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2025 Annual Owner Meeting
Join Us for the 2025 Annual Owner Meeting - the last one before we open!
Prairie Food Co-op Owners are invited to attend this year’s Annual Meeting, to be held on Thursday, June 19 at 6PM, in Fellowship Hall at the First Church of Lombard.
We are so excited to meet with our Owners at the very place we had our first Board meeting many years ago to share exciting updates about OUR grocery's store's last year leading up to opening this summer. Join us to hear remarks from Leslee Keri, our Board President, a fiscal report from Theresa Giambrone, the Board Treasurer, Jerry Nash, our Ownership and Outreach Committee Chair, and a store opening update from our General Manager, Gabriel Smith.
We will have light snacks and refreshments!
This meeting is open to Owners only. Please RSVP as space is limited. We can't wait to see you there!
Meeting Agenda:
6:00 – 6:15pm: Registration + Social Time
6:15-7:00pm: Business Meeting and Q&A
7:00-7:30pm: Mingling!
WHENJune 19, 2025 at 6:00pmWHEREFirst Church of Lombard - Fellowship Hall
220 S Main St
Lombard, IL 60148
United States
Google map and directions
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Beth Peluse published It Takes A Village - Volunteer Sign Up! in Get Involved 2024-08-02 06:04:05 -0500
It Takes A Village - Volunteer Sign Up!
Our store opening is just around the corner, and we need your support to make it a success! To ensure a great launch, we’re ramping up our efforts to spread the word about how Prairie Food Co-op will benefit our community.
Over the next few months, there will be numerous opportunities to get involved, from assisting at farmers' markets and distributing door hangers in local neighborhoods, to helping plan exciting events that will build excitement for our grand opening.
It truly takes a village to bring a co-op to life, and we’re thrilled to have you with us on this journey! Please complete the volunteer form and we'll be in touch with opportunities soon. Have questions? Contact [email protected].
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Our Community, Our Store
When is a grocery store more than a grocery store?
When it exists to serve you instead of making a profit for others. When it provides fresh and truly local products. When you and your neighbors own it.
We are building a community-owned grocery store coming in Lombard that will focus on selling as much locally and sustainably produced food as possible and keeping more money here in OUR community.
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CIP FAQs
We know that investing in anything is a big decision and that you probably have a lot of questions. We've listed out a few of the most commonly asked questions about the Community Investment Program below. If your question isn't listed, feel free to reach out to one of our CIP Volunteers at [email protected]
I thought the project was fully funded. Why ask for more Community Investment?
Since signing our lease, we’ve been transparent that opening the store hinges on securing $1 million in bank loans. Despite our strong financials and relentless efforts, we were only able to secure $500,000—not the full amount we originally planned for. Now, the remaining $500,000 must come from our community.
We’ve worked extensively with multiple banks and cooperative-focused lenders, but due to the unique structure of our co-op, we’ve hit a roadblock. Many banks either don’t lend to co-ops or focus on rural or underserved areas. The good news: our lenders are still willing to move forward—but only if we, as a co-op community, step up and raise the remaining $500,000 ourselves.
When will the store open?
We cannot project when the store will open until we are fully funded. Full funding allows us to hire and train staff, stock the shelves, pay local food producers to line our shelves with their goods, and so on. Once we have meet our financing goal, it will take approximately 2-3 months to open. If we meet our funding goal by March 31, we hope to open at the end of May!
What’s in it for investors like me?
You have the opportunity to earn a respectable return and gain the satisfaction of knowing your money will:
- be invested locally
- increase the quality of life for our entire community
- support a venture that aligns with your values
- be THE KEY to our store opening its doors!
Our Community Investment Program offers a unique opportunity that is not tied to the volatility of the overall stock market. It very literally moves money from Wall Street to Main Street, where it can make tangible things happen within our community. This is an opportunity to invest in an organization whose values you fully understand and actually have a say in.
Is PFC seeking additional bank financing?
Yes, the board continues to actively pursue additional bank financing. However, based on our experience with lenders, we are not confident in securing more funds in time. The underwriting process for a cooperative like ours is uniquely complex and time-consuming, and we cannot afford to delay our progress while waiting for a decision. That’s why raising $500K from our community remains our most viable path forward.
What about my Ownership Shares?
As a PFC owner, you bought two Ownership Shares for $200 total. These shares are tied to voting rights within our democratic organization, One Owner = One Vote. Ownership shares funded our outreach and start-up efforts but represent a small fraction of the capital needed.
What if the Co-op doesn’t open? Will I get my money back?
We are 95% of the way there! With construction complete and just $500K remaining out of our $5M budget, we are closer than ever to making Prairie Food Co-op a reality. At this stage, we have every reason to believe the store will open.
However, timing is critical. The longer we delay, the more costs we incur without revenue to sustain the business. That’s why we need our community to step up now—to ensure we can open our doors and start serving our Owners and local farmers as soon as possible.
Investing in the Co-op is just that—an investment, not a donation. While investments come with inherent risk, we are confident that with the community’s support, Prairie Food Co-op will not only open but thrive.
Charitable donations cannot be returned. Donations made to our fiscal agent on our behalf cannot be returned once made. If the board determines the project is no longer feasible, our fiscal agent will use the donated funds to support the wise use of cooperative approaches through education and development.
What are Preferred Shares?
Preferred Shares are stock that could yield annual dividends. Any Illinois resident can participate and buy up to 10 total PFC shares at $1,000 per share. Outside of donations, Preferred Shares are the most co-op friendly way to invest in PFC and should be considered a long-term investment (15+ years). They can yield annual dividends but like most stock, no promises.
What are Owner Loans?
Only Illinois PFC Owners are eligible to make a loan to Prairie Food Co-op with a legal agreement on interest rates and pay-off schedules. This is a mid-term investment of 15 years for investments ranging from $10,000 - $600,000. Money is eventually paid back and you earn interest on your loan. But like most loans, there are risks.
How do Grants & Donations factor in?
We will work with institutional funders, local foundations, community programs, philanthropists, and individuals like yourself to fund as much of the project as possible. For some folks and all those outside Illinois, a tax-deductible donation with no minimums or maximums is the most win-win way to contribute.
15 years is a long time! What if something happens to me?
We understand that long-term investments come with uncertainties. PFC is required to repay all bank financing before repaying Owner contributions, which is why Owner Loans have a 15-year repayment period, and Preferred Shares are repaid after 15 years, when the PFC Board determines it is financially feasible.
To ensure your investment is handled according to your wishes, we strongly encourage you to:
- Include a joint subscriber on your legal paperwork, so someone else has rights to the investment.
- Name a beneficiary for your Owner Loan or Preferred Shares in your Will or Trust.
This ensures that, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, your contribution is properly accounted for and passed on to your chosen recipient.
Can a Trust or Business contribute?
If the beneficiary resides in Illinois, a Trust or Business is eligible to buy Preferred Shares.
If the beneficiary resides in Illinois and is a PFC Owner, a Trust or Business can make a loan to the co-op.
Is there a deadline to raise the funds needed to build our store?
Yes. To open in May, we must raise $500K by March 31, 2025. Meeting this goal ensures we can begin generating revenue and covering our expenses.
Delaying our opening beyond May puts the project at serious risk, as ongoing operational costs (rent, insurance, utilities) will continue to add up without income to support them.
This is a crucial moment—every contribution helps bring Prairie Food Co-op to life!
When can I invest in PFC?
The Community Investment Program kicked off in mid February, 2025. PFC Owners have already contributed $1.6M towards this $5M project. Once we reach $500K in community investments, our project will be fully funded and we can open our doors.
If you already know you would like to contribute, reach out to us at [email protected] and we will put you at the top of our contact list once our legal paperwork is finalized and full program details are approved by our board.
More questions? Please contact us at [email protected].
We are not soliciting Owner capital in any form at this time. Owner loans will be available only to Illinois Owners, Preferred Shares will only be available to Illinois residents, and only pursuant to complete offering documents when and if a capital campaign is approved by the board.
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The Impact of Food Co-ops
Check out this inspiring report on the impacts that food co-ops have on their community.
A few highlights:
- What is a food co-op? (we hope you know but just in case....) A food co-op is a grocery store owned by your neighbors (and by you, if you choose). Unlike corporate chains, co-ops are totally independent and owned by folks in the community that shop there.
- Local Control. Co-ops are owned by their communities, not some corporate office 1,000 miles away. Instead of focusing on Wall Street investors, co-ops focus on what their neighbors want—nourishing everyone according to their budget and cooking style.
- Community-focused. In 2019, co-ops donated $8 million to community organizations. In addition, co-ops work with their communities in ways that reflect each community’s unique needs. For example, many co-ops offer community dinner nights where healthy meals are under $5,
- Sustainability - Food co-ops are working individually to reduce their carbon footprints and respond to the climate crisis by measuring and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, fuel use, and refrigerant gases.
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