RESOURCES:
People's Food Co-op Contact Info
People's Food Co-op on Facebook
People's Food Co-op on Instagram
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU. And today, we're going to have a conversation about food, about food insecurity and the importance of thinking local first in making direct community impact. I'm David Fair, and today, we're going to get a peek into the world of the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor. It is a market that is open to everyone, but it is also a membership-driven enterprise. For 53 years, it's been serving locals in interesting and unique ways because it is a community and cooperatively owned business. Joining us today are general manager Angie Voiles and community outreach and communications director Troy Clarke. Thanks to both of you for coming in today! I appreciate it!
Angie Voiles: Thanks so much for having us!
Troy Clarke: Yeah, thanks for having us!
David Fair: Well, five-plus decades is a long time. And yet, I have found, at least anecdotally, that there are a lot of Ann Arbor folks unfamiliar with the People's Food Co-op, what it does and how it runs. Given its stature in the community, Angie, how is it the co-op is kind of hidden in plain sight or is that an unfair characterization?
Angie Voiles: I think it's fair to a degree. I think a huge part of it is a lack of familiarity with the word "co-op." A lot of people don't realize how much cooperatives are an everyday part of their life: credit unions. REI, Sunkist, Ocean Spray. Yet, co-op seems like maybe an exclusive thing. Maybe you need to be a member to shop, whereas the reality is we're these gorgeous little downtown natural foods grocery store that's absolutely welcome to everyone to shop.
David Fair: Well, Troy, community and cooperatively owned is a major difference from the big box grocery stores and other chain-type establishments. How do you characterize the major differences?
Troy Clarke: That could be talked about in a couple of ways. From, like, an operational standpoint, we have the ability in store to focus on carrying the products that we want to carry. You know, I have an experience working at one of the national food chains in the past, and there's a lot of limitations on the type of products you could carry, what local vendors you could bring in and if we were allowed to keep them on the shelf or not. One of the great things about the co-op is you have the freedom to pick and choose as you see fit. You come in contact with the local vendor that you think would be a good fit for the store, and we can decide to try it out.
David Fair: How do these partnerships work, both to the benefit of your partners and to the community as a whole?
Angie Voiles: We actually have this triple bottom line--of course, about profit because we're a business. But we have this people and this planet thing that we hold ourselves to as well. We reflect our community and our community's wants, and that very much is supporting the aspect of our community that are the local vendors and are the local producers. So, long before it was cool and long before local was a tagline that some of our competitors use, we cultivated these relationships, not just to have the freshest, most delicious produce and these unique hot sauces and great canned beans because we believe in circulating money back through our local economy. That's really what co-op is all about is not an extractive economic model, but one where we pay our employees, we pay our suppliers fairly, all to support this vibrant local community food scene.
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU. And we're talking with Angie Voiles and Troy Clarke from the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor. And giving back is a part of the model. Troy, how much food is the co-op donating to those in need every year?
Troy Clarke: We don't waste any food. If it's not being sold from our shelves, we're donating it primarily to Food Gatherers, the local food pantry in town.
Angie Voiles: And jumping in on that, too, we have this, in that triple bottom line thing, the planet piece. As much as we sell food, we also love food and don't want to waste any food. So, anything that's not sellable that we can't donate, we compost, trying to divert as much as we possibly can from landfills. But, yeah, food rescue is a big part of what we do, and we really believe in getting healthy, delicious, quality food to our community members however we can, whether it be shopping at the co-op or through donation.
David Fair: And to take that a little further, Angie, food insecurity is growing as prices continue to rise, and you've probably noticed it costs more to get food in the store and then to sell it to customers. In many ways, Ann Arbor is a privileged community, but there are too many that are unhoused and too many that feel they're being priced out of the area. What are you hearing from the members and the shoppers at the co-op?
Angie Voiles: I think, for a long time, the co-op maybe had a reputation of being a little bit of a pricier place to shop. And that's something that I and the staff have really been laser-focused on changing and making sure that we have affordable options in every single category in the store because, absolutely, in as much as I'm a grocer, I also shop for groceries, and budgets have just gotten tighter and tighter. So, a key piece of our service to community and reflection of community is making sure that, as much as we possibly can, we're accessible to all members of our community--and we truly mean all members. So, we have everyday low-priced items on all pantry staples, produce items. We make sure that we have staples that are absolutely affordable. We have partnered with the Double Up Food Bucks program, which is a matching funds program when people buy fruits and veggies on their EBT cards. And we're really trying everywhere we can to make sure that the food we value and the food we love and the food we think is great is actually available to everyone.
David Fair: How is the role of the co-op in the community evolving?
Angie Voiles: You know, when the food co-op started in 1971, it started from a grad student organization that identified the need for and the want for whole foods, like whole grains, produce. And that just wasn't being sold in the market. And for a very long time in the co-op's history, other than farmer's markets and buying clubs, we were kind of the only game in town for natural and organic foods. And, obviously, we all know in Ann Arbor and greater Ann Arbor community, that is far from the case now. We are privileged enough to have a myriad of local organic options in our food shelves. So then, that begs the question, "What makes the co-op unique? And what can continue to be this differentiator that draws people into the co-op?"
David Fair: Talking about the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor with general manager Angie Voiles and community outreach and communications director Troy Clarke. And, Angie, the co-op prides itself on using local and sustainable products. How do you see the role of the People's Food Co-op in being a strong steward of the environment?
Angie Voiles: Just recently, we actually rearranged our entire store to really highlight our bulk food section, which we sometimes call our unpackaged section. So, it's items from granola to beans to grains to coffee to spices and medicinal herbs, where people can bring their own containers and can choose to put things in paper bags and avoid plastic entirely. You know, we do things like we haven't offered single use plastic shopping bags since, I think 2019. You know, the plastic bags we do offer are either reclaimed ocean plastic or compostable. All that we package in-house is compostable bioplastics, which we have a special relationship with a composter that will compost those for us. So, everything that we can control from a packaging perspective, we're making the most environmentally conscientious choice we can. Obviously, many groceries come prepackaged in a way that we can't dictate. But, in conjunction with other natural foods co-ops, together, we're lobbying our manufacturers and producers to use increasingly conscientious items, be it glass or BPA-free lined cans, all sorts of things like that. You know, it's been a focus of ours and something we join in a mutual advocacy effort with other food co-ops.
David Fair: Learning what people want and need is key to the services you provide. And when it comes to the co-op sustainability, that's a part of the decision making process. Troy, the co-op used to operate a hot food and café bar, but back in April, had to shut it down, noting it was no longer sustainable. I'm curious as to whether that has resulted in additions to your offerings that are more sustainable.
Troy Clarke: I would say yes. Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to close down the hot bar and the café. Like you said, it just wasn't sustainable as a business practice in terms of sales and labor. But we have been able to expand. Like Angie had mentioned, our bulk section has since been relocated, and we've been able to expand on the offerings over there, along with other products, both prepackaged and non-prepackaged products throughout the store. But I think keeping an emphasis on the bulk foods is one of the things that sets us apart from some of the other natural food stores in the area. I've noticed, kind of since COVID happened because of all the restrictions that were put in place, it was a little bit harder to manage the day-to-day operations of stocking unpackaged bulk foods. We were affected the same as everybody else, and we had to deal with it, whereas some folks just kind of shrunk back on their offerings. We have not done that. So, we still have very expansive bulk offerings section in our store and have no plans on that changing anytime soon.
David Fair: Well, Angie, as you've mentioned, everyone is welcome at the co-op, but it is a membership-based organization. Why, in your estimation, is that membership-driven business model a community asset beyond the storefront at 216 North Fourth Avenue?
Angie Voiles: Cooperatives tends to operate on seven cooperative principles. One of them is concern for community. The idea of community enrichment and community service is in the very fabric of what a cooperative is. So, it's not just that, because you're a member, you get an extra 10% off all our co-op deal sales items. That is a benefit. But you're a co-owner of a local business with your friends and neighbors. And we have events to connect co-op members, and our board of directors is voted in by our membership. And they are, in fact, members. You know, we're a representative, democratically run organization. Especially in these times and days, I think seeing robust examples of democracy and positive community outreach at work is a pretty powerful message.
David Fair: I'd like to thank you both for the time and the conversation today! I found it quite enlightening!
Angie Voiles: Thank you! It's been great to be here!
Troy Clarke: Yeah, David, thanks for having us! We appreciate it!
Troy Clarke: And you're welcome at the co-op anytime!
David Fair: And I appreciate that! That is general manager of the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor, Angie Voiles, and its community outreach and communications director, Troy Clarke. For more information and links to the co-op, stop by our website at wemu.org. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM, Ypsilanti.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
