Six years ago, when my wife and I were considering a move to Cedar Falls, we met with a group of residents, and, over lunch, listened to them explain what they liked and didn’t like about living in this part of Iowa. “What’s one of the best things about living in Cedar Falls?” we asked. Do you know what they all agreed on? It was the municipally-owned Cedar Falls Utilities. They said that with the local control, there’s better service and better prices.
Here’s another example of a community taking ownership of something and then reaping the benefits: The Green Bay Packers. Having established as a nonprofit with shares that are “non-appreciating investments in a community corporation,” the city is able to hold on to and benefit from owning a National Football League team despite being such a small market size.
I was thinking about these examples when I came across another twist on this in a recent Nation article: owning your own banks. These public banks are cropping up in the U.S. in places like Santa Fe and Philadelphia, and are helping invest in their own communities. “Across the country, community activists, mayors, city council members, and more are waking up to the power and the promise of public banks. Such banks are established and controlled by cities or states, rather than private interests.”
Rather than relying on corporations that are controlled by shareholders who live elsewhere and whose only mission is to maximize profits, community members are taking ownership of businesses and services that will benefit their community. That’s what the Cedar Falls Food Co-op is all about. When we open the doors to the community-owned (“community-grown”) grocery store, we’ll have a voice and an interest in the well-being of the business because the business has an interest in the well-being of the community.
While a grocery store might be a modest investment in one’s community, as compared to a football team or even a bank, it is something we can all connect with. What’s more universal than food? Food nourishes us, so why not have the place where we can buy food be as interested in nourishing our community as we are?
If you haven’t become one of the nearly 550 member-owners of the Cedar Falls Food Co-op, now’s a great time. We are getting closer to Stage III of our development, which means we’ll soon have a site selected and be actively raising funds to open the doors. Join now and help bring another great answer to the question: “What’s one of the best things about living in Cedar Falls?”
In cooperation,
Tom Wickersham