40th anniversary next month
This article was originally published in July 2001
PCC’s 40th anniversary is coming up. We’ve come a long way since we became an official co-op, incorporating on August 29, 1961.
Our members have made it possible for PCC to make a difference in more ways than just providing what may be some of the best food anywhere. Here are some of the things we’ve done as a co-op over the years.
Direct grants and donations
- Yearly donations to community groups through member grants committee
- Many small donations to schools and other community groups
Organic farming and land use
- Helped fund and organize first organic growers association (Farmers Wholesale Co-op) in Washington state
- Gave letter of credit for Washington dairies to transition to organic standards, starting organic milk supply in this state
- Supported Goldie Caughlan on Washington State Organic Advisory Board, Organic Trade Association, Food Safety Enhancement Advisory Council (WA) and National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
- Through former PCC Board member Ken Jacobsen, supported and helped create state organic certification legislation in 1980s
- Helped start and administer the P-Patch program in Seattle
- Made many loans to organic growers: Back Ten Co-op potatoes, Rent’s Due Ranch, Rose Valley Egg Farm, Tilth
- Helped found Cooperating Community, our primary wholesaler of organic foods, which eventually became NutraSource
- Established the Farmland Fund in 1999
- Supported the campaign to influence USDA on Organic Rules, 1998. Of 300,000 letters written nationally, 7,000 were from PCC members.
Recycling efforts/energy concerns
- Instituted recycling in store operations and office in 1992
- Instituted waste reduction program in produce department
- Supported Tim Bernthal on Seattle Solid Waste Advisory Committee
- Installed energy efficient lighting in stores
Building Community
- Many major sponsorships and affiliations: Folklife Festival, ZooTunes, Bumbershoot, Health Expo, and Tilth Fair
- Support neighborhood projects such as Adopt-a-Street at Seward Park
- Won U.S. Mayors’ End Hunger Award in 1995 for Cash for the Hungry program. One hundred percent of PCC member donations go to partner food banks, providing $30-40,000 of food per year
Cooperation with cooperatives
- Hosted Cooperative Store Development Forums with co-ops around the country, 1998 and 1999
- Helped found NW Cooperative Grocers Association in 1998
- Sponsored Puget Sound Cooperative Federation for many years
- Made loans to co-ops: Central Co-op, Capitol Hill Co-op, Phinney Ridge Co-op, Cascadian Loan Fund
Education Efforts
- Pioneered FoodWorks program, with more vegetarian cooking classes than any other school in Puget Sound
- Provided funding and support for Consumers United for Food Safety (irradiation watchdog group)
- Gave money to publish Binda Colebrook’s book, Winter Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, now a classic
- Provide Master Gardener and Composter trainings with King County Extension
- Acknowledged by local media as lead information source on many food safety and quality issues, such as genetic engineering and rBGH in dairy products
- Supported letter writing campaign to FDA in 1996 on Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act.