Community Corner

Creating a Co-op for Collingswood

A small group of volunteers is gauging interest in bringing a cooperative grocery store to the borough, but they say it's a project that will be years in the making.

Part of the charm of Collingswood is that it feels like a place where many things are possible. 

In a town where volunteers power events from the farmers market to National Night Out, from May Fair to a holiday parade that is among the best in the region, the borough finds itself home to a community of organizers.

On Monday evening, another handful of them gathered to draw up plans for a permanent food cooperative.

Several were from Collingswood; others came from places as close by as Haddon Township and Cherry Hill. One was a Wenonah resident. 

All were there to brainstorm ideas with some of the Philadelphians behind Weaver’s Way, one of the most successful and longest-running food co-ops in the area.

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With enough organization, support, and capital investment, it’s not inconceivable that the right group of volunteers could bring a permanent, year-round grocery co-op to a storefront property in downtown Collingswood.

But organizer Lisa Murphy, who heads up the Collingswood Co-op Facebook group, cautioned that anything of the sort is “so far down the road.

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“To start talking about real estate would presume that we know what everyone at this table is looking for in a store,” Murphy said.

“I think that there are a lot of co-ops that have started with a vision in mind, and after their member-owners start talking about what they want, it’s either much greater than they want or much smaller than what they want. 

“We start at zero and then decide as a group what’s going to happen.” 

What is a food co-op?

A food co-op is a nonprofit, member-owned community grocery store. Members are part-owners who contribute their time and resources to its operations, earning a voice in how the organization is operated and which goods it carries. 

Optimally, a co-op has the chance to carry more locally produced goods than other area markets, and at prices competitive with them. Such an organization can support sustainable food production, organic and non-genetically modified goods, or other values.

Determining the identity of a co-op is “ground-floor community organizing,” said David Woo, a former Board President of Weaver’s Way.

“You’ve got to educate the community; you’ve got to get them to understand what the cooperative enterprise model means,” he said. “Then you still have to go after loans with a business plan.

“This is a national movement,” Woo said. “We’re about income equality. We’re having everybody own a piece of it. We’re competing in the marketplace.”

Taking on the challenge is not for the faint of heart. Having a sizable enough footprint is part of the initial hurdle, Woo said, citing a statistic that 60 percent of all co-ops have failed, most of which were 1,600 square feet and smaller. 

“In the 1970s there were 50 cooperatives within [Philadelphia] city limits,” Woo said. “They’re all gone except for two.”

Right for Collingswood?

Then there are issues as to whether Collingswood is even the right place to situate a food co-op.

Would a permanent storefront conflict with the long-running Collingswood Farmers Market? 

Would a food co-op interfere with the planned operations of the long-awaited McFarlan's Food Market that is set to take over the National Food Market

Would the stakeholders be able to get funding for such a project to even get it off the ground?

Woo believes vendors at the weekend farmers markets in the area would enjoy another outlet for selling their goods seven days a week. But he cedes that some of the product could be confined to seasonal availability.

“There aren’t that many farmers, unless they’ve got tunnels or greenhouses, that are going to provide you with fresh produce in January, unless you’ve got them who can sell you from Chile or Mexico,” Woo said.

There’s a lot of groundwork to be laid before the project can even be considered, he added, from recruiting volunteers to conducting market studies, addressing legal issues, and applying for loans and grants.

“You can do it with 500 people, 10,000 square feet, and a $5 million project if you have everyone together,” he said.

There are also ways in which local government can help get a co-op off the ground.

In Elkins Park, the township forgave every fee it could for the CreekSide food co-op to get started, Woo said. The Chestnut Hill Weaver's Way co-op got $900,000 in Pennsylvania redevelopment grants (comparatively, ShopRite got $12 million).

“Co-ops do get a federal tax break when they return profits to owners,” Woo said, but they still pay “sales tax, property tax, wage tax.”

But before any high-level planning can begin, he said, organizers must enter the next six months ready to drive heavy recruitment—and with a mindset of humility.

“Number one,” Woo said, “you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ve got to learn, and you’ve got to give yourself three to four years [to get started].”


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