YOU CAN HELP: Delridge Grocery Co-op offering ‘Spring Thing’

| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

Here’s a seasonal way you can help with the Delridge Grocery Cooperative‘s ongoing work to ramp up into their store space: In addition to ongoing weekly produce boxes, they’re selling the “Spring Thing,” a basket full of “Pacific Northwest foodie delights” and a $5 discount coupon from West Seattle Nursery,” all in a cute reusable metal tub. It’s $48 and on sale online through March 31 for pickup/delivery April 3rd. See the full list of what’s in the Spring Thing, and how to order yours, by going here. Says DGC Produce Box Team member Agen Schmitz, “Our DGC team has a lot of fun putting together these baskets and bags and tubs, and we love introducing our customers to new PNW-based products and connecting them with other West Seattle businesses. But these basket bundles are also key to helping us pay our ongoing expenses while we work behind the scenes to move forward with opening the Co-op as a full store.”

PP March 17, 2021 (12:15 pm)

I’m a long-time COOP owner/member. I love the creativity and hustle this group of volunteers has shown; it’s inspiring! I know they have positive intent but I need to see more transparency around financials, goals, purpose etc.. to continue to buy boxes. Do these boxes, which do not seem appropriate for underserved community members, pay for all the ads, rent, business expenses for DCC? What is the new timeline for opening the retail space? Why is the site updated with new, fun boxes but the rest of the content is from a year ago? Is it time for DCC member/owners to have a heart-to-heart regarding whether this COOP is a value add for the North Delridge community? Delivering expensive treats to people who live in Alki just doesn’t make sense for a COOP meant to provide food for underserved people. I’ve heard great things about the peeps that run the COOP and don’t want to hurt their feelings but I’m frustrated. That retail space and all of the dollars being spent on boxes could be going to a non-profit that will help our neighborhood get food access.

Agen Schmitz March 24, 2021 (9:52 am)

Hello PP!

This is Agen Schmitz from the DGC and I wanted to thank you for your comment. With 2020 being an uncertain and challenging year, we acknowledge the need for deeper transparency on storefront timeline goals and our financial standing in achieving that goal. Over the next few weeks, we will be making more of a push to get this information out to our member-owners and community. It is high time that we did this, and we apologize for leaving folks like yourself in the dark.

Every Saturday since June 6, 2020, the DGC has distributed an affordable and fresh produce box to members of our community, many of those boxes are delivered directly to our customers doors (both in North Delridge as well as throughout the West Seattle peninsula). Lately we have been packing and distributing between 100-120 produce boxes every week, some of which are purchased with Freshbucks (King County’s food access program), and around 20-25 are gifted to families in need within the North Delridge community.

While the volunteer-run Essential Box program does bring in just enough revenue to cover our rent and business expenses, to fully open we need to raise $100,000 to invest in more equipment (such as refrigeration units), purchase initial inventory, hire a part-time store manager, and more. Our board is currently working on plans for capital campaigns, and those will be finalized this spring. We are also working on planning for opening the store at a reduced level this summer.

In the meantime, we have to continue with our current strategy of selling produce boxes and seasonal specials, which are paying for our current monthly expenses — particularly our storefront (in the DESC Cottage Grove Commons building in Delridge). After those expenses (and paying for produce), there’s not much left.

That’s why our team works hard on coming up with products made by local businesses and producers (like the current Spring Thing) to increase revenue and proceeds so we can have a fiscal buffer and attract customers from all of West Seattle.

We do need to do a better job at outreach to bring in new people and energy (as we’re relying on a small core group of volunteers), and we will be working on that in the near term. We’re looking for help with marketing outreach; raising money through grants, member loans, and capital campaigns; volunteer outreach; and more.

If you or anyone else reading this has skills in these areas, or just want to become more involved in the Delridge Grocery Co-op, please contact us at info@delridgegrocery.coop.

Agen Schmitz, DGC Essentials Box team member

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