Changes should be made to help reopen Eat to Live Food Cooperative

When the Eat to Live Food Cooperative on S. Salina Street temporarily closed its doors in December, it put its customers right back into the food desert the co-op was meant to alleviate. The board must do everything it can to ensure the co-op is reopened as soon as possible.

The Eat to Live Food Cooperative has struggled due to finances — almost running out of funding two months after opening — and a lack of community support, according to a Feb. 12 Post-Standard article. The possibility of a co-op on the South Side was first discussed about five years ago. The co-op first opened in October with the goal of providing community members with fresh, healthy and inexpensive foods.

Though the co-op has been burdened by financial issues, it is important that its board members take the necessary steps for it to reopen. There is significant need for Eat to Live as the area in which it’s located is a food desert, meaning it is difficult to find nearby places to purchase healthy and fresh foods. In an urban environment like the South Side, a co-op is the most realistic solution to this problem.

Currently, becoming a member of the co-op requires paying a one-time $100 fee. However, a membership is not required to shop at the co-op. To increase community involvement, Eat to Live should require that all shoppers pay a membership fee, and continue providing payment plan options to make it easier for more people to obtain a membership.

The co-op should also be better publicized to increase community involvement. Some people are unaware of how co-ops work. Eat to Live should increase its marketing and publicity efforts to ensure that community members are aware of the role the co-op could play in the community.

As temperatures remain below freezing and snow continues to fall, having fewer food options nearby becomes even more problematic. Having access to reasonably priced and healthy food is a necessity. After having had the co-op for a few months, residents have likely grown to count on it.

It is a positive sign that the co-op board members want to reopen Eat to Live’s doors. Co-op board members must consider new solutions to the problems posed when the co-op first opened to ensure that it becomes a staple in the community.