Thank you for becoming an owner!
- We will have a card and a 10% coupon at the store for you, please just ask a cashier to get it for you for your first shop.
- If you are ordering curbside, write in notes that you are a new owner & we will include your card & discount on your order.
- You are now eligible for all of our Owner Discounts, including special orders.
As an owner-owner of our cooperative grocery store, you’ve chosen to invest in a community of people, ideals, and of course, wonderful food. You don’t just shop here – you own it! This guide is designed to help you make the most of your co-op ownership.
Your Benefits
Customer Service
Our friendly staff are happy to assist you. Stop by to request replacement owner cards, look up your owner number if you forget your card, make returns, place special orders, or make updates to your owner records.
- We are dedicated to serving our owners and the community by providing high quality natural foods and personal care products through a mutually beneficial exchange.
- We support consumption of healthful and organic foods, grown or produced locally with ecological and social responsibility.
- We encourage informed choice and consumer empowerment, with an emphasis on education and customer assistance.
- We are committed to use profits to strengthen and improve the Co-op community.
- We pledge to maintain a pleasant environment that fosters goodwill, cooperation and participation.
- Statement of Customer Service
Bulk Foods Department
Bulk foods are staples of co-op shopping, plus they are affordable because you can buy as little or as much as you need. Reduce your environmental footprint by shopping into reusable containers brought from home. Get the bulk basics here.
We Love Local
We believe one of the most effective ways we support an ethical and resilient food infrastructure is promoting local suppliers. We proudly carry more than 1,000 local products. There are local items in every aisle of the store. Our definition of local is within 100 miles of the store.
Sustainability
We focus on sustainability and respect for the environment in everything we do.
You can help our sustainability initiatives go even further when you prioritize reusable containers, shopping bags, mugs and utensils.
Each year, we donate thousands of pounds of fresh food to those in need. We also compost all pre-and post-consumer food scraps, and we follow a reduce, reuse, recycle philosophy for every material we handle. We have eliminated plastic shopping bags have replaced single-use service ware with compostable options.
Your Board of Directors
Meet the Board of Directors here.
The co-op’s board of directors is elected by the ownership, and is made up of owners just like you. Board owners work to keep the co-op accountable to cooperative principles, and make sure that the co-op remains a sustainable business. They do this through a system of checks and balances called Policy Governance.
Board Meetings
Board meetings are open to the co-op ownership and typically occur on the third Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. and are held upstairs in the Movement & Learning Center. Upcoming meeting dates are posted in the store and online.
Board Committees
owners are also invited to serve on board committees. Info is available on our website: www.frenchbroadfood.coop
One ownership, One Vote
Each household ownership has one vote in the annual board of directors elections. You’ll receive notification of the nominations and elections process in the co-op’s newsletter, via email, and through signage in the store. Think about running for the board yourself.
Your Participation
There are many ways to participate in your co-op, including:
- Shop at your co-op! Keep your dollars in the community.
- Support local non-profits by rounding up your total at the register when programs are available.
- Attend a board meeting or read meeting minutes.
- Join a board committee.
- Vote in board elections.
- Run for the board.
- Provide feedback.
- Invite a friend to shop or join.
- Work at the Co-op.
Owner Responsibilities
- Inform the co-op of any changes to your ownership information (phone number, address, email, household owners, etc.) by sending us an email at info@frenchbroadfood.coop.
- Stay informed by attending board meetings and reading co-op communications, including annual reports, newsletters, e-news, and board meeting minutes.
- Participate in our co-op’s democratic process by voting in annual Board of Directors elections.
- Serve your co-op by running in Board of Director elections or joining a board committee.
- Inform the general public of the nature and benefits of the cooperative model.
- Promote French Broad Food Co-op within your communities.
- Communicate your concerns and suggestions through our Customer Comment box and owner surveys.
Ownership Rights
French Broad Food Co-op collects and uses your personal information to operate the French Broad Food Coop Web site and deliver the services you have requested. French Broad Food Co-op also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from French Broad Food Co-op and its affiliates. French Broad Food Co-op may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.
French Broad Food Co-op does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. French Broad Food Co-op may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, French Broad Food Co-op may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to French Broad Food Co-op, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
French Broad Food Co-op does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.
French Broad Food Co-op does not sell or trade information collected in the operation of our POS (Point of Sale) register system with other organizations. Technical support contractors are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement with French Broad Food Co-op. Information collected through the use of this system is used for French Broad Food Co-op purposes.
All owner rights and responsibilities are outlined in detail in The French Broad Food Co-op Bylaws, which French Broad Food Cooperative Privacy Statement
French Broad Food Co-op is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the French Broad Food Co-op Web site and governs data collection and usage. By using the French Broad Food Co-op website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.
French Broad Food Co-op only uses ownership data for French Broad Food Co-op business purposes. We refuse requests to sell or trade ownership data with outside organizations. French Broad Food Co-op authorizes select employees to access ownership records in our ownership database, and those employees are directed not to disclose private owner information, including but not limited to, names, phone numbers, street addresses, and email addresses, to anyone outside of French Broad Food Co-op
We value the privacy of our owners and shoppers. As a not-for-profit business, the integrity of our business practices is more important than invasive information gathering. View our full policy online here.
Make a Payment
Make a payment below, or stop in
and pay at a register.
We strive to promote products & methods that are:
- Whole and minimally processed
- Local
- Certified Organic
- Certified Naturally Grown and/or Biodynamic
- Non-GMO Project Verified/Specified Non-GMO
- Certified Fair Trade
- Certified Humane
- Minimally packaged or in recyclable &/or returnable containers
- Produced using humane and ecologically sound methods that don’t exploit people, animals, or our environment
We will not knowingly carry products that:
- Contain artificial ingredients, such as colorings, flavorings, preservatives or additives
- Contain known harmful ingredients such as nitrates or nitrites, synthetic chemicals, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, or MSG
- Contain antibiotics or growth hormones
- Have been tested on animals
- VOLUNTARY AND OPEN MEMBERSHIP
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of ownership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
- DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROL
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their owners, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the ownership. In primary cooperatives, owners have equal voting rights – one owner, one vote – and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
- OWNER’S ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION
Owners contribute equally to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. They usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of ownership. Owners allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting owners in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the ownership.
- AUTONOMY AND INDEPENDENCE
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their owners. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their owners and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
- EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATION
Cooperatives provide education and training for their owners, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- COOPERATION AMONG COOPERATIVES
Cooperatives serve their owners most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
- CONCERN FOR COMMUNITY
While focusing on owner needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their owners.