GROCERY STORE CO-OP COMING TO WEST CHESTER

WEST CHESTER >> Shop and buy local are more than just buzzwords for the 395 member-owners of the West Chester Cooperative.

Borough residents will be able to save on trips to the Acme to the east and Giant to the west when another 200 members, at a one-time equity share of $400 per family, join the communityowned grocery store co-op. The market will be open to the public and everyone will be able to shop locally and then carry their groceries home.

Ninety-five percent of the bread, milk, spinach and eggs, at the two-story, and approximately 2,500 square foot market, at 142 East Market Street, will be

sourced locally. Board members hope to throw open the doors during 2022.

Deliveries, shipped straight from local farms, will cut down on the impact of warehousing and long haul trucking.

“To be able to get all these organic, local foods downtown is pretty phenomenal,” Judy “Foodie” Carrino, board member, said.

Suzanne Steinberg, volunteer and member, is excited to shop uber-local.

“I’ve lived in West Chester for 30 years and I love this town,” she said. “To bring a market that makes healthy food available within walking distance is a fabulous thing.”

The market is located in the East End.

“This end of town is underserved in the healthy food world and has been historically underserved,” board member Regina Pfohl said.

It’s all up to the community. Cooperative members have a say in what the market will look like and what it will offer, while getting an equity share that they can either plow back into the business, or take a slice of the profits.

The market will offer educational, health related, financial, nutritional and cooking classes.

Pfohl said that the goal is to become a community hub.

“It won’t just be a grocery store, it will be a place where people can gather,” she said.

Members will even soon be able to take a virtual cooking class. Participants will order ingredients online and a French chef will lead the preparation of a meal.

On Tuesday, a couple dozen volunteers were busy preparing about 50 “Go Boxes.”

Members shop online in advance and then stop by the store for contactless, curbside pick-up. Dozens of items were available including, eggs, meats, cheeses and nachos.

The cooperative also puts aside “Meal Boxes” for clients of the nearby nonprofit Care Center. Items close to the due date, along with groceries through a donate button on the website, are given to the Care Center.

Starting sometime in April, customers will be able to enter the market and go shopping, one or two days per week. Grocery deliveries are being considered.

The board is doing most of the heavy lifting, with a general manager and four or five full-time employees, at the start, yet to be hired.

For more information, go to www.westchester.coop or access the coop’s Facebook site. To email, info@westchester.coop.

BILL RETTEW — MEDIANEWS GROUP West Chester Cooperative volunteers assemble Go Boxes of groceries.

BILL RETTEW — MEDIANEWS GROUP Soon West Chester residents will be able to walk to a coop grocery store.

BILL RETTEW — MEDIANEWS GROUP West Chester Cooperative board member Judy “Foodie” Carrino volunteers at the fledgling cooperative.

BILL RETTEW — MEDIANEWS GROUP The market is growing. West Chester Cooperative board member Judy “Foodie” Carrino volunteers at the fledgling cooperative.