The Yellow Springs Community Foundation should finalize the purchase of Tom's Market in June, organizers said at a town hall Wednesday night about the proposed switchover to a co-op grocery store.
With this transition, the store would be renamed the Yellow Springs Community Market.
The foundation is working with Co-op Dayton and analyzing other successful, regional, community-owned markets to inform this transition.
"What is really exciting and unique about this project is that it's not about filling a market gap, it's about preservation of a community asset that already exists and that's already doing well in serving the community," said Cherrelle Gardner, executive director of Co-op Dayton. "Whether it be co-op or another shared ownership model, this is about community coming together to protect what's theirs and what they need to see in their community to thrive."
The Yellow Springs Community Market's Interim Project Manager Kumar Jensen said once the purchase from the Gray family is done, the foundation will spend the next two years engaging in an organizational process for community ownership.
"Perhaps longer, but two years is the ideal timeframe to allow for a community ownership organizing process to take place," he said.
The foundation is also looking to hire a general manager, seeking a candidate who has previous experience and understanding of a co-op grocery store.
"We are looking as far and wide as we can for someone who is going to be the right fit, both for the operations and leading staff, but also in thinking about the impending transition to community ownership," Jensen said.
Before the market can become a co-op, organizers want to form a steering committee that will weigh in on the structure and feasibility of a community ownership model.
This process will allow residents to have a direct say in how a co-op would be structured — and if it is even realistic, said Chloe Manor program manager for the community foundation.
“If the community decides that it doesn't want to go forth with the co-op model, that's really one of the reasons why the community foundation has stepped in, is to ensure that whatever type of ownership that happens, and whatever the next iteration of that is at Tom's, is that it is successful and that it's sustainable.”
Manor said they still want to prioritize a co-op model but they'll be prepared to shift based on feedback.
The foundation and Co-op Dayton also plan to host open houses in to hear directly from community members.
If they go forth with a co-op, the next steps will be working with the community to draft strategies, define membership goals and begin recruitment for members. That will lead to formalizing a co-op with membership drives and re-selling the market to its new community owners.
"I would say we're certainly investing a lot in this process and hoping that it works out in a way where there's a community ownership group that is able to purchase the market," Jensen said.
During the town hall on Wednesday night, community members asked about co-op member responsibilities and benefits, management and staff involvement, steering committee requirements and food vouchers.
Gardner said she's encouraged by these questions and comments, which reflect a community that's thinking more deeply about the details of a co-op.
“People are really starting to think more deeply, get into the nuts and bolts of what does it look like as a strategy for us to own the assets in our community that are most core to the place we want to live," she said.
