History of the Missoula Community Co-op

The Missoula Community Co-op (MCC) is firmly rooted in a broad community effort to secure Missoula’s local food system and create greater food access for people of all incomes. Sparked by priorities expressed in the 2004 Missoula County Food Assessment and neighborhood surveys, the MCC is the culmination of years of research and collaboration.

In its infancy, the MCC was a buying club project launched and nurtured by the North Missoula Community Development Corporation (NMCDC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing Missoula’s Northside and Westside neighborhoods. As it developed over several years, the project evolved to include plans for both a cooperatively managed commercial kitchen and community store. Molly Moody, community organizer for the NMCDC, shepherded the project through years of feasibility studies, business plans and property identification. Aided by a multi-year grant she secured from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to support her work and project expenses, Moody conducted thorough research into cooperative structures, legal concerns, business partnerships and model efforts already underway around the nation. All told, the NMCDC has invested more than $230,000 toward development of the MCC. And while the MCC became an autonomous nonprofit[?] entity in [what month-year], it remains closely linked and deeply grateful to its parent organization, the NMCDC.

After years of conceptual and community development, in September 2006 the co-op set down roots on Missoula’s Westside at 1500 Burns Street, now known as the Burns Street Square. Besides housing the MCC grocery store and space for the commercial kitchen and deli-café the co-op plans to develop in the future, the site purchased by NMCDC will also host 18 units of affordable housing, a development called the Burns Street Commons. Already under construction, the homes will be ready to house income-qualified owners in summer 2008 and the NMCDC plans to hold a mid-August ribbon-cutting celebration to mark the occasion.

In late October 2006, the MCC held its first all-member meeting and elected its first Board of Directors. Member volunteers began extensive clean-up and remodeling to prepare a small storefront for the grocery store, and in January 2007 the co-op was legally incorporated in the State of Montana.
After working for months to attract members and whip MCC’s new home into shape, the co-op’s grocery store opened its doors in December 2007. Since then, it’s been steadily building support from members and expanding its inventory each week. Currently, the store occupies 1,200 square feet of its new home, and the NMCDC and MCC are working to secure funding to develop the commercial kitchen and deli-café in the remaining 11,800 square feet of the co-op’s space.

The Missoula Community Co-op is dedicated to providing access to healthy, affordable food that is locally produced when possible. As such, the co-op has chosen to follow the model provided by the Park Slope Food Co-op founded in 1973 in Brooklyn, N.Y. This successful co-op varies from most other cooperatives in that it only serves members and requires members to donate four hours of labor per month toward running the store or other related duties. By relying on member volunteers, rather than paid staff, to fulfill most of the labor required to stock and staff the store, it is able to keep food prices as low as possible. It also helps create a community-building atmosphere that encourages involvement and input from all members.

Already, the dedication of a hardworking Board of Directors and many committed, enthusiastic members is the heart of the co-op ’s operations. The vitality of this collective effort is what makes this a truly cooperative endeavor. We’re always eager to find more people willing to lend their skills and efforts toward building the co-op, so please take a look at our calendar of events or stop by the store at 1500 Burns Street!