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.

Also in this issue

News bites, July 2001

McDonald's goes organic?, Japan third large organic market, Country of origin labels, and more