Food Front Co-op: Your Next Stop After The Farmers Market

Portland Farmers Market is proud to operate farmers markets that bring the freshest local produce and artisan products to the city. But inevitably, there are always things you need that you can’t find at a farmers market. That’s where market sponsor Food Front Co-op comes in.

Food Front Co-op serves over 12,000 owners but you don’t have to be an owner to shop.  When you are looking to finish your grocery shopping after a trip to the farmers market, your local food co-op is there to fill your basket and help you maintain a connection with where your food comes from, even within the center aisles of the grocery store.  Food Front carries hundreds of local products and many of them are delivered directly to the store, which allows them to maintain that strong community connection between buyer and vendor.  That makes a big difference in the lives of someone operating a small business, and in our local economy!

If you’re not familiar with co-ops, here are the top five reasons Food Front stands out above other stores that claim to be local:

1. We are democratically controlled! We have a board of directors who are owners of the co-op and elected by the owners who help guide our strategic path as an organization.  Do you want to have a say in the way your grocery store grows and contributes to the community?  As an owner everyone has an equal vote and an equal share in the co-op!
2. We care about our neighborhoods! We view it as our duty to give back to our neighborhoods and we work with the best of the best to make it happen. Sponsoring the Portland Farmers Market continues to be a key component to this and we also bring annual apple tastings to our neighborhood schools, sponsor school field trips to Sauvie Island Center educational farm, and raise funds at our registers for local non-profits: in September we are rounding up for Ecotrust’s Farm to School program!  Learn more here.
3. Your purchase at the co-op is worth more in the local economy! As a cooperative enterprise, we don’t pay taxes on the profits we make from our owners, so all of that money can be reinvested here in our local community.
4. We have a focus on sustainability in everything we do! We are Gold Certified by Portland’s Sustainability at Work program and do everything in our power to save resources.  Even our spent produce either goes to our employees, non-profits, to the juicer, or back to the farm to feed livestock!
5. We give back to our owners! Ownership costs a one-time $150 which can be paid off $5/month and once you make that first $5 payment owners can take advantage of all the perks!  Each month we have a discount day for owners, an ongoing case discount and special events throughout the year such as our free knife sharpening events twice per year and periodic discount relationships with other local businesses!

Food Front Co-op has two Portland locations at 2375 NW Thurman Street (NW) and 6344 SW Capitol Hwy (Hillsdale).  Come on over sometime.  Everyone is welcome and we’d love to have you at our table!

Portland Farmers Market is funded in part thanks to generous sponsors like Food Front Co-op.