Mallory DeVries, Board Member
As I near the end of my time on the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market Board, I have been thinking a lot about what it takes to keep a project like this moving forward.
After more than a decade of searching for the right home for the co-op, it would be easy for the work to lose momentum. A long timeline can wear people down. It can make even a strong vision feel distant.
But that is not what I have seen.
What I have seen is a group of board members who continue to show up with dedication, patience, and a clear belief in what Rooted Carrot can become. Month after month, they bring their professional skills, community knowledge, thoughtful questions, and steady commitment to the work of building a cooperatively owned grocery store in Cedar Falls.
That dedication matters because this work is not only about opening a store. It is about creating a different kind of grocery model for our community.
Food co-ops are designed to keep more value local. They build stronger connections between shoppers, producers, and the local economy. Nationally, food co-ops purchase from local farms and producers at significantly higher rates than conventional grocery stores, with local purchasing estimated at about 2.5 times the conventional grocery rate.
For Rooted Carrot, that means the future store has the potential to create a meaningful new market channel for local farms, food businesses, and producers while giving Cedar Falls area shoppers more access to locally produced, nutrient-dense foods.
As the 2026 board election cycle approaches, we are beginning to look ahead to future board leadership.
The Co-op Board consists of seven members elected by the general membership. Board terms are three years. Board members help guide major decisions regarding the store site, store design, hiring of the general manager, and the continued development of the co-op as a cooperatively owned local business.
Our current board meets once a month on the third Wednesday, either online or in person. It is a dedicated group of people who enjoy working together and bring a wide range of expertise to the table.
If you are a Rooted Carrot member, I encourage you to consider your own skill set, passion, and capacity.
Do you have a vision for building and advancing a cooperatively owned local business? Do you want to help bring a unique grocery store stocked with locally produced products to Cedar Falls? Do you care about strengthening local farms, food businesses, and community ownership?
Board service is one way to help move that work forward.
The 2026 Candidate Application Packet will be available in August. In the meantime, I hope members will begin thinking about whether this may be the right time to get involved in a deeper way.
We look forward to meeting the next group of leaders who will help guide Rooted Carrot into its next chapter.