This is a very special update as there is a lot of great news to share with you all. First, both our Health Department and Village of Lombard permits have been approved! Both permits are required for the construction process to begin. Huge thanks to our partners at the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Village of Lombard and 845 Design’s Megan Harte, PFC’s architect. Second, we have a signed contract with our General Contractor, WB Olson. WB Olson has been on board for over a year and has been a fantastic partner in the pre-opening process. Big thanks to John Emser and Dan Polfuss at WBO for their help in getting this contract finalized. I’d also like to thank Jason Loebach at Chitkowski Law Offices for his assistance as well. Third, we finally have the letter of execution for our Rebuild Illinois State Grant! This has been a long time coming, and could not have been secured without the tireless work of Edith Makra, PFC’s magical grant manager, and PFC’s Board of Directors. Thank you everyone!
So what does this all mean? It means the construction bidding process can begin! This is a monumental milestone, and after bids are accepted the buildout of Prairie Food Co-op will commence. The bidding process generally takes 2-4 weeks, and with this timeline we could see the buildout starting in May. At this time it is still too early to nail down an opening date. Once construction has started and is in full swing we will have a much better idea of when we can open our doors.
How about some more good news? I am happy to announce that PFC has picked up its first local vendor, and that is Spiritus Coffee out of Lombard! Jason and Nick from Spiritus have been wonderful partners of ours these past few months, and I couldn’t be more excited to have them on board. The coffee that we’ll be brewing at PFC? Lombard’s very own Spiritus. Welcome aboard gentlemen!
Our owner count continues to grow, and as it stands today we are at 1831 owners! That is up from 1817 last month. The success of Prairie Food Co-op relies heavily on owner growth, so if you have family or friends who don’t know about PFC, or are aware and just need a good nudge, please do what you can to promote ownership in what will be Dupage County’s only food co-op. Stop by https://www.prairiefood.coop/ownership to sign up.
PFC’s Annual Owner’s Meeting will take place on Sunday, June 9th. Details will be forthcoming soon!
What About Raw Milk?
To close out this issue I wanted to share one question I frequently get asked, and that is “Are you going to carry raw milk?” Unfortunately the answer is no (sorry to rain on the parade!). Raw milk in Illinois can only be sold directly from the dairy farm, which must also have a permit to do so. Laws differ state to state regarding the sale of raw milk, but the FDA does have a ban on the interstate sale or distribution of raw milk. All milk sold across state lines must be pasteurized. Raw milk sales are flat-out illegal in some states, while others have strict rules and regulations regarding the sale of it. If you want to buy raw milk from the grocery store, the closest state where you’ll find it is Pennsylvania! Illinois has many farms that sell raw milk. A quick Google search will point you in the right direction, though I highly recommend Kilgus out of Fairbury!
Prairie Food Co-op is a community-owned and democratically operated grocery store dedicated to strengthening our economy and creating a marketplace for transparently labeled, local, organic and sustainable food.
Thank you for taking the time to stay up-to-date on all things PFC.
See you in the aisles!
Jason Krapausky
General Manager
Prairie Food Co-op