Through cooperative effort, a group of people can do what each person alone might never be able to do. A co-op puts business ownership, such as a grocery store, in the hands of people who otherwise would not have the means.
Our motto, “Member owned, open to all”, reflects the fact that Breadroot Cooperative is democratically controlled by the members, and it suggests that not only is the co-op open to all people, but that the store is not for members only. You don’t have to be a member to shop here.
A cooperative is best defined as “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”. Breadroot Cooperative was incorporated in November, 2000, and opened for business in January, 2001. Our purpose is stated in the articles of incorporation: To promote community involvement in the production, procurement, and distribution of natural and organic foods and other goods and services for healthy living.
Our goal is to provide food and other goods of quality at a fair price. Quality includes how the goods are produced, such as organically, a standard we will strive for (as opposed to synthetically-produced). Price is important because food is a necessity of life, and no one likes to feel ripped-off when buying it. Our philosophy is to put food first, and keep overhead low. We won’t be building a food palace such as the supermarkets in Rapid City have done. We feature organic produce, and try to buy from local growers whenever we can, to facilitate the production of more food locally. We buy goods in bulk as much as possible, for the cost savings.
Photo and text courtesy of Breadroot Cooperative