Midwest has its share of co-ops, with more on way
CHAMPAIGN – Despite its size and fertile ground, Illinois doesn't have many food cooperatives compared with its neighbors to the north, Common Ground Food Cooperative general manager Jacqueline Hannah said.
Wisconsin has more than a dozen food cooperatives, and Minnesota is "the food cooperative capital of the world," she said. New England, Michigan and the West Coast also have large numbers of food cooperatives, according to the Cooperative Grocers' Information Network.
The Neighborhood Co-Op in Carbondale is one of the most prominent in Illinois, Hannah said. It's triple the size of Common Ground, even though it operates in a smaller market with a less stable economy than Champaign-Urbana's, she added.
Another cooperative, Dill Pickle, is developing in the Chicago area. Other Illinois cooperatives listed by the information network include the Duck Soup Co-Op in DeKalb and the Hyde Park Cooperative Society in Chicago.
Indiana has several food cooperatives, most notably Bloomingfoods Market & Deli with multiple locations in Bloomington, Ind. Also listed by the information network are Three Rivers Natural Grocery in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Maple City Market in Goshen, Ind.
More co-ops may soon be on the way. Hannah said she has recently been contacted by groups in Alton and Terre Haute, Ind., that are interested in starting cooperatives.
Clint Popetz, Common Ground's board chairman, said key indicators of how ripe a community may be for a food cooperative include median home income and the percentage of people with college education.
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