The new location in the Kodiak marketplace, specifically in the storefront where Emerald Isle Market used to be until it closed on Jan. 15 after roughly nine months of operation, has three times as much floor space. As a result, the co-op will be able to stock their shelves with more inventory.
Rob Stauffer, the co-op’s project director for the store, said moving to the marketplace downtown allows the co-op to offer potentially four times more produce than they currently do.
“We try to have a lot of fun, interesting things for people, but it can be a little spendy for the basics, we have to acknowledge that," he said. "And so, what we’ve been trying to do is find more wholesalers where we can get, bring in more value, so that maybe we’re the one stop shop for some people, that we can find that right value for everybody.”
According to an email from the Kodiak Harvest Food Co-op, “an analysis of the past year of shopping data showed that the average household that shopped at the co-op spent less than 25% of their food budget here, with the assumption that the remaining 75% was spent at other stores to be able to meet their food variety needs and food budget needs."
As of last year, the co-op was selling produce from 16 Kodiak Island producers, 12 from elsewhere in Alaska and the rest from Pacific Northwest wholesalers.
And the cooperative has slowly grown its membership over its ten-year history, with more than 730 lifetime members contributing at this point. Between the growing membership and the limited storage on site, Stauffer said the current storefront is bursting at the seams.
“It’s a wonderful location. It’s served us well for growing but now we’re at the point where we just don’t fit," Stauffer said.
The Kodiak food co-op is one of three in the state according to Alaska’s Cooperative Development Center. The others are located in Fairbanks and Sitka, called the Fairbanks Co-op Market and Sitka Food Co-op respectively.
Myra Scholze, the chair of the cooperative’s board of directors, said the model they use at the Kodiak Harvest Food Co-op is about slow, intentional growth.
“That has been integral to our success, I think. And also, has been noted by other communities, especially rural communities in Alaska," she said. "And hopefully we see some other communities get online with co-ops now that we have kind of forged a model.”
A downside to moving is that off-street parking is limited at the marketplace and shared by several businesses. Street parking however is available near the harbor on Marine Way and Shelikof Street. Stauffer said the co-op is exploring options to add more parking for their customers.
When the move is complete, Stauffer said the food cooperative will have come full circle. Ten years ago, Kodiak Harvest was selling produce at pop-up stands where the local Alaska Commercial grocery store used to be. The Alaska Commercial Co. bought the property decades ago but prior to that it was operating as the O. Kraft and Son general store.
The AC grocery store closed down by 2014, the site was purchased by Kodiak Area Native Association and then became the marketplace.
“We went from having those Wednesday markets, and they were a blast. It was a beautiful summer, all kinds of people coming in to get produce and then now we’re moving in," Stauffer said.
Saturday will be the cooperative’s last day in its shop on Selig Street. The grand re-opening of the Kodiak Food Harvest Co-op downtown at the marketplace is set for March 7.
