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NEW STOREFRONT COMING SPRING 2025!

BECOME A MEMBER OWNER

JOIN NOW

Benefits of being a membeR-owner

OWNERSHIP

You own a piece of the pie. The store is open to everyone to shop, but member-owners get a voice, an equal vote, and much more!

COMMUNITY

Connect with your community through events, education, conversations, volunteer opportunities, and more!

SUPPORT

The full-service grocery store features healthy, local products whenever possible. Your shopping supports our local economy and the environment!

DISCOUNTS

Member-owners get specials and promotions. Your one-time membership fee can pay for itself!

PARTICIPATE

Vote for Board members, recommend products you’d like to see on the shelves, volunteer to help, or become a leader yourself. Every member gets an equal vote!

The Cooperative Difference

Local fresh food for everyone

West Chester Cooperative is working to build a full-service community-owned grocery store in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The store will be open to everyone and will provide exceptional, fresh, healthy, locally-focused food at fair prices, seven days a week. If you want to make it happen, become a member-owner today!

LEARN MORE

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NEW STORE Coming in 2025

Preparation work is underway for YOUR cooperative grocery store at 204 W. Market Street! Your Executive Board and volunteers are working tirelessly to set the foundation for 2025.

Your help is needed now to meet the initial expenses before our main Capital Campaign kicks off with exclusive, member-only investment options next year.

See full book

Current Member Owner Count: 540
WHO WILL BE #541???

CURRENT MEMBER OWNER COUNT

592

Are YOU member owner 593?

JOIN TODAY

WHY I JOINED

“I became a member-owner because I want access to fresh, local, healthy food for my family, and for the entire West Chester community .”

JOIN TODAY

How Co-ops Benefit the Local Economy:

Keeping Money Local

Co-ops are community-owned, reinvesting profits locally through support for suppliers, fair-wage jobs, and community projects. Unlike corporations, they prioritize local impact over sending profits to distant shareholders.

Job Creation

Co-ops provide stable, fair-wage jobs for local residents. Unlike traditional businesses, co-ops prioritize employee and community well-being, leading to better retention and more satisfied workers.

Support for Local Producers

Food co-ops, in particular, tend to source products from local farmers, bakers, and artisans. This creates a reliable market for local producers, helping small businesses and farms grow and thrive.

Economic Resilience

Because co-ops are community-owned, they are less likely to relocate or shut down during economic downturns. They’re invested in the long-term success of the community.

Democratic Control

Members of co-ops have a voice in decision-making, ensuring the business aligns with local needs and values. This creates a more inclusive economy that represents the people it serves.

Reduced Economic Leakage

Spending at co-ops means fewer dollars leave the community. This reduces “economic leakage,” where money spent in chain stores or online retailers often flows out of the area.

Education and Advocacy

Co-ops often invest in community education about sustainable practices, nutrition, and local economic issues, empowering individuals to make informed decisions that benefit the local economy.

What a busy and FUN day at the store!

We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes planning the store buildout and our capital campaign, and today was all about getting our space cleaned up. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to help—it truly takes a village, and we’re lucky to have such an incredible one!

For every $1000 spent at a food co-op, more than $1600 is generated in the local economy. Communities thrive through cooperatively owned businesses! Investing in the food co-op is an investment in our local economy.

To open our co-op we'll be funding everything from construction to stock on the shelves. As you can imagine, those costs add up fast. More than half of the funds we need to open our doors will come from community members like YOU! In the coming weeks and months we'll be sharing how YOU can make the co-op a reality!

Co-ops are so amazingly cool. Our friends @Portland Food Co-op have created a Substitue Shopper where they connect volunteers who are able to shop with those who aren't able to get to the store. WOW! Looking forward to the great things that our co-op will do when open. An investment in the co-op is an investment in community. Stay tuned for more info!

Food at conventional grocery stores travels thousands of miles before it reaches us. Thankfully, local food travels a much shorter distance! Sourcing food locally reduces the distance our food travels, reducing the impact on the environment while providing us with fresher, healthier food options. An investment in the co-op is an investment in the environment and our personal health!

Why do we raise the funds needed to open our store from co-op owners? Because co-ops aren't like other businesses (we know we're weird--we're ok with it!). We have the ability to raise capital from our owners. It's our unique structure as a co-op that makes us awesome--and allows owners this unique opportunity!

The best part about raising money from co-op owners to open our store is the win/win/win proposition. Owners win by earning a potential return while putting their money to work to build our store. The community wins because the co-op will support our local economy and local producers and the Co-op wins because raising money from owners is less expensive than borrowing from banks. Not an owner yet? Become an owner TODAY!

An investment in the the co-op is an investment not only in our store, but in our community. In 2022 co-ops donated nearly $8 million dollars to community organizations.

Become a member-owner today through the link in our bio!

Even though local businesses make up half our economy, almost none of our savings (or investing) goes to support local business. If supporting your local economy is important to you, stay tuned!

Did you know co-ops are founded on 7 Cooperative Principles? Yep! And one is Economic Participation. As owners we demonstrate this principle by buying shares. Another way to demonstrate the principle of Economic Participation is to participate in funding our store BEYOND the purchase of ownership shares. Stay tuned to learn more about how owners will fund our beautiful store.

Learn more about Member-Ownership through the link in our bio.

Co-ops source food locally whenever possible, meaning more money stays here in our community. West Chester and the surrounding areas are home to many local farmers and producers who will supply the products to stock our shelves. If supporting local producers is important to you, stay tuned for more information about how YOU can invest in a strong local economy!

Learn more about our store through the link in our bio!

Have you ever thought about how much money it takes to build a cooperative grocery store - or any grocery store for that matter? The land, the building, the shelving, the check-out lanes, the freezers, the refrigerators, the cooking equipment, the stock, the staff...you can see it all adds up fast! Building our co-op will likely cost millions. Some funding will come from bank loans and grants, but we’ll raise more than half of the funds from our owners and community members like YOU!

Learn more about how you can help on our website!

A strong local economy and fair wages are the backbone to a strong community. Our business model which keeps dollars circulating in our community is a win/win/win. Employees win, farmers win, the economy wins and we win as shoppers because we’ll have access to the freshest, healthiest food possible. In the coming months, we'll share more about ways YOU can invest in a healthy local economy!

Become a member-owner today: https://www.westchester.coop/become-an-owner

Our unique structure as a co-op allows us the opportunity to raise the funds needed to open our store through investments from owners. Just as a sole proprietor funds their business with their own money, we, as co-op owners, will have the same opportunity to help fund the construction and opening of our store - beyond purchasing ownership shares! Stay tuned. Over the coming months, we'll share more about how WE will raise the funds to open our co-op.

Two Birds Café is hosting a Dine & Donate Fundraiser January 15–17 to support the West Chester Cooperative!
During this event, Two Birds Café will generously donate 10% of all earnings to the West Chester Co-op to help build a community-owned, full-service grocery store in West Chester.

The West Chester Co-op has signed a lease and plans to open in Spring 2025. The store will be open to everyone, offering exceptional, fresh, healthy, and locally sourced food at fair prices, seven days a week.

To learn more about the Co-op and how you can get involved, please visit:
https://www.westchester.coop

Thank you, Two Birds Café!
@twobirdscafe_wc

#community

Today is Giving Tuesday!!!

Member-Owners and Fellow Cooperators,

Your generosity provides essential support for building a sustainable, community-owned grocery store that benefits you and every other person in the West Chester area.

During this season of giving, please consider a donation to the West Chester Cooperative. Your support now helps meet pre-construction expenses at 204 W. Market St. before our main Capital Campaign begins in 2025.

The number one frequently asked question we have been getting is:

How Can I Help?

- Support the WC Co-op with a donation now. https://www.westchester.coop/tax-deductible-donation
- Volunteer to help. https://www.westchester.coop/volunteer
- Encourage EVERYONE to become a member NOW. Member-Owner Equity is needed to build the store. https://www.westchester.coop/about-member-ownership
- Support the Capital Campaign in 2025.

Together, we’re building something extraordinary.

#community

Happy Thanksgiving from the West Chester Co-op! 🦃🍂 We’re so thankful for our amazing member-owners who made it possible to bring a full-service grocery store to our community—one that uplifts local growers and businesses.

Opening in Spring of 2025. 🍆🍓🍌🍋🥔

Here’s to good food, great company, and building something special together!

Say hello to our two newest member-owners! On the left, we have Laure, member-owner #564, and on the right, Ang, member-owner #563.

Thank you both so much for being part of the Co-op community!

Thank you so much to Serum Kitchen & Taphouse for hosting our Dine and Donate event! We greatly appreciate Coco and her team for working hard all night to make it a success.

We would also like to thank all the member-owners and community members who came out to support the WC Co-op. We truly have the best community, and we’re excited to be building a community-owned grocery store where everyone is welcome to shop. And as they say, membership has its benefits!

If you’re interested in learning more about the WC Co-op, please visit our website at:

https://www.westchester.coop/

@serumkitchenandtaphouse

ONE MORE SLEEP until our Dine and Donate event!
Join us tomorrow night at Serum Kitchen & Taphouse.
Dine anytime between 4 PM and 11 PM, and Serum will donate 10% of food sales to the WC Co-op.

We hope to see you all there!!

The WC Co-op is opening up a community owned grocery store in 2025. This will be open for all people to shop there but as they say membership does have its benefits.
Check out our website if you are interested in more information:
https://www.westchester.coop/

@serumkitchenandtaphouse
@downtownwestchester
@hellodubc

Happy Halloween from the West Chester Co-op! We hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday with family and friends. 👻

Meet Mike Lyle! ⭐ As our Vice President and dedicated member of the Co-op since 2021, Mike has been an invaluable asset to our community since becoming a West Chester resident. We truly appreciate all of his hard work and contributions!

What is a Co-op?

A Co-op is a democratic, member-owned business model where each member has an equal vote in decision-making. Co-ops focus on community empowerment and economic resilience and provide practical solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Celebrate National Farmer's Day by honoring the hardworking individuals who provide fresh, sustainable food for our communities. From farm to table, we appreciate the dedication and effort that goes into nourishing us all! 🌾👩‍🌾

We are eagerly counting down the days till the grand opening of our new store at 204 West Market Street in West Chester, PA, coming in 2025! Stay tuned for exciting updates as we get closer to welcoming you to our new location!

Become a Member-Owner today and play a vital role in a community-owned, democratically controlled economic institution that benefits both members and the greater West Chester community. Join us in shaping the future as we prepare to open our new store in early 2025. Be a part of something bigger!

Meet Tim Drake! 🌟 Since 2022, Tim has been dedicated to his role as Director-at-Large, tirelessly working to make positive changes within the West Chester community. We appreciate his hard work and commitment to serving our community!

Become a member-owner today and have a positive impact on your community! You can make a difference and help shape a brighter future. Get excited for our new store opening in early 2025, where your membership will have an impact! 🌟🏘️

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@westchestercooperative

New storefront coming Spring 2025

Member Owner Count: 592