Owner Appreciations Days
Alison Gruber, Board Member
As a member of the Owner Engagement Committee within the Board of Directors of The Merc Co+op, I have been working with others to prepare the Annual Co-op Meeting at The Carnegie Building on Vermont Street in which we will celebrate the successes of the past year as a community with (incredible) music by No Bow Tie and (delightful) food prepared by Rad Platter all of whom are Lawrencian owners of The Merc. Flint Hills Pints will be there to ensure that we are keeping it *chill.* In true form, we look forward to gathering as a community to learn and appreciate the achievements of The Merc over the past year and see each other’s faces.
The Merc Co+op is more than a grocery store — it is a committed body of people and a democratic system whose beginnings came out of a need for fair access to affordable food during the Industrial Revolution. Factory workers who were indebted to their employers and given access to the factory store as compensation for labors recognized that their livelihoods were not sustainable. From the desire to feed their families without going into debt came the inspiration to develop democratic access to real food for fair prices. The printed historical society records reference an original 28 pounds raised by 28 owners/founders of that first grocery co-op, The Rochdale Pioneers, which they say took 4 months to save in 1844’s England. Their cooperative provided butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles as the initial offerings. It is no surprise the Charles Dickens conceived A Christmas Carol within a week after visiting The Rochdale Pioneers and subsequently completed the story only 6 weeks later.
In 2026, our landscape is similar in that we all want real food with fair access. To provide that, The Merc Co+op continuously modifies itself to provide the desires of the ownership by asking the owners to vote, engage in conversation, and run for office as a Board Member. It is a community of people who want to support real food that nourishes and an employment eco-system that enables thriving careers that pay fair wages and compensates the farmers and producers fairly for their goods while providing appropriate and discounted pricing to the patrons. It is a system of governing that ensures the profits do not travel to far off corporations but are returned to the owners and community of which it is a part. Ownership can be purchased with a small, one-time investment that is modified for those with a tighter budget via MercShare and MercShare+. Can you find your new best friend at The Merc while shopping for tea? Probably…but in the event that is not something you seek, let me tell you why my family loves being an owner and why The Merc loves its owners.
Owner Appreciation Days happen twice a year in April and October in which every owner receives 20% off any single shopping trip. My family plans ahead and purchases dry and freezer goods that will last in storage as well as any fresh items for immediate use creating impressive savings across the year. This, paired with periodic category sales and deeper discounts when we purchase bulk, enables my family to purchase the real food we eat for a significantly smaller cost than we have found anywhere else.
When The Merc is profitable, it returns the wins to the owners via Patronage Rebates while also enabling support for various demographics throughout the year. Senior citizens receive a 5% discount on groceries every Tuesday. A 10% discount is offered for fresh purchases through MercShare+ for eligible owners.
Every single time my family comes into the co-op we marvel at our opportunity to engage with staff who is passionate about real food, their roles and career. We are grateful for the community their enthusiasm fosters and know that as owners and shoppers, we are enabling this possibility in our town.
Please JOIN US on Saturday, November 14th for our Annual Co+op Meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.! There is no fee but we would love to have you register next time you shop or by letting us know here.
