Basics: Organic and Natural Products at Basic Prices

Jan Rasikas, General Manager

Basic Goods at Basic Prices

Organic is for everybody and Viroqua Food Co-op’s new Basics program makes it affordable!

Savvy shoppers are increasingly looking for healthful, ethical choices when it comes to buying food. No surprise, then, that the organic food industry has experienced dramatic double-digit growth annually over the last decade and blossomed into a multi-billion dollar business. Still, VFC’s owner surveys consistently show that food prices are a top priority for our shoppers.

Beginning October 1st VFC brings you staple organic foods and household goods below, and often well below, suggested retail prices in our new Basics program. The concept is to cut prices consciously to provide affordable and healthy food to one and all. Shelf signs around the store mark the products in the Basics program. On average, the Basics price is 5 to 30% lower than suggested retails. Because community members become owners of the Co-op by contributing capital, the Co-op remains financially flexible enough to offer significant price breaks on a selected variety of staple organic products and household goods.
The Viroqua Food Co-op has always believed that organic food is best for people and the environment. Studies show that goods grown organically are more beneficial; higher in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and free of troubling additives like pesticides, GMOs and other products linked to health problems. Organic growers protect soil sustainability by preventing erosion and contributing to natural fertilization. They treat animals humanely, respect water quality by not adding chemical herbicides and pesticides, and contribute to biodiversity by encouraging the existence of multiple species of plants and animals. Organic farming protects the health and welfare of farm workers as well as consumers and it provides the world with a safe, healthy diet. And let’s not forget how good it tastes!

But organic food can seem out of reach for some consumers. Price and convenience factors may deter some shoppers from making the switch to organic. It certainly is no surprise that organic and natural foods can be less affordable than their “conventional” counterparts. From organic produce, dairy and meats, to organic juices, cereals and other packaged foods; the prices can be up to 25% higher than what you would find at a big-box supermarket! Some contributing factors to this price discrepancy are the US farm subsidies (tax breaks and surplus buy-ups) granted to industrial agribusiness, the economy of scale in which conventional farms operate, higher demand than the current supply for organics, and the fact that organic food, because of the labor-intensive sustainable cultivation techniques used, costs more to produce than conventional food.

The Co-op is always concerned about affordability of goods, and we work behind the scenes to keep items as affordable as possible for our owner-members and customers. We maintain lower margin goals for our local products storewide and offer Every Day Low Prices (EDLP’s) on some staple items like milk, bread, baby food and diapers. We keep an extensive bulk department offering a wide variety of organic dry staple items like rice, beans, oats, flour, seeds, nuts and soap at prices competitive with the natural, but non-organic packaged products on the shelf. In addition, we continue to offer and encourage participation in our owner-member full-case buying privileges (10% off) as another means to provide healthy organic and natural food at more affordable prices. The co+op deals (from our membership in the National Cooperative Grocers Association) which is our primary promotional program, offers a wide variety of organic/natural foods at great prices and is the cornerstone of keeping our prices down, as well as VFC’s weekly fresh! flyers that feature great price reductions on products from produce, cheese, deli, meat and the beer & wine aisle.

We’re owned by the folks in our community and committed through our mission to “promote the long-term health of individuals and the environment.” Healthy people make healthy communities, and making good food affordable is one way to contribute to the health of our community.

Go Co-op!