Building Our Community, Together

By Ethan Winn, 

Membership Committee Chair

A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

— Statement on the Cooperative Identity, 
International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)

Imagine this: you're saying goodbye to a friend as you head off to get some groceries at GreenStar, and your friend asks: "I know you're really into that GreenStar place, but what makes it so special?"

How do you respond?

You could tell your friend about the range of products that can be found at GreenStar, the bulk section and the local produce and the selection of crafts. But that would leave out programs like the FLOWER low-income discount and the work being done by GreenStar Community Projects, as well as the classes on healthy living and one-minute activist campaigns. And what about that whole co-op piece?

Alternately, you could take a more general approach: "It's Ithaca's cooperative food market," you could respond. But this would most likely be met with a slew of other questions: "What's a cooperative food market?" or "How's it any different from other food stores?" or the classic "Does that mean only members can shop there?"

But the truth is that, in fact, these are questions we should be frequently asking — and answering — ourselves. It's not easy to sum up what, exactly, a cooperative is, and it's even more challenging to explain why being a cooperative is so important. But reaching clarity on this question is crucial to our growing in a way that is both true to our roots and values and capable of having the profound impact on our community and world that we seek to enact. These are not questions we can afford to avoid.

In a way, GreenStar is both more than "just another store." It's a pool of resources that has been built up over 40 years by members of the Ithaca community, shepherded by hard-working volunteers, overseen by successive generations of Council representatives and diligently maintained by highly-skilled and dedicated staff members. It's amazing, really, what this kind of steady, grassroots growth can become over time. The numbers alone are amazing, with the Co-op going from a small room full of grains to a 15-million-dollar business with multiple locations.

But the less tangible forms of growth may be even more impressive, with GreenStar growing to become Ithaca's largest living wage retailer, a central community hub through which the common concerns of those seeking to lead healthful, sustainable lives can find expression and support. Sure, it's no longer the only place in town where you can find quinoa, but it is the other things that we do that makes GreenStar such an important place for so many of us members.

GreenStar is more than just a 2% discount, or 10% off on the 10th. It's more, even, than participating in important decisions like our acquisition of the long-rented property now dubbed "The Space" and the election of Council members to oversee the cooperative. To be a member of GreenStar is to be part of a lineage of Ithacans who have believed that building sustainable, locally-rooted organizations is of fundamental importance to our community, and who have contributed their money and their time with the full conviction that what we all get back is more than worth it.

As the ICA's Statement on the Cooperative Identity makes clear, cooperatives are about more than just providing a given service; they're about meeting our community's basic economic, social and cultural needs. Companies that are organized according to single-owner or shareholder models simply do not have the same basic interest in supporting community at the same level as cooperatives. So, programs like FLOWER and the support of local food producers and small businesses are at the heart of GreenStar.

As GreenStar continues to grow, the ways in which we can come together to build a more cooperative, sustainable region will become even more significant. We will have to be ready, however, if GreenStar is to be an agent for such big dreams to become reality. A key part of being ready is having sufficient equity resources that we can partner with local lending institutions to undertake major development projects that can change the face of Ithaca as we know it. It's amazing, but the $9 dollars a month (plus $1 processing fee) that so many have paid over the course of the first 10 years of their membership is what has made our growth to this point possible. It is the bedrock upon which we have built the GreenStar we are able to benefit from today.

It has become clear, however, that if we want to continue to build a stronger and more impactful organization, we need to revisit how our member equity is structured. With this in mind, a group of members, Council members and staff have begun working on some proposed changes to the equity structure of the Co-op. These discussions are in their early stages, and may include changes to the amount of equity required by members and the schedule on which it is paid back, with the goal being GreenStar's readiness to seize opportunities as they arise. I encourage you to get involved with the membership and finance committees if you are interested, or email your thoughts on the Co-op's equity structure to council. I look forward to discussing this topic with you all at the Fall membership meeting and beyond.