In Praise of the Isla Vista Food Co-op

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A few years ago, I got converted. No, not to religion. I’m not that type. I found food — the good for you kind. Where I had once been a McDonald’s-eating, soda-drinking, Taco Bell-loving fast food junkie, I turned into a more conscious consumer.

No longer could I pick up fruit and meat at the supermarket and feel confident that I was feeding my family well. I started to wonder whether the beef we were eating came from a cow that was fed antibiotics and corn. I even started to worry about the whole feedlot thing. Had the cow I was eating led a happy life?

Cat Neushul

Let me tell you that once you go down that road, there’s no turning back. You have to find ways to assuage your neuroses. I made up a new list of favorite places to buy food. One of them was the Isla Vista Food Co-op. I liked its emphasis on local produce. And I liked the positive vibe you feel as you walk down the aisles. This was even before I knew about its history and mission.

According to Melissa Cohen, the marketing manager for the co-op, the inviting feel to the place is calculated. In the past, she said, there had been a more political, less friendly, atmosphere in the store: “I thought it was like walking into an exclusive club.” When Cohen came on board, she sought to change that. “We want you to feel like you’re walking into everyone’s store.”

But for some people, it can still seem too different. All the fruit isn’t impossibly perfect and beautifully arranged. The signs are often handwritten and familiar, rather than your standard supermarket variety. Also it’s small. If you love rows and rows of choices, you may be in for a shock.

The co-op has been around for 36 years. It started out as an experiment to see if community members could take control of food prices and get what they wanted at the same time. As a co-op, it follows the seven cooperative principles including democratic control, member economic participation, education, and concern for the community. This means that you can become a co-owner, request the food you want to see in the store, and be educated all at the same place.

For me, however, the produce is what makes me come back again and again. Cohen said that more than 50 percent, in some seasons 75 percent, of it is bought from local growers. They even hang up pictures of the farmers to solidify the connection. After the Gap Fire, the co-op hung up a picture of the Brown family, area avocado suppliers, and asked customers to donate money to pay for fire damage done to their groves. My daughter pointed to the picture and said, “Can we give a dollar? I know them. That’s my cousin’s friend.”

Isla Vista Food Co-op logo

Knowing the farmers also helps in other ways. When I asked one of the store clerks whether they were concerned about a recent national avocado scare, he said, “No, we don’t worry about that. We know where our food comes from.” He pointed to a woman leaving and said that she was the person who brought their avocados.

That’s one of the things about the co-op that makes it different. The managers carefully choose where they buy their food from and evaluate it before it gets to the shelves. “You don’t have to sift through piles of shit to get the one good thing,” Cohen explained. Co-op workers try to do that for you. She is proud of the milk the coop sells, Organic Valley, and can tell you all sort of things about the many products lining the shelves. Let me tell you, a lot of thought goes into purchasing. There’s only one item with high fructose syrup in the store, and it’s carried because of customer requests. (In case you’re wondering, it’s lemonade.)

The co-op isn’t just interested in educating people about food. They’re concerned about your overall health. Members attend local festivals and do a tampon education workshop. Cohen said they had shown more than 500 women what happens when you put certain brands of tampon in water. According to Cohen, the fibers shred as they absorb, releasing particles into water that may people might not want there. She said that she had gotten some strong reactions from intoxicated women at these festivals. One had almost broken into tears. “We work with it. I.V. is what it is,” she added. The co-op carries an organic cotton brand.

As the tide has turned and organic is becoming mainstream, more people are going to the co-op. “We are profitable for the first time in a very long time,” Cohen said. They have about 2,700 members, and sales are projected to be more than $2 million this year, up from last year. In the future, Cohen said, there are plans for the organization to expand. The co-op of the future would have a larger store, a bigger warehouse, and an educational center.

But for now Cohen is going to keep on trying to attract new business. “I’m working on moms. They’re my number one demographic,” she said. For whatever reason, the co-op is not a destination for many Goleta moms. They may even drive down to Lazy Acres, without even thinking of dropping by the nearby store, she said. “If you’re a parent, give me a request,” she said. She wants to make the co-op the place to go. “We have soul. They don’t,” she added.

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