After nearly a year of meetings, discussions and edits, the Board unanimously voted to add a fifth statement to our Ends policy.
Building a community based on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Adding this End, formalizes our co-op's commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; and it will have a lasting impact on store operations, hiring, sourcing, training and product mix. The Merc Co+op is more than the stores we operate. We are a community of people with values. We look forward to a new year and the continued effort of our GM and her team to act on, interpret and measure how we will meet this new statement and all of our Ends.
Board Report - December & January
The Merc Co+op Board of Directors meets the first Monday of each month. Learn more about the Board, their meetings and responsibilties each month in their Board Report.
Power Up Your Breakfast
Kansas Sales Tax on Food at the Co-op
2023 Change Recipients Announcement
The Merc Co+op is excited to announce the recipients of the 2023 Change for our Community program. “Change” gives shoppers the opportunity to donate their spare change to local organizations every time they shop. Each month, a different organization is featured as the recipient, and 100% of all donations collected go to that specific organization.
In fiscal year 2022, we - as a co-op community - raised $85,484. Since the program began in January 2014, we have raised over $601,000 for 57 local nonprofits.
Easy Gift Ideas - DIY Lip Balm & More
Food Cycle KC Bucket Swap
The Merc Co+op is excited to partner with Food Cycle KC to offer our shoppers an opportunity to compost their food scraps and more!
Co-op Board of Directors Election
Pan-tastic Sheet Pan Dinners
Cooking with Beer
2022 Lawrence Remodel
On Monday, May 16 our co-op's board of directors voted to approve a financing plan for the purpose of remodeling our Lawrence store. This October, payments on our building at 901 Iowa will be completed, allowing our business to sustainably reinvest in its flagship location.
The remodel will occur in two phases. Phase One will take place this summer with a focus on expanding our restrooms, adding an additional full service register lane and creating a more welcoming employee break room. To make this possible, we will modify the Coffee + Juice Bar and merge our classroom with the café. Phase Two (early 2023) will follow with a necessary replacement of our refrigeration rack which has reached the end of its useful life and is beyond its maximum capacity. Replacing it with a modern, higher efficiency rack will reduce the store's carbon footprint.
The Merc Co+op alongside NCG Condemns White Supremacy and Racially Motivated Violence
The Merc Co+op alongside National Co+op Grocers (NCG) is heartbroken by this weekend’s senseless violence against the Black community in Buffalo, NY in a racially motivated domestic terrorist incident that took the lives of 10 people and wounded 3 more. We grieve with the families of those whose lives were taken and with everyone who is suffering in the Black community. As one grocer to another, we extend solidarity and empathy to the staff and shoppers of Tops Market on Jefferson, where this brutal act took place.
FAQs During COVID-19
Get to Know Your Board - Abbey
The Merc Co+op's Board of Directors is comprised of nine co-op owners who are elected by the general ownership and serve a three-year term. Any co-op owner can run for a board position. Participating in co-op elections is your ownership in action – get to know the owners who represent you!
Meet Abbey!
Co+op Explorers: St. Patrick's Day 🍀
Co+op Explorers: Valentine's Day 💝
Grocery Store Partnership Strengthens Fight Against COVID in Kansas City, KS
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven community organizations across the nation to come up with more innovative vaccination strategies. In what was once a downtown food desert in Kansas City, KS, that innovation has materialized as a unique relationship between a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) supporting better health outcomes in underserved areas, a local cooperative grocer, and a non-profit organization servicing the needs of the Hispanic community.
Self Check Outs Coming to Lawrence Store
Your co-op is excited to announce that the installation of self check out lanes will begin the first week of January in our Lawrence store. (This plan was first announced in the October 2021 issue of our owner newsletter, Connections.) These new lanes will allow shoppers to select the mode of their check out experience, while increasing efficiency and pace across all registers.
5 Versatile Cheeses from the Co-op
2022 Change Recipients Announced
The Merc Co+op is excited to announce the recipients of the 2022 Change for our Community program.
Our Change program gives shoppers the opportunity to donate their pocket change to local community organizations each time they shop. Each month, The Merc Co+op chooses a different Change recipient and all donations collected that month go to that specific organization.