The Charles River Food Co-op has launched its inaugural membership drive, aiming to create a retail grocery in the Newton-Watertown-Waltham area to at least partially fill the void left by the closing of Russo’s. The Co-op will be a hybrid, owned half by consumers and half by workers. A consumer share costs $200, paid upfront or in eight installments. It will take at least a couple — and maybe several — years for the Co-op to begin operations, so members now are investing in a collective vision of the business.
The Co-op now has 340 members and aims for 500 by the end of October and 1,000 by year end. At the 500-member milestone, it will hold its first general meeting and commission a market survey. The co-op will eventually have paid staff and is now recruiting volunteers to help with marketing and accounting/bookkeeping. So far, it has relied on tables at community fairs as well as social media to build membership.
The closing of Russo’s had sparked several independent initiatives, including Facebook pages aiming to save the store or to inform people of alternatives. Former Newton resident Tim Snyder contacted Tony Russo, who offered some guidance about forming a co-op. Last fall, several people behind these various initiatives formed a steering committee, conducted research, and in April incorporated as a co-operative corporation. The Co-op is receiving advice and guidance from the Food Co-op Initiative and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association. Newton residents on the board include Melissa Appel, Lissa Gilbert, Benny Lee, and Jennifer Kaplan.
In its hybrid co-op model, half of net profits will be paid to workers in proportion to their hours worked, and half will be paid to consumer members in proportion to their patronage. Some aspects of the business have yet to be determined, and as Tim Snyder says, “Russo’s has proven that there is demand. Can we duplicate their success? Everyone has their own vision of what Russo’s was, and this will be a democratic endeavor, up to the members.”
