One of my goals for this year was to work toward local living. Not only purchasing food and products made locally, but to also support small local businesses. I've actually done several things to support this resolution, but today I'm going to talk about Outpost!
Outpost Natural Foods is a co-op here in Milwaukee. From their website:
Co-ops are founded on the belief that we can achieve greater results by working together than we can alone. A co-op is a business voluntarily owned and controlled by the people who use it – its members. It’s operated solely for the benefit of its members.While not everything in the store is local--the chia seeds I purchased were from Mexico, and not everything is organic--they stock Gatorade, the sense of community and emphasis on local and regional products is important to me. As is taking ownership in the movement. I don't know how Sam's Club works, but I have a sense that annual dues give you the privilege to shop. The co-ops 'dues' are actually purchasing a portion of your ownership (or you pay for the full ownership up front).
I will still do a large portion of my shopping at Aldi as a check book balance in the black is currently higher on my list than being 100% local or organic, but I'm proud I've taken this step in my journey toward local living.
In Pursuit,
Sarah
