Children gathered above the sales floor of Menomonie Market Food Co-op at 12 p.m. on Feb 8, awaiting a lunch of cold cut sandwiches, fresh veggie pasta salad and granola yogurt parfaits, all to be crafted by their own hands.
Measha Vieth, the co-op’s outreach and education coordinator, and Elizabeth Yost, the director of education for the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU), arranged the ingredients and readied their presentation materials.
It was a unique sight: a classroom, kitchen and green roof quietly nested above a bustling sales floor. According to Vieth, the Menomonie Market does not conform to common expectations.
Vieth said that unlike traditional grocery stores, they do not have a chief executive officer (CEO), nor is profit their primary goal. Instead, the market is owned by a Board of Directors composed of community members.
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“With having a board, it’s nice because then community members that are owners can come into those meetings and have a say in how things are going and get the ability to vote on changes,” Vieth said.
As their website explains, Menomonie Market answers to its customers, rather than a large corporation. That way, the contents of their shelves reflect the diverse desires and unique needs of the local community.
“We focus a lot on organic and fair trade products,” Vieth said. “You’ll see more dairy-free, gluten-free and vegetarian options here – a lot of products that you may be buying from someone you know in the community.”
According to Vieth, even the profits from purchases are recycled into the community and its farmers. Ownership profits are used to invest in the co-op’s programs, running the business and coordinating with local farmers.
The WFU, a fellow cooperative and partner for this event, said they share Menomonie Market’s ambition to aid local farmers and support their communities.
“We support farmers by connecting them with resources to adopt sustainable practices and by advocating for policies that address consolidation, strengthen antitrust enforcement and protect access to farmland,” Yost said.
Opportunities like Farm & Rural Lobby Day in Madison and the National Farmers Union annual fly-in to Washington D.C give their members the ability to shape decisions that influence the lives of their families and communities.
According to both organizers, Cooking & Co-ops embodies the commitment of the WFU and Menomonie Market to invest in cooperative education for young people.
“The main goal here is to open up the eyes of youth sooner about what a cooperative is and about being involved in community and supporting local food,” Vieth said. “And then also to have fun.”
Beyond local programs, WFU fosters appreciation of the natural environment, agriculture and cooperatives through their summer camp, Kamp Kenwood.
“We were excited about the opportunity to support more local, year-round learning as well,” Yost said.
After the students had cleaned their workspaces and scrubbed their hands, they dug into their fresh, hand-crafted creations while Yost and Vieth gave a presentation on the unique purpose of cooperatives.
In addition to their various programs, every Monday from 4:30 to 7 p.m., Menomonie Market provides fast and healthy meals for only $6 to all community members, always with a vegetarian alternative and extra add-ons.
Riddle can be reached at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking