What started as a vision years ago for a local, non-corporate, community-run grocery store will soon become a reality.
Wild Onion Market, a soon to be opening food cooperative near South Evanston, is a grocery store owned and operated by members of the Evanston community. Wild Onion Board Chair Jillian Jason said the company is focused on providing accessible and sustainable food as well as promoting a consumer-centric market environment.
Over the past five years, Wild Onion has recruited community members to purchase a $ 250 lifetime property, which grants them and their immediate household a voice to elect the board of directors of the cooperative, in addition to other advantages.
The co-op currently has 748 owners and Jason said they are working on securing a site for the full-service grocery store.
“We’re hoping to give people some local options that they might like to get at the farmers market, but a longer option all year round for the locals (and) also for the farmers,” Jason said. “By building it that way with people from the neighborhood, we are able to tailor a store to what people are looking for.”
The cooperative is governed by a nine-seat board of directors for a three-year term. Store profits can flow back as dividends to owners in profitable years and no one can own more than one share.
Jason said the council is reducing the locations by focusing on South Evanston, Rogers Park or West Ridge.
“I hear a lot of homeowners (talking about) the importance of owning something in your community, especially in a city, (which) inspires me,” Jason said. “It is important for the resilience of the local economy that people feel they own a part of the neighborhood – they invest in it.”
Jason said Wild Onion plans to model some aspects of their store from other co-ops, like Dill Pickle Food Co-op. in Logan Square. For example, Jason said they plan to offer homeowners who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Women’s, Infant and Child Programs 20% off their total grocery bill. The cooperative will pay for these customers with donations and profits from “Rounding Up at the Register” fundraisers.
Wild Onion also prioritizes measures to make market ownership widely accessible. Potential owners can apply for a $ 150 community-funded scholarship and pay the remaining $ 100 in sharing through any payout method, like $ 10 per month.
Owner Ellen Salk said physical accessibility is also important to the group and that they “don’t compromise.” She said they were determined to create a storefront with tight access to public transportation and viable parking options.
Regina Sant’Anna, co-founder of Kombucha Brava, is one of more than 90 owners who have bought a share for their business in Wild Onion. She said that as a voting member, she can create positive change in the community by expressing support for environmental sustainability, local farmers and accessible markets.
“I’m interested in supporting the food cooperative because it fits my own personal values of how I want the food supply chain to work out in my community,” Sant’Anna said. “I want to have more access and support my local farmers and have a way to support them not only during the summer, but throughout the year.”
Now involved in communications and outreach work for the co-op, Salk said she joined because she had a positive shopping experience at Willy Street Co-op in Madison, Wis., During her University studies.
Salk said she supports the cooperative model over traditional grocery chains, as it emphasizes supporting local farmers, reducing the carbon footprint and tackling food insecurity,
“People who know about food co-ops know that when you walk in the door it’s different,” Salk said. “There are no soothing shareholders, there is no corporate structure that has its agenda …
We get the impression that it is a community enterprise. They feel warm and welcoming, and they are a place that stands for something. “
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Twitter: @WKlunk @haleyhandelman
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