On the Edge in the Co-op

Edginess, here meaning offbeat or fringe, is a trait I admire.  Without people who think differently or perceive things in a different way, or in a 21st Century term, "outside the box," innovation would die. Where would we be without those thinkers who were seen as "out of the mainstream", like Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin or Florence Nightingale and Susan B. Anthony?

Take the modern cooperative--started in the 1970s--as an example of an edgy idea. A cooperative

Co-op Ideals

initially organized to get better prices on bulk items (flour, oats, etc.) for its members, which could be anyone, and any surplus was turned back to the members. These still are part of the modern cooperative, but the 21st Century cooperative now goes well beyond the basic ideas of banding together for better prices to include supporting organic farmers, beef farmers who feed their herds grass, sustainable fisheries, local entrepreneurs, and more.

When I first joined the Lakewinds co-op in 1990, I was one of the first 1500 members. In an area of tens of thousands of people, only 1500 had chosen to support the future of food--'clean' food unrelated to the greater "food industry." I cut cheese, re-filled bulk containers, swept floors, washed containers, and watched as more and more people rejected the American food industry and embraced the co-cop ideal.  Now, there are tens of thousands of members in the co-op system and Lakewinds has three different stores.

The 'edge' is also an important concept when shopping. At the co-op the other day--a store that I visit all too frequently--I realized why I like its small size and compactness so much: it's mostly an "edge" store. 

Co-op Foods

What's that you ask.  If you think about the layout of the typical American grocery store, the edge consists of produce, meat, dairy, bakery, bulk area, and maybe a deli or frozen food area. That's really all you need.

What comes in between those edges are freezers and aisles of boxes, bags and cans of, mostly, things we don't need and could easily do without.  Okay, maybe some cleaning products are useful, or olive oil.  But you see what I mean.  The edge is essential.  The middle of the store is mostly superfluous.

So hence the word "edgy" takes on another meaning when it comes to food and shopping.  I like to eat "edgy", to coin a phrase.

Whether in ideas, shopping or people, the edge may be what we need the most.