The Manchester Area Food Co-op is a member-owned consumer food cooperative in New Hampshire. Under the leadership of General Manager Patrick Neily, it is looking to move into its first retail location in the greater Manchester area.
The plan involves taking an existing retail space and converting it into the Manchester Area Food Co-op. A well-known grocer, Harvest Market, currently occupies the retail space and is a corporate store owned by Associated Grocers of New England.
The co-op will offer a wide variety of local, high-quality organic food, bringing a community-oriented, member-owned grocery store to the area where there will be a strong connection to local growers and area farmers.
What stands in the way of making this a reality is reaching the capital investment campaign goal of $1.5 million.
Without the capital funds, this project cannot move forward. The MAFC is looking to secure $1.5 million in funds so it can sub-lease the space and buy much-needed equipment and inventory from the Harvest Market. It also will need to perform renovations to the site.
To secure the lease and equipment, MAFC will need a minimum of $750,000 in member investments. In a tight race to the end, the cooperative has until Sept. 30 of this year to raise these funds.
Members have the option of donating directly to the campaign or through a combination of member loans and preferred shares. For more information, members and anyone looking to becoming a member can contact the investment team directly at [email protected] or [email protected].
No stranger to the New Hampshire cooperative landscape, Neily worked 75 miles north of the Manchester area at the Hanover Co-op in Hanover, New Hampshire, for 12 years and has worked within the cooperative world for 15 years. Neily talked about the many benefits of becoming a member-owner, saying, “The greatest benefit as an investor and a member-owner is that YOU are making a difference in YOUR community by investing in people. You are investing in local farmers, local businesses…YOUR neighbors. The cooperative movement is growing and is truly a unique business model where there is value in an organization that is truly operated by the people for the people.”
