Dear Fellow Owners,
“From the ground up” is how co-ops like ours are built: one neighbor, one employee, one farmer, one owner at a time.
It was another positive financial year at TCCP, and I’m grateful for it. We turned around our warehouse, CPW, which is now winning new customers and thriving. We kept investing in our stores, too, and the Linden Hills remodel has made shopping there a real pleasure.
But we don’t measure success in dollars alone. In the spirit of the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit), we chose this year to put people and community first, even when it cost us sales.
Co-ops are built on seven principles, and three came vividly to life this year: democratic control, concern for community, and cooperation among co-ops.
We saw all three during Operation Metro Surge. In solidarity with our neighbors, we closed both retail stores, for Day of Truth and Freedom, as did many of our sister co-ops. Closing meant forgoing sales, and we did it anyway. Co-ops across the Twin Cities stood shoulder to shoulder, and no single store could have said as much alone. We donated food. We kept protesters fueled with refreshments in subzero temperatures. We rounded up at the register, and you rounded up with us. That’s democratic control in action: this is your co-op, and its values are yours.
I know food prices are high, and we aren’t always the lowest-priced option. Here is what your dollars buy. Approximately 35% of our sales come from local farmers and vendors, compared with about 2% at traditional grocery stores. That money stays with people who live and work here, and it strengthens our region’s food system. It also shows up in our investment in climate-friendly equipment, which shrinks our carbon footprint.
Our mission is to build community by developing a strong local food system, and a food system is only as strong as the community it feeds.
Thank you for being part of this. Together, we’re building what’s next for our food system, from the ground up.
In cooperation,
Lisa Fittipaldi
Board President, TCCP