Inside the ongoing journey to bring a food co-op to Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — Scattered throughout Salt Lake City neighborhoods, yard signs have popped up, saying, "Salt Lake Needs a Food Co-Op." Despite the relative youth of the signs, the movement behind them has been waging for the better part of the last 20 years.

"It started like most co-ops start: With a group of really committed people who have an idea that we can just do things better," said Evan Sugden, vice chairman on the Wasatch Cooperative Market's board of directors.

A Cottonwood Heights native, Sugden attended the University of Utah before living in various places throughout his life. When he returned to the Beehive State, he got involved in an already-in-the-works push to bring a food cooperative to Salt Lake City and has been involved for over four years.

He said there are over 300 co-ops throughout the U.S. — with just one in Utah — the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab.

While the Wasatch Cooperative Market — representing 930 owners — has existed in some capacity for nearly two decades, its latest challenge is a pivotal one and one that could catapult the co-op from an ongoing grassroots effort into a true market with a full-fledged storefront open to members and the public, alike.

What's in a name?

The general idea of a co-op is basically exactly what it sounds like — a cooperative, democratic market, where everyone has a voice.

"(The co-op) is basically run by the board of directors who make all the decisions. We don't have a CEO, we don't have shareholders," Sugden said.

However, it does have member-owners who vote for the board of directors and anyone can become one for a one-time, $300 payment for an entire household. Beyond having a say in the happenings of the co-op, member-owners will also get a discount on goods at an eventual market.

This organization and operation style is rooted in principles like community, volunteering, open membership, economic participation and cooperation. And unlike other membership stores, like Sam's Club or Costco, nonmembers are able to shop at co-ops.

"It's a member-owned and organized and directed business that, in my opinion, provides a really valuable alternative to the typical commercial business whose interest might be only profit," Sugden said.

While co-ops have to make a profit to survive, Sugden said they're also committed to serving the environment and society. Social and environmental consciousness is built into a co-op's business model because "it's the right thing to do," he added.

This includes things like recycling, but it also involves investing and sourcing locally.

"When we say local, we mean local in a much larger sense," Sugden said. "We will be the most locally sourced market once we open because we don't have that profit constraint that other markets do. We can afford to be sourcing from small, local farmers, whereas they would never have a leg up in major grocery chain."

Not only does this mean less transportation and emissions to bring food from the shelves to your home, it also means that more of the money spent at a co-op remains in the community.

Food co-ops purchase from local farmers and ranchers who, in turn, buy supplies from local sources, hire local technicians to repair equipment and purchase goods and services from local retailers, according to a report from the National Cooperative Grocers Association. While conventional grocers sometimes do too, the gap is still significant.

"It's environmental but it's also economic (and) it's also social," Sugden said. "Co-ops are great for communities. They're community-building enterprises."

The final push

Due to their grassroots nature, Sugden said not all co-ops survive or even get off the ground. The fact that the Wasatch Cooperative Market has is a testament to commitment and hard work.

Co-ops rely on their members to survive — and hopefully break even — but to have an actual market, which will allow more people to access the co-op and increase membership, the co-op needs more than membership fees.

While Sugden said membership is a good investment, many are reluctant to join without a physical market.

"That membership fee has been what's kept us going as an organization for 15 years and we have run into some pretty significant expenses, especially now because we've had to hire consultants and planners that have hefty fees in order to figure out ... now that we have a storefront — how to plan it, how to develop it, how to turn it into a real, physical market," Sugden said.

This is why the co-op will soon be launching a capital campaign to raise money, with a goal of bringing in $2.8 million that will go directly to opening the store in the form of designing it, construction, permits, equipment, fixings, staff, inventory and marketing, said Barbara Pioli, board member and development coordinator for the Wasatch Cooperative Market.

"The campaign's strategy includes major support from co-op member-owners," Pioli, a 13-year member of the co-op, said. "We are also reaching out to local, private foundations, some major businesses and nonprofits that support community development, health and environmental issues as well as economic growth."

Sugden said the build-out for the market (they signed a lease on a building last May) is tied to road improvements along Harvey Milk Boulevard, and renovation of the entire "Milk Block" by the property owner. This process is expected to take at least another year.

"Much of what we need to do to shape up an operative market can't be done until that is complete. So our doors are scheduled to open (in) mid-2025," Sugden added.

Optimism in the face of adversity

Despite the need to raise nearly $3 million, Sugden, Pioli and the rest of the Wasatch Cooperative Market are optimistic, trusting in their vision that what they see as the better way to do business will eventually win out.

"It is much more than just a grocery store. ... All cooperatives adhere to seven cooperative principles — one of these is concern for community," Pioli said. "Our realization of this principle means that the co-op is dedicated to building our local food system, providing quality foods, addressing food insecurity through subsidized ownership and participation in SNAP and other benefits. Because the co-op is owned by people in our community, it reflects our values and priorities."

Sugden said the co-op saw a huge jump in membership, even when the acquisition of the storefront was announced — something he sees happening again when the market becomes a reality.

With two years left, some may wonder how the member-owners can remain patient — especially those who have been involved for years.

"We have so much work to do but we're a pretty savvy group. We have a lot of expertise on the board and in the membership and we're optimistic," Sugden said. "We think it's going to happen."

Pioli said the vision for a co-op in Salt Lake City won't be realized without community support, whether that's through purchasing an ownership share or making a donation.

"People who invest now have a greater voice in the co-op's development. It is our store. It's that simple," she said.

Sipping coffee outside of a 9th and 9th shop, Sugden observed construction not too different than what the co-op is waiting on before the development of a physical market can begin, reminiscing, while also gazing, hopefully, into the future.

"It's been a really long, uphill climb," he said. "But the fact that the movement has lasted that long and has progressed really says a lot about commitment and persistence and the potential for reaching success here with, finally, an actual market."

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