behind the scenes
THE NATION'S LARGEST NATURAL FOODS CO-OP
With seven markets, Puget Consumers’ Cooperative has created a sales outlet for locally grown products and sustainable programs that support the community.

Adrienne P. Touart

Under soft lighting, relaxed shoppers sip peppermint tea, converse with neighbors, and ponder the newest assortment of seasonal organic foodstuffs available at the Puget Consumers’ Cooperative. A major alternative to grocery chain shopping, this Seattle, Washington cooperative serves over 35,000 members. Identified by all as PCC, its seven markets provide bulk foods, meats, produce, deli and bakery items, other natural foods, plus household, health, and beauty products. The co-op has created a marketplace for locally grown and organic products, and much more. Over the years, PCC employees and members have created sustainable programs that support the community it serves.

Puget Consumers’ Cooperative officially organized in 1961 as a food buying club, though some of its members had begun pooling their resources in search of better food eight years earlier. Members appointed a board and started a monthly newsletter. In six years, the original 15 families expanded to 340 members. By 1975, the co-op had opened its first store and begun collecting monthly dues to support store operation. Membership soared to 3,466, generating $1 million in sales. In 1978, a second store expanded PCC’s influence, serving residents east of downtown, on the far side of Lake Washington. Today, dues bring in $220,000 to $250,000 annually.

As the co-op became a multistore organization, many improvements followed. Each additional store incorporated features to better serve and attract shoppers from their respective neighborhoods. For example, one has a juice and espresso bar, another offers a wide selection of kosher and ethnic foods, while a third offers a full service deli. Store research shows that about 90 percent of shoppers are co-op members. Members pay a $60 fee in return for reduced prices on hundreds of “Co-op Advantage” items throughout the stores. These items change monthly in the stores’ sale offerings.

PCC’s newest suburban market has a natural apothecary, a state-of-the-art food classroom, and a much expanded organic gardening and mercantile section for organic cotton apparel and bedding. It is the first in the area to offer a natural remedies apothecary staffed by a naturopathic specialist. “We’re incredibly excited to be the area’s first grocery retailer to offer a natural apothecary,” says Jeff Voltz, CEO.

WORKSHOPS ON HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES

A natural adjunct to the abundant fruits and vegetables found in all stores, PCC member services take many forms. For 16 years, the co-op has offered cooking classes, health lectures, and workshops to inspire and educate its members. Food Works! classes have attracted students from all walks of life, drawing in many members and nonmembers for interactive instruction. “We teach people how to prepare healthy food that’s full of taste,” explains Goldie Caughlan, nutrition educator and Food Works! coordinator. “That’s why our classes are always full.”

Chef Ken Charney doles out colorful anecdotes about his years as a chef while demonstrating organic cooking techniques, recommending specific brands, and meticulously preparing ingredients for flavorful dishes his audience will taste.

Marketing the co-op occurs year round. PCC’s visibility is constant in the community as a frequent sponsor of large local events such as the citywide spring Folklife festival. Individual stores often support neighborhood events. PCC also uses radio and print media to promote its stores. The monthly Sound Consumer newspaper is mailed to members and is available at in-store information racks. PCC also mails a quarterly guide of its offerings to residents in zip codes surrounding each store. Far more than an advertising circular, PCC profiles its vendors and the high quality foods they provide coupled with recipes, ads, and updates on community efforts.

The co-op supports between 12 to 24 organic farmers in the area, and brings in organic produce from California during the winter. Over 50 Northwest companies provide products to the local chain. Whether it’s tea, “micro-brew tofu,” animal-free cosmetics, or all natural Oregon Country Beef, vendors are committed to better tasting, healthier alternatives. Many are smaller operations, according to Voltz. A recent addition to the line-up is typical. Sarah Jo’s Pork provides unadulterated organic pork products from Washington’s Palouse area whose owner is “head cook, chief bottle washer, transporter and marketer.”

The overall management structure is comparable to any smaller grocery business with a chief executive officer (CEO), CFO and COO. A nine-member board, whose members serve three-year terms, hires the CEO, who in turn creates a management team. PCC management is rounded out with a senior marketing director, human resources director, and merchandisers for each category of retail item.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

PCC has a long, passionate history of building stronger communities. In the past decade, members have donated more than $500,000 to community programs like Seattle Tilth (an organic gardening organization that promotes composting) and to Seattle’s premier cancer research center. Whether it is a summer protein food drive for local food banks or a member boycott of Chinese products, PCC’s sense of community sets it apart from many other grocery operations.

Over the years, PCC has funded dozens of community programs supported by members. “Because we are owned by our members, we are naturally more responsive to the needs of our community,” says Voltz. “Our profits are returned directly to our members, whether it’s through building new stores, funding community programs, or making donations to the charitable causes of their choice.”

The co-op lobbied the USDA to adopt a high standard for organic products and supported the Dietary Supplement Act to advocate for fair labeling requirements. Because its research shows that over 70 percent of members highly value the co-op’s support of organic agriculture, PCC recently launched an unprecedented program to preserve organic farmland in the state.

FAR-REACHING FARMLAND FUND

The Puget Sound region is fifth on the list of threatened farmland areas in the nation. “We want to ensure that working farms remain in agricultural production so we can provide fresh, local produce for our communities,” Farmland Fund manager Jody Aliesan explains. “We want to save the fertile farmland in our state and move it toward organic certification.” Adds Voltz: “This fund will prevent us from losing one of our richest sources of regional, organic products. In most instances, PCC will transfer interest in the farmland to local land trusts, enabling these groups to oversee the land they know best.”

To start the program, PCC donated five percent of all produce sales one month to the fund. In addition, the cooperative is encouraging voluntary employee payroll deductions, vendor sales promotions, customer contributions and corporate donations. In the first six weeks, PCC raised close to $80,000. The co-op is anticipating obtaining charitable nonprofit status for the fund. Over the next three years, its goal is to raise more than $1 million for land purchase.