Root River Market

Community Owned

Doris Henderson, and dozens of other enthusiastic members of the southeastern Minnesota community of Houston, have created a community-owned grocery store and pharmacy. The 7,000 square foot grocery, called the Root River Market is dedicated to community development and the citizens of Houston. "Business is pretty good. People really like the quality of the meat and I hear lots of good things about the pharmacy," Doris says. "Houston hasn't had a pharmacy for 25 years."

In the 1950s Houston had five groceries. When the last, an IGA store, closed during the fall of 1998, citizens did not throw up their hands in despair and say, "that's progress". Instead, initially, they did what Americans do everywhere. They waited for the government to do something. "There were efforts on the City's part to try to get someone to come in," Henderson says. "But it's a small enough market so that the larger grocers don't want to mess around with it."

A Night at the Round Table

Community member Peter Denzler, motivated locals to attend a round table discussion. Out of the round table came a commitment to have a grocery in Houston, more meetings, and a board of directors for what would eventually become the Root River Market. "Among us all there was a common interest of doing something to serve the community," Doris says. "There was also a strong interest in eventually creating a market for locally produced high quality food."

One of the first steps was to incorporate and develop a business plan. Board member and tax accountant, Larry Connery, was instrumental in putting the plan together. The Board received technical and financial assistance from the non-profit organization Hiawatha's Pantry. "The Board is a remarkable mix of people with diverse qualities," says Nancy Bratrud, Southeast Coordinator for the Hiawatha Pantry. I'm hopeful that the whole community will rally around the store. We see in Houston what could be a workable possibility in other small communities. "

Getting other Houston community members involved is exactly what the new Board of Directors set out to do. To kick off the cooperative's membership drive they held a chili supper in the vacant grocery in July of 1999. The board, along with the local Chamber of Commerce, rolled up their sleeves and fed a few hundred community members. The result: Over two hundred $100 memberships were raised.

Up and Running

"At first we had a hard time convincing people that a food cooperative wasn't a health food store. We told them they'd be able to buy Campbell's soup and Jiffy peanut butter," Doris Henderson said. Eventually the cooperative signed up 367 members. But that wasn't enough. To get the store up and running they needed $400,000. "For a dairy farmer that's a lot of money," Doris says.

To reach their goal, Root River Market raised another $150,000 from the community by seeking loans from individuals and businesses. Two of the loans came from other co-ops in town. "They understood that one of the principles of cooperatives is to work together," Doris says. The balance of the funds were raised in the form of loans from North Country Cooperative Development Fund, the National Cooperative Bank and a private regional bank.

With solid financial backing, competent management and a strong board of directors, Henderson, as the Board of Directors Chair, feel the cooperative is ready to move beyond its initial struggle. "The original concept of the market includes education as well as selling," Doris says. "People want to know where their food is coming from and we want to serve that need."

Three Pines

When Sharon Onsgard, one of the founding board members, died before the store opened, the sign for the Root River Market was dedicated to the retired school teacher. The sign is three pine trees standing together. And standing together is what will make the Root River Market a lasting and valuable asset to the community of Houston.