New Pioneer Food Co-op, commonly shortened to New Pi, is a locally owned food cooperative based in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, Iowa. This city also serves as the headquarters of the

National Cooperative Grocers Association National Co+op Grocers (NCG) is a business services cooperative for retail cooperative grocery stores located throughout the United States. NCG offers franchise-like services to food co-ops that help businesses optimize operational and marketing ...

. New Pioneer has stores in Iowa City, Coralville, and

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

as well as a production hub in North Liberty, Iowa. New Pioneer was founded in 1971 as a natural foods buying club modeled after the

Rochdale Principles The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operativ ...

, and is now a full-service bakery, deli, and grocery store. It specializes in local food, organic produce, cage-free antibiotic and hormone-free meat, milk, and poultry. The co-op's seafood program is certified sustainable by the Seafood Watch program from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The handmade pastry selection uses local cage-free eggs, local butter, and organic flour, and also offers a selection of wheat-free dessert options. All foods sold are restricted to natural additives. The co-op offers eco-friendly home and healthcare products. New Pioneer takes its name from the organization that created the cooperative model, the Rochdale Pioneers.

History

New Pioneer Food Co-op began as a bulk food buying club in 1969 in an Iowa City community center. In 1971, New Pioneer filed legal papers and opened a storefront at 518 Bowery Street in Iowa City. The co-op moved to the second floor of Vine Building, at Prentiss and Gilbert Streets, in 1973. In 1977, the co-op moved again into a portion of a building at 22 S. Van Buren Street. The co-op expanded to occupy the full building in 1987. In 1988 New Pioneer opened a store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was unsuccessful and closed in 1991. New Pioneer Food Co-op opened the hearth bread bakery Bakehouse in 1994 at First Avenue and Fifth Street in Coralville. In 2001, the Coralville store opened and soon faced financial struggles. By 2004, the Coralville store nearly matched the Iowa City location in sales and by the 2005, the co-op was free of debt. The Iowa City store was remodeled and had its equipment upgraded in 2007. New Pioneer Food Co-op opened its Cedar Rapids store in 2014.

Organizational structure

New Pioneer Food Co-op's three grocery locations, bakehouse and administrative offices are managed by hired staff, and all are overseen by a member-elected

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Membership

The current member–owner plan, calling for a one-time $60 investment for membership, was created in July 1982. There is no yearly fee associated with membership. Members receive extra discounts on special days. The stores are open to all shoppers, one does not need to be a member to buy. In profitable years, New Pioneer’s Board of Directors has the discretion to authorize investment in improvements, distribution of dividends to members proportionate to their purchases, payment of staff bonuses, or donations to non-profit organizations in its community.

Publications

New Pioneer is the publisher of ''Catalyst'', a quarterly food magazine that spotlights Iowa farmers and

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Pioneer Food Co-Op Iowa City, Iowa Food cooperatives in the United States Consumers' cooperatives in the United States Food markets in the United States Organizations established in 1971

History

Organizational structure

Membership

Publications

See also

References