Upcoming Class Changes
As September approaches, we’re starting to gear up for our fall lineup of Co-op classes. As you peruse the listings and contemplate checking out the Old North End Farmers’ Market or joining us for a grilling class, you’ll notice a change in our pricing structure. Since we began offering educational programming at the Co-op, we’ve aimed to keep class prices low in order to ensure accessibility for all of our community members. We’ve done this by offering half price classes to our shareholding Members, free classes to our Food for All members, free classes for mentor/mentee pairs, and scholarships for free classes upon request. We plan to continue all of these initiatives with a few changes in structure.
Our new class cost structure will move to $10 for Members and $25 for non-Members (please note that Food for All Members will still be able to attend regularly priced classes for free). This increase in price is intended to directly benefit our instructors and ensure the long-term sustainability of these programs. With this increase in class cost, we will be able to pay all instructors an additional $25 per class (a 33% increase).
By organizing the payment structure in such a way that the difference between Member and non-Member pricing is equivalent to one annual equity payment, we hope to encourage all class participants to join the Co-op and take advantage of the Member rate.
With these changes, we will be able to pay our instructors a rate that is more in line with the community average while still keeping the cost of our classes significantly lower than the majority of cooking classes offered in the area. We will continue to offer free classes to Food for all Members and mentor/mentee pairs as well as scholarships upon request. Additionally, we will continue to offer a variety of no-cost programming including Storytime Saturday, Seasonal Drop-In activities for Kids, and Make it From Scratch activity booths at the Winter Farmers’ Market, Summervale, and Old North End Farmers’ Market.
We understand the value of accessible food-based education in our community and hope that our community members will support this change as part of our efforts to ensure the success of this programming for many years to come.
FAQs & Overview:
- Member price for City Market class: $10
- Non-Member price for City Market class: $25
- Food for all Member price for City Market class: Free
- $25 increase to instructor payment (a 33% increase)
Q: Why did you increase the price of classes at the Co-op?
A: Our new class cost structure will move to $10 for Members and $25 for non-Members. This increase in price is intended to directly benefit our instructors and ensure the long-term sustainability of these programs while still offering Co-op Members a wide variety of classes for $10. With this increase in class cost, we will be able to increase our instructor payment by 33% and maintain our high quality instructors.
Q: I’m not a Member, but I frequent Co-op classes. Do I need to pay $25 for every class?
A: If you’re a frequent class participant, we’d encourage you to become a Member of the Co-op. With annual equity payments at $15 per year, you could pay that amount once and have access to $10 classes all year round in addition to a variety of other benefits! We intentionally structured the non-Member class price as equal to one equity payment in order to make it easy for everyone to have access to that lower price! Check out more information on becoming a Co-op Member here: https://www.citymarket.coop/membership.
Q: What about low-income residents in our community who can’t afford the new price?
A: All Food for All Members are able to take any regularly-priced Co-op class for free. In addition, we offer scholarships upon request and would not turn anyone away who was unable to pay. We also offer free classes to mentor/mentee pairs in addition to free individualized programming for local school groups and non-profits. Lastly, we will continue to offer a variety of no-cost programming including Storytime Saturday, Seasonal Drop-In activities for Kids, and Make it From Scratch activity booths at the Winter Farmers’ Market, Summervale, and Old North End Farmers’ Market.
Q: Does the Co-op make a profit off of classes?
A: No, all costs associated with classes go toward purchase of ingredients, supplies, instructor stipend, and interpreter payment when relevant. Class fees only cover a portion of the total cost of these programs.
Q: I would like to speak with someone about these changes, who should I contact?
A: Please feel free to reach out to our Outreach and Education Manager, Mae Quilty. She can be reached at 802-861-9753 or at mquilty@citymarket.coop.