Why I Serve: Julia Curry

As a board member, I get a great perspective on how our co-op is doing and what it is achieving. But I would guess that for many people, City Market’s full impact is hiding in plain sight. So as we think about expanding, and I think about why I serve on the board, it’s a good time to look at all of the ways being a co-op makes us different.

Being a membership organization sets us apart from other businesses. There are a couple visible benefits we can point to: our patronage refund is a tangible benefit of owning a co-op—how many other business models give us that kind of ownership stake? Additionally, our co-op lets our Members take advantage of the member work option. When that work is with our Community Outreach Partners, then the benefit to the community is evident too.

Less visible are all the ways in which Members’ values inform the decisions made daily in our store:

• Our buyers seek out and support local producers because we want our business to strengthen the local food system.
• City Market pays a livable wage and offers high-quality, truly affordable health insurance to all employees, whether they are full- or part-time.
• To address the needs of all Burlington residents, we carry basic groceries that meet or beat the prices at the chain supermarkets.
• We support and promote other cooperative efforts, including providing loans and advice to other food co-ops.

Board members direct City Market’s impact by defining the Co-op’s “ends” (mission) and monitoring the store’s operations to make sure we are walking our walk. Members can share thoughts and questions any time with employees and Board Members, and yearly Board elections allow Members the opportunity to influence the direction of our impact.

I could go on (and on), but I hope the notion is clear. Because we are a co-op, Members can use the power of our business model for good. We aren’t just passive consumers. We help direct our impact on the local food system and economy, and as the Co-op has grown to become a major economic force in our region, our impact grows accordingly. Our cooperative model is making real change in the Burlington community—can you see it?