Whole Foods Co-op is a

food cooperative A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a private or public company. Food cooperatives are usually consumer cooperatives, where the decisions regarding the production and distribution of ...

located in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. Founded in 1970 by the members of a food buying club, the grocery is owned by over 10,000 active owners and is a member 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 ...

History

In 1970, the Whole Foods buying club was formed by 20 people in Duluth, Minnesota. The club merged with the Community Food Buying Club in 1973. Whole Foods went on to take over the operations of the West End Co-op in 1981, only to see it close two years later. In 2005, the cooperative expanded into a LEED certified building located at 610 E 4th St. Whole Foods was the first retailer in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and the first cooperative in the nation to receive

LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

for its building. After the Minnesota Health Department stopped allowing participants in the

WIC The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an American federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthcare and nutritio ...

program to purchase

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

in 2002, the cooperative offered to cover the difference and take a loss on behalf of its customers, but was refused by Health Department officials. In 2004, Whole Foods began using the

IS4C IS4C or Integrated Systems for Co-ops is a free web-based point of sale software for retail stores initially developed by Tak Tang for the Wedge Community Co-op in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The software utilizes an SQL database and enables track ...

point of sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...

system for its registers.Von Rabenau, Chris
IS4C: Integrated System for Co-ops.
''Cooperative Grocer.'' May–June 2005. In 2006, Whole Foods attained

Certified Organic Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products.Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/ ...

status through the

National Organic Program The National Organic Program (NOP) is the federal regulatory framework in the United States of America governing organic food. It is also the name of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) program r ...

for its operations. In 2016, Whole Foods Co-op expanded by opening a second location in the Denfeld neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whole Foods Co-Op Food cooperatives in the United States Organic food retail organizations Supermarkets of the United States Companies based in Minnesota American companies established in 1970 Food and drink companies established in 1970 Retail companies established in 1970 1970 establishments in Minnesota Cooperatives based in Minnesota

History

See also

References

External links