Why I became a member of Garden City Co-Op, and you should too.

With this being the Victoria Day Weekend, I'll deviate from my usual arts reporting to report on another local issue that is very worthy of your attention - the issue of a downtown St. Catharines grocery store.

While most of us remember with fondness the old A&P at the Midtown Plaza - where I often bought single-servings of some meat cut or other for dinner that night during my bachelor days - the loss of that venerable institution several years ago left a gaping hole in the quality of life we have enjoyed in the city core.

Certainly the Giant Tiger now residing in that location is a welcome relief to local residents and in particular seniors who have no access to their own transportation; still it is only a partial solution to the problem.  Being a department store of sorts, it only stocks limited lines of food products, and not as many as most would like or in fact need.

The chances of another major grocery store chain setting up shop in the city centre are slim to none at this point; gone are the days when you could go to the first A&P in downtown St. Catharines at Court and St. Paul Street or the original Loblaws store in the former Beattie's Basis store on Queen Street or former Downtown Fine Music location at 81 St. Paul Street.  Those locations, popular over 100 years ago now, now house other business of varying descriptions.

But there is life beyond the major chain stores, and one of the more recent signs of life is considerable movement on the local Food Co-Op front.  This is an idea in the planning stages for many years now, and is growing ever closer to becoming a reality in downtown St. Catharines.  While still a year or so away from being realized, the move is afoot now to get the community on board in a big way to help fund the development and realization of this very important dream.

If you have not heard about the Garden City Food Co-Op, allow me to elaborate in this space.

The idea is develop a locally owned and operated food co-operative able to offer local food and produce grown or produced right here in Niagara at fair prices, thereby supporting our local farmers as well as the local economy.

Did you know if each person spent just $10 of their grocery budget on local products produced or grown right here in Niagara, the local economy would grow substantially?  It's true, and it just makes sense.  Supporting our local farmers and producers means we all win.  They have a steady clientele and we benefit from local food produced in one of the most fertile areas of the country.

I have never understood why, in June for example, people accept imported strawberries at their local grocery stores when local berries are either hidden away in another part of the store or not stocked at all.   What's the sense in that?  Ask yourself:  would you prefer produce grown locally and picked likely a day or two ago, or something that was trucked here from another country or even continent that was picked several days ago?

The issue of price often comes up in this discussion, of course, and I can't argue with producers who pay their workers a fraction of what they should be paid for work we ourselves would never think of doing back home here in Niagara.  But price is not everything.  Sure, local produce may cost a bit more, but knowing where it comes from and who is growing it seems to me to be a fair trade-off for paying slightly more.

Besides, there are few pleasures in life more gratifying than going to our local farmer's markets in Niagara and talking to the producers and growers right there, or buying from the farm gate if time allows.

Another important point to consider is the fact in order to get more people living in the downtown core, you need to offer more reasons for them to do so, and a viable food source is just one such way. There is more to life in our downtown than bars, eateries and office buildings.

So, how can we improve upon that good feeling and desire to support the local food producers and growers in Niagara?  By supporting our local food co-operative, that's how.

This month, Garden City Co-Op proponents are at Market Square in downtown St. Catharines Saturday mornings answering your questions about the venture and signing up new members and adding them to the fold.  They happen to make a pretty good case for opening up a downtown foo co-operative here in St. Catharines.

What you find out when you talk to them is you purchase a $120 membership in the co-op and receive the following benefits:

- Full selection of grocery and household products once the store opens.
- Frequent member-only specials.
- Special offers from partner businesses.
- Patronage refunds during profitable years.
- Direct connection to local producers.
- Democratic control of the store you have part ownership in.

All that for $ 120.00, which is a one-time fee, by the way, and covers you and up to two affiliate household members.  You don't have to be a member in order to shop at the store, but it makes more sense to be a member to take advantage of the members-only offers.

Also, being a member allows you a vote on how the store operates and you can even sit on the board if you want to run for one of the positions.  In other words, your membership gives you a stake in the business operation as well as the advantages of shopping there.

This is not a pipe dream; it is going to happen, and sooner than you realize.  The concept has become successful in Hamilton and just recently in East Aurora, just outside of Buffalo.  These are just two examples of successful food co-ops, but there are many more.  And we have a chance to be another success story right here in Niagara.

What they need now are members, which is why they are meeting people every Saturday morning at the Market Square location in downtown St. Catharines.  And that is why I joined this morning, becoming a proud member of the Garden City Co-Op community.

You should seriously consider it too, whether you live in the downtown core like I do or not.  It benefits the entire community, quite frankly.  Want more information?  If you can't make to the market on Saturday mornings, you can still find out more by checking out their website at www.gardencityfoodcoop.ca; you can email them at membership@gardencityfoodcoop.ca; you can also check them out on Facebook at Facebook.com/gardencityfood, or follow them on Twitter at Twitter.com/gardencityfood.  You can even phone them at 905-321-9579.

However you contact them, please do so.  We'll all benefit from a local food store in downtown St. Catharines, and that just makes good business sense for all concerned.

Are you going to join?  I did, and you should too!

May 17th, 2014.