New Food Co-op offers an organic, natural shopping experience to the Yelm, WA community

Yelm, WA (PR Leap) March 21, 2007 — Yelm, WA, one of the fastest growing communities in the state, will have its first food Cooperative opening in April 2007. Over one year in the planning stages, the new store will bring to Yelm all the advantages that the cooperative type store has to offer. This includes member ownership, products from local suppliers and a wide range of organic foods and other natural products.

Cooperatives, or Co-ops for short, are a common type of organization and tens of thousands of them are found throughout the US. Some examples include credit unions, mutual insurance companies and housing co-ops. Co-ops are volunteer organizations, democratically run and formed for the mutual benefit of their members who are also the sole members of the co-op. An equally important point is that the co-op is a non-profit organization and as such turns what would normally be profit from operations back to their member/owners.

The Yelm Food Co-op will provide a unique shopping experience for its customers by providing a nearly unlimited range of the finest natural and organic products available. Many will be from large co-op distributors from around the country but many, and this will be a key operating principle for the store, from local producers. In addition, local contractors will be used for the various tasks necessary make the location ready for operation, volunteers and staff will also be from the local community wherever possible.

As with many start-up businesses, sources of funds are always being sought. Member fees provide some of this as do donations which are tax deductible under the Co-op’s non-profit charter. In addition, the management is looking for donors or patrons who would be willing to contribute to establishing a unique store in a rapidly growing community.

“Many Yelm area residents are willing to drive 20 miles and more in order to buy the kinds of products we will be providing. We’re excited about the fact that we can provide the same products and services a lot closer to home for those shoppers”, says a spokesman for the Co-op’s Board of Directors.

Contact:
Tom Dewell
Vice President
Yelm Food Coop Board of Directors
PMB 92 PO Box 7530
Yelm, WA 98597
www.yelmcoop.com
tom@yelmcoop.com