If you've been following Prairie Food Co-op for awhile, you'll know that we have set a goal of 250 Owners to move forward with a Market Analysis that will determine the size and location of the future store. Why 250 Owners? Research done by the Food Co-op Initiative, a non-profit organization supporting food co-ops across the country, demonstrates that 250 Owners in the early development stage is a very strong sign of community support. In one short year, we have nearly 250 Owners (as of this writing, we have 230 Owners), which is an amazing accomplishment. We will always need more Owners (nearly 1000 Owners by store opening), but 250 is the benchmark for success!
If you've been following Prairie Food Co-op for awhile, you'll know that we have set a goal of 250 Owners to move forward with a Market Analysis that will determine the size and location of the future store. Why 250 Owners? Research done by the Food Co-op Initiative, a non-profit organization supporting food co-ops across the country, demonstrates that 250 Owners in the early development stage is a very strong sign of community support. In one short year, we have nearly 250 Owners (as of this writing, we have 230 Owners), which is an amazing accomplishment. We will always need more Owners (nearly 1000 Owners by store opening), but 250 is the benchmark for success!
Many people have asked us what will happen if the Market Analysis (aka: Feasibility Study) comes back with less-than-optimistic results. That is a great question we'd like to answer here. First, "Feasibility Study" is a bit of a misnomer. The study will not tell us whether a grocery store will be successful in Lombard, but rather what size store the community will support, what products and services are most desired by the community, and where the store should be located to maximize profit. Consider this: Lombard is served by only 2 large grocery stores. Typically, a community can support 1 supermarket (30-50 square feet) per 5000 residents. Given our demographics, Lombard can support 8 (yes EIGHT) supermarkets; yet we have only 2.
If you'd love to see another grocery store in Lombard - particularly a grocery store that puts community first - then consider joining us today. You probably already know about the great incentives we're offering to folks who become Owners in September, but here they are again:
- Raffle entry to win a 3-month meat CSA from Walnut Acres Family Farm ($270 value)
- Raffle entry to win a 4-week November Fall Vegetable CSA from Green Earth Institute ($150 value)
AND, if you've been to our website recently, you'll notice that we've made paying for your Ownership in Installments easier! We've always offered an Installment Payment Plan, but now we've made it easier for you.
Hurry - there are only a few days left to take advantage of our September new Owner promotion! Joining is easy & takes less than 5 minutes. Join us here.