Indy Food Coop

Membership

To join by mail or on a payment plan, download the Indy Food Coop Membership Application
Or join online:

Indy Food Cooperative, Inc. (Indy Food Coop) is seeking new members to join the organization. By becoming a food coop member, you are supporting a grocer that will keep your money reinvested in the local economy, will support local farmers and producers, and will provide the freshest, healthiest food in the Indianapolis community.

Joining the Indy Food Coop doesn't just mean you are a member -- it means that you are a member-owner, and thus, you have an opportunity to give input on policies and programs and be an active participant of your food cooperative. This will be Indianapolis' first non-profit storefront food cooperative. Isn't it about time to have access to fresh, local, affordable food each and every day of the week while supporting the local economy? Won't you join the Indy Food Coop today?

What is a Coop Member?

We are currently seeking people to make a lifetime (one-time) equity investment of $125 in the coop, plus a per shopper fee of $25. For your investment and each per shopper fee, you receive:
One (1) membership
One (1) shopping card per shopper fee paid
One (1) vote in all general membership elections

EXAMPLE: TWO-ADULT HOUSEHOLD
One-time equity investment = $125
2 adult shoppers x $25 each = $50
TOTAL MEMBERSHIP FEE = $175

Member benefits include:

Discounts on selected products throughout the store
Bulk and case order discounts
Discount on coop classes and events
Coop newsletter
Ability to run for elected office on board of directors seat
Founding member gift

The equity investment is a lifetime membership, and only a small, annual administration fee will be required (expected to be around $5 - $10) to facilitate keeping our membership files up to date.

Why become a Member?

The basis of a cooperative is a common goal -- in this case, access to healthy food -- and to be successful as a food cooperative, we require the commitment of many people in our community to support it’s efforts by becoming members and shopping at the store for daily food needs.

In fact, it is estimated that a coop in a city the size of Indianapolis, 500 active member households and another 1,000 people shopping at the store regularly are needed to make it a financially viable not-for-profit business.

Becoming a founding member is critical in our necessity to determine that there is a broad base of community support for our effort -- nothing says commitment like investment! In addition, as a non-profit storefront food cooperative, we will have access to start-up assistance dollars and grants. Funders need to see that an organization that they fund has the support of the community.

Securing members now is an important step for Indy Food Coop. The membership fee is only a small, but important part of an organization's overall revenue.