The Wedge Community Co-op or The Wedge 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

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

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 ...

. Located at 2105

Lyndale Avenue Lyndale Avenue is a major street in the U.S. state of Minnesota that traverses the cities of Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Richfield, and Bloomington. A noncontiguous portion also exists in Faribault, part of Highway 21. There are several com ...

South, the Wedge derives its name from the popular nickname for the Lowry Hill East neighborhood, called "The Wedge" due to its shape. The Wedge is a member of the NCG.

History

The Wedge was formed in 1974 in a

basement apartment A basement apartment is an apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but possibly a house or a business. Cities in North America are beginning to recognize these units as a vital source of ...

on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. It was formed after a group of neighbors met that summer to organize a cooperative store to provide themselves with whole and natural foods, preferably in bulk quantities to save money. In 1979, the Wedge moved to Lyndale Avenue. Wedge had a member labor program in place until 1992, when it built a new store in the lot adjacent to its store. An addition which doubled the retail space was built in 1997. The Wedge was the first

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/ ...

grocery store in Minnesota. In 2015, the Wedge became the first consumer co-op in the Twin Cities metro area to unionize. In 2016 the members voted to consolidate with Linden Hills Co-op, forming the Twin Cities Co-op Partnership (TCCP). The combined entity had 25,000 members and employed over 500 employees.

Warehouse

The Wedge Co-op has a wholesale distributor, the Co-op Partners Warehouse, which services retail co-ops, natural food stores and restaurants in the Upper Midwest. Co-op Partners Warehouse began as a produce wholesaler and has since expanded into organic milk, cheese and yogurt; soy products, fresh juices and smoothies; and a selection of dry grocery items. In April 2012, employees of the Wedge's Co-op Partners Warehouse formed a union to voice their dissatisfaction with wages and management decisions. In November 2015, employees of the Wedge Lyndale location voted 76 to 31 to unionize its retail location.

Gardens of Eagan

In January 2008, the co-op leased 'Gardens of Eagan', one of the oldest local certified organic produce farms in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

area. The co-op has the option to purchase the land after five years, and has been running the operation since summer 2008. The Wedge put the farm up for sale in April 2015, deciding to concentrate on its retail operations.

Organic Field School

In 2008, the Wedge Co-op formed th
Organic Field School
(OFS) at Gardens of Eagan. OFS is an on-farm facility with a focus on education and research for farmers, educators, policy makers and the public.

WedgeShare

Since 1997, The Wedge has administered a charitable giving program based on the 7th cooperative principle. The donations are given to community groups chosen by the Wedge membership by vote. In its history, WedgeShare has given nearly $240,000 to

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

IS4C

The Wedge uses

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 ...

, a

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 ...

(PoS) system for cooperatives. The program was developed by Tak Tang, an employee of The Wedge.Von Rabenau, Chris
IS4C: Integrated System for Co-ops.
''Cooperative Grocer.'' #118 May - June 2005.

References

External links

Official websiteCo-op Partners Warehouse
{{coord, 44, 57, 41.28, N, 93, 17, 15.83, W, region:US, display=title Food and drink companies established in 1974 Companies based in Minneapolis Food cooperatives in the United States Organic food retail organizations Supermarkets of the United States Consumers' cooperatives in the United States 1974 establishments in Minnesota