Canyon County Co-op opens its doors to the public Tuesday

When the Boise Co-op was looking to expand in 2014, it considered opening a co-op in Canyon County. It opted to open in Meridian instead.

Canyon County residents were not deterred. The group of residents that came together to try and woo the Boise Co-op, thought there was enough of an interest in a co-op in their area that they decided to open their own. The team members started selling memberships in late 2014. The co-op found a home in Downtown Nampa in 2015, the one-time Consumer’s Market at 1415 1st Street South.

Those efforts will pay off on Tuesday, when the new co-op opens the doors to its airy space at 10 a.m.

On Monday, employees were still filling the shelves, accepting deliveries, sorting basil, stamping price tags and arranging milk bottles.

“This project is at the very, very incubator stage,” said Co-op Board President Jordan Baker. “We’re just like a seed being planted. Hopefully the soil is fertile.”

The co-op’s goal is to eventually sell all local products, said Baker. For now, some of the stock is coming from a distributor in Portland, Ore.

“But we want to work towards being partners with all the local producers to provide our dairy, meat, and produce,” said Baker.

Membership dollars from the co-op’s 2,000 charter members have helped stock the shelves with merchandise. Volunteers also donated their labor, said Baker.

Nampa, which recently celebrated the opening of its new library and other improvement to its downtown, is primed for a local co-op, said Crystal Baker, who works as a co-op buyer.

“Food is a way to bring people together. Nampa is ready to make this our own,” said Baker. “Some of my best memories of growing up in Nampa are driving around and smelling the mint and the onion fields. Now we’ll have those things here at the co-op.”

Customers can buy an annual membership to the co-op for the discounted rate of $65 until Jan. 24. After that, the fee will be $75. Members will also pay a $35 renewal fee each year. The store will be open to non-members, though members will receive a discount.

Store hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Canyon County Co-op opens its doors to the public Tuesday."