On the Website: New and Online—Co-op Local
added 02/22/10
When you buy locally from a Co-op area food producer, you not only get good, nutritious food from sources you can trust, you also help to support the environment, your community, and the local economy.
Why All the Fuss About Local?
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by Ken Davis
Co-op Web Editor
Love local? The newest section of the Co-op website gathers a broad selection of local resources and puts it in one place.
Long before “local” was incorporated into the positioning statement of every giant discount megastore, it was a cornerstone to the work of food cooperatives.
Like the organic and green movements, the local movement had an early champion in food co-ops, who for decades have been touting the need to preserve networks of small family farms and independent food producers. In short, food co-ops were local before local was cool—and our co-op is no exception.
If you love the local life as much as we do, you’ll love the newest section of the Co-op’s website, found at: www.coopfoodstore.coop/local. The brainchild of Tony White, Co-op Director of Merchandising and Operations, the new online emphasis on the Co-op’s local commitment includes an interactive map of Co-op regional food producers, a regularly updated list of the Co-op’s local products, local articles and links, and more. The new section is just getting warmed up, so, much like the rest of the Co-op website, more features and content will be added regularly.
“Times have changed since I first started working with local farmers,” said White, a long-time Co-op employee credited with helping to greatly expand the Co-op’s now-famous local produce selection. “Before, you found out about local farms and farmers markets through word of mouth by talking with people in the community. Now people can go to Google and search with their iPhone. Our website attracts a lot of visitors who care about the way we do business, so we wanted to give them an easy way to find the many local resources we provide.”
Want to learn more? Check out the Co-op website at www.coopfoodstore.coop and look for the “local” tab at the top of the page. You can also go to the direct permalink at www.coopfoodstore.coop/local. Got any ideas for making the new section even better? Email us! Send us an email at comment@coopfoodstore.com.
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