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November 20, 2009

Terre Foods moves closer to its goal

Group aims for 800 members by next summer

By Arthur E. Foulkes

TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute continues to inch its way toward having a natural foods grocery store downtown.

Organizers of the Terre Foods Cooperative hope to open the natural foods grocery store in what was once a McDonald’s at Seventh and Poplar streets. So far, 280 people have joined the co-op, agreeing to pay a $200 membership fee.

“Once you pay, you are an owner of the store,” said Robyn Morton, board president of Terre Foods. The group is eager for new members so payment plans of all sorts are available, she added. “Talk to us. We’ll work something out.”

The group hopes to have 800 members by next summer, organizers said Wednesday. Membership shot up from about 80 in July to 280 now, they noted.

In addition to seeking memberships, the group is seeking loans of at least $2,000 from co-op members to raise the money needed to secure a bank loan.

Membership loans will be repaid at rates comparable to a bank CD, Morton said. However, unlike some CDs, the loans are “an investment in the community,” she said.

The food co-op will create about 30 new jobs downtown, many salaried, Morton said. The co-op also will support local farmers, some of whom are looking to expand their operations when the business opens. One local dairy farmer is planning to invest in new equipment to provide locally produced milk at the co-op, she said.

“It’s a very different sort of investment,” Morton said of the member loans.

A trip to the planned 5,000-square foot Terre Foods grocery store will feature nearly all of the usual items you’d find at a conventional store — except tobacco products, organizers said during a brief news conference Wednesday morning. Home products, toothpaste, meat, vegetables, pet products, locally brewed beer, even ordinary grocery store items such as Jif peanut butter and Prairie Farms milk will be offered, they said.

The goal is for the store to meet the requirements of consumer food assistance programs, such as Food Stamps, Morton said. That means some non-locally produced, conventional foods and beverages will be offered.

But the main selling point of the store will be a wide selection of fresh, organic or naturally grown foods, organizers said.

“You will know where you are getting your food from,” said Jim Speer, another Terre Foods organizer. It will even be possible to visit the local participating farms and take tours, he noted.

As part of their efforts to make their $1.6 million project a reality, Terre Foods hosted this week a visit from Stuart Reid, a food co-op development specialist with Food Co-op 500, for support and advice about opening a natural foods grocery store downtown.

Prices of some products, such as many certified organic foods, will probably be higher than for non-organic foods, Reid said, noting that organic farm products do not have some of the subsidies that other agricultural products receive. However, some products at the store will be comparable in price and others may be less expensive, he said.

But the quality and freshness of locally grown and produced foods is the true selling point for the food co-op, said Candace Minster, a board member of Terre Foods. “The quality is considerably better,” she said.

“You get what you pay for,” added Reid.

The Terre Foods group has yet to secure all of the necessary funding to launch their store. However, organizers remain optimistic and note that their membership has grown dramatically in the past three months.

“I feel good about the progress,” Morton said. “We are trying to do this thing right,” not just fast.

For more information, visit the Terre Foods Web site at www.terrefoods.org or e-mail Robyn Morton at robynmorton@verizon.net.



Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

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