Down at the VFC

As anyone knows who knows me, I'm a fan of food co-ops. I even visit co-ops when on vacation (yes, it's a sickness, I know).

Food co-ops from across the country are running a video contest, asking members and staffers to show why "My Co-op Rocks." It's been fun to watch the short videos as they've been put up, but I think the winner has emerged, unless something really great gets posted before the deadline on April 17.

Created by a group at Viroqua Food Co-op in the Driftless Region of southwestern Wisconsin, the video does just about everything right -- it uses music and lyrics to get its message across, it's fairly visually interesting, and it's well edited. I actually wanted to watch it more than once, which is a good sign.



Viroqua is one of the co-ops I've visited -- both its old and new stores. Other co-ops I've visited outside of Minnesota, in no particular order...

• Bloomingfoods (Bloomington, Ind., home of elenabella)
• Lexington Cooperative Market (Buffalo, N.Y.)
• Davis Food Co-op (Davis, Calif.)
• Hanover Consumer Cooperative (Hanover, N.H. -- all three stores)
• Upper Valley Food Co-op (White River Junction, Vt.)
• Brattleboro Food Co-op (Brattleboro, Vt.)
• The Food Co-op (Port Townsend, Wash.)
• Good Foods Market (Lexington, Ky.)
• Outpost Natural Foods (Milwaukee and Wauwatosa)
• Food Front (Portland, Ore.)
• PCC Natural Markets (Fremont neighborhood of Seattle)
• GreenStar Co-op (Ithaca, N.Y.)
• Harvest Co-op (Cambridge, Mass.)
• Whole Foods Co-op (Erie, Pa.)
• New Pioneer Co-op (Iowa City, Ia.)
• Oneota Community C0-op (Decorah, Ia.)
• People's Food Co-op (La Crosse, Wis.)
• Tacoma Park Co-op (Maryland -- before it merged with Silver Spring)
• SUNY Binghamton Food Co-op (Vestal, N.Y.)
• Plus the late lamented Hyde Park Co-op in Chicago.