welcome to shop at MFC – ownership is optional. When an individual joins the Co-op by purchasing a share of the business, they become more than just a member – they become an owner. When we say the Co-op is community-owned or cooperatively-owned we mean that there are thousands of individuals across Southern Oregon that own Medford Food Co-op. MFC isn’t owned by just one family, or a vast network of distant shareholders, but by thousands of real, local people just like you, your friends, and your neighbors.
The grassroots effort to create a food co-op in Medford, Oregon started in 2005 and Medford Food Co-op was officially incorporated in 2006. Like many small businesses, our start-up was rocky and risky and took the passion and perseverance of leaders within the local cooperative community to make the second effort to open a store a success. On August 8, 2011, Medford’s first and only community-owned grocery store opened its doors. Food co-ops are the lovable underdogs of the grocery industry, and MFC embodies the power of a determined community. It took thousands of Southern Oregon visionaries to make our cooperative a success, and we depend on our community members and owners to keep it going, each and every day.
Today, MFC is on the cusp of our 15 year anniversary, and we’re looking forward to growing roots in our community with an expansion project on the horizon. This August, MFC is celebrating 15 years of good food, cooperation, and community. Medford Food Co-op’s mission is to cultivate a thriving local food economy, and a vibrant, inclusive community, and our vision is to cooperatively nurture a healthy community. In pursuit of our mission and vision, we’re growing real roots in the community. The business has been operating beyond the capacity of our leased building for many years. Board discussions about expansion started back in 2017 prior to an on-site Café expansion, which provided additional space for food preparation and a seating area for customers. In the years since, MFC has continued to grow: increasing the number of owners, our annual sales, and the continued demand for additional space for both staff and customers.
Last month, the Board of Directors completed the purchase of a property in south Medford located at 166 Loyalty Way. About one mile south of MFC’s current location, the property is part of a new commercial subdivision currently being developed. For the first time since MFC was incorporated, the business now owns property. Eventually, MFC plans to build a new store on the 1.5 acre lot. The Board and management are planning for a store that is approximately 12,000 square feet – about twice the size of MFC’s current store. The next step will be to raise funds from the community members to help fund the construction of the new building. We are excited to deepen our roots in the community and plan to grow our offerings to better meet the needs of staff and shoppers in our future space.
More information:
https://www.medfordfood.coop/about-us
https://www.medfordfood.coop/faq
https://www.medfordfood.coop/blog/mfc-history-rocky-and-risky-beginnings
https://www.medfordfood.coop/expansion
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Medford Food Co-op has overcome plenty of obstacles and challenges over the years. In fact, the first efforts to establish MFC were unsuccessful. The initial group of grassroots organizers were motivated and energetic. The group pursued a variety of marketing efforts, organized events, and their initial fundraising efforts sold 1,000 owner shares and led to the community pooling enough resources to secure a large loan from National Cooperative Bank. Successive actions ultimately led to the signing of a lease for a building in downtown Medford and renovations began.
Unfortunately, the group backed itself into a corner by signing a 10-year lease prior to securing the capital to fund the rest of the endeavor. Despite their best efforts, the freshly founded Co-op quickly found itself out of money. Fundraising efforts continued, but they were significantly short of their goal. By November 2007, debt was piling up, cash reserves were dwindling rapidly, the Board was running out of options, and owners voted in favor of dissolution at a public meeting.
At this point in MFC’s history, it didn’t look like there was much hope left for the Co-op. The majority of the Board resigned, but two remaining members persevered. They carried a glimmer of hope forward for a small group who disagreed with the plan for dissolution to spearhead a new project. This ad hoc committee urged the Board to extend the life of MFC for 30 days to maintain good faith negotiations with the now 1,500 owners and potential shoppers. All owners who wanted to continue to pursue the future of MFC were invited to sign a petition to revive the official efforts.
A second Board of Directors formed and decided the best course of action was to scale down and open a modest location. Despite community skepticism, and on the verge of a nationwide recession, by the end of 2008, the new Board had a plan to reestablish trust with the community. Armed with a plan, a pitch, and deadline, the new Board began renewing zeal in their mutual aspiration. People decided to reinvest in the future of the Co-op with owner-generated loans, sponsorships, new share purchases, and even cash gifts with no promise of repayment. Additionally, professionals from various backgrounds volunteered their expertise. The community was committed to healthy, local, organic food. Regardless of the initial setbacks, the community reorganized. Within the last two weeks of the July 2010 capitalization deadline, the group raised the money needed to open.
Like many small businesses, our start-up was rocky and risky and took the passion and perseverance of leaders within the local cooperative community to make the second effort to open a store a success. In the 15 years since we opened our doors, MFC has overcome new competitors in the market, logistical challenges as we outgrow our space, as well as a global pandemic that strained staff, inventory, and community. Our history reminds us that our community can overcome big obstacles, and teaches us how to plan better for our future. We’ve learned that distant dreams can become concrete realities and that perseverance prevails even in the roughest of times. With some hope, determination, and cooperation – we can dream big.
In October 2020, MFC published a history of our obstacles and challenges in three parts on our blog:
Part 1: https://www.medfordfood.coop/blog/mfc-history-rocky-and-risky-beginnings
Part 2: https://www.medfordfood.coop/blog/mfc-history-tough-transitions-and-glimmer-hope
Part 3: https://www.medfordfood.coop/blog/mfc-history-fantastic-finale
As you know, we’re big fans of Medford Food Co-op. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Medford Food Co-op is a community-owned grocery store and café located in the heart of Southern Oregon. MFC exists to cultivate a thriving local food economy, and a vibrant, inclusive community. Our full service grocery store focuses on natural, organic, and local products. We feature organic produce from local farms throughout the growing season, and offer a variety of local and regional products throughout the store year-round. We are known for offering the best organic produce in town, and unparalleled customer service. Amazing people are at the heart of every great community, and we couldn’t ask for better people on our staff. They are the beating heart of our cooperative.
The Café at MFC offers fresh, delicious, wholesome meals from housemade hot soups to custom sandwiches, hearty made-to-order salads, breakfast choices, and smoothies made with organic ingredients. The Café offers healthy, organic options for busy schedules. Enjoy a bite to eat in our dining room, our outdoor seating area, or grab your food to go. Fresh grab-n-go items are available in-store daily.
Food co-ops are so much more than grocery stores! Co-ops are collectively owned by community members, and we are guided by the cooperative principles and values. The seventh cooperative principle, Concern for Community, means that we listen to community needs and support the work of local non-profits whose mission and values align with our own. We help develop our local food economy by coordinating and collaborating with groups like the Rogue Valley Food System Network (RVFSN), and encourage staff to seek and build relationships with farmers and producers. Each year, we organize the annual Rogue Valley Farm Tour to give folks an opportunity to meet their local farmers, learn about how food is grown, and where it comes from.
In addition to direct support for our local growers and producers, the Co-op strives to promote the health and sustainability of our community through multiple community donation programs and sponsorships. Our monthly Positive Change program combines customer contributions and a grant from the Co-op to support the work of eleven local non-profits every year. The Positive Change program has donated more than $197,000 to local non-profits since the program began in 2019. In addition to the Positive Change program, we extend support to our community through a variety of sponsorships, fundraisers, and donations throughout the year.
We’re proud to celebrate the 15+ years that successfully led us to our current expansion project and we look forward to the opportunity to grow our roots a little deeper in the community. Our expansion will increase food access and security for families in our region, create additional jobs, and invest in the vitality of our local food and farm economy. The larger location will help grow SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) participation at MFC, create space to add the WIC program, and share the benefits of the cooperative business model with more community members.
More information:
https://www.medfordfood.coop/about-us
https://www.medfordfood.coop/cafe
https://www.roguevalleyfarmtour.com/
https://www.medfordfood.coop/donations
https://www.medfordfood.coop/positive-change
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
It takes a lot of time, effort, and care, and commitment to start a cooperative business or organization. The pay-off is something your community truly owns and creates for itself. With enough perseverance and support, any community can form a co-op – and cooperative businesses can take many forms. In the words of Edward Everett Hale, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Pricing:
- Fresh Deals – Weekly savings on fresh produce, assorted grocery items, and prepared foods.
- Co+op Deals – Bimonthly specials on your favorite national and regional brands.
- Co+op Basics – Everyday low prices on nutritious staples and household products.
- Wellness Wednesdays – Save 10% on wellness and body care products every Wednesday.
- Double Up Food Bucks – A nutrition incentive program that enables SNAP/EBT cardholders to purchase more fruits and vegetables. Shoppers receive a matching credit for every dollar spent on fresh produce using their SNAP/EBT card.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.medfordfood.coop/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/medfordfoodcoop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MedfordFoodCoop/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@medfordfoodcoop
