May 26, 2011

Dear fellow Member-Owners of Urban Greens Food Co-op,

We hope this message finds you well, and we have some updates for you:

  • Urban Greens' 2011 member drive is well underway. We kicked things off at Cook & Brown Public House back in March, and welcomed several new member-owners, bringing us to a total of 250!
  • Next up is our 2nd annual Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, June 4th from 9 to 12 at Federal Hill House. We hope to see you there!
  • Council members and dedicated volunteers have also been hard at work on business planning for the co-op. We were accepted into Social Enterprise RI's Social Ventures University program, through which a group of MBA students recently completed a business plan for us, and we have attended workshops by SCORE, business consultants to new entrepreneurs.
  • On Monday, several of us attended a Co-op Startup Conference in western Massachusetts, where we gathered a wealth of information, and made many exciting connections.
  • We've been doing extensive scouting of different potential locations for our store!

As all this has been going on, many of you may have heard of the Fertile Underground Grocery, a new business that will be locating at 1577 Westminster St. (Click here to read our previous message regarding this location.) We know that many of you are wondering what this new business means for Urban Greens, and we have heard questions such as: Will Fertile Underground compete with Urban Greens? Can the neighborhood support two similar businesses? Has Urban Greens pulled the plug on efforts to open a community-owned grocery store on the west side of Providence? We have been communicating with representatives from the Fertile Underground, and we are writing today to answer some of these questions and keep our member-owners abreast of what we know so far:

  • Fertile Underground is currently planning to open a grocery store and cafe with an emphasis on fresh produce. There is approximately 1800 sq ft of retail space at 1577 Westminster Street. They plan to use 2/3 of the space for produce and grocery, and 1/3 for cafe kitchen and seating. This would mean a grocery space of approximately 1,200 sq ft, with only a small percentage of that area going towards non-produce & dairy items. We expect this to compete more directly with small corner stores and farmers markets than with a full-scale grocery store. According to Urban Greens' extensive market research, the neighborhood and surrounding area can support a full service grocery store with approximately 3500 square feet of grocery retail space. It is our belief that the community needs and wants a full-scale grocery store of this size in order to fully meet its needs for healthy, affordable, and accessible food, and that this hole in the market will still exist once the Fertile Underground Grocery is open.
  • Fertile Underground is currently incorporated as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Urban Greens is currently incorporated as a Consumer Cooperative. Consumer Cooperatives enable community ownership and consumer empowerment. To this end, at incorporation Urban Greens adopted the International Cooperative Alliance's Seven Cooperative Principles: Voluntary and Open Membership; Democratic Member Control; Member Economic Participation; Autonomy and Independence; Education, Training and Information; Concern for Community. Because we are incorporated as a co-op, we are legally bound to operate in accordance with the statutes ensuring that co-ops are democratically owned and controlled by their member-owners. Because you have invested in the co-op, we know that these principles are important to you as consumers, and Urban Greens continues to be the only co-op option in Northern Rhode Island for folks who value community control and ownership over their food source!
  • Fertile Underground has raised funds in the form of donations, and is currently soliciting further funds by asking individuals for loans. Urban Greens' fundraising also relies heavily on members of the community, and remember - when you buy a share in a consumer co-op you are making an equity investment in the business, and will always have a say in how that business is run. In the future, Urban Greens will be asking member-owners for loans towards opening the co-op's doors. When we do, we will provide solid financial information on the uses of the funds, including a proforma based on sales projections demonstrating the co-op's ability to pay back its member loans. We strongly believe that the grassroots building of capital through a cooperative equity structure, paired with sound financial & business planning is the surest way to guarantee a long-lived and successful full-service food co-op for our community.

As member-owners of Urban Greens Food Co-op, you have elected your Cooperative Council members to make operational decisions that govern the co-op's development. We all take our role seriously, and that is why we have worked so hard to communicate with Fertile Underground and to make sure we understand what they are planning for the space at 1577 Westminster Street and our community. We also want to communicate directly with all member-owners and to keep you informed of our progress.

Taking all of the information we have into consideration, it is the Council's recommendation that since the Providence community still needs a full scale community-owned grocery on the west side of Providence, Urban Greens should continue working towards that goal, and we are as committed as ever to making that happen. But because you have elected us to represent you, we need to know whether or not we are representing your wishes. We ask for your feedback on this situation, and on the future of Urban Greens Food Co-op, Providence's only community- owned full-scale grocery-to-be! Please contact us at info@urbangreens.com or (401) 267-UGFC with any thoughts or questions you may have on this situation. Please let us know if you disagree with our assessment of the situation, and we ask that you especially take the time to let us know if you agree with it! We look forward to continuing a dialogue with you (perhaps at the Urban Greens Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, June 4th, over some delicious pancakes!)

Thanks for your investment in and support of your local food co-op,

In cooperation,


The Urban Greens Co-operative Council,

Corey Auger, Bridget Dignan, Kristin DiVona, Jenna Hecker, Carey Jones, Deborah Rosenberg, and Michelle Sheehan