by Catherine Haug, June 20, 2012
The Montana Co-op is an online farmers market, for locally grown/produced food in Western Montana. In its last stage of development, the Co-op hopes to be operating by October 2012. I’ve added a link to their home page in the links column of our home page – scroll down to Food: Local/Organic Links and look for ‘Montana Co-Op‘.
We hope to have their steering committee make a presentation at one of our gatherings, soon, so stay tuned.
For more information about the co-op, see the Montana Co-Op Info files section, below. Or see Contact Info, below. For more information about organizational progress, read on.
Montana Co-op Update
from Jason Moore at MontanaCoop.com
Please consider supporting our cause by purchasing ownership in the Montana Co-op. See Join the Co-op below.
We had a great public meeting on the evening of April 17th (newspaper article click here). An amazing result was that 70% of those who attended signed up for the Co-op. They each paid $20 for their ownership into this business that is dedicated to promote and facilitate more local consumption and production.
On the food side, we only grow and consume 4% of our own food in Montana; when we increase that to 15%, we will retain $225 million per year in our economy. This equates to 9000 full time jobs in the Montana food industry, and it’s sustainable work that will better our health, economy, and the environment. This money will reach into all rural communities and help the Main streets thrive again. On the non-food side, we have many talented producers that will fill the need for our local Christmas shopping this year!
Our projected service area is Western Montana, from Eureka (north) to Hamilton (south). However, by partnering with other producers, co-op’s, businesses, and farm-to-table organizations, we plan to service the majority of the State in the near future. If you would like to help bring the Montana Co-op to your town, please let us know (see contact info, below) and we will work together to make it happen.
Join the co-op
Please join us by purchasing ownership in the Montana Co-op for $20 (one member, one share, one vote). Sign-up options include:
- Print the Montana Co-op Member-Owner Form (Or contact us – see below – and we will send/email one to you). Then mail/deliver/make check payable to (Lake County Community Development).
- We would be happy to come meet with you at your home or business to share more and receive your membership form and money at that time. See below for contact info.
- At one of our public presentations over the next two months in Kalispell and/or Whitefish, Missoula, Arlee or St. Ignatius, Bigfork, Hot Springs, Thompson Falls, and Plains. We will be in Missoula on June 5th (with a table) at the Garden City Local Festival at Caras Park. We will also have a table at the Salish Point Blues Festival in Polson on July 3rd/4th. If we could meet with your local community or church group, we would appreciate the introduction.
- Pay for your membership on-line through the website (www.montanacoop.com) – not yet available but coming soon. Once it is up and running, we will let you know.
Producers/Growers:
Local producers are individuals with Co-op memberships. There are no additional fees in being a producer other than the Co-op mark-up required to operate. Ask for a “Producer Package” to get started: info@montanacoop.com or phone 406-285-1149.
If you are a producer in Montana, please fill out the brief survey by clicking here. If you personally know of producers in the State, please contact us (see below) so they can bring their product into our local market.
See also our Questions and Answers document. If you have additional questions or would like to be involved in any way, please let us know.
Montana Co-Op Contact info
info@MontanaCoop.com or phone 406-285-1149.
Montana Co-Op Informational Files
Note: these currently are stored on the ESP website, but will be moved to the Co-op website as soon as possible. At that time, these links will go to their website.