(engine running) (bright music) - Am I not supposed to be here?

- [Worker] No.

- I didn't know what was happening.

- [Worker] You look awkward.

- I thought I was supposed to stand here.

I'm gonna use a cart, but I'm not ready yet.

- My favorite part about the co-op is the people that come in.

(gentle music) Hi Cindy, come on in.

- Hello.

- Good morning.

We're open.

Come on in.

- My grandma got this one.

- It's alright.

And here comes our big produce delivery.

Do you want me to pause?

My name is Jessica Rohloff.

I'm the manager of the New London Food Co-op.

The New London Food Co-op is a community owned grocery store.

We're owned by approximately 300 some member families.

In New London, we had a grocery store for over a hundred years, then we went 15 years without a grocery store.

So we knew as a community that if we were going to have a grocery store, we would have to build it, so that's what a lot of people did.

- When the co-op came to the community and opened, it was a a great asset to our community.

My name's Rachel Mitchell and I am a food co-op board member and I do the member communications.

The last week's newsletter was about dried beans.

The values that the co-op stands for are pretty in line with my personal values and so I was really happy to be asked to plug into the co-op and use my set of strengths to be able to make this a successful place for years and years to come.

This one has a child lock on it because we had a little tiny fan of these little marshmallows that found their way before anyone could catch them.

It was kind of funny timing.

It really coincided at a moment in which the larger grocery store that I had been shopping at got rid of their natural food section.

It just became really challenging losing that and then having to go back to hunting and pecking and looking at labels and trying to understand where things came from and what was in the food that I was eating.

- One of my favorite chocolates is this one.

- [Interviewer] Oh, you like the dark chocolate, huh?

- I like this one.

- I like this one and this one.

- [Interviewer] Is it pretty sour?

- Yep, they are.

- Some of 'em are.

- These ones are a little bit sour.

- [Interviewer] Sour.

- My mom was one of those people in the beginning that was sort of questioning like, how come we can always have a municipal liquor store, but it's so hard to have a grocery store in these little towns?

Opening this was part of her dream and desire and she passed away in the pandemic.

So it's sort of interesting because it did take those believers, those early adopters to make it happen.

- Mangos.

- So some people don't think that you can buy the majority of your groceries at our food co-op because of its size.

It's, (speaking Spanish) But actually, I buy almost all of my groceries at the co-op every single week.

- We have soap that's made in Minnesota.

We have chai that's made in Minnesota - Whole Grain Milling Co is a really cool brand.

They're out of Welcome, Minnesota, outta Southern Minnesota.

- [Jessica] We partner with the Red Lake Nation and feature some of their products in the store.

- In the past, I've used these for gifts where I've put some of the syrup, one of the jams, and then they also have fish batter and quick bread mix.

- We also partner with Colfax Farms.

I literally drive by their cows every day.

- This whipped honey is from B2B, they're outta Mankato.

But if you put this on a bagel, your dreams will come true.

- That's been one of the great joys of this work has been sort of discovering those Minnesota producers.

- There's certain things I just always get here.

- They ask me my favorite product.

I couldn't answer the question, Jessica.

- I know, I'm like, can I say everything because it's everything.

- I live in Montevideo and we lost our grocery store.

I can buy groceries at Walmart, but I'd rather support a local business.

- My jobs here, I do a lot of things around here.

Maybe half of the ordering.

I'm just gonna put both of them out.

- Yeah.

- And we'll see which one sell faster.

Anything on the computer, you know, cleaning, disinfecting.

I love this place.

I'm here probably more than anybody else and customer interactions probably one of my favorite things.

Rick, where'd you get these from?

Oh, the box?

You did, didn't you?

- Did you dig into a box that you shouldn't have?

- I did.

- Lots of good stuff here.

I love it.

I'm proud of what we've brought in and what we've like narrowed down that our market likes right now.

And then bringing in some fun items for people you know, that they may have never had.

Definitely.

Pickled garlic, I thought that would be a bigger hit.

- I would say the most challenging thing we face right now as trying to do a community grocery store is that the food market has consolidated to the point where most people walk in a grocery store and they don't realize that 95% of the products are made by like three companies.

So they think they're getting all this choice and they're not really getting a choice and they don't really have a voice because the company is so big that even if customers said, "I want you to make this salad dressing in a more responsible way where workers are treated with dignity, where, you know, you actually think about your environmental impact."

It doesn't matter.

The company's too big.

They could lose every single customer in our town and not care about us.

But with this store, if somebody says, "Hey, I think we should really prioritize this value."

Well, we have to listen to that.

Our pork, our beef, our chicken, most of our dairy, eggs, they all come within 50 miles of the co-op.

And I think that if you told random people in our community, they wouldn't think that that was something that is possible to do.

This food co-op is an outlet for so many local farmers to be able to continue to do what they love in the way that they love to do it and continue to farm in their integrity and with their values.

- It's important that people have access to healthy food.

We really do believe that.

And co-op is something different because it allows people a place to come together as community because everybody's responsible for it.

Like it's not my co-op, it's our co-op.

And that gives people a sense of belonging, which I think is something that people are really craving right now.

And our store is definitely a place where the entire community connects.

We're very intentional about the things we do here.

We have member meetings four times a year.

It's really about being able to nourish people, to create a sense of community, a place where they belong, a place they're always gonna be welcomed.

And so, I guess, it's been extremely rewarding to be able to be a part of rebuilding my city, my community, the people that I love, and that I think is the path back for rural America.

I'm very happy to be doing something about that.

- Thank you again.

- Yeah, bye.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Postcards is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Windom, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(bright music)