The Co-op Is Winding Down
But a neighborhood business will be keeping the spirit alive…
The last few months have been laden with a lot of soul searching for our volunteer cohort over the direction and future of the Delridge Grocery Co-op.
What started in the winter of 2009 as a spark of an idea of establishing a produce cooperative here in the Delridge neighborhood had finally manifested itself into being a reality (mostly) in early 2020 (thanks to the efforts of many folks, including our dear departed friend Brent Curtis, seen above). While there were plans to open that spring, Covid caused our plans (like many others) to pivot first to selling and distributing produce boxes. It wasn’t until the early summer of 2021 that we started gingerly opening to the public on Saturdays, and then growing our inventory and opening hours bit by bit, until we were open for limited hours five days of the week.
Unfortunately, over the course of the last year, the numbers of our board of directors and core volunteers has dwindled to a much smaller group, causing larger loads of work to be added to fewer shoulders. Additionally, we faced rising prices due to national inflation growth, changes in post-Covid shopping habits, and challenges in sourcing products from distributors — all of which contributed to declining sales.
During a board meeting in March, the Co-op’s core remaining group was faced with a dangerously diminishing cash reserve twinned with a declining level of time availability from the cohort. To ensure that all of our financial obligations are met (including paying back several member loans), it was decided that the Delridge Grocery Co-op would need to wind down its operations.
Starting the weekend of April 5, the DGC will work toward selling down our inventory at reduced prices with the goal of shutting down storefront operations by April 30.
But, we will also be making way for a new neighborhood business…
Produce Pop-Up with a Unique Model
Cascadia Produce, run by the neighbors who brought you Carrot Man’s Carrot Stand (also owner-members of the Co-op) will be taking over the DGC space for a four-month experiment that will bring low-cost, fresh food to North Delridge.
Cascadia Produce has unique access to farm seconds and wholesale recovered produce (all vibrant and recently harvested) that will be offered to area residents at super low cost. Best of all, the space will be open daily for extended hours and stuffed with a wide variety of produce options (some of it even organic!). This pop-up will continue the goal of access to fresh, healthy food that the DGC has championed since inception and test a radical new model for fresh food access in urban food deserts.
The DGC is working out the final details with Cascadia Produce and will send them out soon, but we’re all estimating that this pilot produce pop-up will begin operating in May in the DGC storefront. May 2-3 will be a soft open for neighbors and area residents where all are invited to come see the changes and give feedback on what types of fruit, vegetables, healthy cooking staples, and treats (hey, life is short!) belong in in this market. If successful during the pop-up stage, the new model will adopted long term.
Answers to Some of Your Questions
No doubt there will be many questions after reading this news, but here are some answers to some that will be top of mind.
Q: How can DGC owner-members and/or customers help best support the wind down process?
A: Unsurprisingly, by buying stuff. The most helpful items for us at this stage would be sale items, frozen and refrigerated items, and our weekly Essentials produce boxes. In addition, please let our volunteers know if you know anybody who may be interested in buying our store’s hard assets (fridges, freezers, displays, shelving, shopping carts and baskets, etc) at very competitive discounted prices. Liquidating the store’s larger, bulkier contents will be among our most important tasks to raise money to complete the wind down and repay our creditors.
Q: What is the timetable?
A: Our goal is to mostly cease all operations including Essential Box sales by year-end 2024. We will try to sell out of in-store inventory first, with Essential Box sales continuing alongside the pop-up concurrently with our efforts to sell off our hard assets.
Q: Will the people who made loans to the Co-op be repaid? If so, what is the timetable for that?
A: As fiduciaries, the DGC board will make every effort to repay as much of our debt as possible as part of the wind down process. It is our current expectation that our lenders will receive a material repayment of their outstanding loan amounts, although there can be no assurances that they will receive 100 cents on the dollar. We would expect that while partial repayments could be made in 2024, the final disbursement will likely occur in 2025 (after our 2024 tax return has been filed).
Q: Will owner-members receive a refund of their membership dues?
A: After DGC ceases operations, our efforts will be focused on liquidating assets and repaying all creditors. If there is cash leftover after all creditors have been fully repaid and outstanding tasks related to the wind down are completed, only then would the Co-op be in a position to offer equity distributions to member-owners (on a prorated basis). At this point, it is highly uncertain whether any funds will be left for distribution to our owners and in that event the amount received would be substantially less than the original investment. Furthermore, if the DGC board felt as though the prorated amount was so small as to be an administrative headache (e.g., every member was entitled to only a few dollars), it is possible we would hold a member vote to decide whether or not to simply donate the small amount of residual cash on hand to a worthy cause for purposes of completing the wind down.
DGC Hours
Stop by the Delridge Grocery Co-op storefront (5444 Delridge Way SW, across the street from the Delridge library).
Everyone from the community is welcome to shop!
DGC to Continue Essentials Boxes
At this time, we plan to continue to offer our weekly Essentials Box program (along with gifted boxes to households in need) through the Cascadia Produce pop-up period. Current subscribers will continue to receive their box subscriptions, and we encourage subscribers to stick with us during this time. Summer’s coming and more local organic produce will be finding its way into boxes. Again, we’ll have more details after we finalize our agreement with Cascadia Produce.
The DGC Essentials Box features a rotating selection of organic fruits and vegetables that averages 10 pounds and always includes a leafy green, a potato, an onion, three fruits, and three vegetables. We distribute the produce boxes on Saturday mornings, and boxes must be pre-ordered the week before between Sunday and Wednesday via our online storefront.
We Need Your Volunteer Energy
Because we are continuing with our Essentials Box program for the foreseeable future, we will also continue to need volunteer help to pack boxes and deliver them around the West Seattle peninsula.
Check out our Signup Genius page for available slots and read more about our volunteer needs on our Volunteer Opportunities page.
