Sherry Kramer was already a big believer in the power of healthy food. Having formerly worked in the purchasing department at Air Products in Allentown, Kramer went back to school and became a registered nurse soon after her children were born. Having also been a member of a local buying club, through which she could buy bulk items at discounts through being part of a large group, Kramer witnessed first-hand the power of its cooperative nature.
When she posted an ad on Craigslist five years ago soliciting interest in a local food co-op, Kramer got enough responses to form a “dirty dozen” of active supporters. But soon the economy soured and establishing a food co-op that sold healthy and local products to members, like so many that had existed years before throughout the Lehigh Valley, seemed like a longshot.
That changed last year, when after studying a successful online food co-op in Oklahoma, Kramer and company established the first meeting for the Lehigh Valley Food Co-Op (LVFC). After a little local press, 100 people showed up at the Macungie Fire Hall to hear how they could eat healthy, support local food producers and save money. A year later, the LVFC is now nearly 400 members strong, bringing together about 40 local food producers with hungry local residents who pay up to $100 for a full equity share that guarantees fresh and local food as well as voting rights.
Kramer, along with most of the original board members, have even bigger plans going forward, including reaching underserved populations, utilizing sustainable food storage methods and expanding . Kramer talked to Keystone Edge about how the LVFC is making a close-knit region a little closer–and healthier.
Keystone Edge (KE): What’s the biggest thing that happened for LVFC in its first year?
Sherry Kramer (SK): We moved from our once-a-week location at the Macungie Fire Company to our own distribution center (860 Broad St., Emmaus). We were at the fire company for a couple months and just growing so fast. We did the math and figured if we were paying a little more in rent, we could actually set everything up and live here instead of ripping it down every week. So now we’re actually leasing a space and open four days a week (Wed./Thurs. 10am-7pm, Sat./Sun. 10am-3pm). We’re trying to make people see this is a real space, not just a virtual farmer’s market.
So now we have availability for our members to shop from our shelves and we have those who take advantage of our distribution day, for which we have various dropoff sites in the Lehigh Valley and Doylestown area. We’d like to move to another location that would make be more convenient to retail customers and we’d love to open this up to people who are on WIC or food stamps.
KE: What’s the new space like?
SK: It doesn’t really look like a storefront but when you walk inside, it’s 1,000 square feet of space with shelves and we do a big bulk business. We do flour, rice, pastas, dried fruits, and coffee in addition to the excellent produce, meats and cheeses. We’d really love to have a bulk bin system, so people could bring whatever container they’d like to use, just like we’re doing with our olive oil, and we’ll have less of a carbon footprint.
KE: How does membership work?
SK: Everyone who shops here is an owner. Even our producers are owners. Everyone buys an equity share and that money helps us fix the freezers and refrigeration, pay the insurance and helps stock the shelves with food. Members who volunteer for us get a small discount on their food depending on how many hours they give us. We do have non-working memberships available for people who don’t volunteer and they pay a little more for their food.
KE: Why is this concept proving successful?
SK: We did a survey early on and found that most people wanted to join a co-op to save money on their food. But that’s an oxymoron because local food is more expensive when you’re dealing with small farms because they don’t have the capability to do it in volume scale. It’s hard to educate people about this. There really is no such thing as cheap food. We can deliver right to people’s homes, so we offer a time savings as well. We’re really supporting the small farms as opposed to the big, factory farms. Our online component probably makes up 70 percent of our business, and that helps make it easier for members, too. And we really pay attention to what our members are saying.
KE: Anything new you’ll be launching soon?
SK: We’ve been granted the use of a Community Root Cellar in Lower Macungie Township. We’re hoping we can have it ready for the community and members over the winter. It’s underground storage for root crops that is kept at 32-40 degrees and has venting to maintain just the right amount of moisture. It’s on an old farm that the township bought and rents out. It’s got to be near 200 years old and is in very good condition. Because it has stone walls and a dirt floor, it keeps things like squash, pumpkins, potatoes and onions at the proper temperature. It’s a storage facility without electrical power and we’ll be able to purchase larger quantities and share those savings with the community, as well as educate them about how they can do it, too.
Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.
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