Green Top Grocery

Co-ops often confuse people, so they compare it to a chain grocery like HyVee or Walmart. This store is currently carrying products from 74 LOCAL farmers (defined as within 100 miles of the store) which means their produce is fresher AND has more nutrients because it hasn't sat on a truck for weeks. Back when the store opened, prices were admittedly high (which many old reviews have noted) but the last 6 months or so have seen serious price drops AND more sales, plus additional sales for owners. (BTW, if you're not familiar with co-ops, anyone can become an owner by putting in some equity. It's open to everyone to shop, but owners get extra perks). Shopping in this store is an EXPERIENCE, and one unlike any chain grocery. The staff are delightful and eager to answer questions and help. They know all the regular shoppers, and share recommendations, etc. On any given day you'll run into friends in the aisles, see a kids' cooking class happening in the teaching kitchen, go sit on the patio and enjoy a sandwich, discover a new gluten-free product, try samples of some in-season local veg... you just never know. Grocery shopping is now something my husband and I gladly do several times a week, vs. the old 'ugh, can YOU do it this time??' before there was a Green Top in our community. Something new people may want to know: TUESDAYS are Taco Tuesdays so anything you can fit in a hardshell taco is $1. Lots of local ingredients to choose form. THURSDAYS has salsa verde with either chicken or jackfruit (amazing. seriously) and FRIDAY is Penne for Pennies, where you can fill a plate with pasta and housemade sauce with local sausage for just $4. Or do half pasta/half salad for $4. That's a pretty great price for lunch or dinner, with fresh/local/organic ingredients. And if all that isn't enough, consider: after 18 months being opened, this store has contributed almost $19,000 back to local human services organizations, has allowed many local small farms to increase their production, hire more staff, pay better wages, and more. THAT'S what a co-op does... versus feed stockholders and CEOs halfway across the country. This store isn't too expensive, the Walmarts of the world have skewed our perception of what REAL food REALLY costs. And the results are bankrupt family farms, broken food infrastructure, a shrinking middle class, and a thriving 1%. This co-op is a piece of the solution, but we as consumers have to be willing to make change happen ourselves: Rethink food. Rethink priorities. Rethink how you spend your money so it's helping your entire community!