Co-op market open's it's doors

By Jim Kinney

05/01/2008- The Republican

NORTHAMPTON - The parking was so full at 9 a.m. that people started parking out on King Street.

River Valley Market opened yesterday after years of planning and months of construction. The $7 million, member-owned cooperative store focuses on locally-grown, organic and natural foods.

"I've been waiting for the co-op to open for a long time," said Ellen T. Hartwell, of Florence, one of the cooperative's 2,700 members. "I don't want to drive all the way to Whole Foods. I plan to do as much of my grocery shopping here as I can," she said.
 
While many area supermarkets, including the Whole Foods store on Route 9 in Hadley, now carry organic and natural foods, River Valley is different because it is essentially run by its customers. Because it is member-owned, those who make an investment of at least $150 in the market vote for the cooperative's board of directors and help decide what the store will stock, said Edward D. Maltby, president of the board.

"Long after Wal-Mart and Whole Foods have gone back to Texas, we'll still be here," Maltby said during the opening festivities.

Rochelle E. Prunty, general manager, said River Valley Market is stocked in the opposite of the way most supermarkets are stocked. Supermarkets will have a few of the best-selling organic or natural products and a wide variety of national brands.

"We have a wide variety of organic and natural and locally-grown and just a few of the most popular grocery items, like Rice Krispies and toilet paper," she said.

The building, constructed on a site carved out of what was once a quarry near Interstate 91, has 15,000 square feet of store and 2,000 square feet of office space. While construction costs reached $3.2 million, to build, the entire project cost $7.3 million including equipment, inventory and operating capital, Prunty said. It was financed over 10 years with 2,700 members buying equity shares for $150 each, loans from members, banks and other funding sources.

The building is another example of "green" construction. Its high-efficiency windows let in plenty of natural light and allow for electric lights to dim on bright sunny days, Prunty said. Heat given off from the coolers and freezers gets recycled to make hot water. A computer screen on the service desk tells how much power the 165 solar panels on the roof are generating at the moment.

Northampton had been without a food cooperative since the late 1980s. Planning began on this cooperative in 1991. Several other locations fell through before the cooperative settled on the site at 330 North King Street site, located north of the Big Y Foods and south of the State Police barracks.

Besides milk and some meat, there isn't much locally-grown food in the store now because of the season, according to Prunty. That should all change soon, however, as parsnips, sprouts and fiddleheads are making an appearance.

During future winters, Prunty said, the store will have organically-grown produce brought in from warm-weather places.

Milk for River Valley Market comes from Mapleline Farms in Hadley, Our Family Farms in Greenfield and High Lawn Farm in Lee.

Jennifer R. Gallant, of Florence, bought fiddleheads at $4.60 a pound, a cheaper price, she said, than she'd seen elsewhere.

"The prices are good here," Gallant said. "That's one of the things I was worried about."

For example, Rice Krispies cost $3.59 a box, while Arrowhead Mills organic cereal costs $3.89 a box.

Business writer Jim Kinney can be reached at jkinney@repub.com.