Hummus in four flavors can be found to the right, just inside the front door. Fresh cut meat from local butchers are found after passing the fresh apple cider made right here in Utah. Oh, and don’t forget the variety of fruits and vegetables all sold at discount prices.
The Community Food Co-op of Utah has launched their first Monday marketplace, where local produce and Utah original packaged food items are sold for wholesale prices, so everyone can save money. The food co-op is a project of Crossroads Urban Center, providing high quality food for poor college students, the elderly, and really anyone who wants to make a good, healthy meal.
Susan Bellon is a middle aged mother who has been coming to the Monday market sales since its opening in January of this year. She has also been ordering food online for three years from the food co-op.
“I like what they stand for. It’s people helping people. I like the selections. The food plans my menu every month,” Bellon said.
Bellon usually uses the online option to purchase her food, and as long as she orders her food by March 4, she can retrieve her order at one of 50 pick-up stations or “team sites” scattered throughout the valley on March 19. One team site is actually right on Salt Lake Community College’s Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
Meat, fruits, and vegetables are divided into shares when a person visits the online foodco-op.net. When there, food can be purchased in bulk, rather than individually.
A meat share, or bulk order, includes a pound of ground beef, four 6-ounce beef cubed steaks, 1.5 lbs. of country style pork spare ribs, and 2 lbs. of chicken breast for $15. A “produce” or fruit and vegetable share includes five varieties of fresh vegetables and three varieties of fruit for $10. Any customer can save a dollar when these two shares, the meat and produce share, are bought together, totaling just $24.
Utah originals, signature foods, and specialty items can also be purchased online and found at the food co-op warehouse. Some include Nutty Guys cashews, almonds, and trail mix, Tagge’s fruit salsa, Jones Bee’s local honey, among many other foods that can be added to the standard packages mentioned above.
“We accommodate for fresh affordable food that’s available to the public,” Francesca Bartko, outreach coordinator for the Community Food Co-op of Utah said. “We also accommodate for the elderly, catering to different people’s diets.”
Volunteers supply the extra work that needs to be done to run the market. Terry Wojcik is a regular volunteer and buyer of these local foods. She will serve people hummus samples and milk, or man a station where people buy fresh baked breads or other foods.
“It’s fun,” Wojcik said, who has been working with the food co-op for three years. “I like the recipes that can be made from each item of produce.”
The Community Food Co-op of Utah’s Monday market sale takes place every Monday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at their warehouse in Salt Lake City. It’s located at 1726 South 700 West and is open to the public. Shopping online is also available at foodco-op.net. More information can be found online or by calling the co-op at (801) 746-7878.