Whether you are a long-time resident of Marquette or a visitor just passing through, you’ve heard of the Marquette Food Co-Op. Founded in 1971, it’s given locals a chance to buy sustainable, healthy food through pandemics, blizzards, and mass change in our social and physical environment. And amidst this polarized era of American society, I believe co-ops like ours play a vital role in not only feeding our community, but uniting us despite our differences.

Having recently started working in the Prepared Foods department at the Co-Op, I’ve noticed from a new perspective the impact it has locally. But I’ve also begun to ask how it has such an impact, and why it’s grown stronger despite facing the same challenges as other businesses. It’s true: co-ops tend to survive when their single-owner counterparts fail. While U.S.-specific data remains scarce, the UK’s Co-op News report shows that while only 43% of small businesses survive after five years, that number jumps to 99% for co-ops. Even at the 20-year mark, 92% of co-ops remain strong. To understand why, I’d like to dive deeper into what a co-op really is, and how ours got its start.

A co-op is a co-operative society or enterprise. Essentially, it’s a community-owned business. For a small sum, locals can purchase ownership. These owners receive special discounts and the inherent value of belonging to a community. Our Marquette Food Co-Op is owned by over 6,000 UP households (a 50% increase in just four years!) and each family has access to benefits like a 10% off coupon certain months, 20% off special orders, and the chance to participate in Co-Op discussions and changes. This is why, amidst global unrest, the Co-Op grows stronger–and brings our community with it.

While a politically polar environment like that of the US as a whole can stymie progress, commonality and compromise are key to growth. Owners of the Marquette Food Co-Op come together regularly to discuss how to make the store more accessible and useful. Each year, they hold an Owners’ Meeting open to all owners. Its board of directors is an owner-selected group that helps guide store operations without profiting in any way. And while we’ve evolved over the decades, in that way, we’ve stayed the same. In 1971, when the Co-Op opened its doors in a house on Ohio St., all the team members were volunteers. They’d drive to Ann Arbor weekly to bring back buckets of fresh foods not available to Yoopers. They continued this for years, until ordering routines were established.

The service-based nature of the Marquette Food Co-Op is why it’s a cornerstone in the community today. It was built to serve Marquette locals, and it still does. While good intentions aren’t the only key to success, they’re an integral part of the Co-Op’s strength. Working under Co-Op managers and senior employees, I feel purposeful, respected, and eager to share the joy my job’s brought me. Since childhood, shopping at the Co-Op with my parents and grandparents, I’ve felt the unity a cooperative can inspire. The communal, non-profit nature of the Marquette Food Co-Op brings people together around fresh, nourishing food in good times and bad.

Communities have united around family tables and potlucks since the dawn of civilization. And that’s both the why and the how of the Marquette Food Co-Op’s success. So, I implore you to join us. Grab a salad or soup at the deli (and come say hi!) or scoop up your favorite grain in bulk. However you want to do it, come sit at the Co-Op table and be part of its magic!