McHenry County’s new community-owned grocery store to open soon
WOODSTOCK — On July 18, an organized collective of various McHenry County residents that calls itself the McHenry County Food Cooperative, held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the initial construction phase of a future community-owned grocery store that will be named the Food Shed Co-op.
The co-op, as it’s also referred to, will be located at 14506 US Highway 14 in southwest Woodstock, which will make it so that it’s located near McHenry County College as well as a few minutes north of Crystal Lake.
The land for the future grocery store was purchased back in December 2020, with plans detailing the building to be 9,000 square feet in size. Approximately 6,500 square feet of the building will be dedicated to retail space, according to the co-op website.
For those wondering what makes a co-op different from any other big-name grocery store, simply put, cooperatives are owned by members of the community they serve and are governed democratically. Additionally, 25% of products sold will be locally sourced and profits will be kept within McHenry County.
“Our co-op’s going to be a fully functioning grocery store. You’ll find all the departments that you would normally find in any grocery store that you usually shop in, but there are some big differences with co-ops,” said Food Shed Co-op Community Coordinator Laura Ehrman, a Crystal Lake resident who is also co-op owner number 84. “First, they’re community owned. That means that your friends and your neighbors own them and we will have a say in how business is done in the store. You’ll see a lot more local products in food co-ops.”
She continued, “There’s a commitment to sourcing high-quality food items as close to our store as possible. That means when you shop at a co-op, you’re going to be recirculating money in the community and keeping profits local. There’s also an effort to champion the environment and protect the Earth with bulk bins that reduce waste [and] with Earth-friendly products and personal care items.”
As an added note, while those who chose to be an owner of the Food Shed Co-op will have added benefits such as patronage dividends and the right to get a vote in the affairs of the store, individuals do not have to be an owner to shop at the co-op.
The Food Shed Co-op website states that as the business matures, the co-op Board, which is made up and elected by owners, will decide what the differences and benefits will be regarding owners and non-owners. Owners will likely be eligible for special offers and discounts, however.
“The best way that you can get involved with Food Shed Co-op is to become an owner so you’ll have a voice in shaping the future with us,” explained Ehrman. “There is a one-time investment that will make you an owner for life. We also appreciate spreading the word. You can tell your friends and your neighbors to jump in and join us as an owner and you’ll all be able to build this together.”
The idea for a co-op in McHenry County has been in the works since 2013 and by mid-2016, had grown to reach 500 owners, which helped with winning a $10,000 grant and consulting assistance from the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI), a non-profit organization devoted to helping food co-ops.
Award winners were selected based on the strength of their leadership, quality of business planning, the potential for successful operations, and potential impact made by the grant funds, stated former Food Shed Co-op Board President Doug Close in a 2016 press release statement. Out of hundreds of food co-ops across America, the Food Shed Co-op was only one of 12 winners awarded the grant.
In July 2021, the co-op, which had at that time grown to 1,200 owners, decided to launch a capital campaign—which was named the Community Investment Campaign (CIC), to raise money to finally move forward with building a community-owned grocery store.
According to the co-op, the goal was to raise $1.75 million in the community to reduce dependence on expensive commercial lending sources. The CIC was officially launched in August of that year and was scheduled to go until October.
After deciding to extend the campaign until November, the co-op ended its campaign only $48,000 short of its CIC goal, which subsequently led the board, at the time, to vote in favor of moving forward with building the store.
While a definite date has not been given, the co-op stated that they plan to open the store in early 2024, however, the date may be impacted by material shortages or construction delays.
For more information on the Food Shed Co-op, individuals can visit its website at foodshed.coop.
