De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Episode 3: Co-op and Community

"We make quite an effort to get as much local produce in as we can. And there are, I think three bigger farms that supply us: Big Fir Farm, Linnaea Farm, and Wildflower — Sarah’s farm. And Hazel, our produce buyer, works hard together with the farmers to figure out who’s who’s growing what, and make it equitable, what she will buy from them. Because often, of course, everyone’s lettuce is ready at the same time and so on."

"There’s a big effort to get the local produce in. It’s a great seller. Everyone loves it! We’re all just waiting for it to come in. And along with the produce, we also support other island vendors, artists, with consignment. I pulled the numbers on what we paid out to local produce and other vendors, and it’s $150,000 last year — that went from the co-op directly into the hands of Islanders. for their products." — Mary Lavelle

Well, the co-op has the benefit of owning the land that it’s on. Granted we have a mortgage that we’re paying, but we’ve been able to support some local businesses. We’ve got Marnie’s Bookstore, we’ve got the Harbor Authority, and a massage therapist on the property, that are our tenants.

And so we have a small but steady income from those three — and quite a bit of land [unoccupied] to consider how we want to grow. How we can continue to support entrepreneurs and small business owners who would be able to bring their own infrastructure and locate themselves right there in the heart of Manson’s. — Amy Robertson

In the final episode of this series, we consider the Co-op not just as an individual business struggling to remain solvent in face of the challenges of island commerce and tourism, but as an integral part of the wider community and a promoter of micro-enterprise. We talk about the local farmers and gardeners who sell their produce through the Co-op, and the importance of local produce to the store and its customers. Island artisans and craftspeople also sell their work at the store; and Mary reveals that in an average year, the Co-op pays out $150K or so to local artisans and producers.

We consider the Co-op in its role as a commercial landlord, renting to business tenants under separate roofs on its property. We consider a possible long-term vision of the property as a hub for micro-business. Thinking now about the future, I ask Amy and Mary if they have plans for 2023; and we discuss the evolution of the space where (before Covid) the Co-op operated a much-loved cafe. We also learn about the Co-op’s intention to make itself less vulnerable to climate extremes by renovating its ageing, damaged HVAC systems. Amy and Mary agree that the business cannot afford to undertake this major capital project without financial support from the membership, so a capital campaign is planned for this Spring.

We discuss other ways in which members can support the Co-op, including the annual drain of Co-op revenues by bank charges associated with credit card purchases. Mary tells us that the business loses as much as $30,000 per year due to these bank charges.