Crammed and jammed — local foods dominate
Carbondale food Co-op
By Allyn Harvey

However you measure it — shelf for shelf, apple for apple or organic elk sausage for organic elk sausage — there isn’t a more fully-stocked, chock-full grocery in the valley than the Carbondale Community Food Cooperative.

The co-op, as it’s called by most of its customers, offers thousands of items — groceries, produce, meats and dairy products, dry goods, toiletries, vitamins and supplements. It’s a full-blown grocery in miniature — 450 square feet, to be exact — located on Main Street in the heart of downtown Carbondale.

“I think we’ve utilized just about every square inch of our space,” says Avtar Perreault, the store’s manager for the last year and a half. “We’re constantly juggling items and reorganizing — which is good news because we go through a lot of food.”

All the food for sale at the co-op is natural, and much of it is organic. Although, increasingly, there’s nothing special about those labels. City Market, Vitamin Cottage and Clark’s all feature such items as a regular part of their selections.

But the Carbondale Community Food Cooperative has carved out a niche with its focus on local foods.

Apples, pears, apricots, berries, rhubarb, potatoes, lettuce and other greens, cucumbers, onions, asparagus, carrots, beets, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, chard, herbs and just about any root vegetable you can imagine that is grown locally — from Carbondale to Hotchkiss to New Castle — are all for sale at the co-op when in season.

The store’s beef comes from the Crystal River Ranch, just up the way from Carbondale. Whole chickens and eggs by the dozen come from Paonia. Elk sausages from Grand Junction. Cheeses from Basalt and Durango. Dressings like Aspen Cornucopia (basil vinaigrette) and Alpine Avocado from New Castle and Minturn.  Even some of the tinctures and supplements are made in the valley.

“We don’t need home office approval to carry a certain line of things,” Perreault says, “so we search out local producers before buying from larger, out-of-the area vendors.” The co-op is a member-owned grocery. Memberships are available at individual and family levels, and bring a number of benefits. There are discounts: 5 percent off retail items on weekends; bulk orders at cost plus 15 percent; the opportunity to volunteer at the store in exchange for discounts of up to 25 percent off retail items.

More importantly, members help shape the selection in the store with their requests and suggestions — between 250 and 300 items, many at the behest of customers, were added in 2009. And if they want to get further involved, members can serve on the board of directors, which works with Perreault to manage the store and guide it into the future.

But membership is not required. Anyone can shop at the co-op, whether they are a member or not.

On a recent Sunday, one of the store’s regulars, Megan Hansen, stepped up to the register with a cloth bag full of groceries. (The co-op does not have shopping bags, so it’s best to bring your own.) Hansen lives in Carbondale and does all — that’s right, all — of her grocery shopping at the co-op.

“It’s convenient to have an organic food store in Carbondale,” Hansen said.

“They seem to be getting new stuff every time I come in. You just have to take your time going down the aisle.” Hansen says she and her husband, Anders, particularly love the eggs and the locally grown produce.

“It’s nice when you buy your fruit and vegetables to know where they come from.”

Carbondale Community Food Cooperative
www.carbondalecommunityfoodcoop.org
559 Main Street, Carbondale

(970) 963-1375