Proposed Pullman co-op looking for a home

The Pullman Good Food Co-op has been working on starting its business for four years. In that time, it has garnered around 730 paying owners from Pullman and the greater Palouse area.

Teri Renee, a board member at the co-op, said 730 members is a good place to start. The co-op’s goal is to gather 1,000 members before opening a physical location.

It takes a buy-in to become an owner at the co-op, said Willow Falcon, a board member. Payment options run between $200 to $25, offering lifetime and quarterly plans.

“Having a membership campaign helps us determine the level of success that the co-op might have once we’re open,” Falcon said.

The co-op has been searching for a location to build its store. Falcon said the committee has identified eight possible locations.

The board has a location committee as a part of its planning team. Out of the eight spots, the committee has found a possible location that accounts for attractive features desired by the community. Falcon said they won’t release the location until they’ve secured the spot to build the physical store.

“It’s too soon; we are at a place where it’s a good time to be searching,” Falcon said. “It’s hard to find a spot, and we don’t have a secured location, but we do have some very viable spots in mind.”

The co-op is in its scouting phase while building the company. Falcon said sometimes it takes six to 10 years to plan and build a co-op. Once a location is agreed upon, Falcon said they’ll have a “realistic 18-month timeline” for the shop.

The earliest owners and community members could see the co-op opening its doors in late 2023 or 2024.

Though the co-op isn’t planning on opening a location anytime soon, they’ve still been working on setting the framework for the company. Falcon said the co-op’s board has been working on setting a structure, doing market research, feasibility studies, capital stock and figuring out legal rights — all a part of the process to planning a flourishing business.

The board has also been working on creating future contacts and building rapport with local producers. The store plans on selling locally grown produce along with other grocery necessities.

Falcon believes Pullman needs a locally owned co-op. There’s a lot of benefits a co-op has for citizens – one is having a grocery store close to people’s homes, Falcon said.

The co-op’s website said the store would offer 20-30 jobs, increasing to 40-50 work opportunities as the co-op expands. The store would also increase year-round local food resiliency by expanding food systems. Falcon said the co-op would be a significant effort to benefit and support the local food economy.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.