Established in 1973, the Moscow Food Co-op stands as a healthy grocery option for Moscow and Palouse residents.
Co-op, which stands for cooperative, allows anyone to be a partial owner of the company. Roughly 7,400 partial owners invest around $10 a year, helping the store continue renovating and improving. Owners get discounts on certain days as well as the ability to earn reward points after every shopping trip, according to the Co-op’s website.
Seth Parker, a student at the University of Idaho, said he frequents the Co-op.
“I’d say I go like four to six times a week, if you count the one they just put on campus,” Parker said. “The Co-op in general is convenient because it’s right on the cusp of downtown, and they serve hot food all day as well as having groceries. I’d say the thing I like most is just the quality of food. They give you such detailed information of what ingredients are in everything and frequently even tell you what farm it came from.”
The Co-op’s deli and cafe are popular lunch spots for individuals wanting a quick bite, while knowing all ingredients are local and organic. Their kitchen makes a plethora of soups, salads and different meals all hand-prepared. The deli also caters to individuals with dietary needs.
The Co-op recently added a satellite location on the second floor of the Campus Christian Center on the UI campus. This location serves healthy snack and lunch options and has a coffee shop inside with a variety of different drinks, including non-dairy and vegan options.
“The fact that they put one on Greek Row is great, I get breakfast and coffee there every Tuesday and Thursday,” Parker said.
The Moscow Food Co-op is very well known for the health consciousness of their food and grocery items. The Co-op works closely with many different local farmers and vendors to provide grocery options for every person regardless of their dietary needs.
All meat sold at the Co-op is humanely raised and harvested, as well as being free from antibiotics, hormones and preservatives. There are many meat items made in-house such as sausages and marinated “ready-to-cook” meats and burgers. The Co-op’s produce department houses more than 200 options of locally grown and certified organic fruits and vegetables.
Along with their grocery department, they also have a wellness department that has an array of natural supplements and body care items, according to the Co-op’s website. All wellness items are environmentally friendly, fair trade, socially conscious and produced locally.
The Co-op also offers a program called Co+op Basics, which enables them to work with a network of other cooperative grocery stores to negotiate lower prices on value brand natural and organic products. Every day, customers can identify discounted items throughout the store with the Co+op Basics purple signs.
In addition to Co+op Basics, there are many bargain days allocated to different items throughout the store that customers can take advantage of.
Along with buying on bargain days, customers can opt to take a class called “Healthy Eating on a Budget”, taught by volunteer dietician Alice Ma. The cost is only $3 for owners and $5 for regular customers. This class teaches participants how to shop healthy, as well as learn healthy recipes and the benefits of meal planning.
Emma Takatori can be reached at [email protected]