Written by: Jess Jacobson

Dear community members,
As the new PR and Marketing director for the Carbondale Community Food Coop, I feel moved to respond to some of the circulating desires for a new large grocery store to fill the void here in Carbondale. I recognize the frustration that may be associated with the development of the coop, however I would like to share the work that has been continuously going on in preparation and creation of the coop. Though it may seem that the coop work has been limited to a buyers club, please know that hard work is always being put forth in the growing of the Carbondale Community Food Coop.
A coop the scale of a Wild Oats or Whole Foods is what we are envisioning and the work and fund raising involved in this is immense. The last eighteen months has been spent doing the tedious work of research, both for feasibility in this market as well as deep deliberate research with other successful coops such as, the community coop in Bozeman, where I have most recent experience and connections. This coop is to scale, the size of a Wild Oats and hugely successful!!! This is our vision for the Carbondale Community Coop.
In this vein the community should know that we have been meeting with a lawyer and consulting with coop experts to develop a business plan that most accurately supports our community and realistically depicts our needs. This is a very time consuming project and requires more than the current three individuals dedicated to the process and vision.
Though I have only recently joined this process, I feel deeply connected and committed! I see and feel the community here to be invested in economic sustainability and notice the hard work put forth to learn more about what that means, yet in talking with community members I have noticed an emotion of stagnancy in relationship to the coop. I am asking the members of the Carbondale community to trust the ebb and flow of the creation process.
There has recently been significant shift in opportunity for the coop to move forward, in the form 5600 square feet of retail space(CES) inclusive of a commercial kitchen which would be home to the dandelion cafe and juice bar!
I am asking the community to come back to community, remember all the effort for sustainable and local development is here. This is what we crave and this is what is available to us! A coop takes a community to serve and a community to serve it. The community will be an integral part of it's governing, we will determine where our food comes from, how extra dollars will be spent in giving back to our community and offer space for classes and meetings. Any established store such as a Wild Oats will not give back in any form other than tax dollars.
Please consider supporting the coop and learning more about what you can do to help get this thing rolling! We need your participation, your support, your kind wishes and financial investments! If we get the community invested we can do this by October! Seriously, October, but only if you get involved today!
Thank you for your consideration and please call us if you would like to be involved at any level!
Warm wishes,
Jess Jacobson 963-5609 PR and Marketing Director
Wendy Anderson 963-2255 Business manager and co-founder
Tessa Munson 963-3186 Grocery/Produce manager and co-founder