By Brendon Smith
Willy Street Co-op
You may have seen the banner above the Willy North entryway. In case you haven’t, it says, “Your Neighborhood Grocery Store. Everyone Welcome!” We added this in the spring for a few reasons.
Your neighborhood grocery store
If you choose to become a member of the Co-op — and you don’t have to join to be able to shop — you are truly one of the almost 35,000 owners of Willy Street Co-op. We don’t exist to benefit shareholders or a few people who started or purchased our stores; we exist primarily to benefit the people who invest in our cooperative and shop in our stores. We strive to provide fairly priced groceries for all customers, owners and non-owners and to help support our community. Directly or indirectly, we are here for you.
Everyone welcome
All cooperatives (food co-ops, credit unions, preschools like Tenney Nursery & Parent Center, Union Cab, etc.) are guided by seven principles. The first principle is “Voluntary Open Ownership.” That means cooperatives are open to all, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination. You may shop, you may join and you may leave the co-op at any time.
Our bylaws, which govern our cooperative, go a little further. Bylaw 3.3 says “The Co-op shall not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, national origin or ancestry, age, physical appearance, sexual orientation, handicap/disability, marital status, familial status, occupation, source of income, arrest record or conviction record, less than honorable discharge, or political beliefs.”
Just a Reminder
As we said above, you don’t have to be a member to shop at Willy Street Co-op — everyone is welcome. Come in and check us out. Anyone can shop and you can join to save. You can become a Co-op Owner today for just $10, or as low as $4 if you’re eligible for certain kinds of financial assistance. Stop by our customer service desk in the store, call 709-5445 or visit willystreet.coop online. We’re at 2817 N. Sherman Ave. in the Northside TownCenter and we’re open 7:30 am‒9:30 pm daily.