Celebrating 40 Years of Building Community!

The following is a history of our 40 years in Linden Hills. It would be impossible to recount every detail of our past- every co-op event, every new local product, every mistake, all of the relationships, the hard work, the smiles, the tears, the good vibes. What you’ll find below is just a glimpse of what we’ve been through as a co-op. I invite you to fill in the blanks with your own memories (and please share them with us!) as we enter in to our 40th year as your community co-op.

The co-op began with a desire to bring a food co-op to the Linden Hills area and build community. In July of 1975, about 20 people congregated in Linden Hills Park in response to an ad that Carol Vaubel placed in the Linden Hills Line. Interest grew in the community as dedicated members canvassed Linden Hills businesses and neighborhoods talking about the benefits of a food co-op. At a meeting in January of 1976, the fledgling co-op had $387 in the bank. Through the next few months, the group gained support by recruiting members and selling coupons redeemable for when the store opened, raising over $4,000 to open the store.

In February 1976, Linden Hills Co-op signed a six-month lease with Upton Alley and purchased insurance. Volunteers finished the floors, built the shelves, installed the refrigerators and readied the store for opening. On March 1st, 21 days before the co-op opened, Linden Hills Co-op had 160 members.

At a co-op meeting, a group of members decided on 5 principles that would guide their co-op.

• Community spirit among people working together

• Alternative to corporate exploitation

• Low cost food for everyone

• Education in non-hierarchical, non-exploitative organization

• Education in nutrition

4303 Upton Ave S. 

Member-volunteers made up the majority of the workforce, and worked for a 20% discount. Members were required to work at least 4 hours a month.

In the first six weeks the store was open, the total income was about $1,700. By August, the co-op had 400 members.  Around this time, department coordinators began to receive payment for their work at the store, $2.75/hour.

Most co-op functions relied on volunteers to complete crucial tasks and keep the store open. Volunteers worked in the store, babysat for fellow members, and worked on various member committees: financing, recycling, store renovations, telephone trees, social events, community outreach, the co-op newsletter and more. The co-op made an effort to call members on a regular basis about co-op meetings, store updates, and volunteer opportunities.

In December of 1977, a group of member-volunteers issued the first Rollin’ Oats Journal.

In July 1979, three years after they opened, the co-op was already outgrowing its space. Buyers found it difficult to keep the store stocked with the flow of traffic and sales were higher than estimated. The board and member committees began to look for options in the Linden Hills village and found that the nearby Hawkinson’s grocery was soon to be open for leasing. The co-op again reached out to the community for raising funds through stock purchases, loan requests, coupons, and general donations.

4306 Upton Ave S.

In 1981, after a successful move, the co-op had their highest sales yet, $650 thousand, and employed 22 workers. Members volunteered over 12,000 hours throughout the year.

Providing education was important to the co-op from the beginning. The co-op educated members via in store bulletin board postings, the Rollin’ Oats Journal, and hosting social and educational events at local community centers.

As quoted in the 1982 March-April issue of the Rollin’ Oats Journal, Carol Vaubel had two main visions for the store. She wanted the co-op to offer natural and whole foods without a lot of packaging and processing. She also wanted it to be a community endeavor. In 1982, she felt the “co-op had done well in meeting those goals.”

The same year, the board of directors and members issued a revised statement of purpose.

Purpose: To acquire and distribute low cost, high quality food and other products by maintaining a cooperative food store in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis.

We Will:

• Sell those foods and products which are untreated, unrefined, unadulterated, unpackaged and natural whenever practicable.

• Promote community nutrition awareness through responsible education.

• Support farmers who treat their land and products with an ecological awareness of the effects of chemicals on the land and the welfare of people working with and consuming farm products.

• Encourage conservation of natural resources by selling bulk products when possible. To minimize costs, customers should supply their own containers.

• Support other organizations which reflect the concerns of the membership.

• Conduct our business in a manner than enhances the quality of life in our community and remains responsive to its needs within the general manner described above

Previous to 1985, the co-op was functioning as a volunteer worker co-op, which meant that members were required to work at least 4 hours a month at various volunteer tasks in order to receive a discount. The patronage refunds were allocated based on how many hours were worked. On January 1st of 1989, the co-op officially transitioned to a consumer-based hybrid co-op, meaning that members didn’t have to work to be members. Members were required to put a financial investment in to the store and their patronage refunds were based on how much they spent during the year.  The co-op still had a working member program, where members could volunteer for a greater discount.

In 1990, the co-op was again looking to expand their space. Linden Hills Co-op employed 25 people, most of them full time, and had sales up to $1,250,000. In 1991, they hired their first general manager to oversee their 5 person management (previously coordinators) team. The co-op began fundraising again, mostly through member loans and loans from other co-ops, and looking for a new space.

Also in 1991, a modified version of the co-op’s mission statement was published in the April edition of the Rollin’ Oats Journal with a greater focus on promoting ecological awareness and maintaining positive relationships with co-op employees.

2813 W 43rd Street

In February of 1994, the co-op had 1,100 members. In late 1994, the co-op signed a lease with Lake Harriet Plaza at 2813 W 43rd Street, just around the corner from its second location, with renovations to begin in August of 1995. The new location would include a cooking classroom, and eventually meat and deli departments and a coffee and juice bar.

In the 1995 April/May issue of the Rollin’ Oats Journal, the board proposed a new, more concise, mission statement: To operate a cooperative retail grocery store for our members and the community in a manner that enhances global well-being, selling natural and organic foods and goods, supporting local farmers, promoting ecologically sound practices, following the Rochdale cooperative principles and sustaining a beneficial and participatory environment for our workers and members.

With the larger space and higher sales, the co-op was able to do more work in the community. In June of 1996, the co-op introduced the green patch program, which would reward members for bringing their own bags by giving them the option of donating 5 cents for each reused bag to a local environmental charity.

In August of 1999, the co-op began their annual Co-op Community Carnival in the parking lot. This carnival was a “fun-raiser” for Joyce Food Shelf. Attendees were invited to either bring a canned good or pay the $1 ticket price to have a picnic lunch, play games, listen to music, get their face painted, and have a good time.

Additional annual community events the co-op hosted in their store and parking lot included Love Fest, a Local Harvest Festival and Rock the Hills.

In fall of 2002, Linden Hills Co-op co-founded Midwest Food Connection with the Wedge and Lakewinds. Midwest Food Connection works with Minneapolis Public Schools to educate children about local food and sustainable farming. This partnership carries through today.

Also in 2002, The co-op re-launched their website, full of recipes, classes, events, volunteer opportunities, and the latest edition of the Rollin’ Oats Journal.

With their new classroom space, the co-op expanded their education program, offering a variety of classes focused on natural living, health, nutrition, and the environment.

In 2003, the board of directors decided to discontinue the Member Working Program. The co-op had grown enough to employ a large fulltime staff and no longer needed the member-volunteers. Shortly after, a Member Involvement Committee was formed, consisting of a board member, co-op staff, and several members seeking ways to get more members involved, despite the loss of the worker program.

The board also redefined the co-op’s guiding principles (or ends policies) to what they are today.

Linden Hills Co-op

• Provides and promotes healthful choices for its members and shoppers

• Provides, uses, and promotes earth friendly, sustainable products

• Encourages activism on sustainability, health and nutrition-related issues

• Builds community within Linden Hills and neighboring communities

In September of 2004, Linden Hills Co-op began fundraising to put solar panels on their roof. They launched a member funded campaign called “Rays the Roof” in an effort to raise $62,000 to put 54 solar panels on their roof. The campaign was a success and the panels were installed in 2005.

March 1, 2005, the co-op opened a second branch of the business, Linden Hills Natural Home, in a nearby house. Linden Hills Natural Home had a variety of natural home needs from gardening tools to cleaning supplies to towels and bedding, clothing and more. For a period of time, Linden Hills Natural Home even had electric cars for sale.

Co-op staff led ecological initiatives like the commuter challenge, encouraging members to bike or walk to the co-op to win a prize. A staff-led Green Team monitored the co-op’s recycling, waste production and energy use in efforts to make the co-op as sustainable as possible.

In 2008, faced with the age-old issue of limited space, the board began discussions about moving to a new, larger location. Fundraising efforts began again, this time primarily focusing on member loans.

3815 Sunnyside Ave

September 2010, with over 5,200 members and close to 100 employees, the co-op moved to its current location on Sunnyside Ave.  The co-op renovated the space and made an effort to include many earth-friendly features.

With the new, larger space and updated classroom, the co-op was able to grow their class program, hosting more classes focused on cooking, environmental topics, natural living, health and wellness. To date, we have hosted over 400 classes in that space.

In 2011, local artists from Broken Cow painted the farm scene that adorns the co-ops outer walls.

In 2012, the co-op led a book club, highlighting books with a food and/or environmental focus. That same year, the co-op also started a kids club. In 2014, our kids program was revived in the form of the Co+op Explorers.

Early last year, a group of dedicated Linden Hills Co-op members formed LHC’s Climate Action Team. The Climate Action Team works to engage the Linden Hills community in action on climate solutions. Last April, the group hosted “30 Days of Climate Action” at the co-op, a month long initiative inspiring shoppers to do their part to support a healthy climate. Events at the co-op ranged from talks about solar energy, to water management, to an alternative transportation day where CAT brought in an assortment of electric cars and bike-powered contraptions.

Last summer, Linden Hills Co-op launched a new website featuring educational articles, store events, sales, the daily deli menu, and more.

Today, the co-op remains committed to supporting the community. Guided by a staff-led donation committee, the co-op gives back over $40,000 to community groups each year, donating to over 70 organizations.  The co-op maintains a thriving green patch program.

Our community continues to grow. Linden Hills Co-op has almost 9,000 members and carries hundreds of local products

In our fourth location in Linden Hills, we are now beginning a significant remodel of our store.

Throughout its history, the co-op has worked to make changes in the best interest of the community. Yet, wherever we move and how often we change our walls, Linden Hills Co-op is not defined by our physical space. The co-op represents countless relationships between our members, farmers, local vendors, community organizations, staff and neighbors. The co-op is defined by our connection to good food. As the co-op begins its 40th year, with new plans and changes on the horizon, we will remain committed to providing local, nutritious foods, promoting ecological awareness, providing relevant education, building community, and remaining that friendly place to meet your neighbors. We are so proud to represent such a strong community for the past 40 years and we can’t thank you enough for your support. Here’s to another 40!