Co-op Gains Favor

Today my family joined the East End Co-op in Pittsburgh, PA. My wife, kids and I were out exploring the city this morning and came across the Co-op. The store does not require that you be a member (which we weren't), but as we were walking around we noticed to our surprise that the prices for the organic food was very comparable to the pricing at the normal stores for non-organic food.

The membership is $100 which actually buys you 1 share of the Co-op. So we are co-owners with the other members which entitles us voting rights. Maybe more importantly, we get a 2% discount on purchases made in the store every day....but today happened to be a Member Appreciation Day and we received 10% off of our purchases. These Member Appreciation Days appear to happen two times a month on Sundays. What luck, so today we saved over $10 our first day of being a member!

Additionally, if we decide we no longer want to be members or move out of the area the membership price is fully refundable!

Some other cool points of membership:

• 2% discount on all daily purchases
• 10% discount on Member Appreciation Day purchases
• 20% discount on uncut case purchases
• Check writing privileges for up to $20 over purchase amount
• Access to EEFC Federal Credit Union
• Voting privileges in Co-op elections
• The opportunity to run for the EEFC Board of Directors
• The opportunity to serve on board committees
• The Co-operator, EEFC's newsletter, mailed monthly to your home
• Reduced advertising rates in The Co-operator
• The opportunity to volunteer and earn an additional discount

So, our first day eating organic...what did we buy? Here is our list:

• Organic Garlic
• Organic White Corn Chips, no salt
• Smooshed Fruit - Organic Raspberry
• Artichoke Fettuccine - 8oz
• Organic Grape Tomato's - 1 pint
• Red Drason (cheese)
• Organic Avocados (3)
• Parsley Leaf Flakes
• Bucheron
• Organic Blue Corn Chips
• Organic Roma Tomato's
• Bread (very, very, very good!)
• Organic Pears
• More Bread
• Apple Cider
• Creme Vanilla Soda
• Tea While Vanilla Apricot
• Organic Cucumbers
• Tea Bottle Organic Lemon

How much do you think the total bill was for all of this food? $92.03 BEFORE our discount. We ended up saving $9.21 for a grand total of $83.13. Let's see you go to your local market and get the same amount for less.

We are really looking forward to making it down to the Co-op at least 2x's per month on Customer Appreciation Days. The store is a solid 30 minutes from our house, so it is not exactly close to where we live, but it is well worth the trip.