The lovely couple that have subletted their apartment out to me while they are in India, left my a list of their goto places. On the list was the 4th St. Co-op, they had wrote “good for bulk items”. The other night I was craving miso to make some miso soup to stick to my juice feast with a little change of pace and did not feel up to conquering the huge Whole Foods that is 5 blocks from me. I did a google search to check their hours because it was after 9pm and I thought, maybe they would be closed, but nope, store hours 10am-10pm. Besides finding their store hours I also found out some inspiring info about this spot.
We have managed to replace almost all of the “corporate organic” non-produce made by companies owned by multinationals not meeting our ethical standards. “Convenience” is a big selling point for many stores. The co-op makes it convenient to support local and independently owned businesses that have strong principles.
We make it easy to feel good about your purchases – simply by stepping in the door, you are supporting people who are doing good work. Our commitment to ethics, quality and pedigree of product differentiates us from commercial grocery stores only concerned with the cost, turnover, and profit margin of goods.
Our refrigerators, lights, electronics and everything else are powered by 100% wind power through New Wind Energy. All of the household products we sell are environmentally friendly.
Everyone is here because they share common values and ideals and wish to support an organization that makes it possible for the community to purchase local, vegetarian, fair trade, high-quality, organic products at a reasonable price. The co-op is OUR co-op and we make it as great as we want it to be.
We began in 1995 as a storefront food cooperative, replacing the Good Food Coop, which began in 1973 as a buying club and became a storefront food cooperative. We evolved into a mostly-organic health food store. We are presently run mostly by unpaid Working Members, some of whom volunteer extra time. We serve the community we live in. We are comprised of a large body of working members and non-working members, and we have a core structure of 9 working-groups responsible for coop admin
istration and maintenance.
Wow! Inspiring, right??!???! So, I wondered over there and discovered a small storefront that was overflowing with goodness. They had supremely fresh produce, at cheaper prices than I have ever seen. The had a vast bulk section, including cacao nibs, and my favorite raw trail mix. They even sold the miso paste that i was after in bulk for me to scoop out as much as I wanted and it was by far the cheapest that I have ever paid for miso paste. The encourage you to bring in your own containers for all of the bulk items and sell a variety of glass jars there, too. I have seen a lot of heath food stores around the country and the world and this teansy little one has more than impressed and inspired me!
