Food co-ops are a supermarket alternative that require participation for savings

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The food co-op movement is providing an alternative to grocery stores. The reporter says what began as an underground grocery store has survived the scrutiny of the public health department. The North Country Co-op has gown into a warehouse supplying perhaps twenty more efforts like it in Minnesota. Most have grown up near college communities, but other populations are also served including the elderly and inner city. There are no store managers, clerks, or customers, just people who share the work and savings. Store coordinators run the ongoing operation. Store coordinators Linda Irish and Jim Erickson describe how the co-op works, including the kind of food that?s offered, the costs for food and markups, prices that vary depending on what people are willing to pay, and education about food preparation

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Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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