Company Shops Market owner and volunteer, Tony Crider, speaks about what we as owners need to do to get the market open this year.
1) Recruit new owners
2) Make a Loan to the Co-op: become an investor
3) Volunteer
Archive for the ‘Editorials and Guest Posts’ Category
Video: Tony Crider speaks @ March Community Table Event
Friday, March 5th, 2010I’ve made my commitment to invest in Company Shops Market: An Open Letter from John Brooks
Monday, January 18th, 2010*This is a guest post by John Brooks. He is a Company Shops Market Owner and CSM Community Investor.
Friends and fellow citizens of Burlington and Alamance County—
I’ve made my commitment to invest in Company Shops Market…
The co-op market now has approximately 1600 members–it’s had steady growth since the effort was begun about 2 yrs ago.
What we need now is investment by the owners…the purchase and upfit of the old A&P store in Downtown Burlington is about a $ 2 million project.
With the majority of money coming from owners, we can obtain favorable terms and conditions from the banks to finance the balance.
You all know how dear I hold the idea of continuing restoration and improvement of downtown Burlington. I have a vision of our downtown being a destination sought by city/county residents, Elon University Staff and Students as well as LabCorp, ARMC, Government employees, and tourists who will spend time here. {Imagine all the folks that participate in softball tournaments at City Part heading downtown instead of out to Huffman Mill Road–IT’S ONLY A MILE FROM CITY PARK TO THE COMPANY SHOPS MARKET location.}
The Market makes a huge step in the direction of bringing New Life to Downtown. We will have many more retail stores, entertainment, restaurants, coffee shops, and yes, even New Housing in downtown.
Please go the the web site www.companyshopsmarket.coop –it’s a beautiful site and discusses all aspects of this FUTURISTIC endeavor.
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For all the current owners, and those interested in becoming both an owner and Investor this link explains the COMMUNITY INVESTMENT NOTES–
http://www.companyshopsmarket.coop/become_an_investor.html
Hope to see you soon, and have a great week !
John Brooks
Food Miles: Freshness, Carbon, and Food Costs
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Take a look at the average distance produce travels in the United States. This graphic compares the average distance that different types of produce travel from where they are grown to your dinner table. I love how this new “Transparency” from GOOD gives a graphical and visual representation of the difference in average food miles traveled. According to the people at GOOD, “The numbers were compiled for Iowa, but should be generally applicable wherever you live.”
(Click on the image below to see the full size graphic on GOOD’s website)
I think this information is important on a number of levels.
1) If you are concerned about the freshness of the food you consume (which typically means better tasting food), you should consider locally grown foods because they are likely to be fresher and better tasting.
2) If you are concerned about your carbon footprint and your contribution to global warming, then the concept of “food miles” matters. Lets take tomatoes as an example. According to the graphic, the typical tomato in your grocery store has traveled 1569 miles while a locally grown tomato usually travels about 60 miles. From a carbon standpoint, the local tomato used substantially less fuel to get to you.
3) If you are concerned about rising gas and food prices, it is important to start establishing local food sources. The cost of fuel contributes to the price of food. Because our food is transported extensively before reaching our kitchens, the affordability of food is directly affected by the price of oil. As the price of oil goes up, local food is less affected by the price swings because substantially less fuel is used to transport that food to you.
4) If you are concerned about living in a vibrant and flourishing Alamance County, you need to spend your dollars HERE in ways that contribute to the success of Alamance County . When you buy conventional carrots grown by a farmer in the other side of the country, you are using your money to support that community, not ours. When you buy those carrots from a large grocery chain that is headquartered out of state, the profits made on the carrots you just bought leave our local community and help support someone else’s. When you buy locally made products from a locally owned business you are supporting your neighbors. You are supporting your neighborhood farmer who grows the carrots, your neighbors who work in the store and your neighbor the business owner who owns the store (in our case this means YOU, the community of owners who make up Company Shops Market). Buying local contributes to the livelihood of numerous members of the community and leads to strength, self-reliance and good things for all of us within the community.
Thank you to Jeff Barney and Heather LeGarde for sharing the Produce Locally graphic on facebook.
Sarah Cook
Co-Manager of Comm. and Brand Mgmt
Michael Shuman visits Downtown Burlington
Friday, October 30th, 2009
(L-R Eric Henry, Angie Lovelace, Michal Shuman)
Michael Shuman is an economist and an author. But more than that, he is a champion of vibrant towns. One of his major projects is the BALLE organization. “The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies builds Local Living Economies in North America that foster vibrant communities, a healthy natural environment, and prosperity for all. We do this by catalyzing, strengthening, and connecting networks of locally-owned, independent businesses; providing education and community economic development tools; and developing and promoting public policies that enable Local Living Economies to thrive.”
While in North Carolina, Shuman is taking time out of his busy schedule for an afternoon tour of Alamance County and the exciting revitalization efforts that are bringing renewed vigor to our community. Here 
in Alamance, we know what it means to have a vibrant community and we have experienced what it feels like to loose that vitality, when the globalization of the textile industry lead to large scale industry and job loss in our community.
We have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves. A number of business leaders in our community are already doing so. One of the stops on Shuman’s tour is T.S. Designs, a local t-shirt company that nearly went out of business when cheap shirts from Asia and South America flooded the US market. Instead of giving up, the company reinvented itself as a leader in environmentally and socially responsible t-shirt printing. Their new motto: Printing T-shirts For Good.
Another stop on Shuman’s tour of Alamance County is the tiny town of Saxapahaw. The Jordan family had the vision to turn an old mill in a defunct semi-rural town into riverfront condos. By hosting a weekly free concert and farmers market throughout the summer months with family friendly activities, Jordan and his capable staff have made the little town of Saxapahaw a happening place that draws hundreds of people every week. The tiny town’s fame has spread with the arrival of Jeff Barney and Cameron Ratliff. Their gourmet “5 Star Gas Station” is drawing foodies in from all over the Triad and Triangle areas.
The stop I’m most excited about is Shuman’s tour of Downtown Burlington and Company Shops Market. I had the chance to meet Michael Shuman along with CSM Board President Sharon Dent; Executive Director of the Burlington Downtown Corporation, Anne K Morris; Downtown Business Owner, Tara Jones-LeGros of J&L Bicycles and her store manager J.T. Sharpe; and the Company Shops Market Marketing team, Nate Perry and Sarah Cook (me).
(L-R: Tara Jones-LeGros and J.T. Sharpe of J&L Bicycle are introduced to Michael Shuman by Eric Henry and Sharon Dent)
Tara Jones-LeGros asked Shuman what he considered to be important factors in successful efforts to revitalize small towns. He indicated the need to have active support from local business owners. He suggested collaborative meetings between business owners and interested community members to work together and support each other. He also mention that getting the area youth involved can bring fresh perspective and ideas that can lead to powerful positive change. In addition he advocated having a dedicated staff member, someone who wakes up every day and says “how can I made our community better today”.
(Clockwise from Left: Sarah Cook, Tara Jones-LeGros, J.T. Sharpe, Michael Shuman, and Sharon Dent discuss strategies for building thriving communities.)
So I’m interested to hear from you. What are your ideas? How can we work together to create a vibrant and thriving Downtown Burlington? What sorts of businesses would you like to have that are not available right now? What kind of public spaces would you appreciate?
Sarah Cook
Co-Manager of Comm. and Brand Mgmt
Click on the comments link below to submit your (public) comments.
Didn’t our mothers always tell us that if we don’t have something nice to say we shouldn’t say it? Please remember to be helpful and constructive when it comes to commenting as we will remove harsh or inappropriate comments.
Company Shops Market Isn’t An Organic Food Store: A discussion of local vs organic
Monday, October 19th, 2009When I mention to friends that I am working with Company Shops Market now, it usually results in some sort of comment including “oh, I love organic food!” It’s usually at this point that I begin a small conversational venture into the true meaning of that statement. This usually starts with an observation that Organic is just a certification from the US Department of Agriculture, declaring that their limited set of rules have been followed. Organic means that steps have been taken to limit unnatural or potentially dangerous chemicals and procedures from being applied to the food you are considering buying. In other words: it’s a marketing term.
Marketing has its place and is a critical tool for businesses trying to be competitive; however, many consumers are looking for more. Consumers want to be assured that they being responsible, and this is where I think that USDA Organic is not the final destination. The certification process is expensive and very restrictive. Organic is a great and necessary step to healing our food system. It doesn’t address other things that have been forgotten in the pursuit of a feel good experience at dinner time. Things like: How did this food help my local economy? How far did it travel to get to this supermarket? How will the price and availability of this product change the next time there is a spike in diesel fuel, since it came from southern California and we live on the opposite coast?
At this point the unsuspecting victim’s eyes are starting to glaze a bit. It’s a good time to change the subject and ask if they grew up around a farm. Have they been to one here in the Piedmont area recently? That’s less likely to be the case than it used to be. North Carolina leads the nation in farm loss. Do they know anyone who has recently lost their job? What is there general impression of the health of the economy? That’s where the conversation starts to recapture their attention.
This discussion is relevant regardless of where the other person stands in their views. The local option, in most cases, should trump organic. Buying locally and regionally saves fuel, reduces pollution, and helps to insulate the food supply from energy issues and centralized contamination like E. Coli. Fluctuating fuel prices and widespread contamination due to centralization of food processing happens even in organic production environments. Most of all, buying local contributes to the local economy. Buying locally reinvests money in the local economy that would otherwise be reinvested into the broader economy, doing little or nothing for the local farms and residents.
It’s getting easier and easier for consumers to confuse the myriad of terms applied to good, wholesome food. Keeping our food natural and less synthesized, and less contaminated is a great step in the right direction. Whether they are doing it under the USDA Organic seal in California, or sparingly fertilizing and applying just enough pesticides to make sure their produce makes it to market down the street, it’s all inspiring to see. We just need to remember that great food doesn’t have to be organic to be great for you, and great for North Carolina. Buy local, responsibly raised produce and meat when you can, buy organic or all natural when you can’t get local. Mind what you put in your plate, your well being and in many cases the well being of your farming neighbors depends upon it.
Nate Perry
Editorial by Eric Henry, member of the Company Shops Market Co-op
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009As I scratch my head in an effort to figure out the AIG bonuses and wonder how the economic stimulus is going to impact my life and business, I can’t help but think about what makes real economic sense to me.
Over the last 20 years, we have run an economy based upon who can supply the lowest price, not considering social and environmental impact. Our race to the bottom is finally coming to a head, our economy and unemployment the worst since the Great Depression.
What part can we play in the solution? A reconnection to our local community and the food and other products it can supply is the first step.
I am proud and excited to be a part of a group bringing Company Shops Market Co-op to downtown Burlington.
Company Shops will be a different kind of grocery store, one that sells as many food products from local farmers and food processors as possible. The co-op will also provide a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Burlington.
In a world where food travels 2,500 miles before it reaches your plate, Company Shops will provide food that is grown or raised within 250 miles. The store will be owned by the community, run by the community, and will keep the money in the community by supporting our local farmers.
Though our work is far from complete, I want to thank the members of our board, who have dedicated thousands of hours from brainchild to reality. I also want to thank our 750+ owners for their support and patience, and I hope that we can reach our goal of 2,000 owners by store opening.
Considering what we’ve seen on Wall Street in the last few months, this could not be a better time to invest locally, with people you know, in a building you can see, and the community where you live. On April 4th from noon to 3pm, we will have an open house at the future location of Company Shops Market. I invite you to come be a part of something very special.
CSM COOP is community
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
The last several weeks has shown us a couple of things. First, the financial markets are truly global, as our weak management of our own banking systems have impacted economies throughout the world. Second, if we are going to invest our money and take control of our lives over the long term, we need to focus on creating a sustainable local community.
This means investing and supporting local food, energy, and transportation systems. We need a viable bus system, bike lanes, a local coop food store, and more companies like TS Designs who have invested in sustainable solar energy.
I grew up in Alamance county and used to listen to stories my grandfather would tell about running a grocery store in downtown Graham during the early and mid 1900’s. He would tell me about buy cows from this farm, milk from this local dairy, country hams from this farmer, etc. He had relationships with many local producers and together they got through the Great Depression. My Dad said what he remembered about the Great Depression was the number of people that came through the area looking for any kind of work and food. Locally, because we were still agriculturally grounded, most local families came through without starving because our community was grounded to food production.
Many of you know that I have a small farm outside of Gibsonville, in Alamance County. I tried to sell onions and garlic to our local Harris Teeter this season and was rejected because I did not have $2 million dollars of insurance on my products. If I was lucky, my whole garlic and onion crop would only be worth a few thousand dollars, so this was crazy.
If peak oil raises the prices of transportation, locally produced food will be the most available and fairly priced as the ‘real’ costs of food production are reintroduced into the market. Having the food COOP is a key to encouraging new small farmers, is the key to having local food available every day, and is a keystone to building a new vibrant local economy.
Join us today. Invest in community development notes. We will announce location soon and we can begin to rebuild our local food economy, support our local transportation initiatives, and build our community. Let’s keep our important investments local.
Sam Moore