We are Moving In: Time to Clean Up the Space

March has come, and Local Roots Co-op now has access to our future location. We are in the process of establishing accounts with several distributors who will service our Market Day Fund-Raiser. We have been working to make online ordering simple and easy when we begin. We will also accept orders by email and hand-written orders. The plan review is under way with the Health Department, in order to be able to engage in this kind of limited grocery activity.

Much remains to be accomplished:

• The carpet and tile need to be removed
• The drop ceiling needs to be taken down
• The whole space needs to be painted [We need paint!!!]
• Attractive lighting needs to be found and installed

There is plenty more work to be done after this initial work. We are still hoping to accelerate the growth of people who own Memberships or Shares. We have begun to apply for several grants. There is a $10,000 grant from Food Co-op 500, which we qualify for currently. We hope to raise another $25,000 from Memberships, Community Support Loans, and Shares. We will then qualify for a matching $25,000 from Food Co-op 500. As was mentioned before, this Co-op is designed to succeed and flourish, once open. The critical task is to meet the financial requirements to open. Helping the Co-op financially, no matter how small the contribution, will make manifest your support of your Co-op, and help transform it from a dream into a reality. Real support means a real Co-op: this May. Future support means a Co-op that will come at some future time. What kind of Town do we want? It is in our hands to create that Town now.

We have not yet selected the date, but the time is nearing when we will be calling upon our supporters to come and help us transform the space. If anyone has some free time during the week, please let me know. If anyone has tools that we could borrow, please let me know. If anyone has some extra space in a dumpster that we could utilize, please let me know.

Good will to all. Together I know that we can bring our Co-op, an essential component of our Commons, to Estes Park. And that is just the beginning…