Story By Regan Crisp
The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, Chicago’s newest grocery co-op opening in Logan Square this summer, and will attempt to fulfill the need for natural and affordable food on the Northwest Side.
Surprisingly, Chicago has played host to few such stores.
When Dill Pickle founder Kathleen Duffy moved to Chicago from New York in 2001 she was disappointed by the lack of independent grocery stores near her home. Duffy frequented the same tiny health food store for years in New York, and hoped for something similar in Logan Square, but found none.
“When I came out here I was looking for a little place like that, where I could just go in to get some milk, or a sandwich,” said Duffy. “There wasn’t even a privately owned store you could go to.”
At that time Chicago was home to just one grocery co-op, in Hyde Park. The inaccessibility of a Hyde Park grocery store and the lack of local stores inspired Duffy to take matters into her own hands. In 2004 she sent an e-mail out to 20 friends, mostly artists and activists living on the Northwest side, about organizing a food co-op. Duffy received 300 responses to her e-mail. Five years later, the Dill Pickle Food Co-op is months away from becoming a reality.
The Hyde Park Co-op Market closed last year after 75 years as the only grocery co-op in Chicago. The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, therefore, has big shoes to fill – and hopes to step into them by late spring or early summer.
The co-op, which is funded primarily by member equity, will function as a member-run, democratically operated grocery store offering locally produced, organic and fair-trade products. An annually elected nine-member board of directors will set policies and oversee activities.
Unlike some food co-ops, members and non-members alike will be able to shop at the store, to be located at 3039 W. Fullerton Ave. Members will also have the option of volunteering at the store and making decisions about products.
Any financial surplus the Dill Pickle has at the end of the year will be distributed back to members as a “patronage fund.” Memberships cost $250 but can be paid in $50 installments over five years. According to board president Bill Burdett, the co-op already has 330 members and they hope to reach 500 before opening.
The Dill Pickle Food Co-op takes its name from the Dill Pickle Club, which existed in Chicago from 1913 to 1932. A “coffeehouse, art gallery and speakeasy,” the underground club was frequented by writers such as Carl Sandburg and Sherwood Anderson, as well as radicals, artists and other intellectuals. In the spirit of the Dill Pickle Club, the co-op seeks to build more than just a grocery store in Logan Square.
Burdett said the co-op’s long-term goal is to become a “community hub,” supporting local producers, and offering alliances with community organizations and neighborhood businesses. Some of these include the Chicago Food Co-op, a buying club in Wicker Park, and the Logan Square Farmer’ Market, which is organized by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce from June to August.
Executive Director Paul Levin says the Logan Square Chamber plans on working with the Dill Pickle in the future, and expects the co-op to be “quickly perceived as a new neighborhood amenity.”
Duffy is passionate about the store’s plan to build a strong community and meet local residents’ needs, explaining that the effort includes education, member involvement and quality products.
“We have to teach them about what a co-op is, how it functions and why it is superior to walking into a Jewel,” said Duffy. All co-ops are different, she said, and this one must function as a reflection of the neighborhood and its residents. “A co-op in Logan Square is not going to be the same as one in Uptown.”
Another important aspect Duffy hopes to bring to the co-op is affordability. She said that while the co-op needs to promote healthy living through organic and fair-trade products, it should also meet the needs of its members, and the community. That may not always mean organic products, which tend to be more expensive and can’t always be locally produced.
“This is not just about being able to express our ideals, but also about being a viable business,” said Duffy. “There is a fairly large income disparity in Logan Square. We don’t want to exclude anyone from accessing these products.”
Duffy wants Dill Pickle to be a one-stop shop for all local residents, and to reflect the needs of the community, non-members included. A code of ethics being drawn up will ensure that every product in the co-op fulfills one standard, whether it is locally produced or affordable, though Duffy hopes most will meet more than one requirement.
Construction is currently underway. Board members are still waiting on several permits, but Duffy is still confident that the Dill Pickle will be open in about three months.
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