A Difficult Decision

A message from the Board of Directors.

Owner Update  ·  November 11, 2026

Dear Prairie Food Co-op Owners and Community,

We know this news will be deeply disappointing to our Owners, shoppers, employees, and everyone who invested time, money, and energy in making Prairie Food Co-op a reality. We share that disappointment. This is not the outcome any of us wanted.

The central issue is that sales have remained around $40,000 per week, approximately half of the $80,000 our financial projections indicate is needed for long-term sustainability. Our lenders indicated that a turnaround would require at least $500,000 in additional funding to make the necessary changes and provide enough time for sales to grow. The store does not have the resources to support that effort, and the results of improvements already made did not give us sufficient confidence that we could reach sustainable sales before additional funds were exhausted.

We know many of you will understandably ask: Why not keep trying? Why not give the recent changes more time to work? We want to explain how we reached this difficult conclusion.

Leadership and Operational Changes

The Board recognized that substantial changes were necessary to improve store performance. We made a change in store leadership, brought in experienced grocery consultants, and appointed an interim General Manager to assess operations and implement a comprehensive turnaround strategy.

With that team in place, we began addressing product selection, pricing, merchandising, signage, operational efficiency, and customer experience. We also conducted an Owner survey and used that feedback to prioritize improvements.

These were significant and necessary steps. Unfortunately, they began when the store had already used much of the time and financial resources needed to carry out and evaluate a turnaround.

Sales Remained Flat After Initial Improvements

We added interior and exterior signage, introduced PFC Staples, incorporated a shrink reduction program, and made special bulk orders easier. We did not expect these smaller changes alone to close the sales gap, but we did expect at least a modest increase. That increase did not occur; sales remained essentially flat.

This does not prove that larger changes would have failed. It did, however, reduce our confidence that those changes could increase sales to approximately $80,000 per week quickly enough to sustain the store before additional funding ran out.

We are deeply grateful to our loyal shoppers. Our survey also made clear that the store was not meeting many shoppers’ needs, particularly around produce selection, pricing, and the availability of conventional grocery options alongside natural and organic offerings.

The Larger Changes Required More Time Than We Could Finance

The Board and management prioritized a major produce reset and expanded conventional product offerings. These were among the improvements we believed offered the greatest opportunity to increase sales.

Implementation proved more difficult and time-consuming than anticipated. Securing responsive conventional suppliers was a significant obstacle, and we did not have a reliable timeline for completing these essential changes.

Even after implementation, results would take time. Our experienced grocery consultants and advisors emphasized that rebuilding shopping habits often takes six to twelve months or longer after meaningful improvements are in place. Shoppers who previously found that the store did not meet their needs would need reasons to return and time to establish new routines.

The store no longer has the financial reserves to complete those changes and operate through that period. Even with additional funding, we could not be confident that sales would grow quickly enough to achieve sustainability.

Rent and Margins Added to the Challenge

Our financial projections also depend on achieving a gross margin of approximately 35%—the share of sales remaining after paying for the products we sell. Our grocery advisors cautioned that reaching that margin in the near term would be difficult, particularly while expanding conventional offerings to provide more competitive pricing.

We also face substantial rent obligations, including deferred and unpaid rent. The Board explored arrangements to make those obligations more manageable but did not identify a workable long-term solution.

The projected $80,000 weekly sales target therefore has to be understood alongside these other financial requirements. Sales growth alone would not resolve every obstacle.

Fundraising Would Not Provide Enough Time for a Turnaround

We are profoundly grateful to everyone who supported the recent capital campaign, which raised $100,000 in pledges.

After considering both the additional amount required and the likelihood of reaching sustainability before that money was spent, the Board decided not to break escrow and suspended the campaign. With sales remaining flat, essential changes still pending, and significant rent and margin challenges, we did not have a viable path to justify asking the community to finance another extended period of losses—likely followed by additional capital asks.

Because the Board did not break escrow, no pledge checks were ever cashed, and none will be.

This is why we concluded that we could not simply give the store more time. Continuing operations would put additional resources at risk without sufficient confidence that doing so would save the store.

Our Gratitude and What Comes Next

Prairie Food Co-op was built on an extraordinary vision: a community-owned grocery store supporting local farmers and producers, providing access to good food, and creating a more equitable and resilient local food system.

That vision brought thousands of people together through years of organizing, volunteering, fundraising, and community building. Those efforts mattered, and they always will.

We are especially grateful to our community of volunteers, to the staff who kept the store running through a difficult period, and to the Owners, shoppers, and supporters who believed in this project.

The Board is now focused on conducting an orderly and responsible wind-down, fulfilling our obligations to the greatest extent possible, and communicating as the process unfolds. We know this decision will bring sadness, frustration, and many questions.

We wanted Prairie Food Co-op to succeed. Ultimately, we had to make this decision based on the financial and operational circumstances facing the store and the resources available to address them.

Thank you for believing in Prairie Food Co-op and for being part of its story.

With gratitude,
The Prairie Food Co-op Board of Directors

Notice to Vendors and Creditors

All vendors or creditors having a claim against Prairie Food Co-op must submit their claim in writing, with backup documentation, to:

All claims must be received by March 31, 2027. Any claims not received by this deadline may be legally barred.

Questions may be directed to Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC at [email protected].