Come Together: New Food Co-op

By Dan Nygard
Staff Writer

One of the true joys of getting an assignment from the High Plains Reader is that often I am made aware of ideas, events and happenings before they have become something everyone knows about. It gives me the chance to become a part of something great when it is in the beginning stages. And the happiness, the reason any journalist puts up with the b.s., comes from getting the chance to spread the word to the community that something truly revolutionary is going on downtown.

This week, I was asked to cover the FM Food Co-op, which is truly in its infancy at this point; I knew absolutely nothing about it as I sat down with Jen Walla and Dean Hulse at Atomic Coffee. I’ll just say right now that by the time I finished the interview, I was enthusiastically suggesting ways in which I could help out. And I will also say that if you care about the quality of your food, the co-op is for you.

As Walla and Hulse explained to me, a food co-op is a community of people who care about quality organic and local food; each person donates whatever time and money they can, and each person gets an equal vote in the affairs of the organization whether they have contributed ten or ten thousand dollars. Food co-ops in other cities (such as Sioux Falls, for example) are active both in providing shops which provide organic and (especially) local food, as well as in providing a united voice within a community that declares “we care about the quality of what we eat, and we demand quality food.”

As Hulse explains, relating one of his conversations with the founder of the Sioux Falls co-op, “she basically said to me ‘you’re not a progressive community if you don’t have a food co-op’.” Now, I have always considered Fargo to be a little ahead of many cities in the tri-state area, yet the point made here is a valid one. Sure, Fargo has seen a lot of positive steps in recent years, considering the relative proliferation of shops and restaurants which provide quality organic and natural products, yet we don’t have a place where food-minded people can organize.

But a small, dedicated group of people, including Hulse and Walla are trying to do something about that, and they need our help as a community. As Walla Explains, the idea started in January. “Steve Spader put an ad out in the Forum,” Walla explains, saying anybody who’s interested in starting a food co-op come to the Moorhead Public Library.” At this first meeting, more than a hundred people showed up, showing clearly that there is the strong base that any grass-roots organization needs to get off the ground. Yet, as Hulse explains, “we need more people if we’re going to accomplish anything close to our goals.”

One of the goals is starting a community grocery store, open not only to members but to the entire F-M Community. Currently, feasibility studies are in the works, and locations are being scouted. And the Co-op is already becoming active in the local area, having reserved a booth at the F-M Green Expo, and with a (hopefully) large open forum on May 13, at the Fargo Public Library. (At the public meeting, suggestions for a permanent name for the group will be given and there will be a vote to choose a permanent name.)

And this is important, so I will reiterate it: anyone is welcome; and this group, which will be a huge boon to our town if it gets going, is in need of support from the community. This is the type of group that can change people’s lives for the better by providing not only positive action, but education and the simple though often overlooked benefit of having an organized voice.

If you care about your food, go check out the booth, and come on out to the meeting. And be ready to help. I talked with Walla and Hulse about organizing fund raisers around local music acts and poets, and I’ll be sure to be there on the 13th to run those ideas past the rest of the group.

And I can think of a hundred other ways that one individual can be of service, whether it is in the area of graphic design, or writing to get the message out, or simply being there to give ideas and take part in the process (not to mention financial help!). This is a chance to use your skills and talents to provide a service by which everyone can benefit.

Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); facebook: FM Community Food Co-op; mail: P.O. Box 1591, Fargo 58102; membership committee email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

If You Go

What: Food Co-op Open Forum
Where: Conference Room, Fargo Library, Downtown Branch
When: Thurs, May 13
Info: 701.429.1789