B2—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 26,1984
Food co-op saves dollars,
cultivates sense of community
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
MT. JOY People involved with
agriculture use cooperatives
almost everyday of their lives. But
cooperatives are not just for
farmers; co-ops are a good way of
providing any kind of service you
may need.
For a group of friends and
neighbors in Ironbridge Manor
near Mount Joy, a cooperative has
meant a savings on their grocery
bills, and a sense of community
enjoyed by working together
toward a common goal.
The Ironbridge Cooperative is a
food co-op, now in its second year
of operation. It is organized on the
coop principle of one member, one
vote, and its by-laws are written
Ann Place, left, and Barb Brown, count out chicken breasts
to fill members' orders. Chicken is ordered by the co-op every
three months.
their red wagons as they move from one pick-up point to
another. Most members are within walking distance so pick
up is easy.
similar to a co-op in Stewartstown,
York County, which was featured
on the television show “PM
Magazine.’’
For most members it is the
combination of saving money and
obtaining high-quality food that
has attracted them to the coop.
Ann Bernard, the treasurer,
says, “It is really beneficial. I feel
the savings are substantial
enough. That’s a big factor for me.
And the quality is so much im
proved over what I get at the
store.”
Since savings was the primary
reason for banding together, price
becomes an important con
sideration.
Sue Weidman, one of the original
members, says, “Our supplies give
These boxes of produce represent a portion of the total orders placed by Valley View
Co-op members. The produce will be redistributed and boxed for pick-up by members.
us prices that are lower than
supermarket, and they also have
top quality."
Wayne Kennedy says it simply,
“We eat better for less money.”
Sarah Muir echoes his feelings
and adds, “There is a savings, but
it is also convenient and things are
a lot fresher.” Sarah says she is
still learning how to buy things a
month at a time, but adds, “I think
it’s great. I like it.”
Of course, savings don’t just
happen. To take advantage of
lower prices, the co-op must
purchase most things in bulk, and
then these are divided into in
dividual members’ orders. Sue
pointed out, “As long as someone is
willing to make a committment, it
will work.”
The committment by members
is to be willing to make phone calls
for orders from other members, to
place orders with suppliers and to
divide the products when they are
delivered. Also, every member
must show up on pick-up day for
their order.
Most members feel the extra
work is worth the savings and the
good quality. Larry Stiffler,
current president, says he doesn’t
mind the extra work. “It’s worth it
for the savings. We have a large
family so it is a very significant
savings.”
Larry is the man in charge of
meat and cheese, which means
slicing large quantities of cheese
and weighing out sausage and hot
dogs. He says he got the job
because people perceived it as a lot
of work. “Once we got the system
down we didn’t need as many
people.” He and his wife usually do
the job in about four hours.
Larry also extols the quality of
what they buy, and says, “We
haven’t had a complaint for a long
time.”
Barb Brown, who was in charge
of chicken orders, says, “It’s
really not a lot of work if
everybody does their share. You
have to hang around for phone
calls and one day to sort it out.’’ In
this community of young families
many women are home during the
day with children.
Barb will soon be moving to
Connecticut with her family and
said she would like “to get a co-op
started in her new community.”
Kathy Keeney, a member of the
co-op since it started, concurs with
the others, “I really enjoy the price
and the quality of the meat and
cheese. I don’t mind helping; it’s
worth it.”
Ann Place, a recent member
says she joined because “I was
tasting everyone’s meat and
cheese and it tasted so good.”
So far the co-op offers produce,
luncheon meat and cheese,
chicken, fish, snack foods and
staples like flour, sugar and dried
fruits. They are looking for sup
pliers of paper products, canned
goods and frozen foods, but so far
have not been able to match
- ?
’■ * , ;
Ironbridge Co-op president Larry Stiffler sits at the slicing
machine as he prepares cheese orders for some of the
families in the co-op. Processing the orders takes about four
hours a month when the bulk is purchased.
supermarket prices in those areas.
Treasurer Ann says, “We have
three new price lists we’re looking
at.”
Sue explained the process of
ordering. Orders are placed just
once a month, with the exception of
chicken which is ordered just once
every three months. This in itself is
a challenge to most members.
Sue said, “You must think dif
ferently to know what you need for
a month.” Most of the items can be
easily sorted or frozen and the only
problem is that in the early days of
the month storage for large
quantities may be difficult. Sue
said she uses a lot of cannisters
and plastic containers.
Members place their orders on a
Thursday and meet the following
Monday for their monthly
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gathering. It is at this time that
orders are finalized, with mem
bers being asked to order more or
less so that case lots can be bought.
Once the order is called into the
supplier, a date is established for
distribution.
The by-laws require that each
family be represented at the
monthly meetings. This is im
portant so that a spokesman for
each family can help in increasing
or decreasing orders as needed. If
a'family is not present at three
meetings in one year they will be
asked to leave the co-op. Rules are
relaxed somewhat in the summer
and attendance is not mandatory
then.
To help cover the cost of phone
calls, paper, bags, gas and other
(Turn to Page B 4)