Co-op Market

Grocery & Deli

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Monday - Saturday: 8am - 8pm
Sunday: 9am - 7pm

526 Gaffney Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701
907.457.1023

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Owners: Help select our 2022 Lend a Hand recipients.

December 8, 2021 By Marketing Leave a Comment

It’s time for our Owners to choose which local nonprofits will receive our Lend a Hand register round-ups in 2022.

There are 26 nonprofits to consider this year, and eight of those have never received Lend a Hand donations. We invite our Owners to select 11 organization for our monthly register round-ups. (We reserve December for a giving tree and round-ups for the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living.)

Please review the applications linked below before completing the Lend a Hand selection survey. By request, we have arranged the list into two groups: nonprofits that received Lend a Hand donations in the past and those that have not. You can also see the years an organization has benefitted in parentheses. To view prior years’ donation amounts, click here.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE. As always, each Owner account is allowed only one vote, so please discuss your choices with others in your household before voting.

Our survey will remain open through December 24th. Please contact Kristin Summerlin, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, if you have any questions.

The following applicants have never received Lend a Hand funds:

  • ABC Parent Cooperative Preschool
  • Fairbanks Arts Association
  • Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival
  • Friends of Fox Spring
  • Kids Voting North Alaska
  • KUAC Friends Group
  • Resource Center for Parents & Children
  • United Way of Tanana Valley

These applicants received Lend a Hand round-ups in prior years (noted in parentheses):

  • Alaska Songbird Institute (2014)
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska (2020)
  • Bread Line Inc./Stone Soup/Stone’s Throw (2013-2021)
  • Breast Cancer Detection Center (2014, 2016)
  • Calypso Farm & Ecology Center (2014, 2017, 2020)
  • Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund (2017-2021)
  • Fairbanks Community Food Bank (2013-2014, 2018-2021)
  • Fairbanks Resource Agency (2019, 2021)
  • Fairbanks Youth Advocates/The Door (2013, 2015-2018)
  • Friends of Creamer’s Field (2015-2021)
  • Georgeson Botanical Garden Friends (2016-2019)
  • Green Star of Interior Alaska (2016-2021)
  • Guys Read Gals Read (2021)
  • Literacy Council of Alaska (2015-2017, 2019-2021)
  • NAMI Fairbanks (2020-2021)
  • North Star Imagination Library (2016)
  • Northern Alaska Environmental Center (2015, 2017, 2019)
  • The Folk School Fairbanks (2018-2020)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: community, concern for community, Lend-a-Hand

IACNVL Giving Tree

December 3, 2021 By Marketing Leave a Comment

Our Giving Tree for the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living is up! As in years past, we’re collecting necessities (soap, shampoo, diapers, etc.) needed at the shelter year round.

Because there’s no need to gift wrap items, our Giving Tree functions a little differently. Stop by and pick up a paper ornament for your own tree – it’s yours to keep. Drop your donated items into one of the collection boxes or baskets. And don’t forget to round up at the register to Lend a Hand to IACNVL whenever you shop this month.

Click here for a list of requested items.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: community, concern for community, giving

Stop Anti-Asian Violence.

March 19, 2021 By Marketing Leave a Comment

We stand in solidarity with our Asian American and Pacific Islander staff, Owners, customers, and community. We denounce racism and white supremacy. We recommit ourselves to making Co-op Market a safe and inclusive space for all members of our community.

Like cooperatives everywhere, we embrace Concern for Community as one of our core principles. We believe we all have the capacity — and responsibility — to effect change.

What can you do? Here are a few resources to counter racism, support Asian Americans, and help communities heal.*

• Learn the basics of bystander intervention. This site provides training on how to protect your neighbors and co-workers when bias and harassment occur in front of you. For the basics on bystander intervention, click here.
• Support allies of the Asian community with your dollars. One example is the Asian Pacific Fund’s Solidarity Fund, which specifically goes to organizations working to address anti-Asian sentiment.
• Take a stance on social media. Use the hashtags like #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate.

*Thank you to National Co+op Grocers for identifying these resources.

Filed Under: Issues, Uncategorized Tagged With: community, community justice, concern for community, cooperative principles

Owners: Help select our 2021 Lend a Hand recipients

December 11, 2020 By Marketing Leave a Comment

It’s time for our Owners to choose which local nonprofits receive our Lend a Hand register round-ups in 2021.

Twenty-eight nonprofits applied, and 12 of those have never received Lend a Hand donations. We invite our Owners to select 11 of them for our monthly register round-ups. (We reserve December for a giving tree and round-ups for the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living.)

Please review the applications linked below before completing the Lend a Hand selection survey. By request, we have arranged the list into two groups: nonprofits that received Lend a Hand donations in the past and those that have not. You can also see the number of years an organization has benefitted in parentheses. To view prior years’ totals, click here.

Click here to vote. As always, each Owner account is allowed only one vote, so please discuss your choices with others in your household before voting.

Our survey will remain open through December 24th. Please contact Kristin Summerlin, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, if you have any questions.

The following applicants have never received Lend a Hand funds.
• Delta Junction Trails Association
• Downtown Association of Fairbanks
• Fairbanks Concert Association
• Guys Read/Gals Read
• Interior Alaska Cancer Association
• Interior Alaska Land Trust
• Kids Voting
• KUAC Friends Group
• Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center
• North Star Community Foundation
• Santa’s Senior Center
• UAF Alumni Association

These applicants have received Lend a Hand round-ups in prior years. The number of years is indicated in parentheses.
• Alaska Songbird Institute (1)
• Bread Line Inc./Stone Soup (8)
• Breast Cancer Detection Center (2)
• Calypso Farm & Ecology Center (3)
• Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund (5)
• Fairbanks Community Food Bank (4)
• Fairbanks Resource Agency (1)
• Fairbanks Senior Center Meals on Wheels (3)
• Friends of Creamer’s Field (6)
• Georgeson Botanical Garden Society (4)
• Green Star of Interior Alaska (5)
• Literacy Council of Alaska (5)
• NAMI Fairbanks (1)
• North Star Imagination Library (1)
• Northern Alaska Environmental Center (3)
• The Folk School (3)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: community, Lend-a-Hand

Please help keep our employees and community safe. Mask up!

July 11, 2020 By Marketing Leave a Comment

Since late June, new COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in Alaska and in our community. Public health authorities continue to recommend a combination of social distancing and wearing face coverings as the most effective way to prevent the spread of the virus.

Starting Monday, we will require all customers and guests to wear a face covering in our store. Whether a cloth or paper mask or a scarf or bandanna, the face covering must be worn at all times and must cover both the mouth and nose. The only exception is for children ages 5 and younger.

If you forget to bring your mask, we will provide one. Stop at the Customer Service desk before shopping. If you prefer not to wear a mask or have a medical condition that makes it impossible, we do offer reasonable accommodation by shopping for you through our Curbside Grocery Pickup program. There is no charge for this service.

Our employees have been required to wear masks while working since early April. We wear our masks to protect you, and your masks will help protect us.

While our shoppers generally spend 10-20 minutes in the store once a week, most of our 30 employees work in the store five days a week, eight hours a day. We currently serve between 300 and 375 customers every day. This represents a significant potential exposure to COVID-19 for our staff, and we are determined to do everything we can to keep them – and you – safe.

Thank you for the care and concern you’ve shown our employees as we’ve adjusted to the challenges of operating during a pandemic. Maintaining a safe, welcoming shopping environment continues to be our priority, and we are grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Shaun Sims, Interim General Manager, or members of our Board of Directors.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: community, COVID-19

Black Lives Matter.

June 4, 2020 By Marketing Leave a Comment

Social Responsibility – We believe that our actions must benefit the global community at large. This means that we promote justice and equity in all of our relationships and are committed to the people who use and work for our business. – Co-op Market Statement of Values

Like all cooperatives, our store was founded upon the principles of equity, democracy, and concern for community. In envisioning our store as a force for good, we have encoded social responsibility into the statement of values that forms the framework for all of our decisions and actions.

If those principles and values are to be anything more than mere words, we cannot remain silent in the face of injustice.

We stand in solidarity with people in our community and across the nation who are mobilizing for justice in the murder of George Floyd. We must end the systemic, institutionalized racism that has brutalized countless black, indigenous, and people of color before him.

Fairbanks can seem very far removed from events that dominate the national news, but as we witnessed Saturday’s peaceful demonstration Downtown, we recognized that too many people in our own community are hurting. We grieve with them, but that is not enough.

We are donating $300 each to the Fairbanks chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Native Movement, a local grassroots organization addressing critical issues facing our indigenous community.

However, money alone cannot solve such deep-rooted problems. As a food co-op, we know that in a just and equitable society, everyone has access to good, healthy food. We are committed to working with these groups and others to find meaningful, concrete ways to address food justice and food insecurity here, where we live. Our conversations with them are just beginning.

We also want to challenge our Owners and shoppers to take action.

Inherent to the cooperative business model is the concept of voting with your dollars. We challenge you to spend your money in a way that reflects your values: Support those businesses that build your community in a just and sustainable way, and actively support those that are black- and indigenous-owned.

We encourage you to donate your time and money, stay informed, and vote for officials who are dedicated to reform. Listen and learn. Together, we can achieve a more just, equitable, peaceful community.

Board of Directors, Management and Staff
Co-op Market Grocery & Deli


“We must all take action to dismantle systemic racism and create a more inclusive and equitable culture that welcomes, values and empowers all people.” Statement on the Murder of George Floyd and Racial Equality, National Co+op Grocers

Filed Under: Issues Tagged With: community, justice, principles, values

2020 Lend a Hand Recipients Selected

December 27, 2019 By Marketing Leave a Comment

From a field of 27 applicants, our Owners have chosen 11 local nonprofits to support through our 2020 Lend a Hand register round-up program. A total of 251 (or approximately 6%) of our Owners voted in our survey.

The 2020 Lend a Hand Calendar includes:

  • January – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska
  • February – Green Star of Interior Alaska
  • March – Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund
  • April – NAMI Fairbanks
  • May – Fairbanks Senior Center Meals on Wheels
  • June – Friends of Creamer’s Field
  • July – Calypso Farm & Ecology Center
  • August – Fairbanks Community Food Bank
  • September – Literacy Council of Alaska
  • October – The Folk School
  • November – Breadline/Stone Soup Cafe/Stone’s Throw
  • December is reserved for the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living. Owners voted last year to continue this tradition.

The 2020 list includes two organizations that haven’t received Lend a Hand funding in the past: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska and NAMI Fairbanks.

We asked our Owners to weigh in on whether or not organizations should be limited to two consecutive years of funding before taking a year off. The vote was 55% to 44% in favor of no limit, so we will not implement that change.

Thank you to all of the 27 organizations that applied! Your work represents so much that is good and positive in our community. And thank you to Owners who took time to vote. Your passion and generosity are proof that Fairbanks truly is the Golden Heart City.

Click here to see past Lend a Hand recipients and donation totals. Links to this year’s applications are available here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: charity, community

2019 Annual Meeting Report

October 31, 2019 By Marketing Leave a Comment

Approximately 60 Co-op Market Owners came together for good food, fun, information and inspiration at our 11th Annual Owners’ Meeting on October 19th. Lots of them won prizes, too, including turkeys, $25 gift certificates, chocolate, a basket of Fair Trade goods, and more.

The meeting agenda and financial statements are available here.

Agriculture Report
We learned about the current state of farming in Alaska from Scott Mugrage, president of the Alaska Farm Bureau. He said the number of farms in Alaska is up by 36% at a time when farming is down by 3% nationwide, and Alaska farm revenue is up by 100%. We also lead the nation in female- and veteran-owned farms. Mugrage said that although we currently grow less than 5% of the food Alaska needs, we have millions of acres of potentially farmable land, and some of the best of it is in nearby Nenana. He sees the tremendous growth potential in turning Alaska-grown ingredients into value-added products, such as heat-and-eat meals.

2019 Election results
More Owners voted in our annual Board of Directors election than ever before. We received ballots from 488 of our 3070 eligible voters. That’s 16.5%, many more than the 307 needed to achieve the 10% required by our Bylaws.

• Art Gelvin was elected to Seat B
• Brian Kassof’s appointment to Seat D was confirmed
• Anduin McElroy’s appointment to Seat I was confirmed
• The amendment to our Bylaws was passed, decreasing the number of board seats to seven from nine and the board quorum to four from five.

Thank you to all Owners who voted in our election and to those who attended our Annual Meeting. You are the heart of our co-op!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: annual meeting, board election, community, government

We Did It! 110 New Owners!

September 15, 2015 By Marketing Leave a Comment

We reached our Ownership Drive goal of 110 new Owners during the first week of September – just before Labor Day and the enradish redux editd of summer.

And we’re already putting the new equity we raised to good use. Look around the store next time you come in, and you’ll find lots of improvements.

  • We put up a new end cap for bread, with a lot more capacity than the old shelves. We’re keeping it as full as possible. (BTW: Have you noticed our new, lower price on Dave’s Killer Bread?)
  • We’ve brought in lots of new products, including kitchen gadgets & accessories and a greatly expanded selection of Hispanic foods.
  • We’ve got new shelving in the Bulk Foods department that allows our buyer to work more efficiently as she’s stocking the bins.
  • Hot food items are on the way! We’ve got a food warmer set up on the Deli counter – and the Deli crew is getting ready to stock it. (Huge thanks to Yolande Fejes and Ron Velez at Alaska House Art Gallery for helping us get it.)
  • And there’s lots more to come!

Thank you for investing in Co-op Market!

Filed Under: News, Ownership Tagged With: community, ownership, product selection, store design

Gloria Steinem and the 1st Cooperative Principle

July 2, 2015 By Marketing Leave a Comment

Empathy is the most radical of human emotions. – Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem at Co-op Market

Gloria Steinem, right, speaks with shoppers during a tour of Co-op Market on June 12th.

In June, noted feminist and civil rights activist Gloria Steinem visited our co-op. She was in town to speak at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Grocery team leader Shaun Sims gave her a tour of the store and spoke with her about our history. They also talked about the cooperative principles and the values that guide us.

Some people have wondered why we didn’t publicize Ms. Steinem’s visit. After all – as she herself said – she probably wouldn’t have visited Fairbanks without last year’s controversy over whether we should sell Ms. Magazine. She founded that magazine.

Last year’s disagreements polarized our community, and we did not want to reignite them. We wanted to welcome Ms. Steinem, but we didn’t want to give the impression that we endorse all of her politics. In keeping the visit low-key, we were following the First Cooperative Principle*:  “Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all people able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.”

As a co-op, we want to bring people together. We do this by focusing on our mission: Providing good, healthy food to our community. Everyone wants healthy food. It is the one thing that bridges all divides – social, cultural and political.

Our Owners, customers and employees hold many different political and cultural views. We serve people who are liberal, conservative and everything between.

We want everyone in our community to feel welcome. As a co-op, this means  we must remain politically neutral on all issues except food security and safety – no matter what our own individual views are.

We admire Ms. Steinem for her decades-long commitment to ending discrimination. Her work echoes the goal of the First Cooperative Principle. While we are inspired, we are also aware that many of our Owners, shoppers and employees do not share her political and social views.

Everyone is welcome in our co-op, so we were distressed that so much of the publicity surrounding Ms. Steinem’s visit to Fairbanks focused on last year’s conflict – and much of it ridiculed one person.

We believe everyone has a right to an opinion, and no one should be belittled for his beliefs. We were saddened when we lost Owners last year, even as we gained new ones. We didn’t feel that anyone had “won” the argument. Instead, the conversation was cut short. And we learned how important it is to focus on our mission.

At the co-op, we like to say that we are “big enough to meet your needs, and small enough to meet your neighbor.” In this small community, we meet each other every time we venture outside our own doors. We believe it is so important to remember that, in the end, we have much more in common than not.

_________________

A final note: Ms. Steinem learned a lot about our co-op’s history. We told her how the successful, busy store of today started out as just a dream shared by a handful of people. In the face of many obstacles, despite a lack of any real grocery experience, those people persevered and  were joined by many others. All put their faith in the shared vision of a healthy cooperative grocery store.

After many years of sustained dedication, seemingly against the odds, we did it: We opened our doors and welcomed the community in, and we’ve learned and grown ever since.

Ms. Steinem was impressed by our history, by the vision and the tremendous amount of organization required to make it come true.

She told us she works with a group that facilitates workshops for organizers. Before her visit to Co-op Market, she had never considered including cooperatives in these workshops. Her experience here changed that. She said she believes co-op organizers have a wealth of experience to share and she hopes to include them in future. We agree and hope to  hear more.

*Like cooperatives around the world, Co-op Market operates according to the core principles and values adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance in 1995. Co-ops trace the roots of these principles to the first modern cooperative founded in Rochdale, England, in 1844. For more information on the 7 Cooperative Principles, click here.

 

Filed Under: Member education Tagged With: community, cooperative principles, inclusiveness, nondiscrimination, politics

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  • Sunday: 9am – 7pm

 

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526 Gaffney Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701

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