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<H2>Spokesman-Review April 6, 2007</H2>
<H2>Big digs reflect big changes at food co-op </H2>
<H4 class=deck>Moscow, Idaho, store adds meat section, bigger deli and broader
consumer interest</H4>
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<P class=caption>Arissa Fench, bottom left, and Kathleen Benton eat
an organic lunch Monday at the Moscow Food Co-op in Moscow, Idaho.
Sales have increased 42 percent in 2006 over the previous year at
the co-op, with a total of $5.9 million in gross sales. <!-- 5_biz_main_Moscow_Co-Op_04-06-2007_D7A8A34.jpg-->(Photos by
Amanda Smith The Spokesman-Review <!-- --><!-- 5_biz_main_Moscow_Co-Op_04-06-2007_D7A8A34.jpg -->)</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
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<H5>At a glance </H5>
<H5>Moscow Food Co-op </H5>
<P><EM>Address: </EM>121 E. Fifth St., Moscow</P>
<P><EM>Established: </EM>1973, incorporated as a co-op in 1974</P>
<P><EM>Employees: </EM>More than 100</P>
<P><EM>2006 sales: </EM>$5.9
million</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<P class=byline><SPAN class=name><A
href="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news/bylines.asp?bylinename=Becky Kramer">Becky
Kramer </A></SPAN><BR>Staff writer<BR>April 6, 2007</P><!---------Code for Big Ads-------------------><!---------End Code for Big Ads------------------->
<P><SPAN>M</SPAN>OSCOW, Idaho – The irony of running a natural foods co-op from
a former Safeway store isn't lost on Kenna Eaton.</P>
<P>After years of cramped quarters, the Moscow Food Co-op moved into the
15,000-square-foot building in late 2005. The co-op doubled its space, added a
meat department and expanded its deli. With wide aisles and bountiful produce
displays, its looks sort of like, well, a mainline grocery store.</P>
<P>More telling yet, Eaton – the general manager – sees shoppers she doesn't
recognize. And sales are up 40 percent.</P>
<P>"As we've grown up, I think our customer base has grown as well," Eaton
said.</P>
<P>Without about 4,500 members, the co-op attracts an array of customers,
including granola types, students, people with food allergies, vegans and the
more casual shopper. Over the past decade, the ranks of customers have increased
as national interest in locally produced and organically grown foods has picked
up, Eaton said.</P>
<P>The Moscow Food Co-op's goal is to embrace the new shoppers coming through
the doors while maintaining the close-knit feel of the co-op's early days, when
such a small percentage of the population bought spelt flour and tofu that it
created instant solidarity among shoppers</P>
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<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"There's sort of an artsy feel to the co-op, a
real creative aliveness," said Chris Caudill, a University of Idaho researcher
who was recently elected to the board. "We really want to continue to foster
that, even as the co-op grows."</P>
<P>The co-op's recent move is an example of how the organization differs from
big-box retailers, Eaton said. Board members had coveted the Safeway site for
several years, but followed a fiscally conservative path. Moving into new rental
quarters and stocking the store cost about $1 million. Members provided about
half of the money through personal loans.</P>
<P>The move has paid off for the Moscow Food Co-op, which rang up $5.9 million
in sales last year, a 40 percent increase over 2005.</P>
<P>"There's a whole stereotype of who shops at co-op," said Kimberly Vincent, a
board member. "I see people who didn't feel welcome at the old building coming
into the new one." </P>
<P>The larger product lines also help attract shoppers who are used to a
supermarket mentality, she said. "They feel it's worth their trip if they can
pick up four or five things or a whole cartful, instead of just one item."</P>
<P>The co-op is a Moscow institution. It organized in 1974, shortly after the
vegetarian primer, "Diet for a Small Planet," became a bestseller. </P>
<P>"Being vegetarian was a relatively new concept," Eaton said. "It was an
idealistic thing … People were living in teepees, getting back to the land. It
was a small operation, but it grew."</P>
<P>The co-op also had its lean years, when only the dedication of the membership
carried it through.</P>
<P>"In 1985, when Safeway put in the bulk bins, it just about put us out of
business," Eaton said. </P>
<P>"There were times when we wished just one more customer would come through
the door and buy $5 worth of stuff."</P>
<P>Vincent started shopping at the co-op 19 years ago. "It was crowded, dark and
tiny," she said. "The selection was mostly bulk foods … It was hard to get
through the aisles. There weren't any carts."</P>
<P>As the co-op grew, it rented larger and larger spaces. But even the last
location, an old Kentucky Fried Chicken, "felt cramped and it was still mostly
bulk food," Vincent said.</P>
<P>The new location allowed the co-op to expand the deli, which is how many
customers first taste some of the products. </P>
<P>Kale slaw, for example, has become so popular that the deli carries it
year-round. The co-op also serves a chocolate Dream Pie in which tofu is the
main ingredient.</P>
<P>Recipes are posted on the co-op's Web site, and they help encourage sales as
customers try new items, Eaton said. </P>
<P>The move also gave the co-op room for a meat department, which sells
grass-fed beef, free-range chickens and pork. For some of the co-op's vegan
members, adding meat was a controversial step. </P>
<P>"We had a backlash from some clients," Vincent said, "but I'm one who
believes we need to have things for all types of shoppers and not just one
belief."</P>
<P>Personally, Vincent said she was glad to have access to "clean meat," raised
without hormones, steroids and dyes. A former vegetarian, Vincent said she had
to start eating meat again to control her anemia but had trouble finding
estrogen-free chicken.</P>
<P>The majority of the co-op's shoppers share a certain ethic about food. "They
want to feel good about their purchases," Eaton said. "They want to know that
they have less impact on the planet and on their bodies."</P>
<P>What people eat has a definite impact on the environment, Caudill said.
Flying apples from New Zealand to North America uses a tremendous amount of
energy. Raising beef consumes large amounts of water. Fruits and vegetables from
Latin America may contain pesticides banned in the United States.</P>
<P>As the co-op expands its reach to attract more shoppers, it has to weigh all
those factors, Eaton said.</P>
<P>"If we bring in those blueberries when they're out of season," she said,
"there's a tradeoff."</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>