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The Utne Reader: Small Grocery Stores Are Too Big
Eric Utne has a bone to pick with Linden Hills Co-op, and pick he does, in the magazine that he formerly edited, The Utne Reader.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, says Mr. Utne, in an op-ed titled "When Growth Isn't Good," which begins with the sentence,
Here begins a lament.
Jeez, lament is the perfect word, too. Utne's editorial has a dour, moping tone that makes me want to give the dude a big hug. I mean, this guy reeeally loves his co-op (Utne apparently lives in the Linden Hills neighborhood, here in Minneapolis) and sees its pending move to bigger and better digs as indicative of All That is Wrong with Capitalism. Utne laments in his lamenting lament for a simpler time...when we all gathered berries as a tribe and didn't need to kill mastadons.
Why is growth not good, according to Utne? I'm sure I don't know. He offers no figures about the impact on neighborhood business, doesn't offer up his idea of how big is too big, nor at what point a business should attack the cancer of its own success (but apparently it's less than $9 million).
Indeed, it's very difficult to see Utne's argument through the misty longing for a simpler world, but I think his real issue is that a co-op shouldn't grow. There's a bit of romantic thinking going on this article, leading me to believe that he thinks a co-op should be a homey, cheery place where hobbits spend their days bagging whole wheat flour for wandering adventurers. As Utne says:
Like many natural foods stores across the United States, Linden Hills Co-op serves as the community’s “Home Tree” (a name given to the gigantic tree in James Cameron’s recent film, Avatar, where the protagonists commune and stand against hostile interests).
My bad! Blue aliens, not hobbits.
But let's try and sharpen the soft focus on Utne's argument and see if we can hash this out a little bit. I think there's something worth addressing underneath the lament.
Utne doesn't say so, but he obviously thinks Linden Hills Co-op should call off the move. The store should buy its current building and not capitalize on its success, all for the sake of surrounding businesses. That's clearly what he means by co-op as "home tree":
Moving nearly a mile away from the small commercial district that it anchors may or may not be good for the [home tree], but displacement risks disrupting the local ecosystem from which it is being uprooted.
With no numbers to go on, there's little to argue with here, so I'll provide some: With $9.5 million in annual sales from just 5500 retail square feet, trust me, Linden Hills is a smokin' dynamo that has completely outgrown its current home. I've worked in co-ops that size, and they did more like $1-3 million in annual sales -- so staying put in the" local ecosystem" is not an option. Furthermore, according to the co-op, the asking price of Linden Hills' current building would be only slightly less than it costs to move the entire store to a bigger site.
So what's Utne's answer to the co-op's problematic growth? Stay put and buy the building that it has already outgrown? For roughly the same price, purchase the honor of staying neighbors with Famous Dave's Barbecue? Cut payroll and slash buying? Do absolutely nothing, continue leasing its current building, and let rising rent and property taxes devour his co-op alive, year after year?
Apparently so. From Utne's op-ed:
I’m reminded of E.F. Schumacher’s idea of “enoughness” as described in his classic Small Is Beautiful. Schumacher blasted the notion that bigger is always better. He urged people instead to consider the most appropriate scale for any activity.
I guess it's cool if an independent magazine grows from 25,000 subscriptions to 225,000 by the time it's sold off to a big publishing firm. But a food co-op? Back to your hometree, Na'vi! Enoughness should be enough for you.
Let's put this in a bit of perspective: $9 million is a small business. $18 million is a small business. If Linden Hills managed a titanic 50% growth over the next 5 years, the co-op would not grow into anything that needs your no-growth strategy, Mr. Utne. Please keep in mind that you are a pillar of this community. You're not in the Shire or Avatar. Your nationally published words matter to your neighbors, and undermining a small business like this makes you look small.
Utne finishes his lament saying:
My vision for a sustainable food system, and sustainable neighborhoods, includes more urban gardens, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture arrangements, community grocers, bodegas, and green convenience stores and co-ops within walking distance of every neighborhood.
I can sign off on that. But I want Eric Utne to park his big ol' brain on this particular sentence for a bit longer: A sustainable food system is not just one person strolling down to the sleepy little co-op to have a cup of organic coffee with the other hobbits/aliens/whatever. It's not even just about a collection of businesses in one neighborhood. Of the seven items you mentioned that would make up a sustainable food system, six are completely dependent on farmers. Without local farmers, there is no food sustainability in your neighborhood, and without active, growing markets for sustainably farmed food, our movement is less than a niche.
So what are local farmers saying about Linden Hills Co-op's relocation?
"It'll be a good bump for the co-op and it's going to be a good bump for everyone who sells to them," said Greg Reynolds of Riverbend Organic Farm.
It probably sounds strange, since you're accustomed to being the customer, Mr. Utne, but in Greg Reynold's world, Linden Hills Co-op is the customer -- and a valued one. Last year, Linden Hills Co-op was Riverbend's 5th biggest customer, but they were 8th in 2005. As a business man, Reynolds likes to see that. Furthermore, Linden Hills Co-op bought a third again as much local, organic produce from Riverbend in 2009 as it did in 2008. Think your co-op's growth looks crass, greedy, and unnecessary to Greg Reynolds?
"As a customer of mine," Reynolds said, "Linden Hills Co-op is growing fast, and after a big move like this, they'll buy more. They're a fast-growing co-op, and that's good."
Think farms like Riverbend are making enough money? Do they have more than enough? I don't think so. Farmers like Greg Reynolds are hauling ass to create the sustainable communities you long for, so before advocating "enoughness" for Linden Hills consider that capping growth for the co-op means capping some growth for Greg, too.
(That, or we make him sit around and wait for the mythical future when we have co-ops in every neighborhood. Hold tight, Greg! Should just be a decade or two...)
Personally, I think it's fantastic that a prominent Minneapolitan like you cares so much about co-ops that the thought of your store moving less than a fifteen-minute walk away is upsetting to you.
But time to get a bike.
El Dragón
Comments
El Dragon for President!
You are awesome.
So often people miss the point when thinking about what will be more conveineint for them and not for the entire picture. Sustainability means that all parts of the system are benefitted, not just one neighbor in a neighborhood that already has lots of benefits. Good food needs to be a universal, not just for people who live close enough to walk to their store.
Thanks for this bit of clarity. I needed it today!
My first act:
Banish Sky People from Linden Hills neighborhood!
Question
What I got out of the article was his lament about being left out of the communication about a potential move. Linden HIlls probably didn't have the luxury of communicating this potential move to their members because of the need for confidentiality when negotiating a real estate deal, but I understand why he's upset. He just needs some old-fashioned encouragement to run for the Board of Directors if he wants a direct say in what his co-op does.
Anonymous
Oops- Didn't mean to be anonymous. It's Liz from Mississippi Market!
Eric Utne, Board Member?
Yes, it could be exactly that, Liz.
But a no-growth advocate? On a board of directors? Would you like that at Mississippi Market? ;)
Eh..
I wouldn't vote for him, but I encourage him to deal with it within the democratic process. That's the beauty of co-ops- anyone can get involved.
Nice work.
Time to get a bike indeed. And if he was truly on board with enoughness, he wouldn't reference Avatar because Dances with Wolves would be enough. Two movies, same story.
Jon F.
I appreciate your piece
I appreciate your piece immensely, particularly the quotes from Greg Reynolds, who is a fantastic farmer and leader in the sustainable ag movement.
However, I do see Eric's point to a certain extent, at least from the perspective that co-ops are essentially member-owner organizations, and that leaving those member-owners out of an important decision like relocation out of the community that fostered its growth is huge. I'm not sure what the ideal situation would have been, because my limited knowledge of development and real estate issues does suggest that confidentiality would be essential, as Liz said.
Also, I know Eric Utne personally, and while he is certainly an idealist (as am I), he is not one to criticize lightly. I'd actually love to see his work and Fair Food Fight's intertwining one day. He has great vision for the world and communities through creation of Community Earth Councils (http://www.earthcouncils.org/article.asp?articleid=5952). And I'm pretty sure he has a bike :)
~Lauren
Couple thoughts on transparency
Linden Hills conducted a very public campaign to raise 1.5 million dollars of member capital. I'm pretty sure they mentioned that it was for a relocation project. If that campaign had failed, the project would not have proceeded. That's a pretty big ratification from the membership right there. Secondly, the board is directly representative of membership and their interests, and through those member-elected directors the member-owners were fully represented in the process. Really, if the membership thinks their board didn't act in the interests of the members, then elect somebody else. 'Course, I'm not a LH member, so my vote doesn't count.
Couple thoughts on transparency
Linden Hills conducted a very public campaign to raise 1.5 million dollars of member capital. I'm pretty sure they mentioned that it was for a relocation project. If that campaign had failed, the project would not have proceeded. That's a pretty big ratification from the membership right there. Secondly, the board is directly representative of membership and their interests, and through those member elected representives they member-owners were fully represented in the process. Really, if the membership thinks their board didn't act in the interests of the members, then elect somebody else. 'Course, I'm not a LH member, so my vote doesn't count.
Democracy?
I totally see what you're saying, here, Lauren. Democratic involvement in a big business move like this is a tricky spot for a co-op. On one hand, you want members to feel ownership over the decision; on the other, not everyone needs to be involved in such decision.
I have absolutely no idea how Linden Hills approached this slippery slope, beyond priming their members with the possibility that a move was coming. I feel like I've been hearing rumors about a LHC move for years, probably because of things that were said in the co-op's newsletter.
From my POV, while I believe strongly in democracy, at the end of the day, co-op members need to trust their Board -- and elect well. Certain decisions just shouldn't be membership decisions, and as a longtime member of several co-ops, I don't really want the co-op asking me, a blogger who knows squat about real estate, about whether or not they have the money, labor, real estate opportunities to bust a move like this. A good co-op has the resources to make those decisions without throwing open the doors for a weigh-in from everyone.
Now, if the co-op were engaging in a business decision that departed dramatically from its mission or business model, sure, I'd be right there with Utne on this one. But frankly I think a relocation in order maintain profitability is right up there with other store operations. Member buy-in is important and the board should be prepared to defend its decision (sounds like LHC's was), but it's probably not the best move to make relocation a group decision among thousands of people. My two cents.
Via Mark Kastel, Cornucopia Institute
Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute just contacted me, asking to post this email as a comment on Fair Food Fight:
Dear Mr. Utne,
First, let me say that I'm a big fan of the Utne Reader and glad that even though you don't have a controlling interest in the magazine any longer your voice and unique perspective continues.
And, I can also say I was honored to have been chosen as one of the Utne Readers "visionaries" in 2009 (although I must acknowledge my colleagues at The Cornucopia Institute who also deserve recognition in the fight to protect the integrity of organic food and farming).
Given that, and without knowing all the local details, I have to say that the growth in the cooperative grocery movement has been a driving force in ramping-up organic agriculture in this country.
Co-ops are the "gold standard" of organic retailing and have not only raised the bar in terms of overall volume but have put pressure on less ethical participants in organic retailing.
There's an old Czechoslovakian proverb that loosely translates into, "Every people get the government they deserve." I obviously don't know how much you have been involved in the governance of your co-op in the past.
I trust the Board of Directors at the two co-ops where I am a member. But I also read the minutes and will chime in if there I think plans on the table would undermine our co-op's mission. I can't imagine that this pending move, even if it was triggered by the failure to negotiate a new lease, wasn't a matter of public record with the membership.
Another pertinent quote I like is from Winston Churchill who once said, "Democracy is the worst possible form of government …. except for all the rest!"
You can have a say at Linden Hills. You may or may not agree with the board of directors and the rest of the membership. But you will have a hell of a lot more input than you would if you were concerned with what the Wal-Mart, Safeway or Kroger store down the street intended to do in terms of their business model.
Of course, if the store was close to me, and it was moving, I might be making the same arguments. And I hope you will exercise your franchise, as a co-op member, to make your views heard.
Cheers,
Mark A. Kastel
Codirector
The Cornucopia Institute
Sigh,
vox populi
Good point, sir. $1.5 million raised in 90 days for this relocation isn't a vote of confidence -- it's a shout of confidence.
No, I wouldn't take that bet, Ruido! I do feel the man's pain. If I were living that close to a sweet co-op like LHC, my initial reaction would be intense annoyance. "Heyyy...you mean I have to walk fifteen minutes now? This is TOE-TALLY b.s."
(And for the record, my wife is the one who told me it's a fifteen-minute walk to France Avenue and the site of the co-op-to-be. The real question: why did she walk past the co-op to get to the lame supermarket...)
My comment on Utne's column
I'm the Member Services Manager of the Wedge Co-op, 3.65 miles from Linden Hills Co-op. We sell $30 million/year out of just under 11,000 square feet of retail space.
Linden Hills members spend hundreds of thousands of dollars here every year for products they would probably like to find at their own store. The co-op raised $1.5 million in member loans in record time in this economy. The membership is behind the move.
The first co-op principle is "Voluntary and Open Membership," essentially a mandate for growth. We cannot turn members away nor choose our members based on address. We have a mandate to serve. We do not have the option to refuse to grow in the face of member needs.
Much as I loved "Small is Beautiful" in my youth, it has nothing to do with the square footage of member-owned retail grocery stores. Even at the new size, Linden Hills Co-op will remain "small enough to meet your neighbors."
Elizabeth Archerd - and BTW, no co-op ever gives details about property purchase negotiations. It doesn't work that way. The LH board was public about their planning process and thoughts about the future. For years.
Migrant labor?
I have to admit, I was bothered by this quote in Utne's piece: "Now most of the co-op’s managers, board, and staff live outside the immediate neighborhood, which helps explain why member-owners and neighbors were never consulted nor given an opportunity to vote on the proposed relocation." Um, no. (The details of member communication are misrepresented in this piece, as Utne should know – the Linden Hills board president met with him, and others made strenuous efforts to clarify the decision process.)
Maybe Utne missed Robert Bly's essay years ago about the distinctions between neighborhood and community (they overlap, but aren't the same thing). Neighborhood grocery stores are terrific, don't get me wrong, but Utne's sense of the Linden Hills neighborhood (and therefore, the greater Twin Cities co-op community) seems pretty circumscribed and limited. We want our neighborhoods to have identities, yes, certainly – but perhaps also permeable boundaries? Linden Hills isn't gated, after all. And let's admit: it costs mighty big bucks to live within walking distance of the current Linden Hills. Eric Utne could try to start his own food co-op with his only immediate neighbors, deciding together what the rules should be about where board and staff could live. Might feel a bit constrictive, though, and hardly a 21st century business plan in the direction of a more equitable food system.
The preceding line really burned me up, too: "Once a labor of love and commitment, the community market thrived because of its modest size and generous character.." Um, so, the love, commitment and generosity no longer seem evident, because of the co-op's desire to expand products and services and create new jobs? Does Utne have any idea how hard most co-op board and staff members work, in the service of a something big enough to build a healthier food system, and small enough to serve their neighbors? (By the way, the sign on the Linden Hills awning reads "Everyone Welcome.") I appreciate the points you made about how the move will affect local producers.
The implication that staff and board are uncaring migrant labor, hiking in from less desirable neighborhoods, is insulting to more than one community of people. Maybe the staff need to purchase Brazilian rubber backpacks over at the Utne Store, in order to make their morning swim across Lake Harriet. Better yet, Utne could use one himself, to make the treacherous trek that extra 8/10 mile to the new store.
I live far away, but nevertheless feel like I'm part of the Linden Hills co-op community. Co-ops make a huge difference the fair food fight: they are not just novelty nostalgia stores for yup-scaled neighbors who blithely spend most of their food dollars at Whole Foods or Lunds Byerlys anyway. Great job, El Dragón, at looking at the underpinnings of Utne's lament.
The greater good
Well, for what it's worth my co-op moved/expanded once before my thirteen year tenure as an employee, twice during and once since then. If we hadn't, we would have gone the way of the _______ (place your favorite here).
Instead, my co-op is still around providing markets for more local producers, keeping intelligent people in rural communities who are growing food, protecting our resources, and creating jobs so we may continue to have a sustainble food source for the future. Do I miss my 1,000 square foot co-op? only rarely. Am I excited about the success of our local food movement? You bet I am! According to SustainLane Minneapolis ranks first in the country in Local Food and Agriculture. I'm sure it's no accident that it also is where the food co-op community is the strongest in the country — 2.3% of the population of the seven county metro are members of a food co-op.
So —hurray to Linden Hills for a successful membership drive and one of the bright stars of the Twin Cities cooperative food constellation! We need as many successful food cooperatives as we can get if we want to change the direction of our agricultural system and provide good food for all.
I'll relinquish my soap box now.
jenebene
big box co-op
You can have that soapbox any time you like, jenebene.
I guess it's the idea that co-ops need to be numerous AND small that confuses me. I sometimes wonder if co-op shoppers like Mr. Utne ever go to big-box groceries to see how much food a big metropolitan area eats.
I personally wouldn't mind big-box grocery stores, if they were run cooperatively. Am I gonna get kicked out of the tree for thinking that?
Mr. Utne, you're welcome for
Mr. Utne, you're welcome for the years I and other "outsiders" to your 'hood took care of the Coop for you, served you well, intelligently answered your questions, cleaned up after you and all the other folks in the neighborhood, stocked the shelves, cooked your food, etc., etc. Really, you're welcome.
Livin' in the Shire
I know this has been hashed and rehashed, but the comment about how most of the workforce now lives outside of the neighborhood and therefore does not represent the co-op really hit me. So let's take a look at the numbers.
According to the 2000 census statistics, the median price of a home in the Linden Hills area was $198,400. Based on an average mortgage rate of 8%, a home purchaser in the Linden Hills area would be facing a monthly mortgage payment of probably $1600. In order for a single earner to afford that payment (and match the Linden Hills median of paying 30% of their income on housing), they would need to be making an average of $27/hour which is far beyond what the Linden Hills Co-op is able to pay in labor. To be fair, Linden Hills pays far, far beyond the federal minimum wage of $6.15 but it definitely falls short of $27/hour. As does every other single retail establishment in the Twin Cities. So until Mr. Utne is willing to pay $8 for a head of kale, criticizing the co-op staff for not living in the immediate area is both naive, unfair and mean.
For the record, all of these numbers are based on publicly available 2000 census figures, numbers which predate the dramatic rise in housing prices that were witnessed mid-decade.
Marcos Lopez-Carlson, an employee of the Wedge Co-op, but speaking entirely for myself.
Math
Thanks for doing the math Marcos!
Straight outa Hobbiton
Brilliantly researched, Marcos. I'm guessing this isn't the sort of thoughtful discussion Utne had in mind when he wrote that piece. Why the hell this matters to him -- where his co-op's staff works -- is beyond me. It's a wild, flailing punch that simply makes him look sad. At best.
I don't know if he's going to catch any flak for that article of his, beyond the ridiculous pages of a sustainable food wrestling website, but I bet he's going to wish he could take this one back.
we're doing fine, thanks
We have a nice house to keep all of our stuff dry, have good locally grown food to eat, live and work in a beautiful place, get to do meaningful work, have a really short commute, and made more than $10 an hour last year. We have it made. If I could work another 600 hours this year, I could afford to pay for health insurance.
What's this about Linden Hills Co-op being too big ?
Greg Reynolds
Riverbend Farm
ps I'm not entirely kidding. Mary is setting up her own private practice, so the insurance thing is going to become very real.
life goes on
and coops live long or die hard (RIP North Country).
As Greg implies, small farms must be sustainable economically and that is a function being able to unload product efficiently at a good price. This same fantasy of a farmers market in every neighborhood also conflicts with a farmers need to make a days trip worth it to the Cities. Anyone ever ask a farmer what we need?
I would rather see the coops expand first before proliferating to ensure a trip to the Cities is energy-wise and economically feasible.
I applaud the LHC members for such loyal support and seeing the wisdom of expanding. I think they were waiting on that building for years as Lunds and or Kowalksis fought it out and wrangled over the property. I'd rather see LHC there then a poser store if you know what I'm saying....
Brian from Ames Farm - Watertown MN
Flogging a dead horse
Nice to see the farmers checking in here, and to get the math straight about the cost of a house in Linden Hills - which is probably much higher now than in 2000, even post housing bubble.
Another reality check is needed on Utne's complaint. If 8 blocks is too far to be "walking distance," according to Mr. Utne, does that mean we need a co-op and/or a farmers market every 4 or 5 blocks? They will have to be so tiny that each one will have to specialize and only carry a few items. That means lots of walking from co-op to co-op to get the full grocery list. Does Mr. Utne realize that most people who work for a living are not going to have time to do that? Or that those co-ops will be so poor that they will not be able to pay much above minimum wage, not to mention forget about health insurance or any retirement, sick or vacation benefits.
The mind boggles.
Mr. Utne has been described by some as a visionary. Must be a nice job if you can get it, but apparently does not require a basic understanding of how the world actually works.
Co-op Partners Warehouse
You nailed it, anonymous. The economics of more, smaller stores is a dubious proposition. Plus that model requires centralized warehouses where farmers can drop off and from where all those small stores can order -- we can't have farmers delivering all over town to every single storefront. Co-op Partners Warehouse serves this function in the Twin Cities, but it's very rare to find a warehouse (let alone a co-operatively run one) that caters to small farmers.
Airplane!
This Utne thread reminds me of that scene from Airplane! with Eric Utne playing the hysterical passenger.
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